Rantatouille Caveat Lector

06.01.08 2 pm
Good fashion is necessarily aesthetic and pragmatic, a fusion of form and function.  But sub-hipster trousers are the antithesis of both – they expose the posterior in a most unsightly fashion and severely compromise leg maneuverability; their shallow pockets are a laughable afterthought.

08.01.08 5:15 pm
Intelligence is awareness and analysis of self and surrounding, with the ability to create and recognize patterns of order, the desire to question, the capacity to make sense of trial and error.

But one wonders if intelligence is simply the capacity to learn, without sentience. "Smart" computers and algorithms "learn", yet they hardly comprehend it. They store and use information without knowledge and perception. It is unlikely they will ever "know" in the way man does.

22.04.08 Tue 6am
The neurological mechanism for sleepwalking is somewhat unclear.

Despite unconsciousness, sleepwalkers exhibit behaviours indicative of complex sensory perception and higher brain function, such as verbal conversation, tool manipulation, obstacle avoidance and even sexual intercourse.

It might be postulated that sleepwalking is a state of active short-term memory and inactive long-term memory. However, this cannot explain the recognition of, and intelligent interaction with, other people and objects. Coherent, conversational use of language and obstacle-manoeuvring clearly draw on learnt experience, which resides in long-term memory.

Perhaps sleepwalking results from inability to modify long-term memory, with the ability to draw from it retained. This is similar to an infant-state, in which conscious thought –if any- is rapidly forgotten, although semi-intelligent interactive behaviour is possible.

9th February 2008 Saturday 12 pm
Concise = condensed + incisive.

It is a good mental exercise to think, speak and write concisely, with style and meaning as condensed and incisive as possible. Elaboration is often less difficult than summary. Punch can be made from syrup, though the reverse is not necessarily so.

13.04.08 Sun
Saying "there can be no Good without Evil" is like saying one cannot see White without seeing Black.

15.06.08 Sun 1pm
F(P)unny, politically-incorrect musical statements:
Jane you’re flat.
John, you’re sharp (not a compliment).
I’ve snapped my G-string.

09.01.08  11 am

The most captivating music is fiery, explosive emotion forged with cold, indifferent technical perfection.

23.02.08
Romantic failure is like smallpox. Its survivors become immune, but indelibly scarred.

23.02.08
The jilted male can become most obnoxiously bold and aggressive, just as a bright hopeful star may devolve post-supernova into an all-consuming blackhole.

23.02.08
Perhaps many men admire Batman not for his intellectual and physical agility, but for his wealthy and flirtatious Bruce Wayne persona.

22.03.08 Sat
Claiming hereditary entitlement to copyright (on basis of ancestry) is the modern (commercial) manifestation of monarchy.

15.02.08
Some [male] violinists’ perspectives on women:
The philandering flirt: Violins are like women. Mastery requires frequent play.
The doting husband: Violin is like wife. Fine understanding demands careful attention.
The jilted mediocrity: Women are like violins. Competence requires practice. Virtuosity demands talent.
The dispassionate observer: Women are like violins. Only the best and rarest improve with age indefinitely.

15.03.08 Sat
There are many ignorant individuals (parents especially) who would impose their ideology solely on the basis of seniority (and supposedly greater experience).

But experience is not always proportional to age. Those who think and experiment more can in a shorter time acquire more experience than those who spent a lifetime idly accepting the status quo.

05.06.08 Thu 2:40pm
No language, and no degree of linguistic precision or artistry, can match the match the power in telepathic transmission of pure thought and emotion.

10.03.08 Mon
Is thought the abstraction of language, or language the tangible expression of thought? Language enables thought, or thought creates language? 

Observable phenomenon support the latter.

Blind, deaf and mute people can think.
An abandoned infant who somehow survives to adulthood without learning language can think.
People often experience thought(s) which they cannot verbally express.
Dreams often consist of thought and imagination without language.

There is no logical, causal progression from language to thought. Thoughtless language is simply meaningless noise, which cannot be a precursor to meaningful speech.

However, the pathway from thought to language is intuitive. The desire to communicate abstract thought through tangible media, todefine and describe with minimal physical analogy easily inspires the invention, development and/or use of language. Such development is not merely a characteristic of anthropo-linguistic history – it can be observed even in growing toddlers.

The common practice of thinking in a certain language does not prove that thought exists only in language. It simply suggests that the linguistic medium is a convenient framework for thought.

An interesting consideration would be the hypothetical scenario of telepathic, empathetic communication - no language is involved, although communication of thought is significantly sharper in the absence thereof.

15th Jan 9:45 am
In the physical universe, the states of lowest energy are often those of stable equilibrium. Similarly eunuchs, devoid of sexual energy, enjoy stable social equilibrium.

15th Jan 8 am
Moving to a paperless paradigm is not doing away with paper completely, but only when it is more efficient and less wasteful to do so.

If one needs to use only a few sheets worth of data at a time then paper clearly excels even a laptop in space and energy efficiency. Printing in page layout and ink saving print modes is a small, one-off energy-material investment. But keeping a computer display on for long durations of referral requires constant energy expenditure.

If the display screen is small, printed material avoids the need to constantly switch between applications for viewing different data. Print thereby serves as a second monitor at far lower energy cost.

25.05.08 Sun 2:10pm
The urban cacophony is but wasted energy awaiting reclamation.