What I have been doing lately, and why 30 May 2009 It seems like only yesterday that we moved to these new digs, when in actual fact it’s a few days before yesterday. But I have been busy in real life, which is an uncommon occurence (having a real life, I mean), so I have not blogged as well or deeply as I might.Of course, being terminably lazy and an exponent of Procrastination Fu (third dan), I might not have blogged as well or as deeply as I might anyway. The world is full of possibilities, and the possible worlds are full of many outcomes. Speaking of possible worlds, I have just returned from Brisbane, where among other fun things I delivered a half of a talk (the other half being done by Phil Dowe) in which we argued that even a constrained deity might have chosen a world that satisfies some arbitrary set of utility functions by simulating the worlds and making real (I believe the phrase I used was “pour metaphysical plaster into the logical mold”) the best of the ones simulated, so a proper (“Leibnizian”) deity could have chosen to make this world such that (i) everything that happens in it happens according to natural laws (or, as theologians call them, “secondary powers”), including Darwinian evolution, and (ii) still be responsible for the outcome of a Providential Plan (“primary powers”). Whether that god could have made me use better sentence construction just now is imponderable. But this implies 1. That a theist can happily be an evolutionist without the need for God to be a micromanager in their belief set (but that they still have a problem of evil), and 2. Darwin was wrong. Last week, I was in Canberra (oy! what a motorcycle ride that was!) giving again my half of a talk (which was a whole talk, but delivered while madman of my acquaintance, Jason Grossman gave his talk, and several of his students did things like strum ukeleles, iron, and play a snare drum) on “how not to Feyerabend“. I really should have updated it to remove references to the Howard government of late unlamented memory. So I’m back and reading things upon which I may asseverate. Or not. Administrative Creationism and Intelligent Design Epistemology Evolution Humor Metaphysics Philosophy Science
Cognition 50 words for snow 5; species 15 Oct 20171 Mar 2019 Series Conceptual confusion The economics of cultural categories What are phenomena? What counts as sociocultural? Species Constructing phenomena Explanations and phenomena All classificatory terms are impossible of exact definition. Their use always has and always will depend upon the consensus of opinion of those best qualified by wisdom, experience and… Read More
Administrative Month first line meme 6 Dec 200818 Sep 2017 Bora made me do it… first line of the first post of each month the year. It doesn’t quite read like a dadaist poem. January: OK, so the next door party finished about 1.30, but the family disputes finished about 5 am, so instead of thinking, I’m going to let… Read More
Administrative Hello? Can you hear me now? 26 Jun 201226 Jun 2012 As I sit at Berkeley in the warm (suck on that Melburnians), I am moved to ask: can anybody hear me? My server provider “upgraded” their hardware with the immediate result that I couldn’t access or even see my blog for about 6 or so days. Of course this happened… Read More
I keep planning to give lessons, but something always comes up. When I get to fifth dan, I will probably stop planning…