Kobo was surprised to hear from Lavender. She hadn't realised that Lavender had gone away. She wrote back, but not encouragingly.
mmy dear lavender. so you mmade a leap of faith?? and now you have ended up in sydney. well well lavender i think you have learned sommething now. a leap of faith is not a mmark of courage. it is the mmmark of a ningnong, it is illogical to say oh well it doesn't mmmake sense but i amm going to do it anyway. you need to learn a lesson. i ammm leaving you to stew there sorry dear.
i amm not hard hearted lavender i will tell you a story and guess what lavender this story is going to suit you very well. i amm reading a story about a little girl her namme is sophie. the little girl has lost her daddy. yes!! your ears have pricked up now.
the story is in french lavender, i amm not very good at french but i amm trying, that is what we all should do, try, not go to sydney in a shoebox, but enough said i think.
the little girl's daddy is buried in a coffin and the little girl does not mmind because she thinks her daddy is asleep. because the grownups have told her so. she throws mmimmosa on the coffin. she goes hommme with her mmmummmmy. she goes to school. her friends won't play with her because they know her daddy is dead and they think it mmight be catching. catching! you know lavender, like a cold.
one friend tells her her daddy is dead. the little girl didn't know that before. she thought he was asleep because the grownups told her. now she knows. she tells her mmummy. her mmummmy is surprised. now they all know.
well lavender i hope you like that story. it isn't finished i will tell you the rest another day mmmeanwhile have a careful think in sydney about LOGICAl BEHAVIOUR.
all the best dear,
frommm aunty kobo clammmm xx
Showing posts with label logic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label logic. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2011
Friday, June 26, 2009
The Pointy End
You were very quick to agree about the geometry set, I said to Pliny the Elder. I didn't think you ancient Romans thought all that much of geometry.
True, said Pliny. Schoolboys in ancient Rome were generally taught their letters, counting and music at home until they were twelve, then they would go to a school of literature to learn grammar, logic, rhetoric and dialectics. Mathematics and geometry were rather looked down upon as being used by builders and other such people.
So why do you think I should buy one for little Sefu? I asked. Is it because Quintilian recommended the study of geometry? First for the mental training developed by the subject through the logical progression of axioms and proofs. Secondly for its use in political discussions and questions of land measurement?
No, said Pliny.
Well, is it because, as you yourself point out in your Natural Histories, Pamphilus, the first artist to practice painting as a liberal art and the first in painting to be learned in all letters, especially arithmetic and geometry, claimed that without geometry art could never be perfect?
No, said Pliny.
What then?
I simply thought that a fierce-looking child like that would look with glee upon the sharp pointy end of a compass.
True, said Pliny. Schoolboys in ancient Rome were generally taught their letters, counting and music at home until they were twelve, then they would go to a school of literature to learn grammar, logic, rhetoric and dialectics. Mathematics and geometry were rather looked down upon as being used by builders and other such people.
So why do you think I should buy one for little Sefu? I asked. Is it because Quintilian recommended the study of geometry? First for the mental training developed by the subject through the logical progression of axioms and proofs. Secondly for its use in political discussions and questions of land measurement?
No, said Pliny.
Well, is it because, as you yourself point out in your Natural Histories, Pamphilus, the first artist to practice painting as a liberal art and the first in painting to be learned in all letters, especially arithmetic and geometry, claimed that without geometry art could never be perfect?
No, said Pliny.
What then?
I simply thought that a fierce-looking child like that would look with glee upon the sharp pointy end of a compass.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Preserving the Unities
Aristotle was right, observed Pliny the Elder. It is good to preserve the unities of action, time and space.
These are postmodern times I replied. I suppose you are referring to the orang-utan.
Yes, he answered. You did not go to the zoo.
It was the best thing that happened that day, I countered. And I saw it on the news.
That would cut no mustard with Aristotle, said Pliny.
Did you know him? I asked.
Not until after the volcano, said Pliny. But then we became quite good friends. He was about 350 years older than me. He was said to be the last man to know everything that was currently known about everything.
Really, I said. That is pretty amazing.
Yes, he said, but untrue. He once wrote that men had more teeth than women. Something very easy to disprove. But on the whole his ideas are much to be admired. He singlehandedly invented logic, did you know?
No, I didn't. I would very much like to meet him, but I suppose that's out of the question.
Not at all. I will invite him round to dinner if you wish.
Perfect! A fig for the unities! Do you think he might be partial to moussaka?
These are postmodern times I replied. I suppose you are referring to the orang-utan.
Yes, he answered. You did not go to the zoo.
It was the best thing that happened that day, I countered. And I saw it on the news.
That would cut no mustard with Aristotle, said Pliny.
Did you know him? I asked.
Not until after the volcano, said Pliny. But then we became quite good friends. He was about 350 years older than me. He was said to be the last man to know everything that was currently known about everything.
Really, I said. That is pretty amazing.
Yes, he said, but untrue. He once wrote that men had more teeth than women. Something very easy to disprove. But on the whole his ideas are much to be admired. He singlehandedly invented logic, did you know?
No, I didn't. I would very much like to meet him, but I suppose that's out of the question.
Not at all. I will invite him round to dinner if you wish.
Perfect! A fig for the unities! Do you think he might be partial to moussaka?
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