My beat -up 1977 copy of The Trial by F. Kafka None of us chose to be born. Personally I am extremely happy to have been born, and have no regrets whatever in this regard. This doesn’t take away from the fact none of us chose to be here in this space time on this … Continue reading Kafka, the Absurd, and The Trial
Philosophy
More Notes on Story
In terms of navigating and understanding the world we live in, few things are more important than the idea of story. Through the mechanism of story we piece together what we perceive as reality in terms of cause and effect. We are therefore part of a bigger story. Story telling thus can give a supremely … Continue reading More Notes on Story
Music and Me
For the longest time music has had the profoundest effect on me. Though quasi orgasmic in its effect some respects, I would more liken the effect of music on me to be more like a trip. It was only after I actually began to use drugs as an adult that I very quickly realized that … Continue reading Music and Me
World Vegetarian Day 2015
Its an honour to speak on something this close to my heart. I am looking forward to it and to listen to these other very learned speakers. Its looking rather like an excellent day. Do drop by on Sunday 27th September St Andrews resource Centre 114-116 Pearse St. Dublin 2.
Karl Marx, Stephen Hawking, and the Rise of the Robots
One of the most common themes in Science Fiction movies, from Terminator flicks to the Cylons in Battlestar Galatica to the Matrix franchise, to the more thoughtful poetic philosophical Stanley Kubrickesque 2001, is the notion of the Earth being taken over by robots ( in the movie 2001, for a time the fate of the … Continue reading Karl Marx, Stephen Hawking, and the Rise of the Robots
No Belief Systems Remain Unharmed by These Blogs
I believe in blogging. I am often shocked what other bloggers endure in order to keep on blogging, in a forum wherein one supposedly can engage in some kind of free expression. The most obvious one is that of the Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi who was recently sentenced to 1000 lashes in Saudi Arabia for ‘cybercrime’ … Continue reading No Belief Systems Remain Unharmed by These Blogs
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH ( I Mean Really )
EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE HEARD OF ALEXANDER GERSHENKRON ALEXANDER GERSHENKRON (1904-1978) was a Harvard Professor of Economics from the late 1940's to the 1970's. He was known particularly as a historian of economics and among other things postulated the 'Backwardness Theory'. His paper Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective (1962) was and is to the best of my knowledge, … Continue reading THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH ( I Mean Really )
Charlie Hebdo Ate My Puppy
which is clearly not the case. Here is a picture of my ten week old puppy and she is zipping round our rented cottage like a pixie on amphetamines. Charlie never so much as laid a tooth on the little creature. To accuse him of doing such a thing (as I implied in the title) … Continue reading Charlie Hebdo Ate My Puppy
THEY READ EVERYTHING
GOOGLE’s BOOKWORMING EXPERIMENTS AND AI DEVELOPMENT I love reading. I read about 3 books a week. I know many people who read more, much more. Reading and writing goes back about thirty thousand years. The act of scribbling things down in various formats, from stone walls to tablets to wax to wood to paper to … Continue reading THEY READ EVERYTHING
Ursula K Le Guin’s Cracking Speech at the National Book Foundation Awards
Ursula K. Le Guin accepts the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at the 65th National Book Awards on November 19, 2014. A Brief Riveting Speech by a Mistress of Letters about the difference between writing for a market and writing for art. A few days back a brilliant … Continue reading Ursula K Le Guin’s Cracking Speech at the National Book Foundation Awards
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