Sunday, 29 April 2007

I Want Our Boys in the Van

Life would be so much easier if I had them.  Imagine my job talk:

Q: So what do you think the implications of this are for a Deleuzian discourse which rejects anagenetic in favor of a more rhizomatic cladogenetic theory of the dissemination of ideas in the body social?

A: Off the top of my head, I'm not sure.  I'll have our boys in the van look into it and get back to you on that one.  To get back to topic of my talk, I think [many brilliant things about the impact of evolutionary theory on turn-of-the-last-century American culture, and I relate them for approximately five minutes] ... could the gentlemen who asked the question about Deleuze please stand up?  So, one of the boys in the van is telling me that he wouldn't be so quick to align Deleuzian thought with cladogenetic accounts.  He's saying cladogenetic and anagenetic accounts are often complementary, inasmuch as the changes of the frequency of traits within a population (anagenesis) is what eventually causes speciation (cladogenesis).  He's also informed me that the word "cladogenesis" means "the origins of branches."

Tim McCarver: I did not know that.  I would have said "trees," but that would have to be seeds, which you plant in the ground.  Amazing what boys can dig up in the van these days.

Apr 29, 2007 9:13:41 PM | Academia, Books, Dissertation, Evolution, Historicism, Literary Theory, Literature, Sports

5 Comments

Joseph Kugelmass

You know those montages in pop-noir films like Ocean's Eleven? Where they "assemble the team"? It was foolish to think the crimes of theory would take any fewer.

Posted by: Joseph Kugelmass | Sunday, 29 April 2007 at 10:51 PM

The Constructivist

Maybe Chris Clarke would want to join the A-Team! I see him as Howling Mad Murdock, myself. Maybe PZ Myers could be the "I love it when a plan comes together" guy. Now you just need a Face and a B.A. [or better, Ph.D.] Baracus and you're set....

Posted by: The Constructivist | Tuesday, 01 May 2007 at 10:24 AM

The Constructivist

Maybe this guy could be Ph.D. Baracus.

Posted by: The Constructivist | Tuesday, 01 May 2007 at 01:33 PM

Nate

You make up the best gibberish words Scott, "cladogenetic", "Deleuzian", I love it!

There's more I'd like to say but I don't have time - it's nearly brillig and I'm _frumious_ for a snark (as long as it's not a boojum, boojum's are rhizomatic as you know). Adieu until anon.

Posted by: Nate | Wednesday, 02 May 2007 at 12:59 AM

eb

I am commenting in this thread to register my opposition to the "strike."

Posted by: eb | Friday, 04 May 2007 at 09:26 AM

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Research & How It Warps Your Mind, Part I of Many When I read this sentence from Jack London's "Up the Slide" this afternoon: Each step became more difficult and perilous, and he was faint from exertion and from lack of Swanson's dinner. The first thing I thought was "I didn't realize they called it a 'Swanson's dinner' back then." Why? Couple of reasons. The first is that I've known enough destitute Canadians to be familiar with phrases like "Kraft dinner." The second, that "Up the Slide" is a Klondike story, so drifting into thoughts of things frozen is to be expected. (The story, like many a London Klondike tale, is about the lengths a man will go to not to freeze to death.) It was not until the end of the story, when the character named "Swanson" returned, that I realized I had spent the better part of the story thinking "if only this man searching for gold in 1895 can make it back to camp, he could microwave himself a TV dinner." Needless to say, this marked the end of my working day.
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