quote for the day

Yes, happiness isn't happiness without a violin-playing goat.

Hugh Grant in "Notting Hill"

weeee, lookee!

Tribute to Escher in Barcelona

Man, I love Escher's stuff. See it bigger here.

quote for the day

"The point is that we are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right. Intellectually, it is possible to carry on this process for an indefinite time: the only check on it is that sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield."

George Orwell

This is what worries me. That when people argue with the unshakable conviction that the other is wrong and refuse to even look at any evidence to the contrary, even when it comes from sources previously agreed to be neutral, eventually one side or the other (or both) will reach the point where they decide that if the other side just needs to go away, preferably in a manner which renders them incapable of any further arguement.

They may reach this point not out of malice, or desperation, but simply because they are weary of the constant, unrelenting, misinformed arguing.

woot!

Well, I just watched the season finale of Doctor Who, and it was really, really satisfying. I'm a sucker for the Doctor, even when it's really cheesy, but this whole season was just good, solid storytelling.

The downside: Except for the Christmas Special, I now have to wait for next April before I can watch a new show.

this aint your daddy's Dr. Suess

props to Gerry Canavan, who also provided links to a couple of other fake previews.

quote for the day

"The very power of strongly held beliefs - their stickiness, as complexity researchers say - is what keeps the system pegged in place even during times of extreme political unrest. Indeed, as emotions rise and voices are raised, democracies are frequently less likely to descend into turmoil than to move into stalemate - very much like the left-right rift that opened up during the Vietnam era, or the partisan gridlock that has gripped the United States since the 1990s. Things became even more mired when the issues being debated turn on religion or ethnicity.
[Princeton University biologist] Levin observes that the more threatened a group that defines itself by race or spiritual belief feels, the more it will raise its threshold for tolerating new ideas, actually moving away from the compromise the circumstances call for and towards absolutism. This serves nobody's long term interests, but it does help ensure the purity of the groups members and reduces the likelihood of assimilation..."

Jeffery Kluger, writing in Simplexity, which is turning out to be one of the most interesting (and relevant) books I've read this year. A few pages later, he says this on the same subject:

"The complexities of moderation - a place where compromises are crafted and deals get struck - is cast aside for the simplicity of extremism, where nothing at all gets done."

great question

(obvious answer).

linkage

- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.

- Soothing. Really.

- "The Right-Wing Thought Police". Indeed.

- Pryme's got a point: when did Prince John and the Sherriff become the heroes in America?

- Well, if gravity doesnt exist, there's always the Theory Of Intelligent Falling.

- Kabuki Democracy. This is a long and depressing article, by the way. via.

- The Game of Life. It's a math thing, sort of. Or some sort of game theory. Or something. You've probably heard of it, so now play it, but not on Internet Explorer, which it wont run on. Fascinating to watch, but not as soothing as the circle thing above.

- Yeah, it's a long time to wait for a scarf, but it's still pretty cool. (via)

- "I'm a goddam 1972 Republican." (via)

- Apologize to BP.



- other tiny homes here and here and here.

quote for the day

“Make no mistake about it, the world is going green. Nothing would make people like us in China happier than America continuing this debate for the next 10 or 15 years. Because in 15 years, when you guys come out of the fog, China will own the revenue stream of the green revolution. We’ve spent a hundred years trying to catch up with the United States, and we now have the opportunity to blow past you in a half generation.”

via David Brin

film at 11

via Boing Boing, who gives more details than I do.