tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post3461219831440123356..comments2023-11-03T11:32:01.540+00:00Comments on Thought Experiments : The Blog: Big IdeasBryan Appleyardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08276787058430388582noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-29582070166642223152009-07-21T04:09:10.065+00:002009-07-21T04:09:10.065+00:00Funny coincidence Susan, will email you about G.Funny coincidence Susan, will email you about G.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-87466331379571623532009-07-21T03:25:32.840+00:002009-07-21T03:25:32.840+00:00Elberry, you know I just taught the Epic of Gilgam...Elberry, you know I just taught the Epic of Gilgamesh, right? My students turned their papers in today. What looks to be one of the best compares the hubris of two leaders: Gilgamesh and George W. Bush. And both of them come a cropper in what is now Iraq.Susan B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-31824279933236744722009-07-19T22:07:12.927+00:002009-07-19T22:07:12.927+00:00i'm a low concept sort of chap these days, and...i'm a low concept sort of chap these days, and lazy to boot. Both Sumerians would prefer privacy, though both are dead; the dead tend to like their privacy as much as the living. One was in 20th C politics (latter half), the other in literature (first half); their lives briefly overlapped in the 20th C but they never met.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-18573511419719861602009-07-19T21:47:26.225+00:002009-07-19T21:47:26.225+00:00elberry, I like your notion about the secondary am...elberry, I like your notion about the secondary amplification of initially ignored, but truly transformative ideas; perhaps you should write a "big concept" book. <br /><br />It's a shame that Dawkins is now known primarily for his recent drivel. The basic premise of his early book The Selfish Gene has stimulated an enormous amount of creative biological research, as well as yanknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-22337088675602454682009-07-19T20:22:40.615+00:002009-07-19T20:22:40.615+00:00i'm struck that books and people can have an e...i'm struck that books and people can have an effect so greatly out of proportion to their original circle. Sometimes it seems that the most influential (long term) books & people lie in darkness for a while, like seeds, and then, as Nietzsche put it, are born post-humously; and like Obi Won Kenobi once people are physically not there anymore, they take on strange powers. <br /><br />An Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-58143506971528430892009-07-19T19:02:22.118+00:002009-07-19T19:02:22.118+00:00Zeitgeist. I love that word. The spirit of our age...Zeitgeist. I love that word. The spirit of our age is rather dispiriting, however. And I wonder if Gordon can be right about "Outliers." I own a copy and surely there are a lot more than 15,700 copies owned by people like me -- culturally inclined readers who like intelligent books about behavior. indeed, I'm quite sure his book is on quite a few syllabi at American universities, Susan B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-7470097264900597422009-07-19T10:02:40.374+00:002009-07-19T10:02:40.374+00:00Of course nobody likes or appreciates this "p...Of course nobody likes or appreciates this "philosopher", but these four sets of essay (plus more) provide the necessary template for evaluating all of the usual big ideas.<br /><br />www.adidam.org/teaching/aletheon<br /><br />Plus<br /><br />www.adidabiennale.org/curation/index.htmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-63096057594449264042009-07-19T09:39:43.451+00:002009-07-19T09:39:43.451+00:00I wanted the article to be much, much longer thoug...I wanted the article to be much, much longer though. Like a book.<br /><br />I did a degree in Philosophy. They do the Greeks first, then leap forward and teach the history of western philosophy as if it was a kind of narrative, beginning with Descartes and 'progressing' through the rationalists etc to the present day (where we have 'Popular Scientists' rather than 'Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-47184913679923275592009-07-19T08:07:38.112+00:002009-07-19T08:07:38.112+00:00Oops - that should be 'loony'. Told you it...Oops - that should be 'loony'. Told you it was for the Grauniad.Mark Vernonhttp://www.markvernon.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-16317124469993644182009-07-19T07:45:51.205+00:002009-07-19T07:45:51.205+00:00Perversely, I immediately wanted to know about Mar...Perversely, I immediately wanted to know about Marilynne Robinson’s The Death of Adam more than any of the others. Never heard of it. Could that have the big idea for me?<br /><br />Incidentally, I read The Evolution of God for the Guardian. (Robert Wright is not a loonie, so I didn't have to compromise my journalistic integrity.) His theory of everything is game theory. So if you think life Mark Vernonhttp://www.markvernon.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-25636286147016664992009-07-19T07:35:32.941+00:002009-07-19T07:35:32.941+00:00"The very fact that we want such books is a s..."The very fact that we want such books is a sign of what we have lost, primarily a coherent base from which to assess the world"<br /><br />Did we ever have one? or is that the real big idea that we did?Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04362169593902131947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-20514807117058515332009-07-18T23:56:41.011+00:002009-07-18T23:56:41.011+00:00It's remarkable how small book sales are, even...It's remarkable how small book sales are, even for so-called best-sellers. To take an example in the 'Big Idea' genre, the paperback version of Malcolm Gladwell's book <em>Outliers</em> has currently sold only <a href="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article4304954.ece" rel="nofollow">15,757 copies</a>. That's approximately 0.026% of theGordon McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09151162643523937086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-28184941437221119872009-07-18T22:53:47.633+00:002009-07-18T22:53:47.633+00:00Who is negley? Is it like encephalopathy at all?Who is negley? Is it like encephalopathy at all?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-5043700126115688852009-07-18T07:57:55.057+00:002009-07-18T07:57:55.057+00:00I endeavour never to do such a thing. But I have l...I endeavour never to do such a thing. But I have liked a bit of Wells...Ian russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11106519805045337505noreply@blogger.com