Meaning at work

A fascinating article in today's Times about a man who left a highly paid position at Microsoft to go and do something more meaningful. On the way he lost his girlfriend and all his savings. Ooh, a bit like me then!

Radiohead in my local park

Went for a run this evening and who should be playing there but the world's greatest band, Radiohead.

Confirms my suspicion that not only is London the bets place to live in the world but East London is clearly the coolest part of London. North London a close second, way ahead of posh and self satisfied West and South.

Not that I'm going mind. I lost all my coolness circa 2003. And even then it wasn't much. I'm hoping I'm getting so uncool that soon I become cool. Like my Stepdad's bright orange trousers.

The Irish keep gatecrashing

What a glorious victory for common sense from an unlikely quarter in unlikely circumstances (all the main parties were for the treaty). Of course, European bureaucrats are already thinking of ways to ignore the vote, just as they always do. Our own Foreign Minister says we must press on with ratification.

But for now the people have spoken: we don't want a common Europe. Free trade yes, more politics and bureaucracy, a firm no.

Studying infinity

I watched a programme about infinity the other night, as you do, called Dangerous Knowledge. Fascinating it was too.

Apparently, infinity comes in different sizes. If you imagine a circle, it is possible to draw an infinite number of lines from the centre to its edge. However, if you then draw another, bigger circle round that circle and extend the lines then you will have gaps beteen the (extended) lines thereby proving that infinity depends on context.

But even more interesting was listening to how great minds like Cantor, Turing and Godel found that there are limits to maths and science. That the ultimate conclusion of logic, was illogical. Turing died essentially trying to prove unprovability.

This surely cuts to the heart of all academia, not least the realisation that even maths and science are forms of art. But second, it shows how all the academic disciplines from philosophy to maths are grounded in humanity. They are all flawed, all illogical. And our attempt to understand the world and impose order on it are all ultimately doomed.

This gave me hope for psychology, as by studying the human directly in 'real life' circumstances, one imposes order through science and yet acknowledges the limits of doing this. This is the scientist practitioner approach, which is at the heart of Bloom Psychology.

Pilot test

If anyone feels like doing this then I'd be hugely grateful! It takes 5 minutes.

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The winner is...

So, 12 hugely entertaining if frustrating weeks (from the perspective of the brainless editing which treated the audience like retarded Albanian sprout pickers) and we finally have a winner.

Some truly disgusting antics (Jenny), backstabbing (Alex), outright lying (Michael, pretty much everyone) and many hilarious moments and we learned who was to be Sirallan's apprentice.

4 made it to the final, then 2, and I feared the moment that Claire would be handed the role for her so-called 'transformation'. But you'd need a very large transformation to come back from stabbing a good man in the back.

And after it all, when all the shenanigans are over...

the best human being won.

Ants...useless

Don't tell me that ants know what they're doing or how well they work together as a team. I watched some today and they are useless. Don't even bother is my advice.

Challenges...

Today I read about a bike race across America which is completed in 1 WEEK. It's called the Race Across America (RAAM).

Every time I read about challenges like this, like the majority of people I suspect, I long to do it and never do. There is always an excuse: the Marathon des Sables is too expensive and the waiting list too long, the race through the Sahara is the prospect of death, the RAAM how do you cope and enjoy it without sleep?

But let's stoke the fascination and continue to be excited because one day the excuses might stop.

If you are fascinated too and want to know more - you can follow the team here.

Macca vs Larry

Had a near implosion of semi-orgasmic nirvana last night, when Paul McCartney played Anfield and finished in time to allow me to watch Larry David on Curb. It was like being caressed by angels then shagged by the devil. Marvellous.

Macca is of course deeply embarrassing with his 'let me hear you say yeah-eh' and perky demeanour (even during Yesterday), but as I've said before I can forgive this man anything because of what he's done, and what he represents.

I don't know why he holds this place in my life. It's perhaps that music is processed by the part of the brain which does not articulate, so that for some reason the music of the Beatles is likely to express some deeply felt emotion that typically I don't talk about. Or it could just be because that the Beatles are the greatest songwriters ever, by a country mile.

So Macca is the sugary, eternally upbeat perky Dad-at-the-disco cringemaker, who can be forgiven anything because of his place in society and unparalleled songwriting genius. Meanwhile Larry David continues to represent the darker side, an almost equal genius, who says the unsayable and does the undoable and who is, as his advert says, all of us.

There was a moment when I had to decide whether to turn off Macca early to watch Larry or tune over to establish the crucial early plot which you always need to do with Curb.

Macca won. But someone will lend me the DVDs.