Mulling: class, mythologies, performance

Slightly looser theme than usual. I got sick this weekend and botched up my usual reading/writing rhythm. It may be a day or two before another post.   I. Downton Abbey I finished the new season of Downton Abbey with my girlfriend this week (it premiers in the US next month, but it’s finished it more »

Report: 7 December

I have a few projects I’m working on. Apologies for the secrecy- for most of my personal projects it’s unwarranted but I don’t think I really like my effort being too apparent in the things that I do. It’s an odd behavioral tick that was rewarded in college. Anyway, in the immediate future I’ll be more »

Mulling: Governing Systems

Curated quotes/notes, mostly spun out of yesterday’s new posts from Ribbonfarm and The Last Psychiatrist.   I. Voight Against the Machine First- A story told by Sebastian Deterding, one of my favorite no-bullshit games researchers and Gamification experts (and whom I will eventually talk about at length?) Most of Gamification is bullshit so I’ve been careful more »

The Bicameral Mind

Note: I was structurally changing the blog a bit. Nothing seems to be broken, but who really knows anything. Apologies in advance. —   Jaynes: The speculative thesis which I shall try to explain in this chapter- and it is very speculative- is simply an obvious corollary from what has gone before. The bicameral mind more »

Julian Jaynes On What Consciousness Is(n’t)

Again, I’m reading Jaynes’ Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind because it’s an odd and influential work, described as genius and madness by the same people. I’ve found it a very accessible and interesting read, regardless of the literal truth claims.   Metaphors and Understanding  Generations ago we would understand thunderstorms perhaps as more »

Anatomy of a Metaphor

This week’s post are likely to be mainly about my recent book reading. — Essences and Surfaces argues that analogy is the basis of all thinking. This was an idea I already entertained, so maybe that’s why I have found the book to be a bit too repetitive although some of the examples were fun (ex. more »