We are at the Church of St. Mary of Prayer and Death. Yes. Really.
Welcome registrant:
mfk*** (email address… not a great idea. But, hey!)
Meanwhile, this is tricky. White to move and mate in TWO.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
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3:16 isn’t just in John.
In chessy news, Vladimir Kramnik keeps harping on statistics and Hikaru’s great success online. Also, Niemann won in Zagreb. Interesting point: the organizers kept lengthening the delay between actual play and transmission of the moves to the outside world. Some of the players sent out both sarcastic and pointed messages about the victory. Also, FIDE has now introduced the Gender Equality Index, apparently unaware that gender and sex are not the same thing. They seem to be trying to legislate parity. I’ve often wondered if there is a difference in the ways that men and women play. Note well that Prag’s sister has just become a GM, not a WGM. I know that girls and women have not always been treated equally (or well) in tournaments, which has prompted the need for a separate women’s classification. Anyway, shades of China, federations will now be “scored” on the basis of some criteria.
On another tangent, you have heard of the Golden Rule. In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord said:
“So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
Ancient Greek philosophers had similar lines. Makes sense, right? However, Christ’s statement, which condenses the Second Tablet, has divine authority, not the authority of common sense.
I learned to my shock that there is now a Platinum Rule. I guess that’s supposed to trump the Golden Rule since gold per ounce is now about US$2072 and platinum is $944… hmmm…. no wait… that’s less, isn’t it. Well… ummm… platinum has qualities that gold lacks. For example, platinum is denser and more durable. I digress.
The Platinum Rule is “Do unto others, wherever possible, as they would want to be done to them.”
That “wherever possible” leaves a pretty big hole.
QUAERITUR: Is such a rule beneficial if there is, among those with whom you are dealing, no interest in or perception about the fact of objective truth?
Meanwhile, maybe it’s time to learn to play one of these theremins.
November 30, 2023
