From RF_alum:
The Phrase Finder (one of my favorite sources) writes there are several possible origins of this expression. However, the most logical origin is that it is from medieval England when it was allowed for “…peasants to take from royal forests whatever deadwood they could take down with a shepherd’s crook.”
Extraordinary accomplishments do happen. Too often, they go unreported or unremarked. If you ever feel gloomy with current events, take a moment to look at these:
The first animal ever to be resurrected from extinction was the Pyrenean ibex. Unfortunately, I use the past-tense because the cloned kids died shortly after birth. But, if anyone cares enough, with some practice on the cloning and an elegant technique to create a male fetus from the female cells scientists have, the ibex can come back. Continue reading
Oliver Sacks,M.D.writes that hallucinations are “percepts arising in the absence of any external reality – seeing things or hearing things that are not there.” They tend to be startling, mostly beyond conscious control; often detailed, colorful, bizarre, exotic, and meaningless. Some hallucinations are fleeting and some people live with hallucinations all their lives. People experiencing continuing hallucinations can usually accommodate them and differentiate them from reality, though hallucinations can interfere with activities such as driving.
The book excludes schizophrenia; that is a separate topic. These hallucinations are commonly associated with sensory deprivation (loss of sight or hearing) or monotony (long-distance truck drivers, sailors, and pilots; or marathon athletes); “mystagogic” drugs; or with illnesses Continue reading
Anyone who’s ever been on a diet knows the advice: don’t buy the junk food. You only need will-power for an hour while you shop, instead of every minute you are within reach of the kitchen. That’s using your own human nature to nudge yourself towards your goal.
How do you feel when the government sets up the “nudge”? Suppose it is Facebook, or your bank “helping” you? Continue reading
I found this book by Anthony Pagden to be disappointing. From the title, “The Enlightenment, And Why it Still Matters”, I expected Pagden would include discussions of the modern world. For example, I have read that the Enlightenment, with its emphasis on the individuals breaking free of past dogma, has led to women’s rights; but also to the rise of single-mother families as the old reasons for marriage fade. But Pagden’s book has no discussion of modern society. The book is a scholarly work about Enlightenment philosophers and their opponents. There is a lot of “this philosopher said this, but that philosopher said that” sort of detail. If you know that going in, you may be happier with the book than I was. Continue reading
The nautical term scuttlebutt means a rumor. A scuttlebutt is literally a drinking fountain, but originally it referred to a cask that held drinking water. This comes from a combination of “scuttle” (to make a hole) and “butt” (a cask or hogshead used in the days of wooden ships to hold drinking water). The crew would congregate around the “scuttlebutt” and trade rumors about the ship or voyage. The name for the water cask was transferred to modern drinking fountains, and so was the gossiping. Eventually, “scuttlebutt” became the rumor itself.