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Book: Incompleteness / Rebecca Goldstein
It was the perfect time for me to read about the life and work of Kurt Gödel, the mathematician who shook mathematics so violently at its foundations in 1931 that there is still widespread disagreement about where it has landed. Of course I encountered his name and theorems in my own investigations of the origins…
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Movie: Islam, Empire of Faith (2000)
An excellent and visually splendid historical account of Islamic empire. We were looking for some background on the Sunni/Shiite conflicts in the middle east, and it provides some of that. It clearly tries to present Islam in a good light, and the atrocities and brutalities inevitably involved in the building of empires are glossed over.…
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Movie: Time To Leave (2006)
Death approaches. Now and then a story reminds me that no other premise is needed, this is the engine of drama itself. When a story dispenses with the usual embellishments, though, it exposes itself to the pitfalls of cliché and sentimentality. This film avoids these traps with simplicity as well – with a believable character…
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Half day on the Nautilus
Camping near the road on the Saturday night of a giant Vedauwoo kegger somewhere further in is a noisy, dusty affair. We make a note to hunt down more remote camping next time. Nevertheless, we awake to another gorgeous morning. Today is my day to lead something wide. We park at The Nautilus and wander…