James

[2] Freedom of youth

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Freedom of youth

Here each generation is long lived.

They have sufficient time to develop languages, agriculture, civilisation; to invent religions and sciences; to reflect on their condition through art. When they reach maturity, they lay eggs deep within the planet in caverns warmed by nuclear heat.

While the eggs gestate, their parents-in-waiting return to the surface where they dismantle everything: raze the cities, pulp the books – until no work of their hands is left. Once they die, the eggs hatch to a world that appears untouched.

Why go to all this trouble? Because they want their children to have what they had.

[1] Snow

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Snow

For the most part this is a tranquil place.

An ancient castle overlooks the houses below, snow lies thick on the ground and on the roofs, all encompassed by the great glass dome of the sky.

But infrequently and without warning a terrible disaster befalls those here. Black shadows trace across the heavens, five dark pillars.

A heaviness comes as gravity increases, relaxes, disappears, returns stronger, repeats. The snow rises from the ground and swirls about in the air. After an age, with a thud the world stops moving; the snow continues to draw wild spirals, before finally settling again.

How many words in a life?

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Unlike universal grammar — the hypothesis that humans have innate structural language rules — it is hard to find advocates for universal vocabulary.  If we are not born with any semantic understanding of words, we must learn them. By watching how others use language we acquire knowledge of how words are intended to be used. … Read more

Multiverses Podcast

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I am working on Podcast discussing topics across the arts and sciences — the branching of the multiverse, of texts, and of ideas.   Currently, my work on this consists of infrequent imaginary interviews conducted in my head. Once I sort out my mercurial broadband connection and set aside some time, my daydreams will be realized.