rattus rattus’ blog

Aus Janoschs Wörterbuch der Lebenskunst (München 1995):

Sprache

Wahrscheinlich gäbe es weniger Unheil auf der Welt, wäre dem Menschen nicht das Wort gegeben. Mit dem er lügt. Und verdreht. Ein Hund kann gar nicht lügen.

Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. (Oscar Wilde)

Even if it sounds like facts it’s still stories.

Of course, true facts always surface.

Because, lies are anything but surface.

Often, when I wake up in the morning still tired and dizzy I try to move my brain into gear by thinking about what was, what is, and what I might perhaps possibly do if I managed to get up after all. Since I do know that I really should get out of bed I confine my thinking to, you know, important issues, urgent stuff, and things that matter.

Today, I caught myself thinking that all this thinking between alarms is only my brain trying to trick myself. Actually, I realized that it’s my body who manages to get my brain to do as if it could really utilize the alarm clock’s snoozer time to the best. Like every 5 minutes thinking (half asleep) in bed is as good as 5 minutes out of bed, and getting things done (even half asleep).

Apparently, I was quite awake (or my mind is already so twisted) because I did also realize that I am a liar trying to trick myself by sincerely thinking about how my body and mind are trying to trick myself.

The following conversation took place at Calvin and Hobbes’ family (see today’s cartoon at gocomics). Calvin to his mother:

I want the last piece of pie. Don’t divide it up. I want it all to me.

Calvin’s mother:

Don’t be selfish, Calvin.

Calvin:

So the real message here is “be dishonest”?

Of course it is. That’s why we are :)

Arlo Guthrie performed a concert from WXPN and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia on November 10, 2006. At some point during the show, host Dan Reed quoted Arlo Guthrie’s website quote of the day:

The me I used to think of as being myself
has slowly been replaced by the self I seem to be today.
— Arlo Guthrie

Then, Dan asked Arlo: I think it deserves an explanation, perhaps!? And, Arlo explained:

Well, that’s nice of you. You know, if these things need an explanation there’s no point in doing them. I would have just put the explanation in and forgot the quote.

Dan: End of quote.

All our secrets they are tailored trouble
Draped loose now around your hips

The band Taking Back Sunday recently released their song “Liar (It Takes One To Know One)”.

I’m an addict for dramatics
I confuse the two for love

Tony Petrossian directed a wonderful video for the song which is available through the band’s website, and on YouTube – Liar (It Takes One To Know One).

It’s still a question of
How long will this hold?

[*]

I have just attended a mini-conference on truth and knowledge, organized by Manfred Füllsack. Well, you know, it doesn’t take a bunch of acknowledged experts to make you know what you do not know, but then it certainly helps in some way or other.

You don’t need a weatherman
To know which way the wind blows
— Bob Dylan

In fact, I am still pondering over what I have actually been listening to. When someone articulates the need to distinguish tacit and articulated knowledge is this distinction nevertheless articulated, or is it meant to provoke the question which particular tacit knowledge it takes to draw the distinction?

Or, have I simply missed the speakers blink their Epimenidic eyes?

When Herbert Hrachovec compared the truth of knowledge with the expiry date of food might it be that the truth of his comparison had already expired at the time it has reached the audience? Thomas Auinger said this is not an issue of relativism. Quoting him: “Hier gibt es kein Relativierungsproblem.” Besides me wondering about what he was relating to, he might have been right about it if we consider the fact that the word “Relativierungsproblem” pretty much only came into existence when he used it. Or, was Herbert Hrachovec right when Thomas Auinger’s truth expired?

Of course, it’s all a question of definitions, isn’t it? (I love it!)
We have covered disfinism earlier here: The pure disfinism (of no definitions) and the eclectic disfinism (of a great many definitions). I should further extend the concept of disfinism by implicit disfinism.

Implicit disfinism is the science (or art — if you want — unless you define it) of discussing theories which try to explain the nature and scope of specific notions by use of the notions themselves without ever defining them. The little conference serves as a particularly nice example where several theories of epistemology (that’s theories of theories of knowledge) have been debated including plenty of references to truth and knowledge, shamelessly avoiding their definitions.

Thanks, guys!

[Ratta suggests not to move at all since Bertrand Russell said that all movements go too far, and this is certainly true. Those isolated better be independent, of course.]