27 AUG 2025 by ideonexus
Time Does Not Pass
To say that time passes, is like saying that a path travels. A path does not walk. It allows walkers to travel. Likewise, a musical score cannot sing. It allows singers to sing. In other words, there is something static in time because it is invariant. But it is also dynamic because the present is constantly renewed.
- Etienne Klein, Philosopher of Science.
Physical Science Research Laboratory, Paris-Saclay UniversityFolksonomies: zen
Folksonomies: zen
10 AUG 2011 by ideonexus
How the Church Cuts
“But they were cutting-” Lyra couldn’t bring herself to say it; the words choked in her mouth. “You know what they were doing! Why did the Church let them do anything like that?”
“There was a precedent. Something like it had happened before. Do you know what the word castration means? It means removing the sexual organs of a boy so that he never develops the characteristics of a man. A castrate keeps his high treble voice all his life, which is why the Church allowed it: so usefu...In the fictional universe, the Church cuts children from their souls, but in our own history they have castrated boys to preserve their ability to sing in the choir.




