What, Why & How do we Know ?
[via Apothecary] [Via MetaFilter] A classic Stephen Jay Gould essay, The Creation Myths of Cooperstown. Gould compares the real and mythical origins of baseball, as a metaphor for the general human preference for creation myths over messier evolutionary reality. IMOW Causality arising as emergence from complex layers (of what may be underlying scientific simplicity) of … Continue reading “Metaphor is Naturally Simpler”
Having finished The Blind Watchmaker – I was browsing Dawkins contribution to The Third Culture, which includes commentary on, and by, other members. I was struck by one of Dawkins quotes about Stephen Jay Gould “building non-existent windmills to take a tilt at” and felt the same problem I’m having with Rorty at the moment. … Continue reading “Brian Goodwin”
Had a traumatic two weeks IT-wise. Recently acquired a new P4/XP machine and loaded Norton Anti-Virus and Internet Security stuff. The combination played havoc with various web-sites I use and has taken until now to recover. Anyway in that time I finished Dawkins’ Blind Watchmaker and moved on to Rorty’s Philosophy as a Mirror on … Continue reading “Dawkins to Rorty”
Bjorn Lomborg. Saw this guy do his “alternative” documentary on the Earth Summit last night on the beeb. Turning most global warming / natural resources / industrial polution / global economics received wisdom on its head. The individual mechanisms may well all be technically (scientifically) correct, but the long term emergent effects are much more … Continue reading “Bjorn Lomborg”
Ray Kurzweil (AI) Accelerating IntelligenceOverhyped AI site of “extraordinary”, “revolutionary”, “prophetic vision” (sic), but contributory big thinkers include the likes of Richard Dawkins, Arthur C Clarke, Richard Feynman, Daniel Dennett, Steven Pinker, Marvin Minsky, Roger Schank (of Jorn infamy ?), Murray Gell-Mann, Martin Rees, Roger Penrose, Steve Jones, Paul Davies, Stephen Jay Gould and more. … Continue reading “Kurzweil – Accelerating Intelligence”
Reading list re-established ! Mentioned a month ago that I was reading Melville’s Moby Dick, and finding it enthralling so far. I got distracted however, and in the meantime read John Henry’s biography of Francis Bacon – Knowledge is Power, mentioned below and have since completed and enjoyed that (review to follow), together with dipping … Continue reading “Moby Dick & Francis Bacon”
Wow, is it really two weeks since I last posted.Actually I’ve been ill with a heavy cold, and have done very little apart from read.Finished Heisenberg, Physics and Philosphy – good readStarted Poincare Writings, ed SJ Gould – not so promisingStarted Melville, Moby Dick – excellent read so far. Spotted this interesting BMJ link from … Continue reading “Reading – Heisenberg / Poincare / Melville”
Reading Physics and Philosophy by Werner Heisenberg (c1958/p1962) Having previously read the Physical Principles of Quantum Theory, to get a first hand account of the Uncertainty Principle, found this much more readable volume of his. Pretty comprehensive summary of Philosophical views of the “reality of matter and atoms” from the Greeks to Hume and Russell. … Continue reading “Physics and Philosophy – Heisenberg”