Science

You may remember I posted about the book Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell; if you have read that, you may be interested in this seminar—a series of blog posts discussing the book, including by the author. This is at Crooked Timber, which I have recently discovered, and deem worth my reading. Also from there, links to a pair of essays by H. Chandler Davis, mathematician, SF author, resident of Canada—on the American red-hunt in the universities, from the perspective of a huntee. Interesting because of the qualities of the author, but also the perspective gained from writing in 1960 and 1995.

Intriguing for those of a scientific bent, perhaps, is Naive Theories of Motion (via theweaselking).

We have argued in this paper that people develop on the basis of their everyday experience remarkably well-articulated naive theories of motion. These theories provide not only descriptions of, but also causal explanations for, the behavior of moving objects. In particular, many people believe that the act of setting an object in motion impresses in the object an internal force or impetus. This impetus is assumed to keep the object in motion after it is no longer in contact with the original mover. According to this view, moving objects eventually slow down and stop because their impetus gradually dissipates. This naive theory is, as we pointed out, strikingly similar to the medieval theory of impetus.

Lastly, interesting reading has come my way somehow Ontology is Overrated and Situated Software (no doubt the other writing at that site is also worthwhile).