Silliness Corrupt-A-Topic (anymore off-topic and it would be on-topic) - Page 38

Steven Lyle Jordan · 12-02-2008, 10:26 AM

Glad I didn't sign up for the November writing contest. As of November 30, I only had 48,000 words.

Wetdogeared · 12-02-2008, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

For the perusal of Her Majesty, Zelda, Queen of Pinwheel....

Attachment 18607

The floor is an actual painting. Would you like to see that and walk to the plumbing?

I believe the technique is called Trompe l'oeil. Very nice "View with a Room"

zelda_pinwheel · 12-02-2008, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wetdogeared

I believe the technique is called Trompe l'oeil. Very nice "View with a Room"

(trompe l'oeil means "trick the eye." you can easily see why.)

Steven Lyle Jordan · 12-02-2008, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

(trompe l'oeil means "trick the eye." you can easily see why.)

I thought it meant "oil painting that you step on."

(I took Spanish in school.)

pshrynk · 12-02-2008, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

I thought it meant "oil painting that you step on."

(I took Spanish in school.)

I would imagine that that could be a reasonable meaning, as well.

montsnmags · 12-02-2008, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Glad I didn't sign up for the November writing contest. As of November 30, I only had 48,000 words.

Ya lazy bastiche.

Cheers,
Marc (I think I wrote 50,000 words in November, but they were all at MR, and none of them were novel...well, maybe a couple, since I do like making up words)

RWood · 12-02-2008, 10:30 PM

And then again ....

Patricia · 12-02-2008, 10:59 PM

A squirrel has crept into my latest philosophy book upload. Those creatures get everywhere. Even into William James’s Pragmatism.

‘Some years ago, being with a camping party in the mountains, I returned from a solitary ramble to find everyone engaged in a ferocious metaphysical dispute. The corpus of the dispute was a squirrel—a live squirrel supposed to be clinging to one side of a tree-trunk; while over against the tree’s opposite side a human being was imagined to stand. This human witness tries to get sight of the squirrel by moving rapidly round the tree, but no matter how fast he goes, the squirrel moves as fast in the opposite direction, and always keeps the tree between himself and the man, so that never a glimpse of him is caught. The resultant metaphysical problem now is this: Does the man go round the squirrel or not? He goes round the tree, sure enough, and the squirrel is on the tree; but does he go round the squirrel?
[William James, Pragmatism, Lecture 2]

vivaldirules · 12-02-2008, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patricia

The resultant metaphysical problem now is this: Does the man go round the squirrel or not? He goes round the tree, sure enough, and the squirrel is on the tree; but does he go round the squirrel?

I have actually studied this problem in depth, Patricia. And the answer to the long-standing and complex metaphysical question is: No. When the man gets around the tree so that he's within firing range, the little bugger blows the poop out of him.

Next question?

Patricia · 12-02-2008, 11:26 PM

That makes sense, VR. But how strange that William James didn't notice. There is clearly a flaw in Pragmatic philosophy...

vivaldirules · 12-02-2008, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patricia

That makes sense, VR. But how strange that William James didn't notice. There is clearly a flaw in Pragmatic philosophy...

Indeed. It's not very pragmatic when you can't see the furries for the trees.

RWood · 12-03-2008, 12:29 AM

Could it be that he only observed pacifist squirrels? Could there be a Society of Friends for the squirrels? Amish squirrels? Quaker squirrels? Given the size of their population there must be many shades and groups, could it be that we are just reacting to a stereotype of squirrels?

Then again, considering that William James lived from January 11, 1842 to August 26, 1910 is it possible that the squirrels had not yet adapted the heavy munitions that VR describes? I would understand the taking of arms if James had been writing about European squirrels as all the countries there were building their armies waiting for an excuse to go to war; however, James was an American and the US was doing its best to stay out of "their" war.

Slite · 12-03-2008, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWood

Could it be that he only observed pacifist squirrels? Could there be a Society of Friends for the squirrels? Amish squirrels? Quaker squirrels? Given the size of their population there must be many shades and groups, could it be that we are just reacting to a stereotype of squirrels?

Then again, considering that William James lived from January 11, 1842 to August 26, 1910 is it possible that the squirrels had not yet adapted the heavy munitions that VR describes? I would understand the taking of arms if James had been writing about European squirrels as all the countries there were building their armies waiting for an excuse to go to war; however, James was an American and the US was doing its best to stay out of "their" war.

No such thing as a peaceloving squirrel, they are evil to the core, bent on world domination and extinction of homo sapiens!

Patricia · 12-03-2008, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slite

No such thing as a peaceloving squirrel, they are evil to the core, bent on world domination and extinction of homo sapiens!

And they start by provoking metaphysical disputes.

montsnmags · 12-03-2008, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patricia

And they start by provoking metaphysical disputes.

It's all fun and games until someone uses an "I".

12-02-2008, 10:30 PM	#562
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	And then again .... Attached Images

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12-02-2008, 10:26 AM	#556
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Glad I didn't sign up for the November writing contest. As of November 30, I only had 48,000 words.

12-02-2008, 10:59 PM	#563
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	A squirrel has crept into my latest philosophy book upload. Those creatures get everywhere. Even into William James’s Pragmatism. ‘Some years ago, being with a camping party in the mountains, I returned from a solitary ramble to find everyone engaged in a ferocious metaphysical dispute. The corpus of the dispute was a squirrel—a live squirrel supposed to be clinging to one side of a tree-trunk; while over against the tree’s opposite side a human being was imagined to stand. This human witness tries to get sight of the squirrel by moving rapidly round the tree, but no matter how fast he goes, the squirrel moves as fast in the opposite direction, and always keeps the tree between himself and the man, so that never a glimpse of him is caught. The resultant metaphysical problem now is this: Does the man go round the squirrel or not? He goes round the tree, sure enough, and the squirrel is on the tree; but does he go round the squirrel? [William James, Pragmatism, Lecture 2]

12-02-2008, 11:26 PM	#565
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	That makes sense, VR. But how strange that William James didn't notice. There is clearly a flaw in Pragmatic philosophy...

12-03-2008, 12:29 AM	#567
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	Could it be that he only observed pacifist squirrels? Could there be a Society of Friends for the squirrels? Amish squirrels? Quaker squirrels? Given the size of their population there must be many shades and groups, could it be that we are just reacting to a stereotype of squirrels? Then again, considering that William James lived from January 11, 1842 to August 26, 1910 is it possible that the squirrels had not yet adapted the heavy munitions that VR describes? I would understand the taking of arms if James had been writing about European squirrels as all the countries there were building their armies waiting for an excuse to go to war; however, James was an American and the US was doing its best to stay out of "their" war.