Month: November 2010

Logic is Autism

Not a new concept, but a very interesting NYT piece by Andy Martin. (Thanks to Steve Peterson on MD for the link).

Thank you, gentlemen, for raising the issue of understanding here. The fact is, I don’t expect people in general to understand what I have written. And it is not just because I have written something, in places, particularly cryptic and elliptical and therefore hard to understand, or even because it is largely a meta-discourse and therefore senseless, but rather because, in my view, it is not given to us to achieve full understanding of what another person says. Therefore I don’t expect you to understand this problem of misunderstanding either. (Paraphrase of Wittgenstein).

Having read The Philosophical Investigations as well as Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, I have no doubt Wittgenstein knew what he was doing in his earlier work aimed primarily at inveterate logician Bertrand Russell.

I therefore believe myself to have found, on all essential points, the final solution of the problems [of philosophy]. And if I am not mistaken in this belief … it shows how little is achieved when these problems are solved.

Wittgenstein and the Art of Car Maintenance.

Love it. Wittgenstein and the Allusion to Robert Pirsig.
Priceless comment also, from Alan Lamb in the comment thread, hilarious, hopefully tongue firmly in cheek:

Autism as a topic is an interesting launching pad for a discussion of philosphical questioning as you have introduced it but your thesis is certainly not either necessary nor sufficient to conclude that current medical theory explains philosophy away.

Hofstadter would love the strange loop. (And the comment thread is full of people defending Wittgenstein and those with autism … talk about missing the point, being autistic.)

(And thanks to JC also on MD for this link to LogiComix – comic book story of the life of Russell and the failure of logic.)

Karen Armstrong

Linked to Karen Armstrong previously – her “Charter for Compassion” campaign was the subject of her TED talk. She ends up pretty campaigning and preachy in that piece, but she shows a sophisticated position in the God vs Science wars. Not surprising given her history and the enormous number of books she has written on religious history. The History of God and The War for God amongst them.

I started reading her The Case for God at least a month ago, but had a chance to finish it today after a break in which, ironically, I had also read The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

Can’t do a review justice here, but The Case for God is excellent. Dense with research, quotes and references. Starting out with Joe Campbell and George Steiner, she ends on a Buddhist koan, taking in every philosophical and scientific source I’m aware of (Socrates to Wittgenstein, Tillich and Toulmin to the PoMos and the new-Atheists, too many to mention.)

West Over East

Just finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Mohsin Hamid), so was taken with this perspective on the British PM visit to China. The east has been the dominant economic culture for 18 of the last 20 centuries.

Lots of irony in the book, and the core metaphor is a bit thin / naive, a young author I guess, but a page-turning story about Eastern rejection of Western presumption and Western paranoia of the motives for such rejection. Won’t spoil the ending. 9/11 was the wake-up call / turning point for many.

Brisbane Hills

Why did nobody ever mention the hills ? Brisbane is a new location for me. Culturally and architecturally reminded me of Melbourne meets Perth meets Alabama with a tasteless church on every corner, except everywhere is uphill to/from everywhere else. I’ll either get fit or ….

After three consecutive nights in the air, my first night in town, last night, was 12 hours solid sleep, but tonight was a recce of Fortitude Valley.

Ric’s Bar had genuinely live music, others had karaoke despite the “live” billings on the Wednesday night. But a very full gig guide to look out for,

Openers at Ric’s were Udays Tiger. Guitar and Drums, with loops of both under control of the guitarist’s feet. Interesting, creative and rough, but very effective – had me in mind of QOTSA. Vocals a bit low in the mix, and a bit strained for my taste, but I will look out for them again.

First it giveth, then in taketh away. The “headline” were At Sea. Equally interesting but less satisfying 5 piece. Bass, lead and rhythm guitarists need to get in sharper tune, if their layered textures are going to work without discord. Rhythm guy seemed want to be at 11 to everyone elses’ 9 and the vocals – interesting goth female – suffered again. Same drummer in both acts. A version of Morning Dew had me singing along (only non-original I noticed), but sadly only the trad two-verse version. The point of the cold-war version is that after the flash in the sky there is no more morning dew.

Such short sets. All over by 10:30pm.

Must look up Gav whilst I’m in town.

A380 Experience

Interesting (?) to fly in a Singapore Airlines A380 between the Quantas incident and the Singapore decision to change the engines. Not used to flying business class these days, but all I can say it was as quiet and smooth a flight as I’ve experienced, up front, top deck on a Singapore A380.

Having survived, I can tell the tale.

Between Material & Spiritual

From David Morey via Horse at MoQ Discuss, an NPR blog from Marcelo Gleiser with an interesting little quote from Robert Pirsig’s ZMM.

The cause of our current social crises is a genetic defect within the nature of reason itself. And until this genetic defect is cleared, the crises will continue. Our current modes of rationality are not moving society forward into a better world. They are taking it further and further from that better world. Since the Renaissance these modes have worked. As long as the need for food, clothing and shelter is dominant they will continue to work. But now that for huge masses of people these needs no longer overwhelm everything else, the whole structure of reason, handed down to us from ancient times, is no longer adequate. It begins to be seen for what it really is—emotionally hollow, esthetically meaningless and spiritually empty. That, today, is where it is at, and will continue to be at for a long time to come.

Reason has a genetic defect. Got it ?

Interesting Take on Sanity

Not sure I agree that the major reputable news organizations are necessarily a-political, but nevertheless interesting look at the politically biased reporting of numbers at the recent John Stewart and Stephen Colbert “Sanity” event.

I’ve been in crowds of a quarter of a million a couple of times, and that’s quite an event. Restores your faith, etc. (Hat tip to Clive Andrews / Mark Whitaker / Peter Owen on Facebook.)