What, Why & How do we Know ?
On-line Rubaiyat – Via Rivets, but relevant to Pirsig too.
Don’t ask.
Google Toolbar Installed – Neat little toolbar from Google, now includes BlogThis from Blogger.
BTW Blogger is improving rapidly since acquisition by Google. Features are still behind heavyweights like Moveable Type, Radio and Drupal, but the convenience and responsiveness of support is dare I say quite impressive. Keep it up EvHead and the guys.
Pirsig Pages Update – I’ve added a significant update to my Pirsig pages to include a link to my new map of the ZAMM route. (It’s a frames page, to enable a changing information panel as you move across each of the points en-route, but I think I’ve done the decent thing and ensured all links spawn new browsers so no-one should get trapped.)
Incidentally I’ve spent a good deal of time recovering from MS-Office version 9, which adds a tremendous amount of redundant garbage to simple web pages if you make the mistake of editing a page using (say) Word. It appears Office-XP shows some real promise of intelligent use of XML with reference schemas et al, but in this current form it really would be better manners if it checked with the user if this MS controlled schema and style-sheeting stuff were actually required.
Tell us something we didn’t know. This just in – politics is a cynical business apparently. A review in the Grauniad of Mark Curtis “Web of Deceit“. [via Jorn] Documented evidence is always handy though.
More evidence of the power of metaphor too, linking this to the current WMD spat between government spin-doctor Campbell and the BBC ? It is no coincidence that spin and web both speak of deception. Web’s are spun to trap the unwary – the antidote is not to be outraged at the spin, but to be aware of the web.
Story of the Alexandria Library – A pet interest of mine, blogged earlier. [via Jorn]
Rhiz-O-Mat and Post-Modernists – On-line resource on Deleuze and Guattari’s “Anti-Oedipus”. [via Rivets] Also this “Everything Post-Modern“site on Post-Modernist resources.
Intentional Metaphors Mislead – Eureka Alert [via Jorn]. Naive story, but useful documented evidence of (a) metaphors are all there is, (b) anthropomorphic metaphors can be particularly misleading, and (c) no-one ever said anything without intent anyway, not even a “scientist”, whatever one of those is.