Activity from voltairemodern

Showing posts from:

Displaying post 1 to 8 of 8

スズメバチが花にとまった。

Asian Giant Hornets in action. Asian Giant Hornets on the palm of your hand. Asian Giant Hornet vs Mantis. Asian Giant Hornet vs Asian Giant Hornet.
posted to MetaFilter by voltairemodern at 8:37 AM on August 17, 2007 (56 comments)

How to get rid of bad dreams?

My partner reports consistently having bad dreams. She would like to be able to either (a) have good dreams instead, or (b) just not remember them anymore. What techniques/practices are there that can help her achieve this? I'm at a loss to help her, because I've never had the problem.
posted to Ask Metafilter by voltairemodern at 8:41 AM on January 24, 2007 (24 comments)

What is your aim working as a detective? – To shew the fly the way out of the fly-bottle.

Wittgenstein, in a letter to Norman Malcolm, wrote: "...A couple of years ago I read with great pleasure a detective story called Rendezvous With Fear by a man Norbert Davis. I enjoyed it so much that I gave it not only to Smythies but also to Moore to read and both shared my high opinion of it. For, though, as you know, I’ve read hundreds of stories that amused me and that I liked reading, I think I’ve only read two perhaps that I’d call good stuff, and Davis’s is one of them... It may sound crazy, but when I recently re-read the story I liked it again so much that I thought I’d really like to write to the author and thank him. If this is nuts don’t be surprised, for so am I..."
Though it is discussed by both Ray Monk, in his biography of Wittgenstein, and Edmonds and Eidenow, in their popular book about Wittgenstein's philosophical clash with Popper (and an aging Russell), it is always interesting to read about this strange man's love of detective fiction. Though I don't necessarily agree with the linked author's conclusions, it makes for a good read.
posted to MetaFilter by voltairemodern at 11:26 AM on June 19, 2006 (22 comments)

This thread, interesting in its own right, merits...

This thread, interesting in its own right, merits a few callouts for best usernames ever.
posted to MetaTalk by voltairemodern at 7:52 AM on December 12, 2005 (23 comments)

SETI's Seth Shostak on Intelligent Design

Why SETI's search for intelligent extraterrestrial life is different from the work of proponents of Intelligent Design. An interesting bit of argumentation regarding the distinction between the simple signals searched for by SETI and the complex signals used in arguments for ID.
posted to MetaFilter by voltairemodern at 7:41 AM on December 2, 2005 (55 comments)

Behold the dark underbelly of numismatics.

The most expensive $20 you’ll never see. (Unless you happen to be kickin’ it in Long Beach next month...) The 1933 “double eagle”, a one oz. gold coin minted by the United States just prior to dropping the gold standard, is now worth approximately $10,000,000 and is the stuff of coin collection legend. A collector by the name of Israel “Izzy” Switt acquired and held on to 10 of them—just after the last “double eagle” had officially been melted down by the government in 1937. (Timeline.) Now, decades later, the coins are the subject of an intense legal battle between the US government and Switt’s descendants. “It’s a hell of a story.”
posted to MetaFilter by voltairemodern at 12:18 PM on August 29, 2005 (20 comments)

Many of them include outlines, too...

Remember how you wrote when you were in high school? Would you have been secure enough to post one of your essays online? [.doc files] Essay.org has compiled a collection of essays (in various languages), in order to "provide free essays for entertainment, education, and publishing." (My favorites are definitely the persuasive essays.)
posted to MetaFilter by voltairemodern at 1:48 PM on August 25, 2005 (20 comments)

Now entering nerdspace.

A Brief History of Game: A nine-part review of the major highlights in rpg history. Other interesting if generally unrelated pieces on the history of gaming, pen & paper or otherwise: "Where Have All the Demons Gone?", discussing the history of Magic the Gathering; A somewhat flippant piece by GameSpy; and some obligatory RPG theory regarding the historical popularity of various styles of RPG.
posted to MetaFilter by voltairemodern at 9:16 AM on August 5, 2005 (32 comments)