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Category Archives: thinking tools
Redundancy Surfeit
The woman at the car agency told me to record “the VIN number” on some form. “The VIN number?” I echoed somewhat stupidly. (The stupid part was my enduringly optimistic hope that I could actually make a point to this … Continue reading
Cosmopolitan Euphemism
Language / A Straight Dope article offers insight on a particular set of political euphemisms. The Soviet-produced Dictionary of the Contemporary Russian Literary Language defines kosmopolit as “a person who does not consider himself as belonging to any nationality.” In … Continue reading
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Christian N
Semiotics / What do words mean? Do they mean what the dictionary says? or what the speaker intends? Or what the listener understands? Do words mean anything reliable at all? Christian: Does Christian mean that the subject believes that God … Continue reading
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Order
1, 2, 3 is an order; 3, 2, 1 is an order. 2, 3, 1; 2, 1, 3 … are also orders. Please tell me what order would not be an order. Thinking Tools
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Intelligence
Initially, a scrapbook on the subject, a links menus … In the news: 2012 02 29 “Very smart ideas are going to be hard for people to adopt, because most people don’t have the sophistication to recognize how good an … Continue reading
Great Joke
Here is today’s joke: a joke so great it is also my today’s candidate for greatest joke of all! Pilat thinks he‘s judging Jesus! Well, he is: in his local political cosmology. If local is all there is, he’s fine: … Continue reading
Posted in example, information, Jokes, pk Teaching
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Ambiguity of Memory
When I was a kid the family told a story about my Uncle Charlie, when asked if he could play the violin, replying, “I don’t know, I’ve never tried.” I understood that it was supposed to be funny: a funny … Continue reading
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Symmetry
Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire Good book. I quote: The appearance of symmetry is a reliable expression of formal organization—of purpose, even intent. Symmetry is an unmistakable sign that there’s relevant information in a place. That’s because symmetry is … Continue reading
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Surface, Texture, Information
Next draft will be clearer, better, maybe I’ll say something closer to what I mean. 2011 12 13 I first scribbled something only part way into the film, now I’ve seen all of it: and I must say that aspects … Continue reading
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Information by Setting
Recreating (and advancing) pk’s censored domains: Macroinformation.org & Knatz.com / Teaching / Thinking Tools / Information / Macroinformation / Views @ K. 2002 06 11 Macroinformation emerges from discrepancies between types of information. The juncture is the hot spot. There’s … Continue reading
Posted in information, pk Teaching, thinking tools
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