What to do with all this magic? - Page 5

Shawnee123 · 04-03-2008, 04:38 PM

He did, too. I saw them!

spudcon · 04-04-2008, 12:20 AM

Say what you will about us being smarter, but whenever I think about how Kepler figured out planetary orbits are ellipses, with no telescopes or sophisticated equipment, I wonder if today's scientists would be able to do it without their "magic."

Flint · 04-04-2008, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spudcon

Say what you will about us being smarter...

To clarify, I never said we were smarter. I said we have better access to information.

And then, upon reflection, I realized we actually only have faster access to less complete information.

Undertoad · 04-04-2008, 08:36 AM

Smarter we are.

Today's scientists are able to work out the actual age of the universe.

Flint · 04-04-2008, 08:38 AM

Not as individual humans. I can drive a car, but I can't build a car. I'm using accumulated knowledge; I can't take credit for that.

Flint · 12-07-2009, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

To clarify, I never said we were smarter. I said we have better access to information.

And then, upon reflection, I realized we actually only have faster access to less complete information.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Smarter we are.

Today's scientists are able to work out the actual age of the universe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

Not as individual humans. I can drive a car, but I can't build a car. I'm using accumulated knowledge; I can't take credit for that.

icileparadise · 04-04-2008, 12:08 PM

Selectively. Before IT we used the Holy books. And we made them say that which we wished. Now it's not so exclusive as the World has opened up. It's final right now. All that info must lead us to the correct. To ignore it now is to deny.

spudcon · 04-04-2008, 05:15 PM

So now we don't have to believe CNN and NPR any more?

BigV · 04-11-2008, 01:55 PM

Speaking of holy books...behold:

The reincarnation of Thomas Jefferson's Library.

Quote:

Re-Created Library Speaks Volumes About Jefferson

By Amy Orndorff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 11, 2008; A01

In Thomas Jefferson's day, the books he lovingly collected were almost as famous as he was.

Leather-bound tomes on topics as varied as whist, beekeeping and philosophy were gathered from across Europe and colonial America, then brought to Monticello to help fulfill Jefferson's vow to amass the whole of human knowledge. They eventually became the foundation for the Library of Congress, although two-thirds were lost in a fire in 1851.

For the past decade, a small group of rare book experts has sought to re-create Jefferson's library, scouring antiquarian book collections on two continents to acquire thousands of volumes. The entire collection of more than 6,000 volumes -- some originals and some replacements -- will go on display tomorrow at the Library of Congress, looking much as it would have 200 years ago.

"These are the books that made America," said Mark Dimunation, chief of the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress.

After a lifetime collecting the books, Jefferson, sold them during the War of 1812. British soldiers had set fire to the first congressional library, obliterating more than 1,000 books. Aghast, Jefferson offered his library at whatever price Congress deemed reasonable. In 1815, Congress paid about $24,000 for all 6,487 volumes.

Re-creating such a famous library is a book collector's dream, Dimunation said, and it has not been easy. The search took Dimunation and his staff near and far, from their own stacks to the basements of French booksellers as they hunted down the same editions and obscure pamphlets from the early 1800s.

"We have dealt with the dealers from both coasts and everything in between," Dimunation said with a resigned laugh. "I am still waiting for my pamphlet on brewing beer."

They burned the fucking library.

What a treasure! I wish I could see it!

SteveDallas · 04-11-2008, 02:30 PM

It's just books. You can always get more.

ZenGum · 12-08-2009, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveDallas

It's just books. You can always get more.

Great, do you have a copy of Plutarch's Life of Epaminondas? I lost mine around 400 AD, haven't seen it since. :p

TheMercenary · 12-08-2009, 03:08 AM

Oh, I have a copy of that. Let me see if I can track it down for you. How's your ancient Greek?

smoothmoniker · 12-08-2009, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

How's your ancient Greek?

Damn good, thanks for asking!

Let's here it for useless graduate degrees in fields that have no practical application! Huzzah!

ZenGum · 12-08-2009, 03:19 AM

Agathon.

Flint · 12-21-2010, 04:02 PM

Here we go, legitimate magic. All we need is a better human interface. How about put this on a heads-up display so we don't have to pull a little box out of our pocket to make it happen?

I love the magic, but the little boxes need to go away soon.

04-03-2008, 04:38 PM	#1
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	He did, too. I saw them! __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

04-04-2008, 08:38 AM	#5
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Not as individual humans. I can drive a car, but I can't build a car. I'm using accumulated knowledge; I can't take credit for that. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

12-08-2009, 03:08 AM	#12
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	Oh, I have a copy of that. Let me see if I can track it down for you. How's your ancient Greek? __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

12-08-2009, 03:19 AM	#14
ZenGum Doctor Wtf Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Badelaide, Baustralia Posts: 12,861	Agathon. __________________ Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.

12-21-2010, 04:02 PM	#15
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Here we go, legitimate magic. All we need is a better human interface. How about put this on a heads-up display so we don't have to pull a little box out of our pocket to make it happen? I love the magic, but the little boxes need to go away soon. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

04-04-2008, 12:20 AM	#2
spudcon Beware of potatoes Join Date: May 2007 Location: Upstate NY, USA Posts: 2,078	Say what you will about us being smarter, but whenever I think about how Kepler figured out planetary orbits are ellipses, with no telescopes or sophisticated equipment, I wonder if today's scientists would be able to do it without their "magic."

04-04-2008, 08:36 AM	#4
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Smarter we are. Today's scientists are able to work out the actual age of the universe.

04-04-2008, 12:08 PM	#7
icileparadise Coronation Incarnate Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Swiss Mountains Posts: 96	Selectively. Before IT we used the Holy books. And we made them say that which we wished. Now it's not so exclusive as the World has opened up. It's final right now. All that info must lead us to the correct. To ignore it now is to deny.

04-04-2008, 05:15 PM	#8
spudcon Beware of potatoes Join Date: May 2007 Location: Upstate NY, USA Posts: 2,078	So now we don't have to believe CNN and NPR any more?

04-11-2008, 02:30 PM	#10
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	It's just books. You can always get more.

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