More Than True

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Circles

May 19, 2015 Writing

Richard F. Yates, engineer of the nightmare express.

The test says “Do not spend too much time on any one question. If you do not know the answer, guess. Guessing will not be held against you.”

How can they say guessing will not be held against you? It makes no sense.

The questions are multiple choice. If you guess you have a one-in-four chance of choosing the right answer and a three-in-four chance of choosing the wrong answer.

If you choose the wrong answer that will be held against you. Therefore, should you guess, there is a three-in-four chance guessing will be held against you.

The statement is misleading. They mean: should you guess right– only in this case will guessing not be held against you. They won’t say “You guessed right on question four. Zero credit.” They mean they can’t read your mind– should you guess right.

If you guess wrong it will be the same as if you marked the wrong answer through careful deliberation.

Those odds, one-in-four, three-in-four, may change depending on whether or not any of the answer choices are obvious.

I spend one-fourth of my time on the timed test filling in the circles on the answer sheet. The pencil lead– graphite, really– filling in the small circles. Completely. No lines outside the circle. No empty white space inside the circle. Care in a task which does not affect the outcome in any meaningful way. That is my foible.

The larger problem of the bizarre statement of fact that is not a fact, and is not even logical, is an example of the sort of thing I observe constantly and how I think about it. It’s the reason I think human society is absurd.

 

So That’s the Story

May 17, 2015 Books Links My books Writing

This is a selection of older material from my first book “Rhyme or Treason, hard fought illusion of choice.” This is basically the sampler CD I used to bring to readings, without the ebook which was included on the CD.

[amazon asin=B002OHD220&template=iframe image]

 

Dinosaur Fossil Reveals Cause of Death : Time Travel

May 9, 2015 Info Links Writing

An image, stolen from Richard F. Yates, having not a damned thing to do with this article, yet capturing the ennui of the issue.

“Phillip Currie from the University of Alberta has recently uncovered a juvenile Chasmosaurus belli that was so complete and intact, he was actually able to speculate about the cause of death.”

Source: New Baby Dinosaur Fossil Reveals Cause of Death | IFLScience

*** Sadly, the dinosaur expired after eating plastic.

It is past time we ban dumping of non-biodegradable garbage in the distant past. We would already be seeing the complications of this dumping, were it not for the fact that our dumping of toxic waste is constantly changing our current reality. “It all looks the same to me” say the temporal shift change deniers. But mark my words: The garbage you dump in the past will return to you thousands of times over, even if you don’t ever realize it.

 

Sexism, Arbitrary Ethnic Humor, and Science.

April 9, 2015 Books My books Writing

Three men walk into a bar…
At this point a lady asks me, “Why men?” And I say, “It’s a sexist joke.”

This art stolen from Richard F. Yates, C'mon, click it.

This art stolen from Richard F. Yates, C’mon, click it.

Three Swedes walk into a bar. It is full of leprechauns. It is the wrong bar. They are lost. “Who is lost, the Swedes or the leprechauns?”

The Finnish man asks the Irish man how it’s going. “Oh, could be worse. I still have the one leg.” Arbitrary Ethnic Humor.

Science is the cruelest discipline. Followed by comedy.
When science and comedy meet they intersect. And then they are dissected. It is cruel. Doubly so. Cutting.
Three scientists walk into a bar. It is the start of a cruel social experiment. The result is a matter of interpretation. Based on evidence.
One scientist says to the other, “I thought you were in control.”
“No,” says another, “I said I was the control.” Misinterpretation=comedy.
The role of the third scientist is observational. The humor in this needs no explanation, as it is universal.

Three bears walk into a bar. They argue about the relative coldness of the porridge. Then they start to make trouble.

Three Magi walk into a bar. It’s a setup. They are robbed of precious metals and fragrant oils.
Two thousand years later, three mobsters walk into a bar, only to discover that it’s a setup. They sit there, feeling foolish, waiting for the inevitable punchline.
The joke goes right over their heads. They are not the intended audience. No, this joke is not for them.

Three men walk into three different bars, simultaneously. Joke averted.

A Priest, a Rabbi, and a Laughing Hyena walk into a bar. The bartender asks, “Is this a joke?” There are many hurt feelings this day.

Perils of Free Thought: a book of no small danger [amazon asin=B0080AGLNC&template=iframe image]