Monthly Archives: April 2017

New Words or Old?

Posted on April 26, 2017 by midiguru

One of the important ways to tie together novels in a series is using similar titles. It’s a marketing trick, but a useful one, and it’s at least 80 years old. (Starting in about 1935, Erle Stanley Gardner wrote Perry … Continue reading →

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Are You “Serious”?

Posted on April 16, 2017 by midiguru

The Romans put it this way: de gustibus non disputandum est. In English, “There’s no arguing over matters of taste.” Of course, we often engage in such arguments, even though doing so is pointless. My thoughts about this were triggered … Continue reading →

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Bad Memes

Posted on April 1, 2017 by midiguru

There is an infectious agent (I forget whether it’s a virus or a bacterium) that causes ants to crawl out to the tips of grass leaves. This change in the ant’s behavior is of no value to the ant — … Continue reading →

Posted in evolution, politics, society & culture | Tagged , | 4 Comments