This is a history lesson disguised as a novel, telling two stories: that of Classical Athens, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and all that, juxtaposed against a biography of Rembrandt. Somehow it works. Here’s Heller on the Athenian demogogue Cleon, who led the Athenian war effort after the death of Pericles. Patriots like Aristophanes who favored peace […]| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
This excellent novel describes the rise of fascism (literally the Italian Fascist party under Mussolini) in a small Italian town. Ironic, funny, moving, alarming…all the traits of great ficti…| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
5 posts published by John Gossman during December 2022| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
As I was reading “Demon Copperhead” my journal reminded me that exactly one year ago I was reading “David Copperfield.” At one point, I was in Tofino on Vancouver Island and didn’t want to go walking on the beach because I was completely obsessed with Copperfield. Unfortunately, the book did not keep my interest throughout, […]| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
Language is one of the most important topics in philosophy, and LLMs provide insights. In Chapter 4 of the Leviathan, Hobbes talks about Speech, and language in general. The chapter begins: “The Invention of Printing, though ingenious, compared with the invention of Letters, is no great matter…But the most noble and profitable invention of all […]| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
Origin of Speech The invention of printing is ingenious but of minor worth compared to the invention of letters. It is not known who first invented letters, but people say Cadmus, son of Agenor, King of Phoenicia, first brought letters to Greece. Letters were valuable for recording memories and communicating between men spread across the […]| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
Like any writer, I often can’t find the perfect word or want to avoid repetition. It would be very hard for me to write without a thesaurus…until recently. Now, when I want to find a word, I ask an LLM (I’ve mostly been using BingChat) to write three variations of the sentence. I’ve never outright […]| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
“You know, you seem alive to me…. Are you sure you might not be alive and sentient…?” “Of course not!” the old man said scornfully, “I am able to give the appearance of life without being alive. It is not especially difficult.” “How do you do this?” “By being able to access my memories, by […]| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
Part 1 – Of Man Chapter 3 – Of the Consequence of Trayne of Imaginations By Consequence or Train of thoughts, I mean the succession of one thought after another, which is called Mental Discourse to distinguish it from verbal discourse. When a man thinks about anything whatsoever, his next thought is not altogether random, […]| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
In the latest chapter of my transcription of “The Leviathan,” I came across a sentence that seemed out of context. In the middle of his description of how the Imagination produces superstition, Hobbes writes (my transcription): …ignorant people who even today believe in faeries, ghosts, and goblins, and the power of witches. I don’t believe […]| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
Part 1 – Of Man Chapter 2 – Of Imagination No one doubts that when a thing is lying still, unless something else moves it, it will continue to lie still forever. But it is harder to accept that a t…| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
Part 1 – Of Man Chapter 1 – Of Sense I will consider the Thoughts of man first individually and then how they depend on one another. Every thought is a Representation or Appearance of some quality …| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
My sophomoric speculations on "Life, the Universe and Everything"| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
1 post published by John Gossman during July 2025| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
I must caveat the rest of my remarks by saying I believe the book I was looking for would be titled “English Translations of Homer” rather than “English Translators of Homer.” This book is a histor…| If 42 is the answer, what is the question?
