Watt's Myth

Myth, then, is the form in which I try to answer when children ask me those fundamental metaphysical questions which come so readily to their minds: 'Where did the world come from?' 'Why did God make the world?' 'Where was I before I was born?' 'Where do people go when they die?' Again and again I have found that they seem to be satisfied with a simple and very ancient story, which goes something like this: 'There was never a time when the world began, because it goes round and round like a ...

 Knowing the Future Makes it Boring

Yet the more surely and vividly you know the future, the more it makes sense to say that you've already had it. When the outcome of a game is certain, we call it quits and begin another. This is why many people object to having their fortunes told: not that fortunetelling is mere superstition or that the predictions would be horrible, but simply that the more surely the future is known, the less surprise and the less fun in living it. [...] The science-fiction in which we have just been ind...

 The Game of Black-and-White

WHEN WE were taught 1, 2, 3 and A, B, C, few of us were ever told about the Game of Black-and-White. It is quite as simple, but belongs to the hushed-up side of things. Consider, first, that all your five senses are differing forms of one basic sense—something like touch. Seeing is highly sensitive touching. The eyes touch, or feel, light waves and so enable us to touch things out of reach of our hands. Similarly, the ears touch sound waves in the air, and the nose tiny particles of dust an...

 Don't Indulge in Imaginary Offenses

Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love, and in order to occupy and distract himself without love he gives way to passions and coarse pleasures, and sinks to bestiality in his vices, all from continual lying to other men and to himself. The man who lies to himself can b...

 Wargaming in the Military

The use of games to represent the manoeuvres of warriors on stylised boards can be found throughout the historical record; archaeologists have unearthed sets of miniature soldiers that represent Sumerian and Egyptian armies. Many of the earliest board games that, like chess and go, are still played today are either military-themed, or explore military concepts of strategy and tactics. Games establish consequence-free realities in which we can explore and experience situations that in actualit...

 Eastern Identification Goes from Large to Small

0:00 Take a close look at how we write our addresses. 0:03 In the East, including Korea, we start with the biggest unit. 0:08 We write the country first, then the city and province, then the neighborhood and street. 0:14 And finally, we reach the smallest unit, the individual's specific address. 0:20 The Western way is the exact opposite. 0:22 To them, the most important thing is the exact spot where I'm standing right now, the street 0:28 number and specific address. They start from there an...