This entry is part 16 of 17 in the series The Art of War of LearningYou don’t fight wars. You plan wars. Heaven help us, I do sound awfully bellicose, don’t I? Again, this is war as metaphor; I’m a pacifist and a coward to boot. I’m literally afraid of the dark (still sleep with…
War! What Is It Good For?
by khatzumoto
This entry is part 4 of 17 in the series The Art of War of Learning Teaching us how to allocate our time, energy and resources (TER) productively. People take limits in war seriously because death and destruction are salient consequences. Reified fecal matter can come into contact with air distribution appliances rather rapidly. …
It’s Just Information: Language Is A Data Stream
by khatzumoto
A language is just an information stream. And information doesn’t even care what species you are (Alex the parrot spoke and understood real English; many non-human primates know sign language; many housepets understand basic speech), let alone your precious backstory. Information. Nothing is more neutral. Nothing is cheaper. Nothing gives you more bang for less…
Honshitsu (本質), The Thing Itself, True Nature: Seeing Beyond Appearances
by khatzumoto
Honshitsu (本質). The thing itself. True nature. From very early in life, we are surrounded by B.S. The trick is not to rid the world of B.S., but to train our eyes to see through it. It’s a bit of challenge to do, because the honshitsu is opaque to most people (and kept that way…
Japanese Belongs to You
by khatzumoto
Japanese belongs to you. It always belonged to you. All human knowledge belongs to you. And just like you have to pay the storage company to get access to your stuff, you — everybody — has to earn their Japanese through repeated exposure. And just like property taxes, even after you own Japanese “free and…
Reading, TV and Authority
by khatzumoto
Saying you’re not ”actually” reading books because you keep skipping pages is like saying you’re not “actually” watching TV because you’re switching channels. The argument is exposed for the silliness it is as soon as we replace the variables. And, in this way, it’s a lot like the belief that a high score on a…