Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...understanding philosophy through jokes is a most interesting and thought provoking read. It caught my attention at an airport bookstore and it's taken me five months to read 62 pages, mostly because of interruptions and my "scatter brain" that reads about 75 things at once, but also because it is very deep in a unique and humorous way.Now that I'm into reading it again it reminds me of several of our blogs as we tackle philosophy, religion and serious contemplations through a mostly humorous way.
I'm currently on the section about Logic, which is divided into several categories. My current category of Logic is The "Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc" Fallacy, which in English translates to "After this, therefore because of this."
This describes the error of assuming that because one thing follows another, that thing was caused by the other. The authors claim that this false logic is popular in sociopolitical discourse, such as "Most people hooked on heroin started with marijuana." True, but even more started with milk!
They also claim that Post Hoc jokes multiply in direct proportion to human delusions. Here are a few gems from this section:
Every morning a lady steps out onto her front porch and exclaims, "Let this house be safe from tigers!" Then she goes back inside. A friend says to her, "What's that all about? There isn't a tiger within a thousand miles of here." And she says, "See? It works!"
An older Jewish gentleman marries a younger lady. No matter what the husband does sexually, the woman never reaches orgasm. Since a Jewish wife is entitled to sexual pleasure, they decide to ask the rabbi. The rabbi makes the following suggestion: "Hire a strapping young man. While the two of you are making love, have the young man wave a towel over you. That will help the wife fantasize and should bring on an orgasm." About a week later the couple return to the rabbi to inform him that it didn't work. The rabbi then suggests: "Let the young man make love to your wife while you stand over them waving the towel." The couple try this approach. The young man gets to work with great enthusiasm and the wife soon has an enormous, room-shaking orgasm. The husband smiles, looks at the young man and says triumphantly, "Schmuck, that's the way you wave a towel!"
A New York boy is being led through the swamps of Louisiana by his cousin. "Is it true that an alligator won't attack you if you carry a flashlight?" asks the city boy. His cousin replies, "Depends on how fast you carry the flashlight."
The moral of this lesson is don't confuse the propter with the prop!
Sir Hook I Am Therefore I Am...I Think? of Warrick
1 comment:
PHILOSOPHY FROM THE BAR :)
I rant ..therefore I am.
Some days you are the bug, some days you are the windshield.
It just might be that your sole purpose in life is to set a bad example.
Always remember that you are a unique person, just like everyone else.
The single reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, is "meetings".
No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take the moment too seriously.
There is always one individual that takes charge of the situation when trouble arises and things look bad. Very often, that individual is crazy.
Always remember to pillage before you burn.
You cannot fall off the floor (from the Law of Inebriation).
Money cannot buy happiness but it makes misery easier to work with.
If at first you don't succeed, destroy all the evidence that proves you tried.
A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism.
He who hesitates knows more and is probably right.
The older you get, the better you realize you were.
No one ever listens until you make a mistake.
Success always occurs privately and failure in full
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it!
Criticism is like having the roadmap but without having the car.
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal ideas from many is called research.
Two wrongs are only the beginning of something not right.
You never learn to swear god's name in vain until you learn how to drive. (The corollary is, you never learn to pray until your kids learn to drive!)
Stubborn people will always listen to reason as long as you accept their point of view first.
Nobody is ugly after 3:00 am.
The severity of the itch is proportional to the difficulty of the reach.
A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.
A fool and his money are soon partying. WooooHoooo!!!
Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.
If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments.
Hell hath no fury like the lawyer of a woman scorned.
Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
Sir dayvd ( getting ready to go out play pub darts tonight ) of Oxfordshire
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