Apropos:
A sure way to tell if you’re listening to collective improvisation is if the music is so jaw-droppingly intricate and flexible that no single mind could think it all up in such detail.
Phil Lesh, Searching for the Sound, 114.
Take a good look around…
w spoke to reporters a bit about education yesterday:
“You’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is ‘yes.'”
I agree 100%. Seems like the basic stuff of education; why we have courses in biology, victorian literature, economics, comparative religions, mythology, and so forth.
Apparently w wasn’t making a general statement though. It seems that he may have been talking about some kind of mixing of subjects; creating one of those hybrid multi-discline classes: something like Remedial Mysticism 100: Survey of Biology and Religious Mythology.
I wanted to rise to the bait yesterday but did not have time. There were, though, plenty of other voices…go read’m!
By the way, does anyone have a link to a transcript of w’s interaction with that small group of reporters?
The Indiana Bureau of Motor vehicles is showing strong initiative when confronted by the market failure inherent to government operations:
In what has to join the list of Most Bizarre Government Policies Ever, BMV bosses have decided that hiding clocks is a great way to make long waits seem shorter. Without clocks to watch, people standing in long lines supposedly won’t be able to complain about just how long they’ve been waiting.
I wonder if they also confiscate employee and patron watches…
As Balko says: Beyond Parody.
We are deep into the summer and I suspect a few of you are pondering what to read during that next beach or mountain journey. You would be well served to pick not one but all of the Hugo Nominees for this year. The winner will be announced at Worldcon in Scotland on Sunday.
John Quiggen has a brief review of the candidates and Professor Bainbridge notes his experience with two of the nominees.
I do recommend reading Charles Stross’ Singularity Sky prior to Iron Sunrise.
The Last Best Place may be in Montana, your own Last Best Place will be a unique personal choice, and for some it may be this place, which is in Montana, but that doesn’t give this fool justification to claim a right to monopolize the name.