How to Make Slime

Mix up a batch of 50/50 water and glue, dissolve a spoonful of Borax in more water, then mix the whole mess together. (If you want real numbers, mix 1/4 c water with 1/4 glue & dissolve 1 tsp Borax in 1/8 c water, but really, you can be pretty slapdash about this.) As you knead it, the slime will quickly start resembling silly putty. For extra awesomeness, consider mixing in some iron filings to create your own batch of magnetic putty.

 The Chinese Room Argument

Suppose that I'm locked in a room and given a large batch of Chinese writing. Suppose furthermore (as is indeed the case) that I know no Chinese, either written or spoken, and that I'm not even confident that I could recognize Chinese writing as Chinese writing distinct from, say, Japanese writing or meaningless squiggles. To me, Chinese writing is just so many meaningless squiggles. Now suppose further that after this first batch of Chinese writing I am given a second batch of Chines...