There is no point in arguing over premises, which are assumed, or conclusions, which are contained in the premises.
Jul 282015
Thinking
Operations of thought are like cavalry charges in a battle — they are strictly limited in number, require fresh horses, and must only be made at decisive moments.
—Whitehead
Jul 142015
Stupidity at an immense age becomes instrumental rationality, just as crime on an immense scale becomes statecraft.
Jun 262015
Genuine error varies directly with spurious precision.
Jun 222015
One certainty is often exchanged for another, doubt for certainty occasionally, certainty for doubt almost never.
Jun 182015
To see one’s thought summarized aptly and briefly is the rare experience that is flattering and humiliating in equal measure.
Jun 172015
Thought is discrete: nature is continuous.
Jun 152015
Precision requires elision.
Jun 122015
First Law of Social Science: All effects are weaker than they appear.
Jun 092015
Truth is often radically antipodal, but never moderate.
May 292015
Machinery does mostly good as reality and mostly harm as metaphor.