To those human beings who are of any concern to me I wish suffering, desolation, sickness, ill-treatment, indignities — I wish that they should not remain unfamiliar with profound self-contempt, the torture of self-mistrust, the wretchedness of the vanquished: I have no pity for them, because I wish them the only thing that can prove …
“The Germans Play Monopoly”
And hilarity ensues. (Via Paul Gowder, via social media.)
David Birnbaum Update
Readers will recall this story about amateur philosopher David Birnbaum. I have been given permission to share the following e-mail in response: Hi Pejman, This is Nora, Editorial Associate at David Birnbaum's office. We read your blog regarding "David Birnbaum Buys His Way into Philosophical Debates. Should We Care?" Note that Mr. Birnbaum has been under …
David Birnbaum Buys His Way into Philosophical Debates. Should We Care?
I find myself more than a little intrigued by this story about amateur philosopher David Birnbaum. He is a jeweler by trade, and he's gotten very wealthy off of the work, but his real passion is philosophy. Basically, he wants nothing less than to crack "the cosmic code." And he believes he has done it with …
Continue reading "David Birnbaum Buys His Way into Philosophical Debates. Should We Care?"
“Gentlemen! You Kant Fight in Here! This Is the War Room!”
So much for the categorical imperative.
In My Next Life, I Will Try to Be a Better Flautist
Aristotle might approve.
How the Creative Class Created
Quite fascinating:Nikola Tesla typically worked from noon until midnight, breaking at 8:00 p.m. for dinner every night at the Waldorf-Astoria. Among the many peculiarities of this ritualized repast was his practice of not starting the meal until he had computed his dinner's cubic volume, "a compulsion he had developed in his childhood." Truman Capote, who …
Because We All Need a Little Humor
I give you "Rejection letters of the ancient philosophers." You're welcome.(Courtesy of Jacob Levy via social media.)