Explaining Trump I think I have finally solved the mystery of Trump—the mystery of his popularity. I used to think it was his overt racism: what else could it be? But that was just one manifestation of his underlying appeal. The real reason is that he is a rich asshole, and is perceived as such. He […]
How Not to Talk Garbage There is a new type of speech act in the marketplace—the talking of garbage. Philosophers and others have identified several species of defective speech act: falsehood, lies, nonsense, bullshit, hate speech, etc. Each of these needs careful study, and has received it. But speech garbage is in a class of […]
How Well Understood is Motion? Not very. It seems to be generally assumed that we have motion under intellectual control, even if once it was quite a mystery. Physics has tamed it. Consciousness is still untamed, it is agreed, but motion is a bright spot in our understanding of nature. But I think the truth […]
Skateboard Update I have been skateboarding for 45 days, doing it nearly every day for about half an hour (following tennis practice). I now own three boards. I can say that I’ve got the hang of it. The cruising and steering part isn’t that difficult, but the push-off part takes some work. You have to […]
Americans Again Americans are idiots and psychopaths (see American Idiot by Green Day and American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis). It’s obvious and indisputable. The only good American is an anti-American. You know it’s true (the rest of the world certainly does). Trump is just another iteration of the same pathology: he talks rubbish, he […]
