Author Archives: fustianist

I’m currently in Ontario for a conference on Francisco Suarez (http://publish.uwo.ca/~bhill28/suarez/). I thought this would mean that I would get to have other things on my mind than dismal discussions about politics, but I’ve already had to suffer through three … Continue reading →

Suppose you’re studying the nutritional content of, say, parsnips. You test a hundred samples of parsnips and all the samples have relatively high amounts of calcium. So you conclude that parsnips are a good source of calcium. Concluding this makes … Continue reading →

Two preliminary points to keep in mind: Rational belief and true belief can come apart. In fact, sometimes it is irrational to believe what is true. For example, if ten people lie to you and say that they saw Peter … Continue reading →

I was switched to a different section of French this week, so our schedule is shaken up once again.  This bothers Sydney not one iota, but I nearly cried with frustration when the internet repair guy asked when we’d be … Continue reading →

Okay, I can’t hold off any longer. The appallingly inane drivel I’ve been hearing from all sides — from mainline news sources and blogs, from friends and from colleagues, from school dropouts and from Ivy League professors, from Democrats and … Continue reading →

And the trunk is full of pinto beans.

One other quirk of our library is that it seems to have trouble with temperature control.  During the summer, when they have the air conditioning on, your fingers turn blue after an hour of library work.  We’re talking seriously cold.  … Continue reading →

I finally found a film that I would really like to see, but Erin is refusing to watch it with me. Sigh.

. . . but they’re amazing work deterrents.  The main library on campus (also the humanities library) is old enough to be outdated but not old enough to be antique.  Since it was designed in the days before portable computers, … Continue reading →

Staff at the university are off today.  Professors and students are not.   Basically, that means the university is running without ready access to the people who organize the whole thing.  I can’t imagine how some administrators must be holding their … Continue reading →