Holbo is a philosophy professor when he isn't concocting weird tales of squid, and it shows. The book starts with his whimsical musings on the scientific names for "owl" and "squid," and then abruptly becomes a meditation on why squid and owl are considered "binary." Why can't they change places? It's a little like reading a Victorian children's book and suddenly discovering that in fact you're buried knee-deep in an essay on language and deconstruction. Which isn't to say it isn't completely fun and silly. I've excerpted a few pages from his book, which you can see all of on his Flickr stream, and buy a copy of at Blurb.

[via Neatorama]

What Stephenson doesn't mention here is that Husserl is more than just an obscure thinker whose works intrigued Gödel — Husserl's work blew up into some of the most wildly popular philosophical movements of the twentieth century. Both existentialism and deconstruction owe a lot to Husserl, and Husserl's student Martin Heidegger is still turning heads with his expansive, seductive theories of how history marks (and mars) what people consider to be "common sense." What I'm saying is that if Stephenson's goal was to pick a cool semi-obscure theorist who revolutionized the way philosophy and science intersect, then Husserl was the right choice. Maybe in his next novel he can deal with post-structuralism and performative identity — you know, just to jump on that late-twentieth century thing before it gets too old.

One of the great parts of this video is that Stephenson is doing his usual brainfarm thing, but keeps throwing in these cute, self-depreciating little comments about how "impenetrable" Husserl is and how it was hard for him to understand all the philosophy he read for Anathem because (as he says), "My IQ is about one tenth of Gödel's." Awww, Neal. We know you'd rather play with swords than metaphysics, but we do appreciate your taking the time to read some of our favorite theorists.

You can pre-order Anathem today!

The thread starts subtly:

I've been thinking about what Steampunk has to offer the world besides being another quaint subculture, particularly in light of the fact that it's about to step over the line of subculture and into trendy nonsense that will inevitably bring with it hoards of pipe clogging band waggoneers. 

What I'm really interested in is the Victorian enthusiastic amateur inventor/scientist part. The way I see it, most of the worlds problems - poverty, hunger climate change etc.- will never be effectively addressed by a top down, high tech research and loads of investment capital approach. Rather, I imagine that any progress that will have any real effect will have to be of the sort that a self educated person can make in their garage... I would like to propose that were there to be some sort of a Steampunk cultural ethic it should be in taking that amateur inventor approach to modern technology with an eye to addressing the issues that humanity faces today.

Considering the Steampunk Cultural Ethic, I would like to address my experience at SalonCon. SalonCon describes itself as The victorian Era for the 21st century. While not exclusively a "steampunk" convention, it's organization and attendance are certantly influenced and involved with Steampunk. What stood out for me at this Convention was the manners of those in attendance. I have never been to a cleaner, better smelling, better behaved convention... I think there is a longing for a place where there can be a structured formality - a place where the cultural rules call for respect, manners and a sense of grace. Perhaps steampunk, in it's formal expressions, provides the space to have that formality.

Coming from someone engulfed in the movement fully, I see it as a giant collaboration between polymath friends who have decided to reject pointless mass production and planned obsolescence... I just want quality, I've already seen what quantity is doing to society and the earth itself. I want to live a slower life, and I want to surround myself with people who appreciate the gentility of the British ideal of the Victorian Era without the stifling social mores... many of the steampunks I've met (and I imagine I fall in this category) are like well bred mad scientists... all the class and all the exuberant geekiness you can handle.

Steampunk Magazine is an awesome thing full of win and sex. To me, the Steampunk movement is really currently a mask for something deeper, the culture of people who want to get to the roots of being and actually do it properly, 'it' being... everything. 

This is, I think, part of what you were getting at originally, Thom. This is the aspect of Steampunk that we really need. The Magazine is a good example of it. It has roots in things like the Scouts too, even though saying the Scouts were good for anything is something one hates to admit. Being self-sufficient is part of it. Being less fucking stupid about things is a part of it. Doing things in a better way. 

And doing it with style. That's what we need to take away from Steampunk.. You can do life right, do it yourself, don't waste everything, but you don't have to be a grubby.. thing.

Image by Cryptonaut.

Steampunk Cultural Ethic [Whitechapel]

Rarely have I ever learned about a new philosophical trend on YouTube, but that's what's great about x-phi. It's all about the outreach. A guy who could be in Weezer, or could be your TA, offers a 3.5 minute rundown of twentieth century philosophical revolutions leading up to the x-phi revolution in this illuminating mini-lecture (note the stuffed deer head and weird music in background). Then there's the x-phi music video, featuring a burning chair (a reference to the idea that the best tool for doing philosophy is an old armchair).

But what kinds of scientific experiments have these radical philosophers of YouTube conducted? Have they located the seat of reason or judgment in the brain? Have they found neurons that twitch when you contemplate the Heidiggerian idea of "das Ding"?

Apparently, no. They spend a lot of time arguing about what counts as x-phi, and adding crap to their Facebook group page. When you investigate the "labs" where x-phi happens, you find out that they mostly study things like how people use language. They don't have EEG setups; they have discussion groups. The one reference I could find to an actual x-phi experiment involved giving people surveys to ask what they thought about a couple of basic ethical questions about the environment. This is not hard science, people.

I'm not going to take these x-phi geeks seriously until they start cutting up brains, torturing mice, and forcing undergraduates to look at weird pictures while strapped into MRI machines.

Experimental Philosophy [The Frontal Cortex]