Celebrity Death Match Special: Feux rouges versus Oedipus Rex
I loved this book and could not it down, but I was a little surprised by the ending. I woCelebrity Death Match Special: Feux rouges versus Oedipus Rex
I loved this book and could not it down, but I was a little surprised by the ending. I would hate to ruin anyone else's enjoyment by dropping spoilers, so let me just say that this is not quite the standard way to round off a Greek tragedy. On the other hand, what's wrong with it? I feel inspired to present my alternate conclusion to Oedipus Rex:
CHORAGOS
Surely my friend, we have now grief enough? But say, forsooth, the words that you must say.
SECOND MESSENGER
The queen! Ah me, I know not how to tell—
CHORAGOS
Is dead?
SECOND MESSENGER
No, very much alive, 'tis passing strange For she had shut herself into her room I will you not deceive, we feared the worst But then the king arrived, broke down the door. The queen did lie upon her bed and wept As though her heart would break. "Ah misery!" She cried aloud, "'Twere best I'd ne'er been born!" But our brave Oedipus was not afeared. "Think of the kids, Jocasta," did he say Our Polynices, Eteocles too And Ismene and young Antigone They need their parents, Joc, we must be strong. Really I think this is a chance for us To make a fresh new start. I do not care If you were once my mom, it was so long Ago we can well say that crime's proscribed And as for killing dad, well, lah di dah It's really not as bad as it may sound. With these and other honeyed words did he Comfort the queen in all her grief and pain And soon she pulled him close and kissed him much— I thought it best I then did take my leave.
CHORAGOS
Oh happy ending! This the crowd should please And someone, break the news to Sophocles.
Both authors miraculously declared winners after appearance of last minute deus ex machina...more
Celebrity Death Match Special: Jimmie Thomas vs Elon Musk
Xle-lee-dee-dee-dee, Xle-lee-dee-dee Xle-lee-dee-dee-dee, Xle-lee-dee-dee Xle-lee-dee-dee-dee, Celebrity Death Match Special: Jimmie Thomas vs Elon Musk
X.X.X.X He rocks in the tree tops all day long Hoppin' and a-boppin' and a-singing his song All the little birds on Jaybird Street Love to hear the robin go X X X
Rockin' robin.X.X.X Rockin' robin.X,Xle-lee-dee Blow rockin' robin
Match point not posted due to new daily limit...more
If you end up simultaneously reading book 6 of A la recherche du temps perdu and watching series 6 of Engrenages, what can you do but write:
[image]
CelIf you end up simultaneously reading book 6 of A la recherche du temps perdu and watching series 6 of Engrenages, what can you do but write:
[image]
Celebrity Death Match Special: Marcel Proust versus Caroline Proust
Le bureau de LAURE BERTHAUD. LAURE, HERVILLE, GILOU, TINTIN. Ils regardent un livre.
LAURE: Putain ! Mais c'est quoi ce bordel ?
HERVILLE: Albertine disparue. Le sixième livre de Marcel Proust.
LAURE: Et en quoi ça nous regarde ?
HERVILLE: Vous ne trouvez pas la mort d'Albertine un peu—
GILOU: Albertine ? Sa gonzesse ?
HERVILLE: Oui. Morte « jetée par son cheval contre un arbre ». Il écrit qu'il ne fait que pleurnicher toute la journée, mais—
LAURE: Mais ?
HERVILLE: Je crois qu'il tourne la page bien vite.
LAURE: Ça veut dire quoi, patron ?
HERVILLE: Bof—
TINTIN: Il baise sa meilleure amie. L'italienne aussi. Cette histoire de détournement de mineur—
LAURE: Alors, bref, c'est possible qu'il a buté sa meuf ?
HERVILLE: Qu'en penses-tu ?
LAURE: Moi je n'en sais rien, j'ai pas lu. C'est comment ce roman ?
TINTIN: Tu veux savoir ce qu'il en écrit lui-même ?
LAURE: Vas-y.
TINTIN: Ces phrases de mon article, lorsque je les écrivis, étaient si pâles auprès de ma pensée, si compliquées et opaques auprès de ma vision harmonieuse et transparente, si pleines de lacunes que je n'étais pas arrivé à remplir, que leur lecture était pour moi une souffrance, elles n'avaient fait qu'accentuer en moi le sentiment de mon impuissance et de mon manque incurable de talent. Mais maintenant, en m'efforçant d'être lecteur, si je me déchargeais sur les autres du devoir douloureux de me juger, je réussissais du moins à faire table rase de ce que j'avais voulu faire en lisant ce que j'avais fait. Je lisais l'article en m'efforçant de me persuader qu'il était d'un autre. Alors toutes mes images, toutes mes réflexions, toutes mes épithètes prises en elles-mêmes et sans le souvenir de l'échec qu'elles représentaient pour mes visées, me charmaient par leur éclat, leur ampleur, leur profondeur. Et quand je sentais une défaillance trop grande, me réfugiant dans l'âme du lecteur quelconque émerveillé, je me disais: «Bah! comment un lecteur peut-il s'apercevoir de cela, il manque quelque chose là, c'est possible. Mais, sapristi, s'ils ne sont pas contents! Il y a assez de jolies choses comme cela, plus qu'ils n'en ont l'habitude.»
LAURE: Tu te fous de ma gueule ?
HERVILLE: Traduit, pour lui c'est de la merde, pour nous autres c'est de l'or pure.
GILOU: A mon avis c'est plutôt l'inverse.
LAURE: Putain !
Winner: the application of Kantian epistemology to romantic relationships...more
In the original draft version of the Tale of Beren and Lúthien, I learn here that Melian the Maia was called "Gwendeling". I blush to admit it, but thIn the original draft version of the Tale of Beren and Lúthien, I learn here that Melian the Maia was called "Gwendeling". I blush to admit it, but this irresistibly reminded me of a certain song. With the help of some well-disposed muses (they know who they are), I was inspired to compose the following, which I hope is equally respectful to both of the beloved cultural icons in question:
Celebrity Death Match Special: J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien versus Chuck Berry
When I was a little bitty elf I tried to write a poem all by myself. I needed more rhymes, my muses had the thing So now here's our piece about Queen Gwendeling!
Chorus:
Queen Gwendeling, Queen Gwendeling Lúthien's mom was Queen Gwendeling. Queen Gwendeling, Queen Gwendeling In the first draft, she was Queen Gwendeling!
Lúthien was immortal and hot. When Beren saw her he liked her a lot. He said "Who's the babe? And wow, can she sing! Perhaps she's the daughter of Queen Gwendeling!"
(Chorus)
In the first draft, Beren was a gnome. A big disadvantage when Lú took him home. He made no impression on Thingol, the King And it didn't go better with Queen Gwendeling.
(Chorus)
Thingol said, "Girl, your boyfriend's a dill But I could change my mind for a real silmaril... If you want my approval, that's what you should bring It sure would look good on Queen Gwendeling!"
(Chorus)
Beren said "Right! To Angband I go! I'll pick up the goods for you and ya ho!" Thingol said, "Great! Just get me the bling! But that's no way to talk to Queen Gwendeling!"
(Chorus)
Now even though Melkor was nasty and mean He fell for Lú's foxy pole dance routine. If maybe you think she was packing a ring The Second Age was after Queen Gwendeling!
(Chorus)
Melkor watched Lú and her twinkling toes But suddenly found that he needed to doze. He yawned with a hand on his dark ding-a-ling: "The chick's... even hotter... than Queen Gwendeling!"
(Chorus)
Melkor's lieutenant was a cat named Tevildo
The rest of this review has been suppressed following reports that Conservative MPs have been browsing it on their smartphones in the House of Commons. No points awarded. ______________________
But seriously...
My conscience is giving me a hard time over this, and I want to offer some kind of defence. The interesting thing about the first draft of Beren and Lúthien is how it shows that Tolkien's apparently miraculous power to create names wasn't miraculous at all, it was painstakingly learned. "Gwendeling" is a terrible name, and he must also have realised this when he changed it to "Melian". "Tevildo" is even worse, and I do wonder when Tolkien noticed that it only rhymes with one word in the English language, a word that's been around since at least the sixteenth century (check out this poem if you don't believe me). "Tevildo" later became "Thû, the necromancer", already a vast improvement, and ended up as the fantastic name "Sauron", which deservedly has become a synonym for evil.
But even if there were some choices which he later regretted, Tolkien certainly made some very good decisions even this far back. Lúthien was always called "Lúthien", and it is indeed a wonderful name. But he wasn't content with just getting some of it right, he wanted to keep on improving things, and he did the necessary work. Really, I admire him more after reading this unsatisfactory preliminary sketch....more
Don't misunderstand me (it's appalling how often people seem to misunderstand me), this is an excellent introduction to the React framework. I could gDon't misunderstand me (it's appalling how often people seem to misunderstand me), this is an excellent introduction to the React framework. I could go on for hours about (view spoiler)[functional programming and promises and hooks, and how neatly all these things fit together (hide spoiler)]. Really, I know I should give you the details on (view spoiler)[the authors' explanations of destructuring, the spread operator and JSX (hide spoiler)], but instead I'm very unfairly going to present
Celebrity Death Match Special: string theory versus web frameworks
"Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, world-historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice. He has forgotten to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce."
- Karl Marx
String Theory
Quantum mechanics was one of the most extraordinary breakthroughs in the history of science; among other things this made possible the atomic bomb, which quickly proved its worth by ending WW II in a few days. Physicists became important and influential people, and were showered with money and prestige. Some of them were satisfied to continue with mainstream work in nuclear theory, semiconductors, stellar nucleosynthesis, and a host of related disciplines that quantum mechanics had brought into being. But others felt that these occupations, once miraculous, were now rather mundane. They wanted to investigate new frameworks which broadened and deepened quantum mechanics: the most successful of them became known as string theory. It was, unfortunately, very difficult to find criteria for determining whether specific versions of string theory had any objective merits, but its practitioners, who included some of the most brilliant scientists in the world, were not discouraged. Many people used their tools, and the ideas were generally agreed to be extraordinarily attractive. Problems were encountered, but they could always be fixed by creating yet another version. When so many people were writing papers based on string theory, could it be wrong? One of the most significant developments was the effect on the notion of "reality", which followed from subtle mathematical properties of the formalism. It was no longer so clear what "reality" was; but philosophers generally thought this made string theory even more interesting.
Web Frameworks
The internet was one of the more influential breakthroughs in the history of technology; among other things this made possible the World Wide Web, which quickly proved its worth as a mechanism for distributing porn. Web developers became important and influential people, and were showered with money and prestige. Some of them were satisfied to continue with mainstream work in e-commerce, social networks, video conferencing and a host of related fields that the Web had brought into being. But others felt that these occupations, once miraculous, were now rather mundane. They wanted to investigate new software paradigms which broadened and deepened the way in which web development was carried out: the most successful of them became known as web frameworks. It was, unfortunately, very difficult to find criteria for determining whether specific web frameworks had any objective merits, but their practitioners, who included some of the most followed geeks in the world, were not discouraged. Many people used their tools, and the ideas were generally agreed to be extraordinarily attractive. Problems were encountered, but they could always be fixed by creating yet another release. When so many people were implementing apps based on web frameworks, could they be wrong? One of the most significant developments was the effect on the notion of "reality", which followed from the ease with which bare-faced lies could be disseminated online. It was no longer so clear what "reality" was; but politicians generally thought this made web frameworks even more interesting.
Celebrity Death Match Special: The Call-Girls versus Watchlist
"Future generations!" Nikolai groaned. "What will they say? Fifty years on,[Part 1 here]
Celebrity Death Match Special: The Call-Girls versus Watchlist
"Future generations!" Nikolai groaned. "What will they say? Fifty years on, how will people view the human race's prospects for continued survival if we do not act now?"
"As a matter of fact," said Tony brightly, "one of our psi talents has been working on that very question. He has come up with an ... ah ... extrapolation of a dramatic piece that, he assures us, will be performed in South Australia in 2021. I have the script here. In some ways, I cannot help remarking on its similarity to our present undertaking. Please tell me what you think."
He put a slim volume on the table. The title was Watchlist.
"Rot," grunted Harriet succinctly.
"But," said Tony, "my dear lady, you have not even--"
"She doesn't need to," said John D. John. "From the point of view of information theory, the probability that--"
"And when we consider it as operant conditioning--" added Professor Burch.
Suddenly, half the delegates were talking at once.
Meanwhile, Professor Petitjacques had picked up the book and begun leafing though it. Every now and then, he nodded approvingly.
"If I may interrupt," he said, "I will say, this I like very much. The characters are our utter antithesis. They are vulgar, uneducated, on the margins of society. No one in a position of authority would waste a moment listening to their ridiculous diatribes. And yet ... I feel they may succeed, where we, alas I am certain of it, will fail."
"Why?" asked Nikolai, intrigued despite himself. "What do they have to offer, that we lack?"
Celebrity Death Match Special: Watchlist versus The Call-Girls
[ROGER's pad. ROGER, resplendent in unwashed mauve dressing-gown, is handing the guileleCelebrity Death Match Special: Watchlist versus The Call-Girls
[ROGER's pad. ROGER, resplendent in unwashed mauve dressing-gown, is handing the guileless and visibly wilting BASIL a huge stack of books. He pops the last two on the pile.]
ROGER: ... so yeah, know your enemy. Here's Mein Kampf and The Art of the Deal.
BASIL: We're done?
ROGER: Wait, one more. The Call-Girls. Better start there.
BASIL: It's by the author of Swedish Airline Hostesses on the Job?
ROGER: Cretin. Oaf. Illiterate. Arthur Koestler.
BASIL: Strange name for a pornographer.
ROGER: You need to broaden your cultural horizons, you ignoramus. Well come on!
[BASIL hesitantly opens the book.]
BASIL: I told you it was porn. Here's two lesbos getting it on.
ROGER: You are so missing the point. Let me spell it out in terms even your Peter Jackson stunted mind will be able to grasp. What are you and the magic pixie girl trying to do?
BASIL: Get it on?
ROGER: Can you ever think about anything but sex?
[BASIL considers the question seriously. ROGER loses patience.]
ROGER: Save the world, right?
BASIL: Oh yeah. That.
ROGER: Well the people in The Call-Girls are trying to do the same thing.
BASIL: Who are they?
ROGER: High-powered academics. Nobel laureates. Famous poets.
BASIL: And how are they going to save the world?
ROGER: They decide to meet up for a week in this posh Swiss mountain village. They're going to come up with a plan. And when they've found it, they're going to write a letter to the President and tell him how to save the world. Like Einstein wrote a letter to Roosevelt in 1939 telling him the US needed to build an atom bomb.
BASIL: But isn't that more like ... destroying the world?
[ROGER clutches his head in his hands.]
ROGER: They needed to save the world from Adolf Hitler. You do know who Adolf Hitler was? He wrote one of the books I just gave you.
[Basil looks at the stack, hesitates over The Art of the Deal, then picks out Mein Kampf with a flourish.]
ROGER: Well done, grasshopper!
BASIL: So does their plan work? The people in The Call-Girls.
ROGER: No spoilers!
BASIL: But how could Delia and I do that? We aren't Nobel laureates or famous poets. If we wrote a letter to the President he wouldn't even open it.
[ROGER clutches his head in his hands again. Through gritted teeth:]
ROGER: Of course it doesn't work, you simpleton. You need to read this book to find out what you shouldn't do.
BASIL: So we shouldn't go to Switzerland and write a letter to the President?
[ROGER stares at the ceiling and clasps his hands. But God isn't interested in helping him.]
ROGER: That's enough strategizing for one day. We'll carry on tomorrow.
Celebrity Death Match Special: Honoré de Balzac versus Beatrix Potter
I should start by saying that this book is a lot of fun if read quickly. I particCelebrity Death Match Special: Honoré de Balzac versus Beatrix Potter
I should start by saying that this book is a lot of fun if read quickly. I particularly enjoyed getting better acquainted with the stylish and dangerous Mme de Maufrigneuse, who isn't given nearly enough screen time in Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes. And who could not love Chesnel, the faithful retainer who spends most of the novel struggling to rescue spoiled, irresponsible young Victurnien from himself? But try as I will, I remain to be convinced that Balzac really needed to provide quite so much backstory for his characters. Comparing with Beatrix Potter, the author of another greatly loved roman fleuve, I feel that the right amount of information has been provided when we are told that Peter's father had an accident in Mr McGregor's garden and was put in a pie by Mrs McGregor. It is possible that my appreciation of the book would have been further enhanced by learning that Adeline McGregor was the third daughter of the Earl of Stanwick, and was obliged by her overbearing father to make a hasty marriage to one of his tenants, a miserly and much older local farmer, in exchange for his permission, required by an obscure Scottish law introduced late in the reign of James I, for the Earl to mortgage the McGregor property in order to pay a debt of honour incurred during a card game at a dissolute London party to which he been invited by a friend he had made during his years as an undergraduate at All Souls College, Oxford, where at least he acquired a passable acquaintance with classical literature; moreover that Adeline detested the taste of rabbit, and resented being given the contents of her husband's rabbit traps and being asked to use them to prepare dinner almost as much as she disliked his penchant for greeting her reluctant presentation of the pie with a misquotation from Ovid about how rabbits change into other things.
It is, as noted, conceivable that this would have improved The Tale of Peter Rabbit. But personally, I think Beatrix Potter got it right.
[image] _________________ [Update, June 29 2021]
There is an extended sequence centred around this book on pages 96-98 of Proust's Sodome et Gomorrhe. M. de Charlus, who is hitting on Mme de Surgis's son Victurnien, makes much of the coincidence of names and invites him to come over sometime and see his edition of Le Cabinet des Antiques "avec des corrections de la main de Balzac"....more
Although, or possibly because, the world appeared to be ending, I had a good reading year and found some remarkable books. Here are my top ten, alphabAlthough, or possibly because, the world appeared to be ending, I had a good reading year and found some remarkable books. Here are my top ten, alphabetical by author, but it was hard to choose...
Anonymous, Völuspá. Tolkien's favourite poem. Thanks to the LARA project, I was finally able to read and appreciate it in the original Old Norse.
Ken Binmore, Natural Justice. A remarkably original piece of philosophy that should be more famous. It's fun to read as well.
Lucy Ellmann, Ducks, Newburyport. The daughter of Joyce's biographer shows you how to do female stream-of-consciousness right. Molly Bloom, eat your heart out.
Michael Ende, Die unendliche Geschichte. For some unfathomable reason, this mystical vision is usually referred to as a children's book.
Romain Gary, La promesse de l'aube. One of the most insane autobiographies I've ever come across, wonderfully written and completely unputdownable.
Stian L. Lybech An Introduction to West Greenlandic. Oh, if only I could understand this crazy language! Stian Lybech's book really makes me want to try.
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice. Not easy to get through, but you'll feel like a better person.
Stuart Russell, Human Compatible. A terrifying glimpse of our possible near future. Anyone who's interested in technology really needs to check it out.
And now, if everyone who believes in literature claps their hands, Donald Trump will not find a way to destroy civilization before Jan 20......more
Celebrity Death Match Special: Machines Like Me versus L'invitée
Looking back, as is so often the case, it was inevitable. Miranda and I were short of Celebrity Death Match Special: Machines Like Me versus L'invitée
Looking back, as is so often the case, it was inevitable. Miranda and I were short of money; I had a story to tell which was still unusual. With a little help - the part I hated most was the nature of the help - I found it easy to transpose the events of that fateful year into a novel. It sold well, and our bank balance finally began to reassume healthy proportions. But still I had doubts. In the final analysis, did my work have any real value? There was only one person, we agreed, who could be relied on to give us an honest opinion. And thus, after several weeks of increasingly agitated discussion, a flurry of emails and a short trip on the newly commissioned Eurostar, I found myself standing outside a discreetly elegant Paris apartment. I summoned my courage and pushed the button on the interphone. A moment later, a voice, muffled and distorted but instantly recognisable from a hundred TV interviews, came though the metal grille. Allô? C'est vous, M. Friend?
I paused, hardly able to take it in: I had just been directly addressed by the legendary Simone de Beauvoir. I felt the crushing weight of a lifetime's achievements bearing down on me, from the instant recognition accorded to her first book - Tous les hommes sont mortels had received the Goncourt, been filmed starring a young Brigitte Bardot, and more or less on its own created the paranormal romance genre - through other novels, the penetrating works of philosophy, her friendships with the most brilliant writers of the century, most recently her long overdue Nobel Prize. And now I was talking to her. Ah, oui, I said feebly. The door buzzed, and I entered. She was standing in front of me, her still beautiful face belying her seventy-two years. The man beside her moved forward and addressed me in English; I failed to take in a word he said, but mechanically shook his hand. With a shock, I realised that it was her American lover, Nelson Algren. I opened my mouth, but no words emerged. De Beauvoir laughed. "Please sit down" she said. There was only the slightest trace of a French accent. "So. I understand that you wish to hear my opinion of your book." I nodded.
She looked at me sharply. "First, I wish to establish some facts. You told me that you wrote this novel in collaboration with a third party, who has not been credited. Who was the person in question?"
"I, uh..." My mouth felt dry. "Perhaps... perhaps 'who' is not the right word." De Beauvoir nodded. "I suspected as much. An artificial intelligence, then?" I indicated that she had understood the situation. "Very well," she continued. "I apologise if you find the question intrusive, but I need to know more about the nature of the collaboration. The book is not entirely without merit. I was interested in the relationship between the three main characters: they reminded me in some ways of one of my early works. You have read L'invitée?" I had not, though of course I had heard of it and knew the outline of the plot. "Yes," she said thoughtfully, "Toute conscience poursuit la mort de l'autre. The first sentence of my book, it could have been the first sentence of yours. I was sorry not to see this theme more completely developed. To return to my question: who did what?"
"Well..." I said. "You understand, it is always difficult to be exact in these matters. But approximately..." She made an impatient gesture, and I found myself blushing. "Ah... approximately, we agreed that my... collaborator... would be responsible for the philosophical basis and the narrative outline. I would supply background and additional scenes. And I would retain creative control." They exchanged glances. "Alors", said de Beauvoir briskly. "You will excuse us, but we have an urgent appointment in a few minutes. Let me ascertain that I have comprehended. The machine wrote the book, then you messed it up and added filler and infodumps. C'est ça?
I began to feel that this had not been a good idea.
Match point: to be determined by a suitably qualified AI Simone de Beauvoir...more
Celebrity Death Match Special: Sérotonine versus Snow White
[image]
Payot! Payot! It's off to shop we go! With a hammer and a pick and
[Before reading]
Celebrity Death Match Special: Sérotonine versus Snow White
[image]
Payot! Payot! It's off to shop we go! With a hammer and a pick and Houellebecq's dick Payot! Payot, Payot, Payot!
Winner: the inevitable collapse of Western society _______________________________
[After reading]
As usual, the idiots who just flick through the pages looking for things to get agitated about have found passages to fill up their vacuous articles, and you will see ugly woman academics who have made a profession out of arguing that most normal male behaviour is morally wrong complaining that the book, for example, contains detailed descriptions of girls being fucked by two dogs at once, or what you will see if you watch a piece of amateur child pornography; naturally one expects this, it's unfair to blame them, perhaps there is a clause in their contracts which obliges them to write this kind of piece, or more likely they live in perpetual fear that a jealous rival will denounce them for being insufficiently in tune with whatever dogma is currently dominating the narrow circle they inhabit and cut off access to the specialised and unenjoyable kind of sex their beliefs oblige them to practice. But I digress, in fact Houellebecq's latest book is a rather good psychological novel which often manages to be, I expect this to shock the usual suspects even more, insightful, and, not too strong a word, moving; I could go into details, but having got past the sex I imagine that virtually everyone will by now have stopped reading, so, all things considered, it seems to me that I might as well save myself the trouble and stop here. Thank you....more
The Lion, the Witch and the Celebrity Death Match: C.S. Lewis versus Brett Kavanaugh
"How do you know," asked the Profess[Original review, Sep 29 2018]
The Lion, the Witch and the Celebrity Death Match: C.S. Lewis versus Brett Kavanaugh
"How do you know," asked the Professor, "that Dr Ford's story is not true?"
"Oh, but—" began Susan, and then stopped. Anyone could see from the old man's face that he was perfectly serious. Then Susan pulled herself together and said, "But Mark Judge said it never happened."
"That is a point," said the Professor, "which certainly deserves consideration; very careful consideration. For instance — if you will excuse me for asking the question — does your experience lead you to regard Mr Judge or Dr Ford as the more reliable witness?"
"That's just the funny thing about it, sir," said Peter. "Up till now, I'd have said Dr Ford every time."
"And what do you think, my dear?" said the Professor, turning to Susan.
"Well," said Susan, "in general, I'd say the same as Peter, but this couldn't be true — all this about a history of drunkenness, misogyny and brutal sexual assaults."
"That is more than I know," said the Professor, "and a charge of lying against someone who has always been found truthful is a very serious thing; a very serious thing indeed."
"We were afraid it mightn't even be lying," said Susan; "we thought there might be something wrong with Christine."
"Madness, you mean?" said the Professor quite coolly. "Oh, you can make your minds easy about that. One has only to look at her to see that she is not mad."
"But then," said Susan, and stopped. She had never dreamed that a grown-up would talk like the Professor and didn't know what to think.
"Logic!" said the Professor half to himself. "Why don't they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either Dr Ford is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn't tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad. For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth."
Susan looked at him very hard and was quite sure from the expression on his face that he was not making fun of them.
"But how could it be true, sir?" said Peter.
"Why do you say that?" asked the Professor.
"Well, for one thing," said Peter, "if it was true why doesn't everyone remember the facts of this story the same way?"
"What has that to do with it?" said the Professor.
"Well, sir, if something happened, we all remember the same events."
"Do we?" said the Professor; and Peter didn't know quite what to say.
"But she doesn't seem very sure about some bits," said Susan. "Sometimes she said two boys were present, and sometimes four. It can't be both."
"That is the very thing that makes her story so likely to be true," said the Professor. "If Dr Ford is trying to remember something that happened to her thirty-five years ago, I should not be at all surprised to find that she had trouble recollecting certain aspects. If, on the other hand, she had made everything up, I am sure she would have seen to it that such elementary issues as the number of boys present were consistent."
"But do you really mean, sir," said Peter, "that extremely important people at the top of the political establishment could have committed serious crimes in their past, and no one knows about it?"
"Nothing is more probable," said the Professor, taking off his spectacles and beginning to polish them, while he muttered to himself, "I wonder what they do teach them at these schools."
"But what are we to do?" said Susan. She felt that the conversation was beginning to get off the point.
"My dear young lady," said the Professor, suddenly looking up with a very sharp expression at both of them, "there is one plan which no one has yet suggested and which is well worth trying."
"What's that?" said Susan.
"We might all try voting blue in November," said he. And that was the end of that conversation.
Winner: the Deep Magic from Before the Dawn of Time _____________________ [Update, Sep 24 2022]
Celebrity Death Match Special: Determinism versus Free Will 8, This Time It's Machinal
— So what did you think of the play?
— It was great! She did suchCelebrity Death Match Special: Determinism versus Free Will 8, This Time It's Machinal
— So what did you think of the play?
— It was great! She did such a great job of portraying that poor woman. You said it was based on a—
— That's right. A true story about a woman who killed her husband. I don't think that's sending a very positive message.
— But the point is she never had any choice. This was the only solution she could see. The whole staging is arranged to show that. Sometimes the only thing you can do is take a bottle full of small stones and club your husband to death with it.
— You always have a choice.
— Sure, you always have a choice, because you're a strong, capable, rational person. But she isn't. Many people are like that.
— That's no excuse.
— Look, it's a Greek tragedy. Couldn't be clearer. In the scene where she's at work, the rest of the typing pool is obviously the chorus.
— So?
— Well, that view of life has a fair track record.
— I'm still not buying it.
— Right, let's talk about something that actually is an undisputed Greek tragedy. When you watch Antigone, is your reaction that you just want to shake some sense into the heroine?
— Yeah, pretty much.
— Okay. Basically, you just didn't think it was any good?
— No, I loved it! Worth coming just for the creative lighting.
— Um... you mean that in fact we agree?
— Absolutely.
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