Quote of the Day: Bernard d'Espagnat

"Science isn't everything." "When we hear beautiful music, or see paintings, or read poetry, [we get] a faint glimpse of a reality that underlies empirical reality." I came across the scientist Bernard d'Espagnant's comments in an article linked to in this blog post. http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2009/03/science-cannot-fully-describe-reality-says-templeton-prize-winner.html.

So I'm linking to a post that links to another article which is way more meta than I usually like to roll but I couldn't resist because it dovetails so nicely with something Ive been thinking about lately. A few days ago, somebody told me I needed to read more non-fiction and my response was, "To paraphrase Saul Bellow: Life is too short for non-fiction." I should have explained further what I meant but I was too lazy at the time. Luckily, this article does it much better for me than I ever could.

The distorted, fragments of empirical reality that we encounter on a daily basis are not the true reality of universal human existence and you'll wear yourself out trying to figure out what that underlying reality is using only your five senses. That is what art, music, literature, and religion are for. I know I really need to develop this argument further. I should probably read Kant's Critique of Pure Reason first though. I guess if I had to sum up my argument in one sentence it would be, "Truth cannot be described or quantified only experienced." Or maybe, "Humans beings are not smart enough to intellectually know the truth." Or maybe even, "Reality? Reason? Why bother?"


I had a funny exchange just now on the phone with the COO of a major banking institution.

"Well, which of your direct reports can I talk to about collections?"
"I'll give you a guy's name but you are not allowed to mention my name. I swear to God if he comes in here and tells me that I referred you to him, I will kill your deal right then and there. This it not a joke. So do we have an understanding or not?"
"Yes, sir."

I'll be honest I was a little scared. The fact that he sounded a little like the Godfather didn't help matters.