Infinity

Only thanks to its 52 pages, it is a finite pleasure to amble along Rudolf Taschner's lecture on Musil, Gödel, Wittgenstein und das Unendliche in one evening, entertained by a wonderfully mellow 38 years old Glenfarclas. While the main topic is Gödel's rather arcane incompleteness theorem, Taschner approaches the matter very leisurely: We are treated to anecdotes about shy Gödel's habit of arranging precise time & location of meetings with nosey strangers without ever intending to meet them in the first place. Asked why he arranges the meeting so meticulously, he explained that this is so he knew where & when not to be. Another one is even more interesting: He actually started to explain to the US judge presiding over his naturalisation proceedings that he discovered a logical gap in the US constitution which would make it possible that the US becomes a dictatorship. More about this here.

But that's not all. Wittgenstein is also featuring in this short book, and prominently so with his lie about caning one of his pupils, which apparently has haunted him for years afterwards. Not the caning, mind you, but the telling a lie! Apparently, that made him go to Cambridge, where he had his famous poker debate with Popper. Which reminds me of my bedside book, namely volume 2 of Popper's The Open Society & its enemies. Only yesterday, I came across Popper's slagging off of Wittgenstein - small world.