rattus rattus' blog » No liars

Things just don’t work like that

rattus — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:27:42 +0000

Borrowed from Good Winter, see the original work.

[G]

Changing assumptions

rattus — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:48:35 +0000

Change an assumption
and save the world.

— Heinz von Foerster, 1970

Quoted after Paul Schr�der who 2009-11-14 at the Heinz von Foerster Congress 09 said he found this quote several times in his notes.

The Big Red Button

rattus — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:32:19 +0000

The Big Red Button

Turning together with/out words

rattus — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:34:43 +0000

Our only apparently unique invention is written language, and there’s lots of evidence that it’s the least effective form of communication we have, and the form most prone to misunderstanding

writes Dave Pollard in his recent blog post Turning Together Without Words.

History of history

rattus — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:15:39 +0000

The only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history.

(This quote and variations of it can be found easily.) Considering the fact that each and everyone seems to stumble over this insight sooner or later it could well be based on a wee bit of eternal truth. However, if it is, it is hiding it very well. Indeed, what it shows is that history of history is unknown. Speaking of learning, it is not taught either.

[w]

Under the surface

rattus — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:20:05 +0000

Cartoon by Hugh Macleod

under the
surface
is more surface . . .

[T]

Almost unique

rattus — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:43:02 +0000

She: I discovered that we are almost unique.
He: Define almost!
She: The problem is not the almost, the problem is the unique.
Though, of course, it is not the unique problem, but almost!

[X]

Subjects of matter

rattus — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:25:16 +0000

Cartoon by Hugh Macleod

“People matter. Objects don’t,”
he wrote on an object,
with a liar’s smile
on his face.

Quality counts

rattus — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:35:56 +0000

There is this wonderful short German phrase about quality being more important than quantity:

Qualit�t z�hlt!

Transcribed into English it reads:

Quality counts!

Of course, in English, one could wittily say “Quality matters!” Though, if you search the web for these treasures of linguistic and logical quality you will find similar quantities of texts stating the one or the other

Since many writers even dare to add the statement “less is more” I wonder why they do not just stick to it.

[X] [G] [G (German)]

Debugging

rattus — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:41:25 +0000

Linus Torvalds, recently wrote about debugging hell in his private blog. What I read is a wonderful variation of Paul Watzlawick’s story of a man who is looking for his keys where the lantern shines instead of where he lost them:

Torvalds was desperately looking for the solution of a serious problem which seemed to occur only spontaneously and at a time where it could not be observed, analyzed or tracked. Later, a method was found which allowed to trigger the problem but it apparently had “nothing what-so-ever to do with the actual failure itself”. Eventually, colleagues found “the real clue” by looking at one incident where the problem did not occur.