Flights of the butterfly

  • Intelligent, clever, or wise

    There are three bits to think about. Intelligence        is the ability to review a data set, deduce an underlying algorithm and use the algorithm to reveal a new point on the data set. Cleverness        is the ability to review a data  set, deduce an underlying algorithm and then manipulate it to show that a…

  • Politicians

    There are six requirements to be a successful politician: There may be others, but these are the core values for any successful political career. VANITY             You need to be sufficiently vain and arrogant to believe that somehow you have the right to tell millions of people how to live their lives. Often this is the…

  • Light and stuff

    It was the day of the Big Bang and we were all very excited. I had decided to surf the leading edge of the expansion( nod to Dark Star). I had borrowed my Mum’s ironing board and prepared a package of sandwiches and a flask of coffee. I also had one of those revolving yellow…

  • Dangerous people

    If you ever encounter any of the following people,  RUN, do not look back. Run. AN HONEST MAN We’re all liars. And that includes women. Anyone presenting themselves as totally honest is telling the biggest lie of all. A REASONABLE PERSON        We aren’t reasonable. We’re weird and passionate and bigoted, loyal and treacherous, straight as…

  • MH370

    There has been so much speculation about this disaster that I have been reluctant to add to the confusion. But there is one aspect of it that seemed so obvious that I assumed it must have been considered and discounted. Now, it seems the net is so full of weird opinions and theories that there…

  • Reporting

    Once upon a time, a self-styled environmentalist was interviewed on a current affairs programme. He has, or had, supposedly, a house on the main road through the middle of Wales. He complained about “motorcyclists from all over the country racing along the road at night at 100mph”. The interviewer gushed, emoted and cooed sympathetically. But…

  • Ockham’s Razor

    We need to get this out of the way before we do any complicated stuff. William of Ockham (1287 – 1347) The trouble with Ockham’s razor is that it’s a two-edged blade and you can get a nasty cut if you start slashing about with it indiscriminately. There are many ways of stating, or misquoting,…

  • Langton’s ant

    This is Langton’s ant. He lives on a plain sheet of paper, preferably white, with squares on it. His name is possibly Cyril. But, it could be Rodney. It’s difficult to tell. •           Cyril, or possibly Rodney, likes an uncomplicated life. He lives by just two rules. •           And two pots of paint. THE RULES…

  • Swans

    Yesterday, I opened my front door and saw this lot trooping past: On their way to the pond at the end of the road. It was a slow and stately procession, marked by the slap of webbed feet on tarmac. It seemed more like  a protest march, I expected to see a placard: The young…

  • Intersections and other stuff

    Here are three lines intersecting at a point: Well, actually, it’s not. As any engineer will tell you, it isn’t quite like that, it looks like this: There is always a slight error. In fact, when you get closer, it looks like this: Actually, nobody ever drew a straight line anyway, they all look like…