Ransen's Blog

Chomsky says that it was likely that concepts arrived before language. And I thought: how could it be otherwise? If there were no concepts what would we have talked about? Hundreds of thousands of years ago, when we were not quite human, the concept of "I agree" was probably communicated to the boss of the monkey troop/tribe by movements, postures, gestures. Then maybe the word "yes" came along. Then another more complex concept occurred to the animal/humans, and afterwards a word was invented for that concept. - You're an expert are you Owen? No, just saying. Like. But it strikes me that many people have not really thought about language and yet say you need language for concepts. This idea is rife in Italy, where Latin, though slowly losing it insane grip on intellectuals here, is still considered a neccessity for civilization. Look at these words: Solar System and think about their meaning. Did you hear a voice, or see an image i

I had an argument with a web designer about a color scheme. The color scheme used by the web designer in a web site could be summarised like this: I offered an opinion that shades of dirty blue grey were not ideal, especially when used in other components of the web design. It looks like a sky from the end of the world as envisioned by a teenage heavy metal fan, aspiring satanist. The web designer retorted that the colors were not dirty blue grey but were mixes of, wait for it,... Queen Blue Dark Skate Grey Japanese Indigo Moonstone Blue Space Cadet Now look at the image again, knowing the names: Does it look a bit nicer now? Maybe. But that does not solve the problem (of the dirty grey blue) because a viewer of the web site would not know the names of the colors used, and so would not be affected by them. Like homeopathy, the magic doesn't work unless you label it.

There's a test somewhere on internet which tests reaction times, or recognition times, of the names of colors. It is a test of the Stroop effect. For example you have to say what color is the text of a word, but the word is green, and maybe it is written in red. When you do the equivalent test in black and white people are generally more accurate and faster. The problem, presumably, is because the brain recieves two messages... The color of the letters What the letters say. ...and has to conciously decide which is correct. A red arrow stop sign in a traffic light is a place where a shape and a colour disagree. This is why I don't like these traffic lights... I did not like them even before I heard about the Stroop effect. The red stop arrow I particularly dislike, because an arrow , to me, say "GO! GO! GO!" while the red color says "STOP!" So, combined, they confuse me. B

I've heard some pet owners say they have this fantasy, or maybe belief, that when they pass through the gates of paradise, all the pets they've ever owned will come rushing up to them, happily miaowing and woofing . And I ask them if all the cows and pigs they've eaten will be there waiting for them too...?

I first came across the "it's a point and squirt" as a description of a low cost camera when working for Pulse Electronics (Avionics) Biggleswade. It was initially a summer job between school and university and I'd shown my boss (note 1) some photos I'd taken years previously. The camera I'd used was a cheap plastic thing which I'd got collecting Basooka Joe chewing gum wrappers and sending them off to the Basooka Joe offices in London. Here's the US version of the offer inside the pack: The camera was plastic and clunky with a very poor lens, as you can see by the photo of my first cat (note 2): Look how blurred it is around the edges. But anyway it worked, and it was for almost free, I'd just had to chew a lot. And it was, for my boss, a "point and squirt" camera, it looked like a fake which would squirt water into the face of the person you're taking the photo of. And I was thinking that most photogr

I had to go out this morning, it was raining. This image popped into my mind's eye: Ah. Which blue jacket to wear? Then: What the hell is happening to me?! How could I seriously be considering that I needed to choose which jacket to wear? And why have I got three? (See note 1. ) At 15 in Biggleswade, Beds, UK, I'd not have hesitated, I'd wear no jacket or whatever came to hand. At 20, at Bath University , I was so arrogant and deluded that I thought girls would see my scruffiness as an attractive recklessness. So it did not matter what I was wore. (I was wrong of course) Now, a little older, in Milano Italy, before going out, I was actually taking time to consider which jacket to put on. Involuntarily. So what with the proof of the existence of god and the trilemma of the blue jackets I don't seem to be in control of my thoughts. Note 1. I have three jackets by because I've s

I don't know about you, but one of my biggest personal fears is dying after a long time in a coma or a long time in a demented state. Although I did not like to confront this fear I eventually did by reading To Die Well: Wanzer and Glenmullen say that it is very important thing to have a document, witnessed by friends, explaining your wishes for the end of your life. Since I live in Italy, I will probably die in Italy, so I searched for help in writing the document in Italian. I found the site http://www.ilbrucoelafarfalla.org/ (The Caterpillar And The Butterfly).  The website of this charity creates a PDF document declaring how you want to be treated if you are alive, but so ill you are unable to speak for yourself. The PDF created is based on replies to an online questionnaire, then gives you instructions on who should sign the printed document, who should have copies and who should know it exists. I felt better after I'd done that.