Author Archives: Anton

belief in one’s own immortality is immature

Would not a government prudently looking to the wellbeing of its people, like a prudent parent, encourage the people to learn to provide for themselves in its absence – i.e., encourage private provision of vital services – rather than risk … Continue reading

Posted in politics | Leave a comment

alternate poker

Suppose your deck has more than four suits, or some number other than thirteen cards per suit. What happens to the ranks of poker hands? 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 … Continue reading

Posted in games, mathematics | 3 Comments

place-names and personal-names

In my county there’s a village named Van —–. I think that if my name had a Van or equivalent, and someone proposed to name a town for me, I’d prefer they drop the particle. On another hand, Jan van … Continue reading

Posted in language | Leave a comment

how {e|p}lastic was my valley?

If you had never seen a nonhuman mammal, would a dog’s face fall in your uncanny valley?

Posted in psychology | Leave a comment

I’m just sayin’

A free market would not say to the poor, “It’s cute that you want to earn money by providing a service, but first we need you to save up for a license.”

Posted in economics, politics | Leave a comment

adrift in a sea of time

In Donna Tartt’s The Secret History (1992), the narrator says or implies that the events happened many years ago; so I’ve been watching for details that date it. Oprah Winfrey, whose show premiered in 1986, is mentioned; I think that’s … Continue reading

Posted in prose | Leave a comment

Awake how often?

The protagonist of the TV series Awake lives in two worlds: one in which his wife died in a car crash, and one in which their son died instead. As we see it, he spends a day in Hannah’s timeline … Continue reading

Posted in cinema | 3 Comments