What, Why & How do we Know ?
Finished Thoreau’s Walden, reading it mainly to and from work on the bus. (I mentioned earlier the coincidence that it was the subject of BBC’s “In Our Time” recently too, just as I had unpacked the book from our recent relocation onto the bed-side cabinet – so a comprehensive re-read was in order.) A little … Continue reading “On Walden Pond”
As I near the end of a period of living & working in the US, in the Tennessee Valley in northern Alabama, I notice a few of my blog posts recently closing circles, mainly in musical connections. One obvious circle for Sylvia and I is that, purely coincidentally, the move from the US, is not … Continue reading “Hoops of Fire”
Excellent edition of “In Our Time” today, on the subject of the ancient library at Nineveh. Another example of the “enthusiastic scholar” in Karen Radner, but all good contributions. As well as the general Assyrian / Babylonian cultural history, including Gilgamesh and the even older myth of the Great Flood, it was fascinating to hear the … Continue reading “Wise Old Fish”
Or if you prefer; the “Three Body Language”. Something that has cropped-up several times in recent quite separate correspondences are analogies to the Newtonian “Three-Body-Problem” and I realised these linked to some earlier things I’d blogged about. The three-body-problem is insoluble analytically – take three or more bodies (physical objects) apply Newtons laws of motion … Continue reading “Body Language – Three’s a Crowd”
Indeed a strange skewed must-read list for such high status from The Grauniad. [via Sam] To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Bible The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien 1984 by George Orwell A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen All … Continue reading “Read Before You Die”
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, … Continue reading “Full Circle, Paradoxically”
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, … Continue reading “Sid Steals The Headlines”
T E Lawrence in Seven Pillars of Wisdom (p417, Cape 1940 edition) The Arab respected force a little: he respected craft more, and often had it in enviable degree: but most of all he respected blunt sincerity of utterance, nearly the sole weapon God had excluded from his armament. The Turk was all things by turn, … Continue reading “Lawrence’s Humour”