An educational culture where it's an embarrassment to not know the names of five plays by Shakespeare but OK not to know the difference between a gene and a chromosome isn't functional.

    - Larry Summers, quoted in The New York Times April 27, 2004

On 30 May 2009, Newsweek weighed in on Oprah's medical advice with a stinging 6 page cover article.  Too bad we had already inducted Oprah into The Festival of Idiots on the same charges.  If I'd waited, I could have plagiarized the whole damn thing.

Random Noise #14 : Colorless Green Syntax

Formal grammar is heavily based in syntax.  It is possible to generate sentences by using word lists and rules in a computer program, but the output rarely makes much sense and can be exceedingly funny.

By ignoring syntax whilst chaining words together based on the frequency with which words follow one another, one can build an interesting 'sentence'.  The most famous such chain is Noam Chomsky's 'colorless green ideas sleep furiously'.  It obeys the rules of syntax but it makes no sense.

The Real Ira Hayes

The world's largest statue is a bronze sculpture 110 feet high.
It depicts six Marines.  Each figure is about 32 feet tall.
They are hoisting an American flag on the island of Iwo Jima.

I would like to introduce my readers to an artist who has painted a wonderful version of this iconic image.  He has also written an article about the real Ira Hayes to go with his painting.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to contact him through his website for further information.

The following position arose from a blitz chess game played on the Internet Chess Club this afternoon. I am white, and black is to move.


As you can see, material is even; white has all his pieces but the Rd1 trained against the enemy kings' shelter, a strong knight on f6, and is threatening to win an exchange with Nxe8 -however good or bad that move may be, given the strength of the knight in the game position.

As elections to renew the european parliaments get closer, the political arena in Italy fails to deal with the matters that should interest voters, and instead concentrates on the behavior of Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi.

In a crescendo of events, each of which could have brought less gutsy politicians to resign, the italian press is getting totally dominated by the personal matters of the prime minister. Let me give a brief summary below.

A trial proved that Berlusconi had corrupted an English lawyer, Mills, to get a false testimony from him; a law masterfully crafted by Berlusconi's lacqueys only a year ago is now preventing his impeachment. Berlusconi's wife Veronica Lario publically announces she is asking for

Random Noise #12 : Freedom of Speech and of the Press


Freedom of speech is a right and a duty.

Faced with injustice, we have both a right and a duty - a duty-right - to speak out against it.

Politically motivated censorship can only do its dirty work in absolute secrecy.  But once that censorship becomes public knowledge, it achieves the opposite of its desired effect when it amplifies and unifies the voice of outrage.

Rarely does a scientific hypothesis - at least, not a useful or an interesting one - admit of a straightforward up-or-down, yes-or-no verdict. Valuable hypotheses survive the test of time in countless engagements with reality. The war against ignorance is a war of attrition. 

    - David Lindley, Boltzmann's Atom, p. ix

The Buzzword Blog #3 : Justice

What is justice ?


The all-party law reform and human rights organisation working to improve the quality of justice in the UK gives no definition of justice on its website. 

How can one reform what is not defined?

The Court of Justice of the European Communities defines its purpose in these terms:

Since the establishment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in 1952, its mission has been to ensure that "the law is observed" "in the interpretation and application" of the Treaties.

The Buzzword Blog #2 : What is a Buzzword?


A buzzword is a word with a vague meaning, and which is commonly used in speech or writing to express a vague idea.  The buzzword category includes words which are commonly used, and commonly over-used in bureaucratic and managerial environments.

Buzzwords give rational thinkers the impression of being used merely to impress the hearer or reader with the user's apparent knowledge.

Buzzwords should be distinguished from jargon words.  All words coined for use in science, law and the arts to express a rationally explainable meaning are jargon words.