Photo essays

A photo essay is a set or series of photographs used to tell a story or evoke an emotion in the viewer. Photo essays are sometimes made up of many photographs and text captions, or just the phototgraphs themselves, leaving the interpretation in the hands of the viewer. "All photo essays are collections of photographs, but not all collections of photographs are photo essays." Your vacation photos probably don't count.

Sometimes photo essays appear in an article or publication -- often taking up multiple pages. They might appear in a book or on a web site. Sometimes they'll appear as a single montage of photographs.

Photo essays can be incredibly powerful. By combining many different photographs focused in some way on one topic, the viewer can get a feel for the big picture of an event.

• “Think about the photo before and after, never during. The secret is to take your time. You mustn't go too fast. The subject must forget about you. Then, however, you must be very quick.” -- Henri Cartier-Bresson


• “I take a lot of photos of people.” -- Heath Ledger


• “In France we have a law which doesn't allow the press to publish a photo that you didn't approve. It lets the paparazzi take the picture, but if they publish this picture, you have the choice to sue the newspaper. So me, I always sued them.” -- Audrey Tautou


• "One picture is worth a thousand words, but that's still not even a fraction of the story." -- Anthony Eosine Sposato
  

Power naps

A power nap (or catnap) is "a short nap, usually 15-30 minutes" in duration. Some people swear by these short naps, saying that they wake up feeling refreshed and energized. Others find themselves feeling groggy and disoriented upon waking up. Regardless, the ability to shut down for even a short period of time is beneficial to both mind and body.

Naps also have great nostalgic value. They bring to mind nap time from our youth. Back then, we had all the time in the world -- enough even to go to sleep in the middle of the day. As we've aged, time is tighter. There's never enough. It's a joy to be able to find some extra time to do absolutely nothing but clear our minds, and rest our bodies.

A nap industry has even arisen in recent years. Companies such as Metro Naps have created spaces and equipment to facilitate napping for busy professionals.

• "Oh boy! Sleep! That's where I'm a Viking!" -- Ralphie Wiggum (from "The Simpsons")


• "“No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap." -- Carrie P. Snow


• "“I usually take a two hour nap from one to four"” -- Yogi Berra


• "Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap."” -- Barbara Jordan

Non-sequitur

There are two forms of non-sequitur that I am interested in. First, there is non-sequitur that is a logical fallacy. This form of non-sequitur occurs when a statement does not follow from a premise even if all the statements are true (or false). With non-sequitur, one cannot make the determination about the validity of the statements.

For example:

A) All cats are mammals.
B) My cat is cute.
C) Therefore, all mammals are cute.

or:

A) Joe Moore is a jerk.
B) Someone broke my windows.
C) Therefore, I will blame Joe Moore. Where are the Cheetos?

This last example not only illustrates the logical fallacy, but also the other form of non-sequitur, which is absurdism. Absurdist non-sequiturs are statements (or actions) that have so little connection to the context within which they occur that they are absurd, often to the point of being humorous. Many comic strips, comedians, television shows and cartoons are largely based around the humor of the non-sequitur.

In thinking about non-sequitur, we must remember that the two forms are not mutually exclusive. Many logical non-sequiturs can be so ridiculous that they are absolutely hysterical. They leave the reader wondering, "How the hell did they come to that conclusion?" One can only shake one's head, smile a bemused little smile and move on.

No quotes today, but here's that famous joke:

Q: How many surrealists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A: Fish.

Argumentum ad Hominem

An ad hominem argument is one focuses on attacking the person presenting the argument rather than addressing the issue of the argument itself. It is a logical fallacy.

There are three types of ad hominem arguments: ad hominem tu quoque, ad hominem circumstantial, and ad hominem abusive.


Ad Hominem tu Quoque

Ad Hominem tu Quoque ("you too!") is an instance when a person's argument is dismissed simply because they are also guilty of that which they are arguing about.

For example:

Person A: By selling your house to a developer who is going to tear it down and build a crappy looking condo building, you are ruining our community.
Person B: But you're doing exactly the same thing! That means it's okay!

While it may be hypocritical for Person A to make this argument, it does not make his point invalid. We often criticize people for things that we ourselves are guilty of. Our guilt does not invalidate the criticism.

Ad Hominem Circumstantial

Ad Hominem Circumstantial constitutes an attack on the bias of a person. This is fallacious because pointing out one's predisposition towards a certain position does not invalidate their argument in any way.

Example:

Person A: Selling your house to a developer who is going to tear it down and build a beautiful condo building helps the community immeasurably.
Person B: Of course you think that! You're a developer!

Ad Hominem Abusive

Finally, we get to ad Hominem Abusive (my personal favorite). This one consists of an insult of the argument's presenter. As examples show, it can take several forms:

Person A: Selling your house to a developer who is going to tear it down and build a beautiful condo building helps the community immeasurably.
Person B: Don't listen to him, he doesn't smell good.

Person A: Selling your house to a developer who is going to tear it down and build a crappy condo building is destroying the neighborhood.
Person B: I disagree because you are an idiot.

Person A: Selling your house to a developer who is going to tear it down and build a beautiful condo building helps the community immeasurably.
Person B: Fuck you.


Ad hominem arguments can be very powerful when they are used in a public setting. By attacking one's opponent, it is possible to cast them in a negative light, thus causing observers to doubt anything they say. Pre-emptively attacking an opponent (also known as poisoning the well) in order to color an audience's reception of an argument can also be very effective. Even if an observer is not aware of it, the attacks may very well create an unconscious bias against anything the attacked person says.

On the other hand, these types of arguments are capable of backfiring. Thoughtful and sensitive observers who are capable of recognizing the fallacious arguments might find that they no longer side with the attacker, simply based on principle alone. Therefore, if one needs to resort to this type of argument, one should be aware of the potential consequences.

Some quotes:

• “Insults are the arguments employed by those who are in the wrong.” -- Jean-Jacques Rousseau


• “A wise man is superior to any insults which can be put upon him, and the best reply to unseemly behavior is patience and moderation.” -- Moliere


• “A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me” -- Frederick Douglass


• “I love it when someone insults me. That means that I don't have to be nice anymore.” -- Billy Idol

Kittens

Kittens are pre-adolescent cats. And damn, they're cute. Who wouldn't love a kitten? They're small and fuzzy and they get into the craziest adventures. They're incredibly easy to entertain (and because of this, they are incredibly entertaining.) They like to play with yarn, string, rolled up pieces of paper, shoelaces -- you name it, they'll play with it.

While humans take care of kittens -- feeding them, playing with them, sheltering them -- it is well-documented that they, in turn, take care of us. Petting your cat helps lower your blood pressure and improve your mood. Why, just looking at pictures of kittens will put a smile on the sourest person's face.

There are many websites devoted to kittens (and cats) -- here are a couple:

• Kittenwar.com allows you to choose which of two kitten photographs is cuter


• Infinitecat.com is an amazing cat photography project


• Mycathatesyou.com is less cute, but still fun

And the quotes:

• Ralph: My cat's breath smells like cat food. (from the Simpsons)


• Kent Brockman: ...and the fluffy kitten played with that ball of string all through the night. On a lighter note, a Kwik-E-Mart clerk was brutally murdered last night. (from the Simpsons)


• “A kitten is chiefly remarkable for rushing about like mad at nothing whatever, and generally stopping before it gets there.” -- Agnes Repplier


• “No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.” -- Abraham Lincoln


• “A kitten is so flexible that she is almost double; the hind parts are equivalent to another kitten with which the forepart plays. She does not discover that her tail belongs to her until you tread on it.” -- Henry David Thoreau

Thanks to Rebecca Rouilly for inspiring today's post.

Faulty generalizations

James Ginderske's statement on Morse Hellhole that "every single blogger in RP is supporting Claypool because its[sic] the right thing to do for this neighborhood" leads me to this Wikipedia entry about faulty generalizations.

Some quotes:

• “All generalizations are false, including this one.” -- Mark Twain


• “All generalizations are dangerous, even this one.” -- Alexandre Dumas


• “All generalizations are bad.” -- R.H. Grenier