I’ve rediscovered the value of local news channels. Via the Egyptian Ahram Online. In its capacity as a “local news channel” that I seek, I am looking for it to present its particular brand of foreignness (the type which knows that everyone else is foreign). Ahram Online achieves this via three means, each of which may be contrasted (partly for amusement’s sake) with...
Meta: Today’s entry begins as a diary’s; recanting previous efforts, describing occupying thoughts and intentions, as sitting on this higher perch with the hope of gaining a more accurate perspective of these written fields. Why not begin where yesterday ended. I had been in the process of exploring the sensation of a mental switch whose activation I’ve come to associate with a...
Has content become liberated from medium? The Walking Dead is an example that can be imbibed as either/all of comic (read), tv show (watch), or game (play). However, as an example it begs the question. After all, to what extent did the franchise retain its essence across the media? I choose that nasty scholastic term as an obvious provocation. It is obvious that some cases fail to promote the...
Meta: The first thing I’d like to note today is that yesterday’s meta-worries were both baseless and valuable. They demonstrated both these properties (virtues?) and in doing so characterised what is perhaps most valuable about this diary-style writing, namely, “try-it-and-see” and “learn-from-experience”. Yesterday’s example is perhaps in itself not...
This is a continuation of an effort to review Science 9 August 2013 Vol. 341 no. 6416. V. PubPeer is a nice, interesting, and new website, designed to allow readers to critique papers they’ve read. VI. P647, I read the full research paper, entitled Social Influence Bias: A Randomized Experiment – basically about how knowing about aggregated opinions affects our own, albeit in...
Journal: Reading science literature: I did a once-over browse of the TRENDS journals that have been published so far in this month, and have selected a few that I thought could be interesting. In TRENDS IMMUNOL I found an article that claims to review what’s known about the genetic implications for mechanisms of IBS. This is not something I’ll read now, but appears to be a reference...
Editorial notes: To understand the Meta paragraph below you need to read Shai’s Priorities post where he discusses his own methodology for researching and acquiring knowledge. The Meta description below is an instance where Shai follows his own – previously documented – methodology. Meta: This is a pseudo-diary of my impressions readings Science 09/08. This was initiated by a...
Editorial notes: This is the first of 51 Evernote entries titled according to the date on which they were written, making this a personal, chronological journal of observations, lessons learned and conclusions, together with an element of diary writing. Synopsis: Today I discover a foreign news service, muse about its benefits, get side-tracked onto developing an open mind. And then finally added...
There’s this belief that the world is OK. How to address this? How about step 1: What is the nature of the constituents of the matter of concern? Or as Socrates might be modernized, “What is the meaning of each thing?”. Truly ask this, because barely any do. Plato would have us believe that Socrates was the wisest just for knowing that he knew nothing. The implication is that...
Editorial notes: In August 2013, Shai starts his fourth blog, entitled “meanwhile-II” which he dedicates to “witticisms, epiphanies, and emotional breakdowns”. The content of this blog reflects a change in Shai’s overall mood, writing style and direction. While his earlier writings are considerate, scientific and outward-looking, his focus now shifts and, while he continues to produce first-class...
