• Member Since 18th May, 2012
  • offline last seen Nov 14th, 2020

GhostOfHeraclitus


Lecturer by day, pony word peddler by night.

More Blog Posts106

  • 260 weeks
    Words in print

    Recently, I've been asked for permission by Avonder to include Whom The Princesses Would Destroy... in a story anthology he's putting together. I'm not one for hoarding words and I gave it quite, quite gladly.

    You'll find it here.

    Read More

    6 comments · 1,896 views
  • 294 weeks
    Ghost Gallivants to Glorious Galacon

    Ghost Gallivants to Glorious Galacon

    -or-

    A Supposedly Fun Thing I’m Totally Doing Again

    (with apologies to David Foster Wallace)

    Read More

    33 comments · 2,476 views
  • 296 weeks
    Now(TM) with Travel Advice

    I'm safely ensconced in my hotel room in Ludwigsburg. Hope to meet at least some of you. To increase the odds of this happening, I offer the following advice:

    Read More

    18 comments · 1,095 views
  • 296 weeks
    Soon(TM)

    I will be flying to Galacon 2018 in under twelve hours and I expect I will be safely in Ludwigsburg within 24 hours. I will be hard to contact during this period, though I think I've acquired a method of fool-proof Internet access no matter where I am (aside from six miles straight up, of course).

    Hope to see many of you soon!

    16 comments · 846 views
  • 296 weeks
    Happy July 20th!

    ...or July 21st, depending on your timezone.

    49 years ago the first manned Moon landing was accomplished. It is one of my favorite moments in history (To learn about my favorite you may have to wait for December the 9th), and to celebrate I've re-edited Hoofprints to be a little less... ah, draft-y.

    Read More

    20 comments · 1,092 views
Jul
4th
2014

A very happy holiday! · 6:52pm Jul 4th, 2014

Hello my readers incredible and interesting!

I wish all of my dear American friends a very happy holiday: may your barbecue be delicious, your fingers unexploded, and your country independent, with justice and liberty for all. Cheers!

For my equally-dear non-American friends I can offer earnest felicitations on the occasion of a lovely summer's day/winter's day[1]/day-in-general, as well as a shout out to any Filipino readers whose Republic Day this happens to be. Not sure if it is a big deal, but no reason the Americans should get to have all the holiday cheer, now is it?

[1] My attention was drawn in the comments to an entire hemisphere I seem to have missed. :facehoof:

Report GhostOfHeraclitus · 733 views ·
Comments ( 36 )

America! Fuck year! *guitar!*

Oh come on, ALL of your non-American friends?

In the spirit of the holiday, that should be all your non-American friends save the British. :derpytongue2:

And a fine happy America Day to you too. Even for non-Americans, no one should lack for an excuse to enjoy pleasant company and lovely outdoors on a fine summer day such as this one*.

*provided, of course that it is a fine summer day in one's particular locale

Hello, Ghost!

We will be having strawberry shortcake and home-made toasted hoagie sandwiches, rather than barbecue and finger-explodeys. Also, there may be me being fanfiction-useful for once, today!

And a pleasant day to you, as well, and next mrphlbrphl don't know if you want me to say the month as it would geographically locate you when your own Independence Day rolls around, happy that one to you!

Thanks! May you have an equally wonderful day all the same!

2257462
*shrug* Given the circumstances of the split, the British didn't have too bad a time of it. They lost America but the gained the world.


2257470
2257615
Thanks!


2257594
Aww thanks! And, actually, it is a holiday—of sorts—here, too. But I shan't say which one lest I be rumbled, geographically speaking.


2257490
I thought it was a misdemeanor for a American national not to blow something up on the 4th of July. Treason, if you are in Texas. :rainbowwild:

... as well as a shout out to any Filipino readers whose Republic Day this happens to be.

Despite not really being in touch with my roots, I very much appreciate your exuberance, Ghost. Thanks! ^_^

A cheeseburger, now that's another matter...

i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/1558279424/h8FA94D68/

Thank you Ghost, and have a lovely day yourself!:twilightsmile:

And to you, kind sir, wherever in the world you are that is also celebrating July the 4th for one reason or another.
:twilightsmile:

I'm anticipating the traditional sound of explosions small and large this evening, followed by the also-traditional sound of the wailing of emergency vehicle sirens. The day is still early here on the Left Coast, so it'll be a while.

Stay safe, everyone!

2257631
Yeah, we didn't decide we wanted the rest of the World until after World War II. :ajsmug:

What about readers from the Southern Hemisphere, no 'lovely winter's day'? :fluttershysad:
I'll just cry in this corner over here.

2258039
It's winter where I live. And we are in the middle of a mosquito infestation because it got nearly as hot as in summer right now :rainbowderp:

And, as I write this, I'm hearing fireworks close by. Nothing to do with any kind of independence day, though :moustache:

2258039
2258086

Typical Northern Hemisphere chauvinism, I'm afraid. :facehoof:

2258101

Heh, it's cool. I've seen far worse :scootangel:

Besides, have you been seeing the World Cup? Noticed how it doesn't look like it's cold? That is the kind of winter day that I'm having right now, it's more like a slightly less hot summer :pinkiehappy:

2258086
Would the reason for those fireworks be Brazil's victory over Colombia? :twilightsmile:

2258172

Yep. They are still ongoing as of now, only further spread apart :twilightsmile:

(Though I'm an exception here, I don't really care about the World Cup. Hard to not notice what is happening, though, since for Brazilians the World Cup is more or less like a month-long Super Bowl.)

2258197
Ah, I don't care for the World Cup as well, just enjoying all the holidays I get. :trollestia:

And good cheer to you too! :twilightsmile:

Now, I have some fingers to explode. :ajsmug:

In typical American fashion I have eaten tons of meat today. I'm so glad my ancestors decided to fight for my freedom.

I'm a Brit, and a history buff, who works at a historic site in America, so I got asked to help to a 4th of July parade as an American Revolutionary soldier, (that means a two hour march in four layers of heavy wool clothes in 90 degrees Fahrenheit) but honestly it was fun, once it was over. I think of it to myself as being a sort of national penance for Britain loosing the war. But it's all in good fun, so yeah, cheers America! You're cool, don't blow us up!

2257631 Our blowing-uptitude pales compared to the Chinese or Vietnamese on their New Year's Day.


2258438 Would they really have worn that heavy wool in the summer?

What.
Share our holiday cheer?
Preposterous!
Though we would like to share our debt. Sharing is caring!

2258774
Yes actually BadHorse, they were quite particular about their uniforms. If you look at the casualties for the Battle of Monmouth, which was fought in the middle of June, a not insignificant number of them were from heatstroke. The regimental coats are wool, and they are heavy. Typically, you would wear what are called your 'small clothes' underneath, which are a wool waistcoat, a linen shirt, a neck-stock (the British wore ones made from horse-hair, which is as comfortable as it sounds) a pair of wool breeches, long wool socks (stockings), gaiters and your shoes (the cheap shoes that might have been given to enlisted men, which even history nuts like me don't bother with were "straight-laced", i.e. there was no difference between right and left when the shoes were made). So, yes, they did wear an awful lot of clothing, as the uniforms were designed to fight short campaigns in Europe and were largely unsuited for the more extreme temperatures in the American colonies, in both the summer and winter. However, there is some debate as to the type of wool these clothes were made from, as it might have been substantially finer weave than what we are used to today. Although I have to say, even what I have and what we make these days, you do come to appreciate what an absolutely magnificent fabric wool is; it does breathe in a way clothes today simply do not, and is superior in every way to cotton. Sorry, I could go on for ages about fabric and uniforms so I'll cut this short and reply, yes, they did wear wool, they rarely removed their regimental coats, and they were hot, and they just kind of dealt with it.

2259969 Do you know if they wore them in battle simply because they didn't have the logistics for everyone to leave them somewhere and get them back after the battle? That is, carry it or lose it?

Thanks for the watch!

2259969
That's fascinating stuff! I knew the uniforms of the time were quite heavy, but had no idea of the extent. Your post was a very detailed bit of obscure information. Just the sort of thing I like reading about, in fact. :twilightsmile:

2261012
I do! And it is my pleasure to follow you Bad Horse

In most cases, it was not a question of logistics, as most soldiers in the 1770's and early 1780's, when the American War of Independence was taking place, were not meant to carry a great deal of equipment beyond a pack, their cartridge box, musket, bayonet, canteen, and what was called a haversack (simply a "canvas bag of munchies" to be eaten on the move) which was issued on an as needed basis. Anything beyond that was, at least for the regular infantry, expected to be brought up in the rear with the baggage train.

Even with that comparatively small amount of equipment, it was standard procedure for the men to be ordered to dump their packs and any other extraneous gear wherever they happened to be standing before they went into battle. Which had its problems, as one was unlikely to double back and get your pack if the army you were in lost the battle. Funnily enough, in one of the best and comparatively few accounts of the war by an ordinary soldier, the diary of Joseph Plum Martin, he records benefiting from this when, in New York I think, his regiment came across a line of abandoned packs and he was able to 'liberate' two clean shirts for himself (you did not have much time to wash clothes while on the march). As overjoyed as he was to have found such a treasure, he was equally heartbroken at loosing them again later, when he was ordered to dump his pack at a later date when fighting in New Jersey and lost it in the subsequent confusion.

There are instances, notably General Burgoyne's army while moving southward from Canada on the way to the defeat at Saratoga, and Cornwallis's after his decision to burn his baggage train in his pursuit of Brig. General Morgan in the campaign that would culminate in the battle of Yorktown, that the army was almost entirely without a supply train and the men were forced to carry a great deal more weight. As both armies mentioned were subsequently defeated in the two battles that effectively ended British rule in the Thirteen Colonies, it should be noted that going without a baggage train was considered a poor decision in conventional military thought at the time.

So, uh... to answer your question, no. They did not take off their coats before battle. (Doing so would have been a bad idea anyway, as knowing who was and was not the enemy was difficult enough without removing the coats, as the uniform underneath was almost identical on both sides, and, as notably occurred during the battle of Brandywine, two formations in the same army could easily get lost and end up shooting into each other in the confusion of a large battle.)

However, that is not to say that they always looked prim and proper! While a soldier was responsible for maintaining the equipment he was issued (it was the property of the Crown/Continental Congress) and any damaged or lost equipment would have been taken out of his pay in the form of stoppages, the realities of campaigning in the Americas often made maintaining uniforms like regimental coats impossible.

For instance, by the time Burgoyne's men had hacked their way through miles and miles of wilderness on their way down from Canada and fought at Saratoga, (the plan had been to meet General Howe's men who were meant to advance up from New York and cut the northern colonies off from the rest of them) most of the infantry had been forced to alter what was left of their regimental coats. What they were left with was effectively a short red jacket rather than a coat, which, when combined with them chopping up their tricorn hats into a sort of cap, meant that even the British regulars looked more like light infantry than the usual sort one would see on parade. I mean, on their way to Yorktown, Cornwallis's men had started cutting up their tents into trousers because their breeches had begun to wear out. So, again... going without the standard logistical support often had a noticeable effect even on the supposedly "immaculate" British red-coats.

2261027
And thank you Heraclitus! I'm sorry, I was writing my gigantic response to Bad Horse, and did not see your comment. I have to say... :pinkiehappy: You have kind of made my day. "Whom the Princesses Would Destroy" is one of my absolute favorite pieces on this site, and Heraclitus is my absolute favorite per-Socratic philosopher! (Socrates is terribly overrated in my opinion, I always like to imagine him as he is depicted by Aristophanes rather than Plato) Although I do admit, I am far from an expert in him, and aside from the fragments of his, most of my knowledge on him is drawn from my reading of Nietzsche, in particular Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks. Sorry, I have promised myself that I will stop writing gigantic comments and getting my nerd all over your nice post. Thank you for all you've written, and I hope you continue to contribute as you have done so magnificently!

2261142
Well, to be honest, there's not much you can know about Heraclitus of Ephesus. Aside from his fragments, and whatever was written by Diogenes Laërtius in Lives and Opinions, little else remains.

That said, he's an interesting fellow, and certainly the grumpiest of all the ancient philosophers. I chose the name, incidentally, because i didn't expect to write anything on the site except the odd grumpy comment: hence Ghost of Heraclitus. Things didn't quite work out like that.

And, by all means, be as long-winded and nerdy as you please. Long-winded nerdiness is sort of my raison d'être anyway. :twistnerd::pinkiehappy:

2261172
Thanks, and I agree. It is certainly sad that so little of Heraclitus remains, although, I must ask what is your opinion on the account of his death by Diogenes? (I mean... it's a hell of a way to go...) I really appreciate cranky philosophers like him as well, hence the Nietzsche, although if you want 'crank' you can't really do any better than Nietzsche's 'educator' Schopenhauer, who takes angst and makes it an art form. I like Heraclitus in particular, however, due to what I see as his focus on 'becoming' rather than what is. I find a metaphysics of immanence far more compelling than the stogy old Platonism endlessly droning on about 'the good' and 'the beautiful' that seemed to catch on in western philosophy for some reason. Bring on Heraclitus! I like change, and harps, and music, and fire! Lots of fire! :pinkiecrazy:

2261195
Well, given the state of medicine at the time it's not impossible. Consider Plato's disquisition on how the human body works from the Timaeus, for haven's sake. The one where, if you read it closely, it would be beneficial to both wear a thick bacon helmet wherever you go (to help with aging) and to install a plexiglass cover over your liver.

That said, it does sound a bit like a smear job—pun intended—and Heraclitus' carborundum personality certainly means there was a lot of people who'd gladly see him brought down a few dozen pegs post mortem. Consider how the fatal dropsy is, apparently, the result of him becoming a 'hater of his own kind' and subsisting on 'herbs.' Diogenes does report a few stories that say he died of another disease, too, so... *shrug*

Schopenhauer is... well, he's a character and a half, ain't he? He's one of a few people who look like caricatures of themselves, too. I mean if you made him up, philosophy and hair-horns and all, as a character people would tell you to tone it down.

As for the actual philosophy of Heraclitus I can't rightly say. We know little and we understand less than that. Not to mention that, of course, the world we see is different from the one he did. We don't think stars are bowls for a start. That said I enjoy some of his stuff, and he said something I consider something of a personal motto: πολυμαθίη νόον οὐ διδάσκει. The learning of many things does not teach understanding.

2261225
Honestly... I've done my time in Plato Boot Camp, and the less time I have to spend thinking of attempting to read the Timaeus the better... :pinkiesick: (Not sure why I am exclusively using Pinky so far. It is unintentional, as Twilight is my favorite of the Mane Six, although I like them all. That Pinky Pie has so far been the best indicator of my emotional state is some cause for concern however...) I am not ashamed to admit that while I can feel somewhat confident talking about works like The Republic and the Symposium, the Timaeus is utterly beyond my ability to have an intelligent conversation about. (And I have actually sat down and READ Being and Time and passed a course almost exclusively devoted to it, so I do not consider myself a lightweight when it comes to reading.) Schopenhauer is very fun to talk about, however, and you are absolutely right in that he almost becomes a parody of himself (works like "On Women" and "On Suicide" spring to mind). I do think he is important and deserves to be read more often than he is. I consider him to be absolutely neglected at an undergraduate level, which is a shame considering how, putting aside The World as Will and Representation for a moment, his later works are eminently readable and he has had a massive impact on a great number of vital philosophers who came after him, Nietzsche not least among them. Again, I'm not saying The World as Will and Representation should be required reading, far from it, the little Kant most undergrads are given is enough to make them want to hang themselves, and to properly engage with Schopenhauer you really need to be well versed in Kant. I'm honestly more practiced in Hegel than Kant, however, which speaks to my masochistic proclivities. Sorry, I am trying to be concise about all of this but at the same time, it is causing me to become lazy and name-drop all over the place, which is poor form on my part. Either way, I do really enjoy Heraclitus, not least because of his almost impenetrable ambiguity, which he probably would not object to, and I consider said ambiguity to be an important aspect of ancient philosophy that is lost in the modern age, hence (again) the love of Nietzsche, as well as the fact that my absolute favorite philosopher of all time is Walter Benjamin, and I always compel everyone I meet to at least read his essay On the Concept of History.

2261281
I have to admit, you are far more well-read in philosophy than me. Aside from a couple of years in secondary school—which is really more of a light sprinkling of philosophy—and a mandatory course in the philosophy of science during grad school, everything else is me reading bits and pieces when I came across them[1].

And I am inclined to agree with you. The modern study of philosophy does not pay enough attention to German Classical philosophy. And it pays too much attention to a certain subset of Ancient Greek philosophers.

[1] Which is how I came to power through Timaeus to prove a point. I did not find it riveting. Honestly, it's tough going even by the fairly tough-going standards of Plato.

2261225 Did he use footnotes? :ajsmug:

Studying philosophy may have also contributed somewhat to my rather unfortunate habit of writing massively long, rambling, run-on sentences, which may or may not even relate to the same subject by the time I come to the end of them, dependent on whether or not I can remember what that subject actually was. Did I mention I also read Derrida? It might have messed me up...
If you're interested I can send you my latest essay on Deconstruction it's called:
" " ' " 'and/or' " " " '?' "

2261329
Good catch Bad Horse! I most certainly did not! My Humanities Seminar professor is no doubt getting uncontrollable shudders as we speak!

2261027
You're very kind to say so, but honestly, to have read the Timaeus when you were not obligated to do so in order to receive passing marks is no mean achievement. And I am far from an expert, I am only now in the process of beginning to apply and (hopefully) get into a serious post-grad philosophy program. So, you are just as, if not more, qualified in your thoughts as me. I am honestly a mile wide and an inch deep.

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