My “semi-official” encounters with with battle sorta stuff occurred in 70′s, 80′s Middle Eastern areas which too, shall remain unnamed. Don’t bother, it’s immune from any FOI request for the next 20 years.

JK

Words, as they say, are like a “finger pointing at the moon”. A philosophical comment-thread like the one linked to here is just fingers in collision, all pointing in different directions.

Did you fight in the Pacific, JK?

I lack the eloquence and elegance of language to describe any inconsistencies that I might point out in one specific paragraph, dare I say one specific sentence? But for the most part, I agree but reserve the “questionable” right to disagree. We are all theorists. Very occasionally we are all examining theorists. Please, entertain me in this exercise.

I ask, “What comes to your mind when I say blue?”

When I ask the question-I have in mind, the translucent, sapphire, incandescent blue that the bow turbulence created as a vessel split the waters of Truk Lagoon. The bluest blue that I shall evermore be witness to. I have in mind a qualitative “blue.”

My subject answers, “Grandmother used to dye eggs this morning sky, cirrus streaked blue, tinged with foggy blues, that is the blue that comes to my mind.” Or, “My Granddaughter’s eyes.”

And then I place before my test subjects the familiar ROYGBIV strip, knowing that the blue I recalled the depths of, could not be qualitatively fathomed from, and ask, “On which part of this strip is nearest your concept of blue?”

Malcolm, I realize the importance of controls but the question to my subjects is inevitably qualitative. I, as the examiner, know that the eggs’ color tended more toward the green than the blue, the grandchilds’ eyes more to the indigo. Neither equated with the “blue” of Truk Lagoon.

Shall I then conclude that no one quantitatively knows blue? Except for myself? I think not, color is a thing. Sound which you know better (admittededly) is another of those subjective things. I hope you’ve had the pleasure of thinking, “Damn, I’ve got an Abraxas here!”

However, neither of us have had the pleasure of meeting one another through sitting in the green room of either “Oprah” nor via the auspices of “Gypsy” -admittedly I have seen your name- thus shall either reach definite conclusions?

JK

Very unproductive and very un-fun. That is why I commented the other day that as to others’ beliefs, “I care not a whit.”

On occasion I’ll try a simple declaratory statement, a short clarification as necessary-then go to the nearest source of Doonesbury.

Where I live, I even more rarely broach the subject, at least if I’m out of my vehicle and the motors not running. Well perhaps with the ones who as I said, “tolerate me.” However I’m always afraid the others will invite me to a barbeque.

JK