Today I Learned

Cartoon by Tom Gauld, 11 th  April 2013, for @newscientist One letter can make a big difference. Or one number. I’ve mentioned You Are Not So Smart  (YANSS) before. It’s a podcast created by David McRaney , who is a science journalist, author, and speaker who is fascinated by brains, minds, and culture. I’ve been listening to YANSS for years, and it’s well worth the time. On episode 313 , David McRaney and his guest, Erica Chenoweth , discussed the work done by Chenoweth and

Wartime picture of a Bletchley Park Bombe, via Wikipedia.org I’m mentioned Alan Turing  and (some of) his contributions to computer technology, and still managed to not even mention the work which probably had the greatest influence on the world at the time. For a bit of background, the Enigma machine  was a cipher device that was developed in the years after World War I. To simplify dramatically, it used three rotors (four, in some models) which turned in sequence after each

Cover Art, Astounding Science Fiction, October 1941, via Wikipedia.org One of my favourite stories by Robert A Heinlein , was actually written by Anson MacDonald. Early in his career, Heinlein wrote under several pseudonyms , but only one of them was “obvious”. I’m not aware of any way to link the names Lyle Monroe, John Riverside, Caleb Saunders, or Simon York to Heinlein. In contrast, knowing that Robert Anson Heinlein was, at that time, married to Leslyn MacDonald made “An

Lionel Hampton, playing Flying Home (1957), via YouTube.com With a title like “Good Vibrations”, you’re probably thinking I’ll talk about the Beach Boys, but no. Instead, I want to go back a bit further, and talk about jazz legend Lionel Hampton . Hampton started his career as a drummer, and combined brilliant technique with wonderful showmanship. An excellent example can be found here , where he demonstrates his ability, while also juggling his drumsticks and showing his sim

Charlie Chaplin, in The Great Dictator, 1940, via Wikimedia Commons Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about fascism. While I already had a fair degree of familiarity and understanding of the big picture, I’ve been picking up (and often blogging about) items which are new to me. Predictably, most are disturbing, but I occasionally come across something wonderful. Charlie Chaplin  was an immensely influential figure in the history of cinema, and his “Tramp” character has been an

The School of Athens. Print by Giorgio Ghisi, of painting by Raphael, via Wikimedia Commons What most people call “debate” really is not. I found the Wikipedia article quite amusing. My favourite bit was where it says: “...debates emphasize logical consistency, factual accuracy, and emotional appeal to an audience.” I guess one out of three isn’t bad? Even so-called “formal” debate, where there are rules, judges, and guidelines for acceptable conduct, are more about competit

Cover of "Living Next Door to Alice" single by Smokie, via Wikipedia Living with the name “Alice” was not always easy in the 1970s and...

Recently-calibrated reference dog “Consciousness consists of morphogenetic fields of quantum energy. ‘Quantum’ means a redefining of the...

Stg Schultz, Hogan’s Heroes, via YouTube For those who don’t immediately hear the words “I know nothing. NOTHING!”, this is Sgt Schultz ,...

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, via Wikimedia Commons Am I being too harsh in what I say about Robert F Kennedy Jr ? I’ve mentioned him several...

Louis Raemaekers – To your health, civilization, 1916 The subversion of expectations is an interesting tool, used by artists of all...

Hitler’s “Memorandum Authorizing Involuntary Euthanasia”, 1-Sep-1939, via Wikipedia World War II is generally considered to have begun...

Cover art for Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording), via Genius.com The musical Hair opened on...

Cover art for “Apt.” by the artist Rosé and Bruno Mars, via Wikipedia When I first heard APT , I thought it was great that there was a...

Cover of Billy Joel’s single "The Downeaster ‘Alexa’", via Wikipedia The Downeaster ‘Alexa’  was a song on Billy Joel’s  album Storm...

Ferrari 166 S, via Wikipedia I was trying to think of a song about a car, and bounced around a bit before realizing the truth. Red...

Mark Carney & Mike Myers, via YouTube Canadians are an odd breed. While I think most of us love our country, we do not brag about it, or...

Is Religion Like a Drug? | Rev | BBC Comedy Greats, via YouTube “You’ll feel that God reached out to you with his love.” “What does that...

MAMMÚT Everyone has heard the stereotype of the older person complaining about the “new music” younger people listen to, and we can all...

Nine Princes in Amber, cover, via OpenLibrary.org My Dad didn’t particularly like Roger Zelazny’s work. He thought it was a bit too...