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Prof. Oddfellow. See larger version here. |
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“I am watching your ship through my uncle’s telescope.” —Alexander Kent
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Looking up the tower of the camera obscura at Portmeirion, Wales. |
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| Puzzles and Games :: Which is Funnier |
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 Who is funnier: Jackie Gleason or Art Carney?
Clue: This is according to musican/comedian Steve Allen.
Answer: Art Carney. (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)
Citation: Steve Allen, The Funny Men (1956), p. 154.
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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| Someone Should Write a Book on ... |
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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True or False: There is only one thing funnier than watching drunk people dig around in sand for fabulous prizes.
Clue: This is according to The Recovering Sorority Girls’ Guide to a Year’s Worth of Perfect Parties
Answer: False. “Trust us—nothing is funnier than watching drunk people dig around in sand for fabulous prizes.” (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)
Citation: Deandra Brooks, The Recovering Sorority Girls’ Guide to a Year’s Worth of Perfect Parties (2005), p. 126.
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Portmeirion estuary, Wales. |
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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Perhaps Andy Warhol Was Wrong, For a Fascinating Variety of Reasons[Updated with new wrongness!]
Andy Warhol famously predicted that in the future, everyone would be
famous for fifteen minutes. Now that the future is already here, there
are those who beg to differ with Andy, and for a fascinating variety of
reasons! In his novel Rant
(2007), Chuck Palahniuk suggests that "Andy Warhol was wrong. In the
future, people won't be famous for fifteen minutes. No, in the future,
everyone will sit next to someone famous for at least fifteen minutes." Movie
critic Frank Schneck posits that the word should be film, not fame: " Andy Warhol was wrong. It's not just that
everyone is going to have 15 minutes of fame. In the not-so-distant
future, every person on the planet is going to have a film made about
him or her" ( Hollywood Reporter,
2000). Others seem to agree, in a roundabout way: " Andy Warhol was wrong. Today it seems that
anyone can parlay their 15
minutes of fame into 15 cable episodes, with an option for a second
season." —"It's Unreal How Easily Reality Shows Pop Up," Rocky
Mountain Daily News, July 20, 2002
" Andy Warhol was wrong. Everyone's not going to be famous for 15
minutes; instead, we will all have our own talk shows." —"Ex-Dancer,
Ex-First Son Tries a New Career: Talk Show Host," Buffalo News, Aug.
16, 1991 Then there are those who argue that the 15 minutes are recurring: "The couple who wrote and performed the
theme to the 1970s TV series "Happy Days" are on a media blitz in
Colorado Springs this weekend, proving that Andy Warhol was wrong. Not
only will everyone in the world get 15 minutes of fame, they'll get
another 15 minutes when the nostalgia factor kicks in a couple of
decades later."
—"These Days Are Happy for Couple," The Gazette, March 6, 1997
"Andy Warhol was wrong ... People don't want
15 minutes of fame in their lifetime. They want it every night."
—"Pseudo's
Josh Harris," BusinessWeek,
Jan. 26, 2000
"Andy Warhol was wrong. With the release of the
film, Factory Girl, he and his 'superstars' are about to get another 15
minutes of fame."
—"Straight to the Point," Daily Mail, Sept. 27, 2006
"As it turns out,
Andy Warhol was wrong: not everybody will be famous for 15 minutes. But
with bad prospects and a good agent, those who once were can now extend
the clock thanks to unprecedented TV demands for the vaguely familiar."
—Vinay Menon, "More Dancing with Quasi-Celebs," Toronto Star, March 19, 2007
Not
fame, but Hitler: "Andy Warhol
was wrong. In the future, everyone will be Hitler for 15 minutes."
—"Originality
is the First Casualty of War," Austin
American-Statesman, April 1, 1999
"Andy Warhol got it
wrong. It's not fame everyone will have in the future; It's a chance to
scream at someone else on TV."
—"Clinton Vs. Dole About Ratings, Not
Discourse," Witicha Eagle,
March 11, 2003
Not fame, but privacy: "Andy Warhol was wrong. The wild-eyed artist
boldly proclaimed that in the future everyone would have 15 minutes of
fame. Warhol's fortune-telling skills were nowhere as visionary as his
art. Warhol should have predicted with the explosion of reality
television that in the future everyone will have 15 minutes of privacy."
—"One Day, We'll Beg for Privacy," Fresno Bee, Aug. 3, 2000
Not fame, but
Colorado citizenship: "Andy
Warhol was wrong. It turned out we were all from Colorado."
—Barry
Fagin, "Montel Williams and Me," Independence
Institute, Nov. 1, 2000
Fame, yes, but in the past,
not in the future: "Andy Warhol
was wrong. Everybody already has been famous––some time last week. It
just depends on who’s telling it and who’s listening."
—"The
Remembering Game," Depot Town Rag,
Sept. 1990
Fame, yes, but not 15 minutes exactly: "The culture-shock doctor explained that
science had discovered that Andy Warhol was wrong about fame; He had the
right idea, but his figures were off."
—"The Sting of Cable
Backlash," Miami Herald, Oct.
9, 1983
"'Andy Warhol was wrong,' Neal Gabler said. 'He was right
when he said everyone will be famous, but wrong about the 15 minutes.'"
—Marjorie Kaufman, "Seeking the Roots of a Celebrity Society," New York Times, Dec. 11, 1994
"Andy
Warhol got it wrong by 12 minutes. People have three minutes of fame;
long enough to walk down a catwalk and back."
—Guardian, July 7,
2002
"Warhol was wrong ... cos he was 10 minutes off; it's really
five minutes now."
—"Meat Loaf Criticises Academic 'Laziness,'"
TVNZ, March 9, 2010
Fame, yes, but for more like 15
seconds: "Andy Warhol was wrong.
Everyone can be famous these days, all right, but the renown lasts more
like 15 seconds, not minutes."
—"Smile! You're Part of a Video
Society," Greensboro News and Record,
May 20, 1990
"Andy Warhol was wrong when he said that everyone
would have 15 minutes of fame; extras can look forward to having only
seconds of movie glory."
—"12 Hours' Extra Work for a Brief Moment
of Glory," Derby Evening Telegraph,
Nov. 9, 2006
"[A cuckoo clock bird speaking:] Andy Warhol was
wrong; I only get 15 seconds of fame."
—Mike Peters, "Mother Goose
and Grimm," July 27, 2005
"Andy Warhol was wrong. In my case, at
least, fame clocked in at only 6:42 minutes, and that was before the
final cut."
—Wilborn Hampton Lead, "Confessions of a Soap Opera
Extra," New York Times, Dec.
31, 1989
"Andy Warhol was wrong when he said that everyone will
enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame. The time frame he referred to might
one day be measured in seconds."
—Warren Adler, "The Dividing Line,"
Aug. 10, 2009
Fame, yes, but for more than 15 minutes: "Andy Warhol was wrong. You can be famous
for a lot longer than 15 minutes, if you're clever enough." —"Oliver's
Brand of Revitalisation," Marketing
Week, April 7, 2005 "'We were sure that Andy Warhol was
wrong, that it would last more than 15 minutes,' says Hilary Jay.'" —"Maximal
Art and Its Rise from the Ashes," Philadelphia
Inquirer, July 25, 1993 "When it comes to the Super Bowl,
Andy Warhol was wrong. Its cast of characters has been famous for 25
years, and will be 25 years from now." —"Simply the Best," Denver Post, Jan. 27, 1991 "Andy
Warhol was wrong. Long after the buzzer sounded on Mark Fuhrman's 15
minutes of fame, he just won't go away." —"Fuhrman Overstaying His
Welcome," June 10, 2001 "Andy Warhol was wrong: sometimes you do
get more than 15 minutes of fame, even if you're not Greg Louganis." — National Review, Dec. 10, 2004 "Andy
Warhol was wrong. Not everyone gets 15 minutes of fame. Many people get
more than that. Like Dr. Bernie Dahl." — The Nashua Telegraph, Dec. 3, 2000 "Andy Warhol
was wrong. In the Ultimate universe we’ve got more than 15 minutes." —"Hack
Meets Hacker," Aspen Magazine,
Midsummer 1996 "Andy Warhol was wrong … you can have 45 minutes
of fame, not just 15!" —"Invitation to Present at the OTM SIG
Conference in June 2009," Dec. 22, 2008 "Andy Warhol was wrong in
my case; my fifteen minutes of fame have been more like three hours." — Ken
Eichele, My Best Day in Golf:
Celebrity Stories of the Game They Love, 2003 "Andy Warhol
was wrong; I was a hero for at least fifteen hours." —Gene GeRue,
"Tomato Madness," Dec. 17, 2006 "Andy Warhol was wrong. People
aren't famous for fifteen minutes; they're famous forever." — Arthur
Black, Black & White and Read All
Over, 2004 Fame, yes, but "in" 15 minutes, not "for"
15 minutes: "Andy Warhol was
wrong, when he predicted that in the future, people would become famous
for 15 minutes. This is the future. Now people become famous in 15
minutes. Take Duran Duran."
—Ethlie Ann Vare, "New Echoes of Duran
Duran," New York Times, Nov.
24, 1985
Fame, yes, but without measure: "Andy Warhol was wrong. In the future,
everyone will not be famous for 15 minutes. Everyone will just be
famous."
—"Cooking Up Celebrity Storm," Boston Globe, Jan. 21, 2000
"Andy Warhol was
wrong. No one Is famous for just 15 minutes. These days you get to be
famous whenever you feel like it. Just like everyone else."
—"Now,
Everyone is Famous! Who Knew?" Associated
Press, July 16, 1999
"'Andy Warhol was wrong,' says
Newman, who completed his trek in 1987. 'If I wanted to be boring, I
could live on this for the rest of my life."
—"Book Lists
Sometime-Dubious Firsts," Dallas
Morning News, July 31, 1988
"Andy Warhol was wrong about
one thing: His own 'fifteen minutes of fame' have never ended."
—Barnes
& Noble, review of Andy Warhol
Treasures, 2009
"In the internet age, bad headlines no
longer go away and Andy Warhol was wrong about his fifteen minutes of
fame. If you are infamous now, you are infamous forever."
—Peter
Walsh, "Curtis Warren: the Celebrity Drug Baron," Telegraph, Oct. 7, 2009
The
opposite of fame: "Milwaukee
futurist David Zach says Andy Warhol was wrong: We aren't going to get
that 15 minutes of fame after all. 'It's just the opposite,' Zach says."
—Tim Nelson, "The Skinny," St.
Paul Pioneer Press, Aug. 27, 1998
"I think Andy Warhol got
it wrong: in the future, so many people are going to become famous that
one day everybody will end up being anonymous for 15 minutes."
—Shepard
Fairey, Swindle #8, 2006
"Andy Warhol was wrong. Most of us will
never come close to being famous—even for 15 minutes."
—"Stepping
into the Spotlight," Wall Street
Journal, Nov. 8, 1999
Fifteen, yes, but not minutes:
"Andy Warhol was wrong: not everyone
deserves 15 minutes of fame. Some people deserve 160 words of
recognition ..."
—"Unsung Heroes," What
Magazine, Jan. 1, 2004
"Andy Warhol was wrong: for 15
minutes, everybody gets to be a starting quarterback for The Saints."
—"Tyson
Still Has Issues," Atlanta Journal,
Oct. 16, 1998
"Andy Warhol was wrong: in the future, everyone
won't be famous for 15 minutes, but everyone will have their own Web
site."
—"Book Review: The Non-Designer's Web Book," Information Management Journal, July
1, 1999
"Andy Warhol was wrong. We've all had our 15 minutes, now
we all want a mini-series!"
—"Boy First Believed On Runaway Balloon
Found After Frantic Search," New York
Post, Oct. 16, 2009
"Andy Warhol was wrong. Everyone won't
just have 15 minutes of fame. One day—soon, I suspect—we all will have
our very own talk shows."
—Linda L.S. Schulte, "Word's Worth,"
Baltimore Sun, Jan. 31, 1996
"In the future, we'll all have 15 minutes of future."
—Nein Quarterly
"In the future, everyone will be offended for 15 years."
—Sean Tejaratchi
Fame, yes, but perhaps 30
minutes: "There are times in life
when you just hope that Andy Warhol was wrong and that a merciful God
will grant you a second 15 minutes of fame."
—"Confessions of an
Embarrassed Viagra Expert," University
Wire, Sept. 24, 1998
Just plain wrong: "The endless parade of disposable rock bands,
special-effects movies, potboiler thriller novels and TV sitcoms makes
me think that Andy Warhol was wrong."
—"Longtime Newsweek Art Critic
Peter Plagens is Also a Painter," Newsweek,
April 25, 2002
"A TV producer played by Joe Mantegna muses that
Andy Warhol was wrong about everybody being famous for 15 minutes."
—"Allen's
'Celebrity' Witty, Wicked But Shallow," Wichita Eagle, Dec. 9, 1998
"Andy Warhol was
wrong - everyone does NOT have their 15 minutes of fame and the
overwhelming majority of You're a Star hopefuls would have told him
that."
—"The Fame Game's Just Not Worth It," The Mirror, Aug. 25, 2006
"Andy
Warhol was wrong. When you’re a Vanderbilt running back, you’re not
famous for 15 minutes."
—Anthony Lane, Nashville City Paper, Nov. 5, 2004
"My main
conclusion: Andy Warhol was wrong—we won't all get 15 minutes of fame."
—"Using
the Internet to Examine Patterns of Foreign Coverage," Nieman Reports, Sept. 22, 2004
"Warhol was wrong! He neglected to factor in the 15 minutes of one's own
alter-egos."
—"Warhol was Wrong," GenderFun.com, May 29, 2009
"Warhol was wrong. The message is clear: we do not want your 15 minutes
of fame, you can shove it."
—Alix Sharkey, "Saturday Night: The Techno Ice-Cream Van is on its Way,"
The Independent, June 26, 1993
--- Stefan writes: Awesome post on Warhol. I never really liked the guy and his art, but I give credit where credit is due, he was a great coordinator and inspiration for other better artists and musicians. Much like Sex Pistols, I don’t find them good but they did inspire much better bands to get together and create wonderful albums. So I agree he was wrong however he didn’t anticipate the connectivity and subcultural activity we have today which shatters his definition and value of fame. Also nowadays with youtube clips and Jersey Shores fame and infamy seem to be interchangeable. But what I liked about the article was how Warhol’s idea was refuted from different perspectives. Here’s mine: "Warhol was wrong about his theory on the 15 minutes of fame. The time frame is the maximum length of a video you can post on YouTube.” Mine is of course valid for today, just like Warhol’s and those quoted in your post are valid in their own cultural Zeitgeists.
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In some unseen gorge a stream gurgled; a velvety green butterfly with black and yellow markings danced over white flowers; deep among the blue shadows of the trees a branch broke and leaves dropped heavily into leaves.
—Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game
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* Though printed in black and white, great literature is bursting with vibrant colour. In this rebus-style puzzle, color words and parts of words have been replaced with colored boxes. Try to guess the exact hue of each. Roll your mouse over the colored boxes to reveal the missing words. Click the colored boxes to learn more about each hue. Special thanks to Paul Dean for his colorful research.
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| Puzzles and Games :: Which is Funnier |
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Which cuisine is funnier: Swedish or Jewish?
Clue: This is according to comedian Steve Allen
Answer: Jewish. “Jewish foods generally are funnier than their Swedish or French equivalents.” (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)
Citation: Steve Allen and Jane Wollman, How to Be Funny: Discovering the Comic You (1987), p. 50
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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“Your boat must be a curiosity.” —Susan Warner
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Grotto Viewpoint at Portmeirion, Wales. |
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Imagine a retail store's Open/Closed sign. Now imagine that it's printed on only one side. With just two words and a detachable apostrophe, how can the sign indicate that the store is open or closed for business? For our answer, click here. |
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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Heinrich Füger, "Prometheus Brings Fire to Mankind," c. 1817 |
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"[ William Blake's] vision of the infinite in everything is common to East and West; what is distinctly Western, out of the Jews, is the voice of honest indignation against every institution which would deny or demean the infinity within each human soul. The release of our full human potential—to let the light of Prometheus shine everywhere—is the distinctly Western mystic tradition and does not appear in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, or any Eastern religion." — Robert Anton Wilson, Prometheus Rising |
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Which word is funnier: house or condo?
Clue: This is according to the book Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain
Answer: Condo, as it is “more specific” (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)
Citation: Christopher Hart, Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain (1998), p. 107
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The estuary at Portmeirion, Wales. |
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 “Your ship will come in, and then you’ll have temps of your own.” —Merle Kessler
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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King Ludwig II of Bavaria
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In a gross disservice to Bavarian history, it is universally said that King Ludwig II constructed his fairy tale castle Neuschwanstein as an escape from "reality." The castle itself is a colossal refutation to such sloppy—if not willful—misrepresentation. Quite the opposite of being trapped in the past or caught up in a romantic dreamworld, Ludwig was so forward thinking, so revolutionary, that he built a portal to access the very framework of the Bavarian ideal. Emblazoned throughout with murals and architecture depicting key scenes from Bavarian folklore, Neuschwanstein castle constitutes an elaborate "War Room" of mythic proportions. Indeed, Neuschwanstein is evidence that Ludwig attained a state of consciousness that Timothy Leary called the "Neurogenetic Circuit." Robert Anton Wilson explains that the Neurogenetic Circuit: processes DNA-RNA-brain feedback systems and is "collective" in that it contains and has access to the whole evolutionary "script," past and future. Experience of this circuit is numinous, "mystical," mind-shattering: here dwell the archetypes of Jung's Collective Unconscious—Gods, Goddesses, Demons, Hairy Dwarfs and other personifications of the DNA programs (instincts) that govern us. [ Prometheus Rising, 1983, p. 41] To properly govern his people, Ludwig positioned himself to draw from the very paradigms of the Bavarian spirit. In other words, he infused his nobility with the high ideals of his country, literally surrounding himself (dome ceilings to floors) with model images of Bavarian enlightenment. Ludwig held a magnifying glass over the Bavarian blueprint, and a ray of sunlight hit the lens to form a hologramatic castle. Far from having his head in the clouds, Ludwig's feet were firmly planted in his culture. That such a visionary was ultimately judged "mad" by his political enemies comes as no surprise. That Neuschwanstein has endured as the Eighth Wonder of the World is a testament to Ludwig's genius.
Neuschwanstein Castle. |
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Which is funnier: Mark Twain or any of his books?
Clue: This is according to a Mark Twain biographer
Answer: Mark Twain. (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)
Citation: Albert Bigelow Paine, Mark Twain: A Biography (1912), p. 661.
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From our Magic Words outpost at Blogger: We just discovered (with help from Gordon) that a Mac app called Presto contains a passage from our Magic Words: A Dictionary. Presto is a utility for quickly pasting in commonly used snippets of text, and the magic word "presto" is the default example. So when one types "presto" into any application, a passage from our dictionary appears, like magic! |
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The Patron Saint of Towels
Motto: "Holy absorption of the wring of truth."
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| Puzzles and Games :: Letter Grids |
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This puzzle grid contains several big words. Can you find them?
• 7-letter words: 13
• 8-letter words: 4
• 9-letter words: 2
All letters in the word must touch (in any direction), and no square may be reused.
Click to display solutions
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• aftosas
• apposes
• atopies
• bloated
• dopiest
• floated
• folioed |
• fossate
• loathed
• nappies
• opiated
• osteoid
• tapalos |
| 8-letter words: |
• floppies
• loppiest |
• nappiest
• sappiest |
| 9-letter words: |
| • flappiest |
• floppiest |
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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Yes, you may . . . on condition that:
"you tell me all about it." —R. H. Stoddard, "The Little Monk," 1864
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Carly Simon's song "You're So Vain" doesn't identify its subject, yet actor Warren Beatty has asserted that it's about him. Beatty's assertion begs a question: if anyone takes "You're So Vain" personally, is he or she technically correct? The answer is Yes! According to Hugh Everett's " many worlds" interpretation of quantum mechanics, every possible quantum vanity is realized. In the many-branched tree of parallel universes, each and every vain human being is the true subject of Carly Simon's song.
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This is very comforting! Imagine being vain enough to think YSV was about you, but finding out it wasn't. The very world might cease to revolve around one.
Technical question: Does Everett's theory still hold for values of "a" (a = age of vain individual) that are < Y (Y = years elapsed since song was written)? In other words, was Simon farsighted enough to build infinite references to unborn vain people into her song?
Similarly, I note the problematics around individuals who were alive when the song was written but not yet vain, their vanity only to develop later on. In their case, I hypothesize a "critical vanity threshold," or CVT--the discrete moment at which someone's vanity has matured to the point where Simon's song begins to refer to him or her.
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The Guatemalan Rose symbol of peace. |
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Original Content Copyright © 2015 by Craig Conley. All rights reserved.
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