Category: Learning
Discarding a category that does not serve
‘Why Fish Don’t Exist’ is a book that intrigues me. When the category no longer has adequate explanatory value, the category must be discarded or deemphasized, and happiness must be found somewhere else.
The wake doesn’t drive the boat
Deciding where to go next. When we don’t like our direction, we blame it on our wake. Much of my behavior is nothing but wake. But I keep hearing the wake can’t do this.
The Oracle answers tough questions
Standing there and meeting people where they are. All in a day’s work. The Oracle can speak at length for which the questioner doesn’t want to stand. Or at brevity upon which the Questioner realizes they could’ve written it.
AI is trolling us
Are we prepared to tell it to go away? It’ll spread out the tarot cards, ask you to turn some over, read them for you. You picked the cards. It wants to blame you for the options it spread out.
The Legend of Canselation
Arise, Dame Canselda! Arise, Sir Canseld! Only they who are crucified can be resurrected. Only they who die can be born to eternal life. Only a canseled program can rake in a million dollars.
Two things ‘cancel culture’ refers to
On ‘speaking first’ and the meaning of ‘engagement’. You can decline to “engage” online. Think quietly somewhere else. That’s not “cancel culture.” Rewarding someone for being wrong serves no one’s interests.
Do we shine a light into the dark ages…
…or does it illuminate what we know of ourselves? Gabriele and Perry’s ‘Bright Ages’. We might see a time that isn’t “isolated, savage, primitive,” but “messy and human.” Studying medieval Europe can teach us more about ourselves.
What do we talk about when we talk about vaccines?
The 2014 book ‘On Immunity’ by Eula Biss. ‘On Immunity’ reflects on the human immune system and on vaccination. There are broad philosophical implications: balance, safety, interdependence.
3 things I learned from ‘The Disordered Cosmos’
Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein’s 2021 book on physics and identity. Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shares meta-insights about how science and society can prevent us from asking questions and obtaining insights. Who’s included?
Does Moll Flanders know whether her mother is cheerful?
The Gettier problem in Daniel Defoe’s novel. Moll’s justified true belief (“My mother was a mighty cheerful, good-humoured old woman”) wasn’t knowledge. The novelist put an irony there.
Toward a better epistemology: Why do we care about what we know?
A reaction to the ‘Gettier problem’. Maybe there isn’t just one definition of knowledge. Maybe every type of knowledge is related in a “family resemblance.” Some are propositions. Some aren’t.
The feeling of knowing
Steven Connor’s 2019 book ‘The Madness of Knowledge’. ‘Epistemopathy’ means the feeling of knowing. We have pleasant and unpleasant feelings associated with knowing. That’s part of why knowledge matters to us.