Of Poetry And Justice


What is the origin of the phrase 'poetic justice'?

According to wikipedia

English drama critic Thomas Rymer coined the phrase in The Tragedies of the Last Age Considere'd (1678) to describe how a work should inspire proper moral behaviour in its audience by illustrating the triumph of good over evil.

I don't think so.  I am unable to find an online copy of The Tragedies of the Last Age Considere'd, but the matters of 'inspiring proper moral behaviour' and 'the triumph of good over evil' go back a very long way.

Judge Judge Judges Judgement


Today, 23 Feb 2010, a high court judge named Lord Judge has just judged the meanings of some terms used in a previous judgement in a lower court, during a pre-trial hearing.

Today is a day of hope for Simon Singh, for opponents of stupid laws, for champions of free speech and lovers of language.


Rt Hon The Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales has made some comments in the pre-trial hearing which give cause for hope to supporters of Simon Singh in his fight against stupid laws and worse science.

The Linguistics of Computer Science

As somebody with more than a passing knowledge of computer science and linguistics, I thought I would share a few insights into the deeper meanings of some common terms used in computer science.

algorithm - a way of doing something right.

program - a way of doing something nearly right.

code - a way of making a snafu look like a design feature.

implementation - I did it my way.

upgrade - the stuff we left out.