Category Archives: Uncategorized

In honor of our new pontiff Leo XIV, who studied mathematics at Villanova University:

David Hume once wrote, “A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.” (Hume, Of Miracles.) But what about religious claims or paranormal beliefs, i.e. claims where physical evidence is disputed or lacking? Are people who believe in ghosts, telepathy, … Continue reading →

Why do I even need an ID (i.e. internal passport) at all to travel inside my own country? Bonus question: How many more erosions of liberty (anti-smoking rules, seat belt laws, etc.) before we stop being a “free” country?

Via Vatican News: “The upcoming Conclave starting on May 7 to elect the 267th Pope will be the 76th in the form we know today, which was established by Pope Gregory X in 1274, and the 26th held under the … Continue reading →

Now that I have brought my 11-part series on “David Hume in Borges’ Library of Babel” to a close, what better way of marking the end of this intellectual escapade than with a melancholic piece of music performed by one … Continue reading →

I will conclude my series on “David Hume in the Library of Babel” by returning to to the question I posed in my previous post: Why hope? Why faith? Hope/faith/belief that the decoder book or master index will one day … Continue reading →

Act III, scene iii of David Hume in the Library of Babel Below are the last two paragraphs of Jorge Luis Borges’ short story “The Library of Babel.” Here, the Argentine author (pictured above) concludes his story by contrasting “the … Continue reading →

Act III, scene ii of David Hume in the Library of Babel Pictured above is a sample page from a random book in the imaginary world of Jorge Luis Borges’ short story Library of Babel. (Words that are English-sounding are … Continue reading →

Act III, scene i of David Hume in the Library of Babel The last part of Jorge Luis Borges’ short story “The Library of Babel” presents a tantalizing possibility: the existence of a literary holy grail, a master index “that … Continue reading →

Act II, scene iii of David Hume in the Library of Babel My previous post was about Borges’ paradox: although the Universal Library contains all possible books, including those books that have not yet been written, the probability of finding … Continue reading →