Saturday, December 04, 2004
Zeno never dies
Simple proof that your life does not pass before your eyes just before you die:
Let us assume that your life does play out again in your minds eye, just before you die. This is of course your complete life, from the first breath up to and including the very last second. But, during the last few seconds of your life, you were playing your life in your mind's eye. Replaying those last few seconds means you replay your life again.
Now, in that second replay, your last seconds are replayed again as well. These last seconds now contains now your life twice, because you will replay both the event of seeing your life pass by and you will also replay the replay (you actually never get to see that second replay, because the first replay already spawns yet another one).
Take this argument ad infinitum and we come to the conclusion that we will be forever replaying our lives just before we die. Ergo we don't die. There is the contradiction. Hence, we can conclude that our assumption was wrong.
So, we do not replay our lives before we die. Then what happens? Well, Terry Prachett's Death character phrases it correctly: People's whole lives do pass in front of their eyes before they die. The process is called "living".
Let us assume that your life does play out again in your minds eye, just before you die. This is of course your complete life, from the first breath up to and including the very last second. But, during the last few seconds of your life, you were playing your life in your mind's eye. Replaying those last few seconds means you replay your life again.
Now, in that second replay, your last seconds are replayed again as well. These last seconds now contains now your life twice, because you will replay both the event of seeing your life pass by and you will also replay the replay (you actually never get to see that second replay, because the first replay already spawns yet another one).
Take this argument ad infinitum and we come to the conclusion that we will be forever replaying our lives just before we die. Ergo we don't die. There is the contradiction. Hence, we can conclude that our assumption was wrong.
So, we do not replay our lives before we die. Then what happens? Well, Terry Prachett's Death character phrases it correctly: People's whole lives do pass in front of their eyes before they die. The process is called "living".
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Buy one get one free
My psychiatric bills are costing me an arm and a leg. Yet my shrink keeps telling me: I help both of you, but I charge only for one.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Not Norwegian Wood
My friend told me that there is a book called Norwegian Wood. The title of the book is not coincidentally identical to the title of the homonymous Beatles' song.
Apparently, in both cases the title was chosen to not be related to its own content. So, the writer of the book could have called the book ABC Market, achieving the same objective: lack of connection between title and content. The choice Norwegian Wood simply gives this absence of correlation more emphasis.
Consider yourself painting a still-life of a cup of ice-milo and teh-ping and you call this painting Norwegian Wood. This act would make you an immediate member of that elusive club of those who created something and, by evading a meaningful title, called it Norwegian Wood.
Almost there... When I was typing this, I naturally considered labeling this entry Norwegian Wood. However, in my case, that title would be relating closely to the content of the blog. So, is the chosen title related or not?
Apparently, in both cases the title was chosen to not be related to its own content. So, the writer of the book could have called the book ABC Market, achieving the same objective: lack of connection between title and content. The choice Norwegian Wood simply gives this absence of correlation more emphasis.
Consider yourself painting a still-life of a cup of ice-milo and teh-ping and you call this painting Norwegian Wood. This act would make you an immediate member of that elusive club of those who created something and, by evading a meaningful title, called it Norwegian Wood.
Almost there... When I was typing this, I naturally considered labeling this entry Norwegian Wood. However, in my case, that title would be relating closely to the content of the blog. So, is the chosen title related or not?
T.I.N.A., the tortoise
The the name of our tortoise is T.I.N.A.
It means: T.I.N.A. Is Not Abreviated
It means: T.I.N.A. Is Not Abreviated
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Revolutionary logic
I am starting a new club: "The contradictionaries"
The members of the club are all pro-contradictions
Anyone who disagrees is welcome
The members of the club are all pro-contradictions
Anyone who disagrees is welcome
Individuality
Individuality sounds like it is a combination of indivision and duality... That sounds like a contradiction in terms.