The highest happiness of man... is to have probed what is knowable andquietly to revere what is unknowable.
- Goethe
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Recycling
Abraham Myerson relates the following story in his book 'TheFoundations of Personality':
'I have a son who, when he was three, manifested great emotion if death were to enter in a story. "Will anything happen?" he would ask,meaning, "Will death enter?" And if so, he would beg not to have thatstory told. But when he was four, he heard someone say that there werepeople who took old automobiles apart, fixed up the parts and thesewere then placed in other automobiles.
"That's what God does to us," he cried triumphantly. "When we die, He takes us apart and puts us into babies, and we live again." Thereafter, he would discuss death as fearlessly as hespoke of dinner, and all his fears vanished.
'I have a son who, when he was three, manifested great emotion if death were to enter in a story. "Will anything happen?" he would ask,meaning, "Will death enter?" And if so, he would beg not to have thatstory told. But when he was four, he heard someone say that there werepeople who took old automobiles apart, fixed up the parts and thesewere then placed in other automobiles.
"That's what God does to us," he cried triumphantly. "When we die, He takes us apart and puts us into babies, and we live again." Thereafter, he would discuss death as fearlessly as hespoke of dinner, and all his fears vanished.
Quotes
"Man who chase two rabbits catch neither"
- Old Chinese Proverb
"Minds tend to be emotional, not rational"- Strategy Guru
- Jack Trout
"Unless teams can learn, the organization cannot learn"
- Peter Senge
- Old Chinese Proverb
"Minds tend to be emotional, not rational"- Strategy Guru
- Jack Trout
"Unless teams can learn, the organization cannot learn"
- Peter Senge
Herbert Paul Grice (1913-1988)
Grice was born on 15th March 1913 in Birmingham. His father Herbertowned an initially successful business manufacturing small metalcomponents. When this began to fail after the First World War, heretired from business and devoted himself to playing the cello.Grice's mother, Mabel (née Felton) took in paying pupils and educatedthem, along with her own two sons, in the family home.
From the late 1930's until 1967 he held positions at OxfordUniversity. During the war years he served in the Royal Navy. In 1967he moved to the University of California, Berkeley. He retired in 1979but continued to teach until 1986.
Grice is best known for his work in the philosophy of language, inparticular, his analysis of speaker's meaning, his conception ofconversational implicature, and his project of intention-basedsemantics.
Largely as a result of these ideas, the focus of the philosophicaldebate over the nature of meaning shifted during the 1970s and 1980sfrom linguistic representation to mental representation.
Grice's most important ideas may be found in his William Jameslectures presented at Harvard in 1967. Several lectures from thatseries were published in the form of journal articles, and for manyyears the lectures circulated in their entirety in mimeograph. Theywere finally published (in revised form) in 1989 in Grice's collectionof essays, Studies in the Way of Words. (This was published under thename 'Paul Grice'. Prior to that, Grice had been known to the world atlarge as 'H. P. Grice'.)
Publications
Grice, H. P., 1957, "Meaning" The Philosophical Review 64: 377-388.
Grice, H. P., 1968, "Utterer's Meaning, Sentence-Meaning andWord-Meaning," Foundations of Language 4: 225-42.
Grice, H. P., (1969), "Utterer's Meaning and Intentions,"Philosophical Review 78: 147-77.
Grice, H. P., (1969), "Vacuous Names", in D. Davidson and J. Hintikka,eds., Words and Objections, D. Reidel, pp. 118-145. [bookstore]
Grice, H. P., (1975), "Logic and Conversation", in P. Cole and J.Morgan, eds., Syntax and Semantics, vol. 3, Academic Press, pp. 41-58
Grice, H.P., (1982), "Meaning Revisited", in N. V. Smith, ed., MutualKnowledge, Academic Press, pp. 223-243. [bookstore]
Grice, Paul, (1989), Studies in the Way of Words, Harvard UniversityPress. [bookstore]
From the late 1930's until 1967 he held positions at OxfordUniversity. During the war years he served in the Royal Navy. In 1967he moved to the University of California, Berkeley. He retired in 1979but continued to teach until 1986.
Grice is best known for his work in the philosophy of language, inparticular, his analysis of speaker's meaning, his conception ofconversational implicature, and his project of intention-basedsemantics.
Largely as a result of these ideas, the focus of the philosophicaldebate over the nature of meaning shifted during the 1970s and 1980sfrom linguistic representation to mental representation.
Grice's most important ideas may be found in his William Jameslectures presented at Harvard in 1967. Several lectures from thatseries were published in the form of journal articles, and for manyyears the lectures circulated in their entirety in mimeograph. Theywere finally published (in revised form) in 1989 in Grice's collectionof essays, Studies in the Way of Words. (This was published under thename 'Paul Grice'. Prior to that, Grice had been known to the world atlarge as 'H. P. Grice'.)
Publications
Grice, H. P., 1957, "Meaning" The Philosophical Review 64: 377-388.
Grice, H. P., 1968, "Utterer's Meaning, Sentence-Meaning andWord-Meaning," Foundations of Language 4: 225-42.
Grice, H. P., (1969), "Utterer's Meaning and Intentions,"Philosophical Review 78: 147-77.
Grice, H. P., (1969), "Vacuous Names", in D. Davidson and J. Hintikka,eds., Words and Objections, D. Reidel, pp. 118-145. [bookstore]
Grice, H. P., (1975), "Logic and Conversation", in P. Cole and J.Morgan, eds., Syntax and Semantics, vol. 3, Academic Press, pp. 41-58
Grice, H.P., (1982), "Meaning Revisited", in N. V. Smith, ed., MutualKnowledge, Academic Press, pp. 223-243. [bookstore]
Grice, Paul, (1989), Studies in the Way of Words, Harvard UniversityPress. [bookstore]
Fernando Poyatos
Fernando Poyatos, besides teaching Nonverbal Communication in the departments of Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology of his university (University of New Brunswick), has lectured in many others in over twenty countries, organized international symposiums, and spoken to specialists, in different disciplines. Here he offers the most interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective in the field.
You can search for his papers on his university's website:www.unb.ca
His publications include the three-volume 'Nonverbal Communication across Disciplines':
You can search for his papers on his university's website:www.unb.ca
His publications include the three-volume 'Nonverbal Communication across Disciplines':
- Volume 1: Culture, sensory interaction, speech, conversation
- Volume 2: Paralanguage, kinesics, silence, personal and environmental interaction
- Volume 3: Narrative literature, theater, cinema, translation
Linking Me, Linking You
I don't think that the promise of a reciprocal link is a sufficient reason for linking to a site. What do you think?
Your Own Learning Page
If you have taken out a Gold Membership you can take advantage of our Learning Page feature. With this feature you get, subject to availability and suitability, a personalised Learning Page URL (e.g. www.LearningPages.org/Anecdotes). You can link this page to another URL or, for members who don't already have a webpage and don't want a webpage designed for them, I will can provide a standard template comprising three pages:
Page 1 - Home Page
Page 2 - Additional Information
Page 3 - Contact Page
Members who opt for this feature will be able to change colors, titles, headlines and text to match their current needs.
Page 1 - Home Page
Page 2 - Additional Information
Page 3 - Contact Page
Members who opt for this feature will be able to change colors, titles, headlines and text to match their current needs.
Use the Difficulty
As I was using the earth from some molehills to fill in the holes made by the rabbits I was reminded of a recent interview with the actor Michael Caine in which he said that one of his principles was to 'use the difficulty' — that is, when something goes wrong consider how it can be used positively.
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Sony - A Quality Company?
Does anyone else think that quality and customer service standards are falling? It seems to be widespread - even with companies that were a watchword for quality like Sony.
I had already had some doubts about Sony since what seemed like a 'reverse takeover' of Sony by Warner Brothers.
About six years ago I bought a Sony KD-28DX40U television because it was a Sony, 'future proofed', 'digital ready' and had an integrated digital tuner.
Last year I noticed that the auto tuner locked up which meant that I couldn't tune in any new channels which had come on air. I wasn't particularly worried as Sony would be broadcasting a software fix - wouldn't they?
I did some research and it seems that the Freeserve signal changed and the software in my television is incompatible even though the full broadcast specification was available when the set was designed.
But wait, it gets worse. Next month the digital switchover happens in my area and the set will need to be re-tuned. My television will then be obsolete!
I have contacted both Customer Service and the Service Centre and it seems that Sony have no intention of broadcasting or providing a software fix. They could only suggest the purchase of a set top box!
I have written to Sony's Managing Director to explain why I will not be buying any more Sony products. To date, I have had no reply, but I will report it here if I do get a reply.
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