Lawrence Wilkinson @LHWilkinson@mastodon.social
A timeless practical joke: the Pythagorean Cup
(Plus- Leibniz)
“All practical jokes, friendly, harmless or malevolent, involve deception, but not all deceptions are practical jokes”*…
Ponder pranks at: https://bit.ly/2KCoPRU
The scholar who rescued the philosophical reputations of Seneca and Cicero...all too relevant today
(Plus- across Niagara Falls on a tightrope)
“Let us now praise famous men [and women], and our fathers [and mothers] that begat us”*…
Note that the past is present again: https://t.co/ySpaRIUti9
From George Bernard Shaw to Keith Richards, "Encyclopedia Hounds"
(Plus- the iPhone)
“The Encyclopedia – the advance artillery of reason, the armada of philosophy, the siege engine of the enlightenment”…
Look it up at: https://t.co/Ue0Pg8I1Dp
The economic impact of violence
(Plus- a shot felt, if not heard, around the world)
“If we desire a society of peace, then we cannot achieve such a society through violence”*…
Pine for ploughshares at https://t.co/v3UnDuWtSI
She caught bullets with her bare hands — and made Magic’s glass ceiling disappear
(Plus- Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz)
“Magic is an art form where you lie and tell people you are lying”…
Abracadabra: https://t.co/VdbqjLdLrP
Want to change society’s views? Here’s how many people you’ll need on your side
(Plus- the Pied Piper)
“For the most part we do not first see, and then define, we define first and then see”…
Make your case at https://t.co/nRZNVuZr7K
Mass hysteria: "The Unexplained Dancing Plague & Other Epidemics of Yore"
(Plus- E.T.A. Hoffmann)
“We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it”…
Go wild at: https://t.co/BRh6ip5ngI
The financial scandal no one is talking about
(Plus- Mark Twain's patents)
“A firm’s income statement may be likened to a bikini- what it reveals is interesting but what it conceals is vital”*…
Count beans at: https://t.co/TaR2Wr4TMt
On International Widows Day—and every day:
Protecting Widows' Rights to Land
@Landesa_Global
Horse Diving
(Plus- Vespasian)
“There is always danger for those who are afraid”*…
Thrills and chills at https://t.co/2n4BCqBSlz
A global Dust Bowl is coming
(Plus-- the godfather of energy efficiency)
“I will show you fear in a handful of dust”*…
The story: https://t.co/NYbptBlr5j
In an age of all-knowing algorithms, how do we choose not to know?
(Plus- Tim Bray)
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge”*…
Consider closing your eyes: https://t.co/xdUXFsi32Y
The asterisk in action: "Ode to the Dinkus"
(Plus- Oxford)
“The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit … a mobility of illusory forms immobilised in space”…
Separate your sections: https://t.co/bPOTAjW39D
Fond remembrance: 20 things Anthony Bourdain hated
(Plus- Juneteenth)
“Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”*…
Exercise (real) discretion at: https://t.co/U2ISXcKVjO
The National Debt Dilemma
(Plus- the Modigliani of money)
“I’m living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart”*…
Parse "prudence" at: https://t.co/S6ReYJ8pwl
George Orwell predicted the challenge of writing in these times
(Plus- Liberty arrives)
“Imagination, like certain wild animals, will not breed in captivity”*…
Say no to non-sense at https://t.co/RYCytElefS
Literary classics retold as two-panel comics
(Plus- Bloomsday)
“Classics are books which, the more we think we know them through hearsay, the more original, unexpected, and innovative we find them when we actually read them”*…
Ponder the précis: https://t.co/75I1p8cYhz
The history of cities is "A Matter of Optics"
(Plus- Ben's kite)
“The city’s full of people who you just see around”*…
Take a look: https://t.co/yPillQxM8x
Recursive recipes
(Plus- famous Nathan)
“A recipe is a story that ends with a good meal”*…
Noodle on "natural" at: https://t.co/mJkls8RsMH
A brief history of America’s appetite for macaroni and cheese
(Plus- the sausage king)
“All food is comfort food… maybe I just like to chew”*…
Dig in at: https://t.co/4K2RrEmmWA
