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Peterman called me 40 minutes before a talk by Daniel Dennett last night. He's my favorite philosopher, I loved his spirited defense of classical Darwinism and I find his definition and explanation of consciousness to be right on the money. I can't believe I didn't pursue any philosophy when I was at Tufts, where he presides. I'm also wondering if I didn't ask a clunker of a question in the Q+A; I thought it was a fair question given some indefinite areas in his talk, but it may have come across badly. Ah well, I'll take solace in this next quote (from my October 1999 PalmPilot journal) from Richard Feyman...

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Quote of the Moment

I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. Of course, you only live one life, and you make all your mistakes, and learn what not to do, and that's the end of you.

I don't know why, but I find it a very reassuring quote.

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Link of the Moment
So I guess the segway, aka Ginger, aka "IT", has been in the news lately. (Oddly, I've heard more about the coverage than I've seen coverage itself.) It's an electric, two-wheeled self-balancing scooter. Some people praise it as the next wonderful thing, but this Piece in Salon points out that it's not replacing cars, buses or trains; what it's replacing is walking. Dean Kamen, a nation turns its chubby eyes to you.