I want to start a “Thanks to the X …” series. A classic example: “We’ve all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.” (Robert Silensky) And: “We’ve been taught that all men are […]
Starting a “Thanks to the X …” humor series Read More »
Mockumentarian Philomena Cunk the spirit or something of the holiday season:
Philomena Cunk on the true-ish meaning of Christmas Read More »
Notes on Punctuation by Lewis Thomas* There are no precise rules about punctuation (Fowler lays out some general advice (as best he can under the complex circumstances of English prose (he points out, for example, that we possess only four stops (the comma, the semicolon, the colon and the period (the question mark and exclamation
“Notes on Punctuation,” by Lewis Thomas Read More »
1. Socrates deletes his account. 2. Plato posts screenshots of Socrates. 3. Aristotle unfollows Plato. 4. Aquinas retweets Jesus. 5. Descartes mutes Aquinas. 6. Locke mutes Descartes. 7. Kant unfollows Locke and Descartes. 8. Hegel subtweets Kant. 9. Schopenhauer blocks Hegel. 10. Marx likes Hegel. 11. Nietzsche gets hacked. 12. Heidegger DMs Arendt. 13. Adorno
A Brief History of Philosophy — social-media version Read More »
A man arrives at the gates of heaven. St. Peter asks, “Religion?” The man says, “Methodist.” St. Peter looks down his list, and says, “Go to room twenty-eight, but be very quiet as you pass room eight.” Another man arrives at the gates of heaven. “Religion?” “Baptist.” “Go to room eighteen, but be very quiet
Humor — Religion and the afterlife Read More »
I passed through Trier, Germany, mostly to see the Porta Nigra. But Trier is also the birthplace of one K. Marx, and this year is the 200th anniversary of his birth. The city is full of celebratory signage and knick-knacks, but for me one item captured the event best. I give you me and mini
The latest in cognition research: Accordion to several studies, replacing words with the names of musical instruments in a sentence often goes undetected.
Speed Reading — a joke Read More »
Romance is in the air, thus my annual reposting of my round-up of philosophers talking to their sweethearts – collected from conversations overheard at smoky cafés, college libraries, mountain caves, and seminar rooms the world over. The Aristotelian: “I wish to marry you, for I know that my happiness, both of body and soul, is
“Should I marry you?” How philosophers answer the big question Read More »