1283: my Socratic mom

Prelude

Euthyphro by Plato is a short dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro which takes place near? the court where  Socrates has been summoned to face charges . The dialogue constantly reminds me of Borat at various occasions. You could read it at Perseus. It is a good idea to read the tetralogy ( Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo) as one . Though considerably more though provoking than apology, I find many of the arguments really flimsy, and especially hate the habit of leaving certain questions unanswered after raising them (some how reminds me of the fairer sex)

Reflection

I dislike going shopping with women which can be considered to be a true phenotypical expression of the inheritance of the Y chromosome. In any case considering it is easier to comply and accompany and thereby expend lesser time than arguing and accompanying. This time things were better.

Following is an excerpt of conversation which takes place in a tiny restaurant in our tiny town.

Mom: I think the milk shake at home is much better than this one.
Moi: Honestly, I believe this is better and besides it is very difficult to evaluate the relative "good"ness of things which are ones own creation. Don't you think people who make things inherently would feel that it is good , considering of course that they put in a sincere effort according to their own standards.
Mom: It would feel good only if it is good.
Moi (stunned since I just read Euthyphro around 9 hours earlier) : hmmm.. Or is it that "good IS because it feels good" ?
Mom: hmm.. that is an interesting thought.

Then I go on about Euthyphro and Socrates and how it is fascinating that certain ideas that people keep thinking about remain constant over so many thousands of years. (blah blah)

( later.. )Mom: I still think the milk shake at home is better.

Epilogue

To be honest, the actual discussion in Euthyphro which is more concerned about beloved being beloved because it is loved or more pertinently holy being holy because it is beloved by gods or gods loving it because it is holy. As usual i find ethical discussions exceeding boring, eventhough, to some extent I guess that even if Euthyphro is filled with discussion about piety, injustice, and holiness, i find the questions raised concerning the state of being or becoming much much more pertinent and relevant (albeit pointless). To quote Socrates-bhai himself (in Plato-bhaisahab's words)

..Then one does not see it because its a seen thing, but, on the contrary, it is a seen thing because one sees it; and one does not lead it because it is a led thing, but it is a led thing because one leads it; and one does not carry it because it is a carried thing, but it is a carried thing because one carries it. Is it clear, Euthyphro, what I am trying to say? I am trying to say this, that if anything becomes or undergoes, it does not become because it is in a state of becoming, but it is in a state of becoming because it becomes, and it does not undergo because it is a thing which undergoes, but because it undergoes it is a thing which undergoes; or do you not agree to this?

1283: Climbing

Introduction
This has been my first 'free' end-of-the-year in a long long time. Eventhough it is just another completely arbitrary point of time in the 'larger' scale of things I am enjoying it quite a bit. The most interesting aspect of the past few (unblogged) weeks and months is a bit of retrospection .. well, maybe not that much.

One of the facts which did come up without even much effort was my limits. By limits I mean both physical and cognitive. I made some reference to it in here and here. Due to spending quite sometime in a very sedentary lifestyle, I guess,  I have been particularly lacking in the physical department, and was/am sure it needed immediate attention. 10 more years and no point trying to start doing a planche. As far as cognitive skills go, considering the fact that I am often lame, occassionally idiotic, and always hopelessly irrelevant, I can't see any future except for continuing my wandering a little bit more structurally.

I have already forgotten what it was that I wanted to explain, but nevertheless, my health has radically improved over the past few weeks/months. I am hopeful of making consistent progress over the next decade.

Content?

In particular I have always been impressed with climbing. Of late, quite possibly due to the retrospection, I started admiring it even more, in particular the feats of Bachar, John Gill , Dan Osman, Chris Sharma and so on. (Bachar is my favourite of course) After watching considerable amount of Dosage dvds and religiously studying Royal Robbins Rockcraft I am currently self-brainwashed enough to go to a rock climbing camp organized by Girivihar at Navi mumbai.
I am particularly impressed by John Gill. His personal website is definitely an awesome resource for braindead guys like myself. For a math professor by profession and gymnast by chance? being the greatest boulderer by choice sounds like not so bad an achievement. Maybe I would only understand the stuff he keeps rambling about ( "the inner poetry of climbing" etc.) after a long long time / never. But nevertheless. I am quite convinced about free soloing a 5.12a (god save my soul)
The picture to the right is of Dan Osman ( and yes the photo is in the right orientation)

Afterthought

Considering the fact that i am pursuing one goal, I figured why not make a bucketlist. I have never been good with TODOs . But this is the one list which I definitely want to do. around 4000 days left for many of the ones mentioned(Physical). And the best part is I have already started. The Bucketlist at a very rudimentary stage can be found here. That is one page I inted to keep updated just as meticulously(sic) as my ReadingList.

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I should also mention that I had quite an amazing time at Kakinada with my dear good friend gurra a.k.a Gurpreet Singh Sawhney and his wonderful colleagues of Schlums Kakinada base and I would like to certify gurra's statement that "Kakinada IS a CITY" to be true.
If anybody is interested in Climbing please do come to the camp at Mumbai. It would be so much fun.

blah-010

...And you know the kind of man Chaerephon was, how impetuous in whatever he undertook. Well, once he went to Delphi and made so bold as to ask the oracle this question; and, gentlemen, don't make a disturbance at what I say; for he asked if there were anyone wiser than I. Now the Pythia replied that there was no one wiser. And about these things his brother here will bear you witness, since Chaerephon is dead. But see why I say these things; for I am going to tell you whence the prejudice against me has arisen. For when I heard this, I thought to myself: “What in the world does the god mean, and what riddle is he propounding? For I am conscious that I am not wise either much or little. What then does he mean by declaring that I am the wisest? He certainly cannot be lying, for that is not possible for him.” And for a long time I was at a loss as to what he meant; then with great reluctance I proceeded to investigate him somewhat as follows.

I went to one of those who had a reputation for wisdom, thinking that there, if anywhere, I should prove the utterance wrong and should show the oracle “This man is wiser than I, but you said I was wisest.” So examining this man—for I need not call him by name, but it was one of the public men with regard to whom I had this kind of experience, men of Athens—and conversing with him, this man seemed to me to seem to be wise to many other people and especially to himself, but not to be so; and then I tried to show him that he thought he was wise, but was not. As a result, I became hateful to him and to many of those present; and so, as I went away, I thought to myself, “I am wiser than this man; for neither of us really knows anything fine and good, but this man thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas I, as I do not know anything, do not think I do either. I seem, then, in just this little thing to be wiser than this man at any rate, that what I do not know I do not think I know either.” From him I went to another of those who were reputed to be wiser than he, and these same things seemed to me to be true; and there I became hateful both to him and to many others.

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Now from this investigation, men of Athens, many enmities have arisen against me, and such as are most harsh and grievous, so that many prejudices have resulted from them and I am called a wise man. For on each occasion those who are present think I am wise in the matters in which I confute someone else; but the fact is, gentlemen, it is likely that the god is really wise and by his oracle means this: “Human wisdom is of little or no value.” And it appears that he does not really say this of Socrates, but merely uses my name, and makes me an example, as if he were to say: “This one of you, O human beings, is wisest, who, like Socrates, recognizes that he is in truth of no account in respect to wisdom.”

Plato, Apology

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One of the few things I truly believe in.

[ Recently revived my GBWW effort which i had started at KGP. I personally find the clarity of Aristotle much more impressive than the rambling dialogues of Socrates/Plato ]