selling waves
http://www.sellingwaves.com/
A graduate student in mathematics and a philosophy major take on politics and culture with the following aspirational motto: ‘Deregulate your mind.’en-us2005-03-18T02:30:06-05:00RSS feed moved
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/03/18/rss_feed_moved/index.html
Special to RSS readers: the selling waves feed has moved. (36 words)Bloggingshonk2005-03-18T02:30:06-05:00Okay, so you won the argument. So what?
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/03/11/winning_arguments/index.html
Don't underestimate the importance of winning arguments, but don't overestimate it either (plus more Wittgenstein!). (842 words)Languageshonk2005-03-11T19:35:04-05:00Comments dead
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/03/01/comments_dead/index.html
All my recent posts seem to be about death (figurative, in this case). (123 words)Bloggingshonk2005-03-01T23:24:46-05:00Bentham's mummified corpse, like Lenin's, remains fresh in appearance
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/02/26/benthams_mummified_corpse_like_lenins_remains_fresh_in_appearance/index.html
It’s almost comforting that such invidious fluffy-minded sludge as this is floating around, as it seems, like religion, to keep the middle-brows hypnotized by “beautiful sentiments” which are so vague as to keep them from actually getting together and doing... (1629 words)Geek TalkCurt2005-02-26T08:27:40-05:00The Doctor is out
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/02/22/the_doctor_is_out/index.html
Saying goodbye to Doctor Gonzo (44 words)Ramblingsshonk2005-02-22T22:00:59-05:00"...you just get used to them"
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/02/13/math_pictures/index.html
Math is hard, but if you have the right picture in mind, it's slightly easier. (2097 words)Geek Talkshonk2005-02-13T04:37:18-05:00But what about the antiquarians?
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/02/12/but_what_about_the_antiquarians/index.html
"Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them." This is good advice, especially for democracies, which tend (as even Plato and Thucydides noted) to have short-term attention spans. But we shouldn't forget... (132 words)Words of WisdomCurt2005-02-12T07:44:35-05:00Superstring cultists--tough luck
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/02/10/superstring_cultiststough_luck/index.html
At the conjunction of this critique of reductionism in physics and this interview with Benoit Mandelbrot I think one sees the same basic dynamic at work: a devaluation of simplicity and generalization in math and science, what I suppose Mandelbrot... (537 words)ScienceCurt2005-02-10T08:37:18-05:00Abuse? I'll show you abuse!
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/02/05/private_property/index.html
Why Curt is wrong. (145 words)Economicsshonk2005-02-05T02:19:38-05:00The abuse of a college education
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/02/01/the_abuse_of_a_college_education/index.html
“Perhaps you’re familiar with “the tragedy of the commons,” a social dilemma outlined by the late biologist Garrett Hardin in a famous 1968 essay of the same name. The dilemma is that when individuals pursue personal gain, the net result... (528 words)EconomicsCurt2005-02-01T19:25:38-05:00So much for the End of History
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/01/30/so_much_for_the_end_of_history/index.html
Just some cheerful words to chew on while our politicians wear their enamels off congratulating themselves about the Iraqi election: “The collapse of the rival giant [the Soviet Union] has exaggerated America’s apparent strength because it has so much more... (231 words)PoliticsCurt2005-01-30T19:05:39-05:00The anthropomorphism of religion
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/01/28/the_anthropomorphism_of_religion/index.html
I might deduce one final consequence of a skepticism in regards to temporality and causality. If our only experience of the world is of an existent reality, such that something uncreated or destroyed is literally unimaginable, the superfluity of religion... (104 words)Geek TalkCurt2005-01-28T16:07:33-05:00And Prospero broke his soap box
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/01/26/and_prospero_broke_his_soap_box/index.html
I may have bored everyone to death about this topic, but I have my last exam tomorrow, so here is my final thought about what distinguishes science. Most of the descriptions of science that I know of don’t really explain... (1410 words)ScienceCurt2005-01-26T16:26:50-05:00Einstein and Gödel, at the Königsberg café
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/01/22/einstein_and_goedel_at_the_koenigsberg_cafe/index.html
About a month ago I wrote this entry which was, I think, somewhat misunderstood, at least by the one confirmed reader of it. In it I tried to argue that there are some fundamental problems involved in conceptualizing time which,... (729 words)ScienceCurt2005-01-22T16:38:04-05:00Philosophical Investigations
http://www.sellingwaves.com/archives/2005/01/06/philosophical_investigations/index.html
...not my own, of course. (989 words)Ramblingsshonk2005-01-06T19:47:23-05:00