Archive for the ‘Hermeneutics’ Category
Please, Link Me to George Soros
Sometimes I save little bits of this and that from my reading, thinking to write something about it. Sometimes I even get around to it, too. The evangelical right can wallow in denial all they want about Palin being victimized by liberals or Democrats or even George Soros (some illiterate wingnut recently tried to link […]
In: All, Hermeneutics, Reflections
Cheeseburger Metaphysics
Years ago I was visiting a Roy Roger's establishment for lunch, when I overheard possibly the most interesting metaphysical argument I'd ever heard in a fast-food restaurant. As background, it's useful but not essential to know that Roy's sold only cheeseburgers, no hamburgers. When I arrived there was in progress already a vigorous, if not […]
In: All, Hermeneutics, Reflections
Against Positive Selection
My usual complaint: it's too far past bedtime to write sufficiently about this topic. It's true, but it's also true that I think the topic is much bigger than I can adequately attend to at this bleary-eyed hour. Nevertheless, I'll sleep better if I jot down a few sentences. (I've alluded to this idea before, […]
In: All, Hermeneutics, It's Only Rocket Science
Doilies & Chaos Theory
Kriston, at Grammar.police posted a fantastic picture of a crocheted sculpture in yarn: "Crocheted Model of Hyperbolic Plane" (1970s) by Daina Taimina. (He references this original article: "Crocheting the Hyperbolic Plane: An Interview with David Henderson and Daina Taimina") His reaction: When I saw the images of Taimina's crocheted hyperbolic figures, I was immediately struck […]
In: All, Hermeneutics, It's Only Rocket Science
Unintended Meaning
Sometimes, when my mind wanders (as it is prone to do) while people are talking to me, I occasionally mis-hear them: words that leave their mouths in one shape can enter my brain with an entirely different shape, leading to curious misconstructions of meaning. At other times, I drift along and only hear excerpts of […]
In: All, Hermeneutics, Notes to Richard, Splenetics
The Oxford Comma
Halfway through Lynne Truss' delightful Eats Shoots & Leaves, I was distressed to discover that she abhors the "Oxford", or "serial", comma. Simply put, it's the comma separating the last item in a list from the rest of a list — or, rather, should be the last comma, unless one objects to its use for […]
In: All, Hermeneutics, Splenetics