What little moderation there is, in a forum or in the world at large, is largely arbitrary. cf: “There are no vital and significant forms of art; there is only art, and precious little of that.” -- Raymond Chandler

Steel is like the set of primes: locally random, but globally regular: Steel in the form of a solid ball sinks in the sea, falling to the bottom and coming to rest God knows where, and so its position is ‘random’, but in the shape of an upright tub (of appropriate dimensions), floats, and so … Continue reading OBSERVATION →

second-order change waiting upon first-order change keywords: [psychology] [productivity] [procrastination]

coordination: the ability to talk and chew gum at the same time

culture: when the plot is all over the map

When it comes to Christmas songs, remember the veritable marketing advice: “If it’s too silly to say, sing it.”

Showing that if a gas contains oxygen, then it will support combustion is easy, because a simple demonstration suffices. This is what, analogously speaking, Euclid’s contribution consisted of. Showing that if a gas will support combustion, then it contains oxygen is very difficult, because you have to eliminate all other possibilities. This is what, analogously … Continue reading an analogy for the Euclid-Euler characterization of even perfect numbers →

Although Merriam-Webster’s free online dictionary includes the well-known adjective-sense of ‘indeterminate’, it does not include a noun-sense for ‘indeterminate’. Here are two examples of noun-usage of ‘indeterminate’. 1. “The term "indeterminate" is sometimes used as a synonym for unknown or variable (Becker and Weispfenning 1993, p. 188).” Wolfram MathWorld article on the term ‘indeterminate’ 2. “The idea is to extend the real … Continue reading ‘indeterminate’ as a noun →

Implications are the life-blood of a metabolic process. keywords: [General Systems Theory] [logic]

Education’s constant grind Is to keep the world from fogging the mind, Until, at last, all agog, The student no longer minds the fog. keywords: [poetry] [poem] [rhyme]