What, Why & How do we Know ?
An interview with Michael Ignatieff posted at Mcluhan’s (Next) Message. Struck by the reference to the hypocrisy of literalism …
Amongst “friends” we recognise that what someone means is more fundamental than what they actually say … but somehow in organised public life we use the flip-side … and interpret our own meaning into the words people literally use, at their expense … a kind of contractual exploitation ?
Another example of the “hypocrisy” demanding our pounds of flesh.
I happen to be reading Dennett’s “Breaking the Spell” at the moment, so refreshing after Dawkins (creator of the “extended-phenotype” term) attempt on the same topic. Dennett opens early in his book with the lancet-fluke & ant example to illustrate the “viral” metaphor of a meme infecting a brain producing behaviour inexplicable in terms of the brain’s host’s interests.
The examples here, collected by Neurophilosophy are fungal / ants (and other arthropods), and worm / arthropod cases – but excellent illustrations, if a little gruesome for the squeamish.
After the width of Kansas, we continued after Colorado, via Cheyenne, Laramie, Jackson Hole (Wyoming), Teton Park, Yellowstone Park, Gallatin Forest (Idaho & Montana), and Beartooth highway – now east of Billings MT.
Spectacular 13,000 ft peaks above the lakes in Teton, and a spectacular 10,900 ft highway (above the glaciers) over Beartooth. (So much variety of high ground in fact – we loved southern Wyoming before we even got to the Teton and Yellowstone parks.) Elk, deer, buffalo, coyote, chipmunks, ground-squirrels, and eagles along the way.
Early Saturday morning into Missouri, St. Louis, on to Kansas City, across Kansas the long way to Limon, Colorado.
Off on our hols. Left after work Friday from Alabama, via Nashville, Tennessee, across Kentucky and into Illinois, to Nashville, Illinois.
I was reading the Christie Hefner interview with Robert Pirsig from summer 1975, published in “Oui” magazine in November that year, and noticed that he makes what must the first published reference to his “Metaphysics of Quality”. I’ve added a link in the 1975 entry in my Pirsig Timeline (July 2007 updates) [Note the link is a 1.6Meg PDF scanned file.]
Post Note : In response to David’s question in the comments below … the reference to “metaphysics of quality” is in the middle column of page 124, where he is describing the agenda of his next book, and says …
“If you can find the causes of the differences [between the value systems of different ethnic groups] you can also find the sources of cohesiveness. I’m applying the metaphysics of quality and trying to figure out what it is causes cultures to hate one another year after year.”
Not capitalized (by the interviewer), but in 1975 the first time the expression is recorded. The nearest thing in ZMM (1974) where Quality itself is mentioned ad infinitum, was in Chapter 28 …
“He had become so caught up in his own world of Quality metaphysics he couldn’t see outside it anymore, and since no one else understood this world, he was already done for.”
I interpret this here as the general subject of metaphysics wherever he can find relevance to quality, rather than the concept of “The” Metaphysics of Quality.
Not mine you understand, Psybertron is approaching six, but ten years since the whole concept was invented by Jorn who, it seems, is still writing the rules.
I appreciate, but don’t quite have the discipline needed for the pared-down and pre-emptive lnking style, but fully accept the timeline / quality arrangements rather than illusory ontologies. In the semantic web, the semantics are the result, not the framework.
I just blogged about Colin Talbot‘s “Paradoxical Primate” which despite the unlikely sounding TLA (Three Letter Acronym) “PST” (Paradoxical Systems Theory) jargon, and the negative review I initially stumbled upon, I found the subject and title headings sufficiently attractive to order a copy.
I’d just renewed contact with Bruce Charlton only a couple of days ago, someone I’d come across previously as a writer who cited the applicability of Pirsig’s work in the health-care business (as does James Willis) though the Pirsig connection is incidental to the subject matter.
Well, browsing Colin’s book at Amazon I browsed the citations list. Lo and behold “Paradoxical Primate” cites Bruce Charlton’s “Modernization Imperative“, and it turns out Bruce was unaware of this.
Post Note : In fact there is no citation. Amazon’s link collects up references to other books by the same publisher inside the back cover. Anyway, having read Colin Talbot’s Paradoxical Primate – I find little to add – it’s a book I could have written myself – excellent; all my own agenda points very well made. Spooky. Must post a more detailed review.)
Anyway, “Modernization Imperative” looks very interesting too, on the subject of systems of governance. I’ll blog a more detailed review later.
Interestingly Bruce Charlton also edits “Medical Hypotheses” whose editorial policy includes this:
Medical Hypotheses takes a deliberately different approach to peer review. Most contemporary practice tends to discriminate against radical ideas that conflict with current theory and practice. Medical Hypotheses will publish radical ideas, so long as they are coherent and clearly expressed. Furthermore, traditional peer review can oblige authors to distort their true views to satisfy referees, and so diminish authorial responsibility and accountability.
Worth linking to Nick Maxwell’s stuff on the neurosis of science, in presuming the only way to proceed is direct to critical review and empirical test, do not pass go. Brian Josephson would approve of the suspension of the over-skeptical response (pathological disbelief) to the radical too.
In the same day that the foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt visit Israel, and the same day that a survey reports that fewer muslims support suicide bombing as a valid political tactic, terrorists bomb Iraqi football crowds, celebrating their Asia-Cup victory.
Who was it said “No, football’s not a matter of life and death, it’s much more important than that.” Bill Shankly wasn’t it ? Well forget the rationale of western governments, forget religious differences, perhaps the extremists have made their biggest mistake to attack the world’s only unifying culture.
The BBC’s Nicholas Witchell, in Baghdad, says the football team’s win was a genuine moment of national pride and pleasure which had crossed the sectarian divisions between Iraq’s different communities.
Just as the Iraqi team has Sunni and Shia Muslims and Kurds playing alongside each other, the celebrations brought members of all those communities out onto the streets, he adds.
They cheered and waved Iraqi flags, sharing, perhaps, the first such moment of national pride in recent years, our correspondents says.
How about a show of solidarity with the Iraqis at the opening games of the next football season – I mean, if Princess Margaret gets a minute’s silence … where’s our sense of proportion ? Whaddya think Sam, worth a campaign ?
Updated Iraqi team news.
And finally more cause to celebrate.
Sylvia and I found ourselves in Nashville on the day of Beckham’s friendly run out for LA Galaxy against Chelski, and had the pre-match build up on ESPN in the hotel whilst getting ready to go out for the evening.
Who should we spot in the briefest glimpse warming up on the pitch for Chelsea, but recent Reading old boy Sid (Steve Sidwell) – I say glimpse, because football was very much third-fiddle to the Beckhams new found LA glitterati and papparazi as far as the US sports coverage was concerned – what a circus.
We chuckled at the “Sid breaks Becks leg” headline potential – keen to impress in his first appearance for his new mega-club – as we switched the drivel off and went out to cruise the honky-tonks on Broadway. (Talking of Cruises, the nightmare currently appearing before me, as I see the Beckhams alongside them, is next year’s headline as Scientology takes the world by storm – tell me I’m dreaming – hoping never to report you heard it here first, with hopes pinned on that nice Essex boy.)
Anyway imagine our suprise at finding the music bars already too full to get to eat, so we dropped into a sports-bar for an early evening bite – ironically only one screen (of dozens) was actually showing the “soccer” and that was barely in view from where we were sitting – situation normal, in this land where more kids play organised youth football than anywhere on the planet. But someone must have asked to see the game, because suddenly there were several screens showing the HD spectacle.
What a circus, I think I said, barely 3 minutes at a stretch between zooming in, (even interviewing during the game) opportunities with the assembled celebs and pundits. Can US football survive the attention span deficit ? I seriously doubt it.
But with Beckham-Cam showing most of the screen time from the moment the boy came on, and with Sid joining the game only minutes before in a position directly opposite the superstar, Sid was truly in the US media spotlight. Surreal for us Royals. Oh oh, was that Sid, smack on that $250-million right ankle ? Yep, sure was. Phew, be thankful Sid that Becks is (still) the professional – no quarter sought apparently, even though he was clearly hobbled. A friendly pat accepted in apology as play resumed, and more handshakes and jokey words at the final whistle.
You could write this stuff.
“I saw him coming and I jumped just in time so my foot wasn’t planted when he hit me,” Beckham explained. “You expect that in games and, even though it was a friendly, he’s a competitive player. It’s his first start this season, he’s going to be a good player and he’s done well in the Premiership so far. Now he’s playing for Chelsea and he’s going to smash some people along the way, even in friendlies. Unfortunately, it was me tonight but that’s part and parcel of being a footballer and it’s fine.”
Clearly, the ankle is not. Beckham hobbled around for the remainder of the game and managed to take a corner kick at the end but he is unlikely to be able to demonstrate his true worth to his new team, on the pitch at least, for another couple of weeks.
The above from Times Online.
Sadly Chelsea really should have hammered Galaxy on the form on display.
Better news though, good though Sid was for Reading I was never quite sure he was that good, but if he gets that positional freedom in the premiership, to run into the box onto square passes or intercept loose balls as he did here, he should make an impression.
Even better news the band whose name I didn’t catch playing the late night session in a honky-tonk whose name I forget were tremendous, really tight rhythm section even on requests they didn’t seem sure they knew when they started … an immense version of G.L.O.R.I.A amongst a collection of country and blue-grass (complete with electric 5-string fiddle) evolving through the night from Hank Williams & Willie Nelson through Chuck Berry (Nadine & others), Who (My Generation), The Stones (Jumpin Jack, Brown Sugar, Sympathy), Cheap Trick, U2 (I Will Follow) and ending totally unexpectedly with a manic version of the Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop”. Not at all what we imagined in a Broadway Honky Tonk called Layla’s Bluegrass Inn.
The band it turns out was Heath Haynes and the Four Ballers. Actually more about Heath Haynes on bassist Aaron Oliva’s website than his own. Guitarist Rich Gilbert has his own myspace too. Apparently when not entertaining the punters with covers, they perform originals as Heath Haynes and the Cryin’ Shames. Must look out for them.
And, that annoyingly catchy riff and chorus that everybody – inlcuding Heath Haynes – seems to cover in these parts was Violent Femmes “Blister in the Sun”.