Metal Reviews

Since a lot of you are really into Philosophy, I was wondering if any of you have studied the works of Noam Chomsky. Particularly if you're interested in Scientific Philosophy, you should be quite familiar with his Linguistic theory.

Politically, the guy definitely leans to the left.

I don't really know his linguistic theory, although my gf who is a speech therapist speaks very highly of his work in that field.

Politically, of course, his writing is very interesting. I've not read that much of it, but I have a book of his on Anarchism which I found very mind-broadening.

Chomsky's writings on the I-P conflict are fundamentally very illuminating and useful, as well as most of his political writings are. Don't know enough about linguistics to understand what he's talkin aboot there.

As for what I'm reading: A History of God - The 4,000 Year Quest Of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong.

It's very good, quite enlightening as to the philosophical traditions of Islam.

Fik Mijer- Praised and abused

Great book on heroïsm in the classical age. Love his works. This is one of those few people who can tell something that makes everybody interested even though (in this case) history isn't their thing.

Was reading:

Nicholas Grimal- A History of Ancient Egypt

Now reading:

Glen Duncan- I, Lucifer

Gandhi: An Autobiography-The Story Of My Experiments With Truth.

Started up This is Your Brain on Music and kinda alternating between it and 100 Years of Solitude now. I always had a feeling that "talent" was a silly idea.

Both great books. I never finished This Is Your Brain On Music. It's the same one, right? By that Sachs guy?

Chomsky on linguistics is interesting. I haven't studied enough to understand if it goes beyond him saying I think this is how it works and therefore it is. His political works always seemed like Marxism minus the awesomeness.

Now reading Trotsky and I don't know how successful that is. I seem to be missing too much of the historical context.

Oliver Sachs wrote Musicophilia which I think has a similar idea. somethingsomething Levitt wrote This is Your Brain on Music.

Right, sorry. Another one I have to pick up again.

Yeah, context is really important for Trotsky, I guess. It's interesting though to read him and see where pretty much everything the modern organised far-left ever says comes straight from.

What modern organized far-left?

*rim shot*

British undergraduates, all six of them.

"One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a
horrible vermin. He lay on his armour−like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly,
slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed
ready to slide off any moment. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved
about helplessly as he looked."

One of the best beginnings in the history of literature.

Anyone know what the best book is on the Second Congo War?

It'd be nice to know what it is instead of sharing this secret thing of beauty between yourselves.

It should be obvious, but anyway...

Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Arrogance, it seems, can in fact make you look gay.