Moral Minds

Got my copy of Moral Minds by Marc Hauser yesterday.

So far it-is ok-ish, but not breathtaking. Kant versus Hume is pretty well-known. The examples are nice. The writing style is easy, maybe too easy.

Salaries and Students

There are lots of webcomics. Kevin and Kell I like.

What you see is what you judge.

Curves

People over at edge seem to be stuck in the "Intelligent Design" debate, which for most Europeans has no meaning whatsoever. (I actually think this is the USA rethinking their premises after they got hit with a) the Internet and b) some planes.)

So, nice question, if a ball enters, and then leaves, a hose in the picture shown below, will it then follow path A or path B?



Now that was easy.

This is from a bit more than worthwhile article on Edge on the adoption of science by common people.

[BTW. I always liked edge, but this self-proclaimed narcistic "third culture" thing is really over the top for me.]

Cremaster Cycle

Yet another reminder to self, see the cremaster cycle.

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Reminder to self: buy some easy tunes by Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Beyond Good and Evil

Reading this book by Nietzsche now.

I am immensely enjoying it, especially for its aphorisms.

The painting is by Werner Horvath, it is part of a large puzzle called "War and Peace."

Happy Holland

The latest (fashion) trends seem to be driven by neon Bling-Bling. The coming year, I think we will see a lot of this:



Of course, this guy has a lot to do with placing that trend. More at ArnhemFashionBiennale. Maybe he partners with this girl? (Reminds me a lot of candy rave from late 90's in Australia and the SF bay area.)

Great link, latest trends at facehunter.

The science of love, and the future of women

Sweet talk on the coming collaborative society by Helen Fisher.



Includes a love story with graduate students.

Multimillion-Dollar Head Case

[New York Times] Is it 10% art/90% commerce, or the reverse? Damien Hirst [wikipedia] is at it again.


a €70 million smile


A two century aged skull covered in platinum and 8,601 diamonds on sale for €70 million. Less shocking than his other work? Or only ultimate decadence brought to you by a well orchestrated production facility? Or just not new(s)...

Buy the poster at His company.

d.velop digital art award

Manfred Mohr [Mohr@wikipedia] recently won the d.velop digital art award [ddaa] (partners with Kunsthalle Bremen, Bremen, Germany).


[Mohr bits @ Digital Art Museum]

2/3 x Apophenic Discordianism = ?

To promote “The Number 23,” a movie where actor Jim Carrey becomes obsessed with the number 23 [Wikipedia], New Line Cinema randomly interviewed people about their obsessions. The takes were sent online directly.



Wait, wait, my birth date spells, uh, 17 * 3 + 19 - 70 = .. . Hm. Oh, uh, but my life path number then is [[17] + [3] + [1970]] = [8 + 3 + 17] = [28] = [2+8] = 10 or, uh, 1. Hm, no apparent structure whatsoever.

Everything is Miscellaneous

How we pull ourselves together now everything is blown to bits, by David Weinberger [Wikipedia].

Alfie Kohn

Alfie Kohn on education: The Schools our Children Deserve [Kohn@Wikipedia].

Bill2 @ Harvard

Bill [saxophone player] & Bill [Harvard drop-out].

Four-Eyed Monsters

The future of nano-media? They are now up to $11576     + 1.

Eye-sore of the Month

James Howard Kunstler's outspoken criticism on architecture and urban development.

Also author of "Clusterfuck Nation", he is as often right as wrong it seems to me. To wild an opinion I guess.

It is obvious, but wrong...

A brain is a prediction machine.



Jeff Hawkins [Wikipedia] on brain science.

In the US of A ...

... anarchism is a clothing line.


From the site, emphasis mine:

It's About the Message - No company logos on the front of your clothes (it's unbelievably lame that companies print their name on a shirt and call it fashion - and worse - people actually want to not only wear that shit, but pay for it). We "tag" our shirts only on the inside. AnarchTee invented the upside-down, inside bottom seam tag print. People love it, and can choose for themselves if they want to display the AnarchTee name or keep it to themselves and just convey a message with which they agree.

Nothing bad about it, it's just so ... American.

Big Heads with Soft Bodies make for Lousy Lovers

By The Hold Steady.com.

Photosynth-etic Memories

The collective memory of the internet by Blaise Aguera y Arcas.

Just a picture of Stockholm

Just a picture from a visit to Stockholm, Sweden, last month. I stayed at pension Odenat, which is more a collection of appartments/rooms than anything else. Lovely idea, for me it beats going to a four star hotel, but YMMV. In the picture, the place where I had breakfast each morning is shown.

Do-The-Undo

So, I saw Badly Drawn Boy, which was great, but I also saw Do-The-Undo, which was superb (not only for the lead, the drummer is fantastic). Funny stuff too, some 'boys' from Sweden: Mando-Diao.

Hans Appelqvist

Saw Hans' Naima show a half year ago. Is it a Swedish thing to be good at the naive?

Anyway, listen here.

Lejos OSEK

Lejos OSEK is an open source firmware for LEGO Mindstorms NXT consisting of LEJOS NXJ platform source code and the TOPPERS OSEK kernel source code, and glue code to make them work together.

• ANSI C/C++ programming environment by using GCC (GNU-ARM) tool chain
  
• LEJOS NXJ platform based device API for NXT Sensors, Motors, and other devices
  
• TOPPERS OSEK provided real-time multi tasking features proven in automotive industry
  
• Rate Monotonic Scheduling with 1msec resolution by using OSEK Alarm
  
• Several examples (include a NXTway)
  
• Fast execution and less memory consumption, an application may consume totally just about 20k bytes (includes LEJOS OSEK itself).
  

Also, Embedded Coder Robot NXT Demo.

Hieronymus Bosch

My favorite artist, Hieronymus Bosch [Wikipedia].

You are Doing it Wrong

Just a funny site.

Augmented Reality: Pong Game

Fine example of augmented reality.

On the Most Vulgar of all Sciences

So, I am thinking of studying again, and I am thinking of philosophy. Which, of course, 2nd thought, must be a bad idea.

So, ten reasons not to study philosophy, David Letterman style:

10. They actually never ever tried to count all those angels.
9. The only virtuous philosopher was Nietzsche, and he was little understood.
8. Philosophy can explain all – it is the science of the middle-ground.
7. Only the vain would choose to study the only study without application.
6. It is the only science which is not defined by its scholars.
5. Only a philosopher thinks vulgar means common.
4. Becoming a philosopher is one step before going to the shrink.
3. Philosophy only borrows from the other sciences, and is bad at that.
2. Morality is only understood by the immoral.

and

1. Those who seek knowledge have lost it.

Oh yeah, extra:

0. You end up on kuro5hin anyway.

Radio Disco

Boris Dlugosch vs. Radioslave/Matt Edwards double CD of remixes by Ministry of Sound.

A Blog Is a Little First Amendment Machine

A short discussion [alternet.org]. Temporal relevance is not discussed.

High note: A.J. Liebling's "freedom of the press belongs to those who own one."

(Also on that site, a short video "The War in Iraq Comes Home")

"Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic" at Harvard (1930)

The trivium at Harvard.

"Amateur"

The power of video editing by Scandinavian Lasse Gjertsen:

Communications from Elsewhere

Did you ever wanted to read an article on "Structural narrative, feminism and neocapitalist socialism?" This is your chance.

A bit of shuffled philosophy [wikipedia].

My Humps

A cover of the Black Eyed Peas song by none else than Alanis Morisette.



By turning the song into a ballad it becomes more humorous, but it also stresses the point of the lyrics more: that women (in popmusic) have become playmates.

[Tricky: A few of the comments on the video state that Alanis is a racist, since she's obviously taking the piss out of the Black Eyed Peas.]

A cure for the educational crisis

Seven historical waves of good ideas:

1. Alcuin of York and the Seven Liberal Arts (800 A.D.).


2. From Anselm to Aquinas: the Medieval university and the search for truth (1100–1400).


3. From Petrarch to Castiglione: the Renaissance project: A classical education to prepare the Christian gentleman for leadership in government, society, and culture (1350–1520).


4. The Reformation educational program (1530–1650).


5. Private and parochial schools (17th--20th century).


6. Noah Webster, William McGuffey, Horace Mann, and public education (19th century).
   
7. Home schooling, Christian academies, Bible colleges, the Great Books movement, and the revival of Christian philosophy (Twentieth Century).

On education. [renewamerica.us]