The difference between the name and the thing 9 Sep 2009 Sometimes, comics do philosophy: Humor Philosophy
Humor You want nonconformity? 17 Jul 2007 You Are 94% Non Conformist You’re incredibly strange. And a weirdness like yours takes skill to cultivate! No one really understands you. And you’re cool with that. You just hope you never have to understand them! Are You a Nonconformist? Via Larry via Mike, both of whom I beat hollow… Read More
Philosophy My Absent Career 8: A second chance 22 Dec 20221 Jan 2023 So, at this point I am now 50 or so, doing my postdoc at UQ with Paul Griffiths, and living with my family just pre-separation (the divorce came a few years later). Two things happened. The first is that I started to gain confidence, Now, this may shock those who… Read More
General Science Scientific bloopers 4 May 2008 On a newsgroup that shall remain Nameless, one of the regulars, Bill Reich, just heard on the History Channel: Smilodon is the ancestor of all the modern big cats. Oy! So this thread is for egregiously* wrong statements made on erstwhile factual television shows. Please state where you heard it,… Read More
Richard Feynman put it well, also (paraphrasing): You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you’re finished, you’ll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird… So let’s look at the bird and see what it’s doing — that’s what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.