Monthly Archives: March 2008

PLACEBOS AND HOMEOPATHY.

PLACEBOS AND HOMEOPATHY. In the article I posted on yesterday, Michael Skapinker raises the question of whether placebos should be prescribed by doctors. He points out that placebos are already widely prescribed, saying that “Homeopathic medicines are so heavily diluted … Continue reading

Posted in Science | 1 Comment

RESEARCH ON THE PLACEBO EFFECT.

RESEARCH ON THE PLACEBO EFFECT. I posted here about the placebo effect, which is important, but as far I can tell, little studied. What are the factors that determine the strength of the placebo effect? Dan Ariely (whose behavioral research … Continue reading

Posted in Science | Leave a comment

PAINT DRIES IN LOTS OF PLACES.

PAINT DRIES IN LOTS OF PLACES. Professor Mahadevan, whom I posted on yesterday, sees paint drying everywhere. He sees mountains as wrinkles on the earth. He sees the islands of Japan as formed by molten lava collapsing with a perimeter … Continue reading

Posted in art, Science | Leave a comment

WATCHING PAINT DRY—DOES IT CRACK OR DOES IT WRINKLE?

WATCHING PAINT DRY—DOES IT CRACK OR DOES IT WRINKLE? Perhaps because, as a baseball fan, I am predisposed to take an interest in paint drying, I loved this article by Jonathan Shaw about the applied mathematician Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan. When paint … Continue reading

Posted in art, Science | Leave a comment

FRANK RAMSEY ON MAN.

FRANK RAMSEY ON MAN. Frank Ramsey expressed my feelings about our lives and about literature which deals with the trivialities of human life. “Where I seem to differ from my friends is in attaching little importance to physical size. I … Continue reading

Posted in Literature | 2 Comments

SAMUEL BECKETT ON MAN.

SAMUEL BECKETT ON MAN. Samuel Beckett’s plays dramatize the triviality of ordinary lives when compared with the enormities of time and space, the details of ordinary lives are trivial. This wikipedia article quotes James Knowlson who had interviewed Beckett: “Beckett … Continue reading

Posted in Literature, Theater | Leave a comment

FRANK RAMSEY ON SILENCE AND WORDS (COMMENT).

FRANK RAMSEY ON SILENCE AND WORDS (COMMENT). Nick commented here, ““Even if we come to some sort of conclusion – whether or not words are adequate – how will this change anything?” Say we decide words aren’t enough to express … Continue reading

Posted in Literature | Leave a comment

BLOOD IN OLD MOVIES.

BLOOD IN OLD MOVIES. Apparently in old black and white movies–westerns for example–it was determined that the best way to portray blood was to use chocolate syrup.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF BLOOD.

A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF BLOOD. When we saw ROSE RAGE, the Chicago Shakespeare Company’s performance of the three HENRY VI plays, the plays were set in a Victorian butcher shop. Every time there was a violent death on … Continue reading

Posted in Literature, Shakespeare, Theater | 1 Comment

BLOOD AND SHAKESPEARE.

BLOOD AND SHAKESPEARE. JULIUS CAESAR needs a strong assassination scene. I think that TITUS ANDRONICUS is a play where there can be too much blood. Molly commented here that she saw a production of TITUS ANDRONICUS in which “there was … Continue reading

Posted in Literature, Shakespeare, Theater | Leave a comment