Surprise

Time and place have mystical qualities.  If we consider an eclipse, for example, its occurrence depends upon the more or less exact relation between three or more objects ; but what is surprising is that the appearance of the eclipse is more or less exactly predictable long in advance.  This suggests a mechanical sort of [...]

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Aspects of idealism

Something to meditate on.  We say that we live in the World.  We say that we know the World.  What is the difference between the World, on the one hand, and what we know of the World, on the other? We live in a phenomenal world, a world of mental images consciously perceived. Surely the [...]

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Richness and the measure of all things

I can remember words Pascal the wise Left us to ponder , which gave rise To other ideas, much paler than his own. All worlds and suns, and even yet The brightest stars that nature did beget, Compare with dust in light of human mind.

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Celestial fireworks

Bombs generally are unpleasant things ; that is why it is good to think about them.  A bomb going off in a remote and uninhabited place would attract little attention from the news media.  But a bomb exploding in a crowded public place would be of national and international concern ; it would be at [...]

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