See also Harvard ex-president Faust on Hogwarts
and (like the above photo, also on Aug. 13) …
* See previous instances of the title in this journal.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Accomplished in Steps*
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Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Verhexung*
"The positional meaning of a symbol derives from
its relationship to other symbols in a totality, a Gestalt,
whose elements acquire their significance from the
system as a whole."
— Victor Turner, The Forest of Symbols , Ithaca, NY,
Cornell University Press, 1967, p. 51, quoted by
Beth Barrie in "Victor Turner."
(Turner pioneered the use of the term "symbology,"
a term later applied by Dan Brown to a fictional
scholarly pursuit at Harvard.)
* A scholarly pursuit at Hogwarts.
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Thursday, May 5, 2011
Beyond Forgetfulness
From this journal on July 23, 2007—
| It is not enough to cover the rock with leaves. We must be cured of it by a cure of the ground Or a cure of ourselves, that is equal to a cure Of the ground, a cure beyond forgetfulness. And if we ate the incipient colorings – Wallace Stevens, “The Rock” |
This quotation from Stevens (Harvard class of 1901) was posted here on when Daniel Radcliffe (i.e., Harry Potter) turned 18 in July 2007.
Other material from that post suggests it is time for a review of magic at Harvard.
On September 9, 2007, President Faust of Harvard
“encouraged the incoming class to explore Harvard’s many opportunities.
‘Think of it as a treasure room of hidden objects Harry discovers at Hogwarts,’ Faust said.”
That class is now about to graduate.
It is not clear what “hidden objects” it will take from four years in the Harvard treasure room.
Perhaps the following from a book published in 1985 will help…
The March 8, 2011, Harvard Crimson illustrates a central topic of Metamagical Themas , the Rubik’s Cube—
Hofstadter in 1985 offered a similar picture—
Hofstadter asks in his Metamagical introduction, “How can both Rubik’s Cube and nuclear Armageddon be discussed at equal length in one book by one author?”
For a different approach to such a discussion, see Paradigms Lost, a post made here a few hours before the March 11, 2011, Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster—
Whether Paradigms Lost is beyond forgetfulness is open to question.
Perhaps a later post, in the lighthearted spirit of Faust, will help. See April 20th’s “Ready When You Are, C.B.“
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Sunday, November 7, 2010
Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday October 12, 2007
Ceremonies marking the installation of Drew Gilpin Faust as the President of Hogwarts will begin in Hogwarts Yard at 2 PM ET today.
Faust has actually been Hogwarts’s president since July 1. Last month she welcomed the Class of 2011:
Faust “encouraged the incoming class to explore [the school’s] many opportunities. ‘Think of it as a treasure room of hidden objects Harry discovers at Hogwarts,’ Faust said.”
— The Hogwarts Crimson, Sept. 10, 2007
From Faust’s website today:
“As a historian, I am proud to lead an institution with such a rich and storied past. Hogwarts began in colonial days with a handful of students, little property and limited power and prestige, but a determined mission: ‘To advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity,’ as a 1643 brochure put it. That bold vision has guided Hogwarts for the past four centuries….”
The rest of the story —
From The Hogwarts Guide:
“An early brochure, published in 1643, justified the College’s existence: ‘To advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches.'”
Related material:
The Crimson Passion,
Midnight Drums for Larry,
and Primitive Roots.
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Monday, September 10, 2007
Monday September 10, 2007
The Story Theory
of Truth —
of Truth —
“I’m a gun for hire,
I’m a saint, I’m a liar,
because there are no facts,
there is no truth,
just data to be manipulated.”
Data
The data in more poetic form:
Commentary:
23: See
The Prime Cut Gospel.
16: See
Happy Birthday, Benedict XVI.
Related material:
The remarks yesterday
of Harvard president
Drew G. Faust
to incoming freshmen.
Faust “encouraged
the incoming class
to explore Harvard’s
many opportunities.
‘Think of it as
a treasure room
of hidden objects
Harry discovers
at Hogwarts,’
Faust said.”
For a less Faustian approach,
see the Harvard-educated
philosopher Charles Hartshorne
at The Harvard Square Library
and the words of another
Harvard-educated Hartshorne:
“Whenever one
approaches a subject from
two different directions,
there is bound to be
an interesting theorem
expressing their relation.”
— Robin Hartshorne