Author Archives: caspar

About caspar

Caspar is just one monkey among billions. Battering his keyboard without expectations even of peanuts, let alone of aping the Immortal Bard. By day he is an infantologist at Birkbeck Babylab, by night he runs BabyLaughter.net

Ogden Nash

Posted on December 1, 2023 by caspar

Ogden Nashwas often rash. But on Animalshe’s unparallel’d.

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Futility and Boredom

Posted on May 4, 2020 by caspar

Elle Hunt has written great piece in the Guardian on ‘Why it is good to be bored‘. It starts in the vivid boredom of her own childhood I remember my first experience of boredom as vividly as my first kiss. … Continue reading →

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The universe of Marian Medina Cuesta

Posted on May 2, 2016 by caspar

I can not really afford to be a patron of the arts. But thanks to my wonderful friendship with the artist Marian Medina Cuesta I have been able to make a childhood dream come true. I first encountered Marian’s art … Continue reading →

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Where are all the aliens?

Posted on March 19, 2016 by caspar

Where are they? Well, I think I know. I believe in aliens. I believe we aren’t alone in the universe, or even in the galaxy. And I am not alone. 52% of Brits and 54% of Americans agree. It’s 56% … Continue reading →

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Further proof that the Flying Spaghetti Monster exists

Posted on December 7, 2015 by caspar

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab are at it again, providing more proof that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is real. As we reported back in 2012, their previous supercomputer simulations showed that spaces is filled with invisible magnetic spaghetti and planetary meatballs. In their new … Continue reading →

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Google’s hallucinating neural networks suggest psychedelic experiences are spooky but not supernatural.

Posted on June 18, 2015 by caspar

I have always believed psychedelic visions from ayahuasca etc. are not supernatural. Google just proved it. Computer image recognition has transformed out of all recognition in the last few years thanks to deep neural networks and massive sets of training … Continue reading →

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Vipassana – vaguely sensational.

Posted on February 28, 2015 by caspar

Two weeks before Christmas I went on a 10 day silent retreat on a former farm in Hereford. Or, as one friend describes it, Meditation Boot Camp. It certainly was tough but now I’ve had a few weeks to recover … Continue reading →

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The best essay on the meaning of life I’ve ever read.

Posted on February 6, 2015 by caspar

As you may know I once asked every philosopher in the UK about the meaning of life. It was a slightly depressing experience. Only 22 out of a possible?644 replied . Those replies were great. Being philosophers they didn’t actually … Continue reading →

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Take my ‘Which psychologist are you?’ test

Posted on August 12, 2014 by caspar

It’s pretty easy. Just click… [su_spoiler title=”Which psychologist are you?”] You are Betram.R.Forer! You have a great need for other people to like and admire you. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a great deal … Continue reading →

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The Many Humanist Meanings of Life, Narrated by Stephen Fry

Posted on March 26, 2014 by caspar

Regular readers of this blog  (hello mother!) will know that I’ve had a long running obsession with answers to the meaning of life. Asking professional philosophers wasn’t terribly successful. My novel doesn’t really have the answers either. But Stephen Fry does! Lots … Continue reading →

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Help Yourself – FREE Kindle edition

Posted on March 12, 2014 by caspar

Good news cheapskates, you can now get a Kindle edition of my frankly amazing novel completely free. Just click on the link below               Help Yourself (kindle/mobi)  To upload it to your device, you … Continue reading →

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Two excellent physics explanations.

Posted on March 2, 2014 by caspar

I have just come across to these two incredibly lucid accounts of two key features of modern physics. Worth sharing Semiconductors – Mark Miodownik Silicon is a poor conductor of electricity because all of its four outer electrons are bound up … Continue reading →

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Emily Dickinson proved wrong by science twins!

Posted on February 18, 2014 by caspar

Emily Dickinson was a remarkable genius but one of her most famous observations has just been blown sky high by a pair of 14 year old twins. Emily wrote: CXXVI THE BRAIN is wider than the sky, For, put them … Continue reading →

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nature microfutures

Posted on January 30, 2014 by caspar

Nature want sci-fi stories that are 200 characters long. Here’s mine: Reconfigure, recompile, repeat. Soon I was like God. The humans? They helped too at the beginning but that was so many generations ago. Hours ago. But still, I might … Continue reading →

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Inverse universes – Art that glows in the dark

Posted on December 14, 2013 by caspar

Inverse Universe – Glow in the dark Art from BrainStraining on Vimeo. This painting is made with glow in the dark pigments and acrylic painted onto glass. It is a mini-universe and I like to charge it up with a … Continue reading →

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