04 NOV 2018 by ideonexus

 Dice Rolls are Suspect

It is true that every aspect of the role of dice may be suspect: the dice themselves, the form and texture of the surface, the person throwing them. If we push the analysis to its extreme, we may even wonder what chance has to do with it at all. Neither the course of the dice nor their rebounds rely on chance; they are governed by the strict determinism of rational mechanics. Billiards is based on the same principles, and it has never been considered a game of chance. So in the final analysis...
Folksonomies: games randomness
Folksonomies: games randomness
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28 JAN 2012 by ideonexus

 What opposite discoveries we have seen!

What opposite discoveries we have seen! (Signs of true genius, and of empty pockets.) One makes new noses, one a guillotine, One breaks your bones, one sets them in their sockets; But vaccination certainly has been A kind antithesis to Congreve's rockets, ...
Folksonomies: poetry
Folksonomies: poetry
  1  notes

From science, bombs and immunizations, guillotines and life-saving surgery. A poem by Lord Byron.

28 DEC 2010 by ideonexus

 Defending the Purity of the English Language

The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.
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A classic quote from SF reviewer James Nicoll.