Of all the powers conferred by the One Ring, perhaps the most idiosyncratic and random is its ability to turn the wearer invisible. Why does it do this in the first place? Well, the real answer is because Tolkien wrote it as a ring of invisibility well before he knew what it was or whatContinue reading “Would the Ring turn something you’re holding invisible?”
Iceland’s early settlement and history was a bit messy and difficult, as might be expected when attempting to settle a land with little wood for fuel or building, low temperatures even in summer, and winters of near-perpetual darkness. The proto-country never developed central rulership.
Treebeard seems to think he got a bit of a raw deal. He says: I am not altogether on anybody’s side, because nobody is altogether on my side, if you understand me: nobody cares for the woods as I care for them, not even Elves nowadays J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The TwoContinue reading “Why did Treebeard say that nobody cares for the woods?”
In the days when Sussman was a novice, Minsky once came to him as he sat hacking at the PDP-6.“What are you doing?”, asked Minsky.“I am training a randomly wired neural net to play Tic-Tac-Toe” Sussman replied.“Why is the net wired randomly?”, asked Minsky.“I do not want it to have any preconceptions of how toContinue reading “Tic-Tac-D’oh”
Art can teach us about life.
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One of my favorite things to do on a lazy Saturday afternoon is to browse a used bookstore.
My wife absolutely loves Mindy Kaling, a writer, actress, and comedian. I say “loves” charitably, because writing “is obsessed with” seems a little creepy. So in 2014, before we were married, I bought her first book, entitled Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns). I’m not entirely sure what I expected from it,Continue reading “On No”
Meet Ben.
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Strange Tales for Strange Times 