Aristotle

[Paul DiFilippo]

My favorite commentary on Aristotle's logic is, of all things,
a Jeff Jones cartoon that ran many years ago in the National
Lampoon.  One of JJ's patented naked babes is standing in
a field with two large oil-type lidded drums.  She cricumnavigates
them for several panels, plainly curious as to what they contain.
Finally she lifts the lid on one.  "Oh, empty," she says
with disappointment.  Then she walks away from the other without
examining it, having "deduced" that it's a member of the class
of "empty drums."  I believe the cartoon was titled simply
"Aristotle."
And don't forget A. E. van Vogt's nigh-incomprehensible SF
masterpiece THE WORLD OF NULL-A, "null-a" refering to a supposed
non-aristotelian mindset.

--
Paul DiFilippo & Deborah Newton/2 Poplar/Prov., RI 02906
401-751-0139  "How small does an event have to be before it 
ceases to be an event?"--Will Self, "Grey Area".