Archive for December, 2006
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Friday, December 29th, 2006
“Now we have found that this is of paramount importance to progress. We absolutely must leave room for doubt or there is no progress and there is no learning. There is no learning without having to pose a question. And a question requires doubt.
People search for certainty. But there is no certainty. People are terrified - how can you live and not know ? It’s not odd at all. You only think you know, as a matter of fact. And most of your actions are based on incomplete knowledge and you really don’t know what it’s all about, or what the purpose of the world is, or know a great deal of other things. It’s possible to live and not know.”
– From “The Pleasure of Finding Things Out” by Richard P Feynman
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Unfounded optimism or necessary motivation to go on ?
Friday, December 29th, 2006
“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”
– Joan Didion once wrote, to explain the unfounded optimism human beings display. Good stories make the world more bearable. Inevitably, therefore, we want to tell - and be told - stories that make us feel better, even if that means that we don’t get as complete a picture we need.
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Bullshit
Friday, December 29th, 2006
Can you believe this… Someone has actually done an academic research on the topic of ‘bullshit’ and published a book on it.
I was at a bookshop the other day and chanced upon such a book. I did not believe my eyes and had to blink a few times to confirm. Yeah there it was.. B.S. staring squarely into my face.
The subject is given serious treatment, though, not some book written in jest. It contained the basics of an academic writing - definition, terminology, different types, schools of thought, etc… the author is a Professor of Philosophy in the University of Princeton.
Some of the discussion which I found rather amusing :
* bullshit is likened to hot air embodying empty talk
* talking bullshit is different fm lying. a person who lies does so with intent to deceive, while he who bullshits may not begin with such an intent.
To read more about B.S., visit your local bookstore, say ”philosophy” section and look for a small palm-sized black-covered book with the topic boldly printed.
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Man on lamp post
Friday, December 29th, 2006
This is a photo taken out of an apartment in Beijing.
The man was doing maintenance work on the lamp post. Relying only on a belt wrapped around his waist, he moved up and down the lamp post with ease. It’s an ingenius method and quite an amusing sight.
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J.K. Rowling
Friday, December 29th, 2006
Harry Potter … on 60 Minutes
Amazing woman who persisted to achieve success against all odds.
She’s pretty talented - see her artwork of Harry Porter characters.
I find J.K.Rowling a humble person and just like any man-in-the-street. Hers is a story which proves that ordinary people like you and I can achieve greatness.
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