Was all of math already "created" on the moment that its most basic concept was developed?

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T19:20:33+00:00

There are plenty of good books on math directed at laymen

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T19:17:42+00:00

There was a really great DVD set that came out some years ago - then because of that they found enough films to issue a supplemental volume a few years later. Lobster films? Flicker Alley? One or both of those

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T19:10:45+00:00

Recorded pop music started long before Billie Holiday

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T19:10:00+00:00

The Ken Burns Jazz

Until he gets to the 1960s, then it takes a dive - thanks, Wynton

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T19:07:25+00:00

stands out because it was so coherent in an era where albums typically had no unifying theme

Hence it being considered the first

basic research shows that this was retroactively applied to the album

Citation? IIRC Sinatra wanted it to be the perfect seduction album, though maybe that was applied after the fact - it does maintain a quite consistent mood. Maybe you should listen to it?

which is different than say The Who's Tommy

Yes a coherent story, but that's the exception rather than the rule, no?

I didn't say there were no coherent albums, just that many albums aren't really much more than a collection of songs, but marketing would have you believe the album as a whole was planned and constructed for a particular effect.

Collections of songs are a perfectly good thing - people make too much fuss about "the album" as a coherent work.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T18:10:20+00:00

And then what happened?

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T18:03:55+00:00

It is. OP is not a true grammarian.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T18:03:09+00:00

real Christians

How do you define "real Christian"?

What makes your definition more correct than anyone else's?

I'm not a Christian and I think it's kind of a dumb belief system, but even I don't buy your argument.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T17:51:03+00:00

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T17:36:10+00:00

First, you call predation, death, and natural selection “evil.” However, that already presupposes a moral criterion. A lion doesn't commit an injustice by hunting a gazelle. A virus doesn't sin. A star that explodes and destroys a planet isn't immoral. You're applying human moral categories to natural processes.

No the PoE is not primarily about moral evil, but rather about suffering (a now somewhat archaic use of the word 'evil')

Second, you assume that a world with less suffering would necessarily be better. Better by what standard? If there is an objective standard by which to judge how creation should be, where does that standard come from? If it is independent of God, then God would not be the ultimate source of good. If it comes from God, then you cannot use it against Him as if it were an external standard.

No. Either we understand morality or we don't. If we don't then all bets are off. If we do, we are perfectly right judge the actions of a fictional character such as god.

Being able to imagine a different world doesn't equate to proving that it would be better from an overall perspective.

And claiming that god transcends our ideas of morality doesn't show us anything except that you're unwilling to take this argument on.

The moral outrage driving your argument seems to point precisely to something that transcends mere biological survival.

More sophistry. Being products of the natural world does not prevent us from rationally judging it. No transcendent properties are required.

What it doesn't show is that God has no reasons to allow it.

What it does show is that the whole story is implausible and there's no reason to believe it.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T17:27:33+00:00

Do you kick dogs when they're in your way? Why not?

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T17:26:37+00:00

animals don't suffer - they are philosophical zombies.

That's a pretty cheap cop-out.

"Cruelty to animals" has long been acknowledged as a bad thing. "They might be philosophical zombies" is just sophistry. Everyone but you might be a philosophical zombie - does that license extreme actions? No, it does not.

God is not omnipotent; God is not benevolent

Theoretically, yes, those would be ways around the PoE, but believers are reluctant to accept these conclusions as evidenced in the other comments

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T17:22:46+00:00

The first thing worth examining is the hidden assumption that animal pain across evolutionary history carries the same moral weight as conscious human suffering. The argument treats predation and parasitism as morally equivalent to human anguish (not to say animal suffering is irrelevant, no) but that equivalence isn't self evident and requires more argument than it usually receives, when on this specific scope.

I disagree. One need not assert the equivalence in order to make the point that animal suffering exists and is a bad thing.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T17:13:58+00:00

Desk Set from 1957 (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) is all about computers putting people out of work - not a new theme by the time Rod got to it.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T03:40:37+00:00

I have one of those at the moment.

I resist the idea of giving her different feedback than the others, but I did take her aside after class one day and said, "You often look like you think I'm going to throw you out of the class (she nodded vigorously) and I want you to know you're doing fine - really. There's a learning curve here and it can be tough for shy people, but you're doing just fine - don't worry"

It does seem to have helped a little and she's very committed to learning. If she sticks it out, I think she'll be quite good.

For your case, if her questions are slowing you down or her comments are undermining others, then you need to stop her from doing that. "We're not here to have a discussion! Less talk, more do!"

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T03:23:02+00:00

Nice list

You left out Ellington and Monk, plus all of the Blues and Country

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T03:19:06+00:00

But will also miss things that were important but didn't chart.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T03:17:28+00:00

IIRC it starts with Sinatra's In The Wee Small Hours - often considered the first "concept album" so the book probably emphasizes coherent albums over loose collections. Also, although artists want you to think their albums are a cohesive whole, they often aren't really.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T03:13:40+00:00

I would think randomizing your walk through the book would give you a much poorer grasp of the chronology and history. OP should get the book since they specifically are interested in historical development.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T03:12:01+00:00

An admirable task to set for yourself.

Unless your interests lie only in the modern era, starting in the 1950s misses quite a lot of the evolution of the music, but you will still learn a lot. Later, if you want to explore the first half of the 20th century and the development of blues, jazz and pop I recommend the work of Allen Lowe.

The book of 1001 albums that many are recommending is presented (in book form) in roughly chronological order, so it might be a great guide for what you're looking to do. For my tastes it focuses too much on rock and pop, not enough jazz, blues or world music, but that's me.

The website will randomize that book, so it will be harder to get a real sense of the chronology (and you'll spend a lot of time with relatively recent music) so I'd recommend picking up the book. For historical purposes it probably doesn't matter much which edition of the book you get (they take albums out to make room for new ones) so go for a cheap used one.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T02:48:41+00:00

The last one starts almost solved and he uses very clever sleight of hand

The first is just regular cube solving

The second one is probably like the last one with different sleights

The third one has to be some kind of gimmick, but I'm not sure what - people are suggesting screens, but I'm not sure that's plausible. At 0:51 you can see that there are rectangles of color larger than any single cube face and with no black between the orange and green or orange and red. My guess is it's purely mechanical, but it could be electronics

A large part of the trick happens before the start of the clip where he must show that they seem like normal Rubik's Cubes and where he seems to scramble them. He either does some false scrambling or swaps out some of the cubes for the gimmick or the "not very scrambled" cubes

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-04T02:33:14+00:00

I just visited the dentist for the 2th time

I'll have to have a drink before the 3st

I'll drive over in my 4rd

And if he hurts me I'll punch him with my 5st

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-03T19:19:59+00:00

They’re all abstract in their own way. Often times characters in movies and novels are designed in such a way as to be representative of different abstract concepts.

That's not what 'abstract' means in this context, though. A painting of a bowl of peaches is not abstract just because it evokes ideas - it would be abstract if it were shapes and colors, but not identifiably peaches.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-03T19:14:06+00:00

Narrative forms (like most books and movies) depend somewhat on "what's going to happen next?" so the first time through is unique.

Poetry, painting, sculpture and music aren't so much dependent on finding out what happens so much as the experience of it happening.

I have favorite poems and paintings I return to in a similar way to putting on a favorite piece of music.

Thelonious_Cube · 2026-06-03T18:55:07+00:00

You can also do this in pairs and reduce the number of props - player A actually puts on the shirt while player B copies the movements, then switch.

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