Phy-d'eau – Page 3 – Conceptual Fluid

Rip Movie

17 March 200926 April 2015

Just saw the film, Rip, last weekend. The movie explores most of the present day struggles with copyright and notions of ownership of “intellectual property.” I thought it was interesting in how it presented a US government decision in the 90s (through interviews with those responsible) to definitively shift its economy from a manufacturing oriented one, to a more pure idea trade, in which ideas are pro ... continue reading

Montreal Roof at 7, Réveillé

15 February 200911 July 2010

Redless black morning chimney mount; a two-dimensional relief stamped on white-blue sky. With ventilated hat, in brick composure the ragged outline of domestic industry stands upright, dormant while altocumulus float beyond, sunrise igniting their pink. ... continue reading

Ephemera and the National Memory

27 January 200927 February 2017

I continue to be concerned with what I once called digital cultural amnesia. Though in reflecting on the word “amnesia” I no longer think it’s the best way to express the problem. Lynne Brindley, chief executive of the British Library, writes about the phenomenon in The Observer. Too many of us suffer from a condition that is going to leave our grandchildren bereft. I call it personal digital diso ... continue reading

Coalition! I Was Wrong about Being Wrong

1 December 20086 March 2017

In my last post, I said that I was wrong about Dion’s political strategy in the last election. It turns out that while I wasn’t exactly right, I also wasn’t wrong. I’d imagined a scenario in which the conservatives were unable to win a majority, thus putting us back in the same, unworkable situation in which we entered the election. That part happened. In my imagined scenario the Liberals wo ... continue reading

Polishing Up the Political Remains

19 November 20086 March 2017

Looks like I was wrong about Dion’s political strategy. Even if I was right, it didn’t turn out as I thought. I waited until today to proclaim my wrongness because I thought the last likely possibility it could unravel as I theorized would be with the speech from the throne. Today the NDP, Liberals, and Bloc could have banded together to undo the Conservatives’ minority but from the news I’v ... continue reading

Aesthetic Transformation

8 November 200811 July 2010

“Ugly! Eyesore! How could people think it was a good idea?” A giant slab of concrete in the middle of the outer edge of the park. For shame, city! This was no sculpture, I thought. Monument between Parc La Fontaine and Sherbrooke Why preserve and move the edge of a utilitarian-designed building to the park? If the rest of the building had been demolished, why save this? What a hoax this artist made. Eve ... continue reading

Politician’s Lament

6 October 200811 July 2010

I got something the other day. After a glass of x knows what and four men had to haul the logs out of the corner, we all might say we got something— But really, it was I, I got it. It started when the king fell over. "No way to play chess" I said, referring mostly to myself. But I hadn't pushed him and indeed not a single other game had finished, so they said. I saw a few pretty close to tha ... continue reading

Thirty-Four Twenty-Threes

23 September 200811 July 2010

Starting this project, I had no idea where it would go. Yet on days like today, I joke that I’m almost there. No doubt I’ll make it, once almost there won’t be. Happy birthday, me. ... continue reading

What is a Thinking Organism?

13 September 200811 July 2010

Thinking organisms are, as the name implies, organisms that one creates purely as thinking. The term does not refer to organisms that think, rather “thinking” is used as a gerund. Thinking organisms remain “within” one’s mind where they grow and evolve as an organism might, were it physical. I came up with the notion for these in 1995, writing my first (perhaps naïve) experiment in th ... continue reading

Vote Swapping Breaks Democracy

13 September 200826 April 2015

I’ve always thought the concept of vote-swapping was problematic. Not only is it flawed in its own right but treating it as an acceptable strategy is like snuggling up to the idea that one party can function as a spoiler and that somehow, certain parties are entitled to votes. This is endemic to thinking of politics in a left/right dichotomy. Continue reading “Vote Swapping Breaks Democracy” ... continue reading

Relatives of Thinking Organisms

9 September 200827 February 2017

The following might be considered relatives to thinking organisms. These should not however, be confused for thinking organisms. These may engage a person in similar sorts of thinking or even result in similar insight or awareness, however each of these function in their own distinct ways. Thought Experiments The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy defines a thought experiment as: a technique for testing a hypothesi ... continue reading

Five Propositions about Death

26 June 200826 April 2015

1. Caught in a substance imperceptible to humans, like a spider-spun web (as their web substance certainly must be to insects). We go about our lives. One day Bill walks into the substance (the web) scarcely perceiving it. Months pass and he notices his struggle with increased workplace stress. It’s uncanny his desire for fried fat-laden food, ever greasier. Some people remark on his disinterest in physical f ... continue reading