Hjarloprillar wrote:
Greylorn
Physics and philosophy..
Huge but im willing to talk on it if you are.
Physics and macro/micro. q mech and newton..
is where i think.
Prill
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maybe we can organize some of the kids running round on this forum without supervision.
Prill,
I've written two books on the theme, integrating physics and philosophy, so yes, I'll talk about it. I'm going for an article in PNow to start, but will be nibbling at the edges of this topic, via forums in the interim.
Can't organize kids effectively, but they can organize themselves.
I go dancing at a scruffy little country western bar where parents often bring their kids-- often really young kids. Most old-fart dancers don't like the kids showing up on the dance floor, and their parents will usually try to keep them off the floor entirely, or at the far edges, like by the saloon door. But I see these children watching the dancers and wanting to get onto the floor themselves, recalling distant memories from my own childhood. So what I do is ask the parents to let me teach their kids to dance. They are always okay with this. I'll always find at least one of these young people who is willing to get on the dance floor with me, so I can show her the basics, and how to play. Before long she'll have her siblings out there, dancing and having fun. Kids are self-organizing if they're taught fundamentals of dance, but not structure. They'll find a structure that works for them.
Of course I never have time to teach any patterns or structures, so they end up dancing in the middle of the floor and often in the way. So I dance around them, sometimes blocking old fart couples who would "accidentally" bump he kids, out of resentment. I'm finding that whereas I get annoyed at having to dance around stupid, slow old farts clogging up the dance floor, I'll happily dance around and with the children-- nevermind that my back gets sore bending over to lead a 6-year old, even worse for the 3's and 4's.
Obviously your comment about organizing kids got my attention. I'm thinking out loud.
Just as I dislike old farts who clog up the dance floor with stodgy two-steps learned sixty years ago, I feel the same way about old philosophers. Wm. L. Craig is an example-- a religious old fart who pretends to philosophy, is absolutely incompetent at it, and clogs up the philosophical dance floor (e.g. the pages of Philosophy Now) by taking up space that could be used to express interesting new ideas, rather than defend ancient Catholic bullshit. That's why I did my best to work him over on the religion forum.
I am going to change my ways. I've been too much of a snob about the value of my ideas. I might have a lot more fun dancing, and exchanging ideas, with philosophical children than I've ever had with adults. Challenging nits like Craig is really no more interesting than trying to teach dance floor manners to octogenarians. Thank you for the comments that led to this point!
Yet, I've no practice at this thing from the philosophical perspective. Feel free to participate and guide, with the goal of effectively defining and answering the most fundamental questions imaginable, so long as we enjoy the process.
