Category Archives: humanities

QotD

Theo Gray To think that a modern human should be able to do everything that previous generations have been able to do (hunt, speak Latin, do square roots by hand, etc.), and also have any time left over to learn … Continue reading

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two more dimensions

Assuming full eye transplant (or artificial replacement) becomes possible: What happens when a colorblind man receives a normal eye? Has science-fiction addressed this question?

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what is sf?

Relayed through at least two discreet mailing-lists, a thought attributed to “a Croatian writer”: For years I’ve been frustrated by those claims by non-sf readers that SF is not literature (compare “comics are not art”). Frustrated, because you can’t defend … Continue reading

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the tragedy of sloppy language

miller@i330.org quotes Charles Krauthammer: Whenever I hear Sept. 11 referred to as just a tragedy, I wince. The San Francisco earthquake was a tragedy. The Johnstown flood was a tragedy. Hurricane Andrew was a tragedy. A tragedy is an act … Continue reading

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and a pony

Just think: after tomorrow we may never hear that hideous pleonasm “one year anniversary” ever again. I can dream, can’t I?

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a little Latin and less Greek

Today I started a course in medical terminology (aiming to make myself more marketable). I have to restrain myself from speaking up too often, as I know more Greek and Latin (and which is which) than the teacher does. Evidently … Continue reading

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Saturday at Worldcon

Twenty years after I first heard of the concept (which seemed and still seems pretty darn silly), it hit me that Sime/Gen is about sex. Yeah, I’m slow sometimes — especially about sex! A fan slipped on some stairs at … Continue reading

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