• Log In

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog

Subscribe on Android Spotify Google Podcasts audible patreon
  • Home
  • Podcast
    • PEL Network Episodes
    • Publicly Available PEL Episodes
    • Paywalled and Ad-Free Episodes
    • PEL Episodes by Topic
    • Nightcap
    • Philosophy vs. Improv
    • Pretty Much Pop
    • Nakedly Examined Music
    • (sub)Text
    • Phi Fic Podcast
    • Combat & Classics
    • Constellary Tales
  • Blog
  • About
    • PEL FAQ
    • Meet PEL
    • About Pretty Much Pop
    • Philosophy vs. Improv
    • Nakedly Examined Music
    • Meet Phi Fic
    • Listener Feedback
    • Links
  • Join
    • Become a Citizen
    • Join Our Mailing List
    • Log In
  • Donate
  • Store
    • Episodes
    • Swag
    • Everything Else
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My Account
  • Contact
  • Mailing List

Motherfuckin’ Leibniz

March 10, 2011 by Wes Alwan 4 Comments

For a philosophy site that's at the same time bizarre, funny, and genuinely informative, see garygeck.com. His "Secret History" video series appears to be baiting crackpots and cranks everywhere only to give them a good dose of ... the philosophy of mathematics (to begin with). To see what a (sometimes too loud) soundtrack and visuals can do for a subject that might otherwise bore you to tears, see the first video on Cantor, in which Geck defends the Leibnizian method in calculus (which makes use of the concept of the "infinitesimal" rather than today's more typical use of concept of limit). This makes it all worthwhile: "In other words, the sober-minded mathematical public had been forced to stare at actual infinity for over 100 years, and absolutely despised it" (9:17). The icing on the cake is the thoroughly amusing rap/Leibniz video (embedded above) that Geck sent me, in which we get to see "motherfuckin' Leibniz" dancing. I like.

- Wes

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Filed Under: Things to Watch, Web Detritus Tagged With: cantor, gary geck, infinitesimal, infinity, Leibniz, philosophy blog, philosophy podcast

Comments

  1. Confused says

    March 10, 2011 at 2:04 pm

    Wow, this is the strangest combination of actual real philosophy and complete and utter midlessness. It’s bizarre. I like his second video on Cantor where he quotes Plato’s Philebus…that dialogue is under appreciated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejnMdfFbj7k

    The only qualification this guy seems to have to actually know anything about the universe is that he is clearly crazy.

    Reply
  2. Wes Alwan says

    March 10, 2011 at 3:06 pm

    Maybe I’ve misinterpreted as comedy what’s really just lunacy? Not sure. I woke up in a certain mood.

    Reply
  3. Confused says

    March 10, 2011 at 7:35 pm

    It’s neither lunacy nor comedy…the profound will always warp the minds of those who encounter it.

    Reply
    • Confused says

      March 10, 2011 at 7:38 pm

      In other words, I was being quite serious when i said that this guy’s insanity is evidence he might know what he’s talking about. OK let me rephrase what i meant: if this guy wasn’t insane, he does not know the meaning of life. Since he is crazy, there is still a chance that he does…granted the odds are overwhelmingly against him!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

PEL Live Show 2023

Brothers K Live Show

Citizenship has its Benefits

Become a PEL Citizen
Become a PEL Citizen, and get access to all paywalled episodes, early and ad-free, including exclusive Part 2's for episodes starting September 2020; our after-show Nightcap, where the guys respond to listener email and chat more causally; a community of fellow learners, and more.

Rate and Review

Nightcap

Listen to Nightcap
On Nightcap, listen to the guys respond to listener email and chat more casually about their lives, the making of the show, current events and politics, and anything else that happens to come up.

Subscribe to Email Updates

Select list(s):

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Support PEL

Buy stuff through Amazon and send a few shekels our way at no extra cost to you.

Tweets by PartiallyExLife

Recent Comments

  • Theo on Ep. 308: Moore’s Proof of Mind-Independent Reality (Part Two)
  • Seth Paskin on PEL Eulogies Nightcap Late March 2023
  • John Heath on PEL Eulogies Nightcap Late March 2023
  • Randy Strader on Ep. 309: Wittgenstein On Certainty (Part Two)
  • Wes Alwan on PEL Nightcap February 2023

About The Partially Examined Life

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don’t have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we’re talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion

Become a PEL Citizen!

As a PEL Citizen, you’ll have access to a private social community of philosophers, thinkers, and other partial examiners where you can join or initiate discussion groups dedicated to particular readings, participate in lively forums, arrange online meet-ups for impromptu seminars, and more. PEL Citizens also have free access to podcast transcripts, guided readings, episode guides, PEL music, and other citizen-exclusive material. Click here to join.

Blog Post Categories

  • (sub)Text
  • Aftershow
  • Announcements
  • Audiobook
  • Book Excerpts
  • Citizen Content
  • Citizen Document
  • Citizen News
  • Close Reading
  • Combat and Classics
  • Constellary Tales
  • Exclude from Newsletter
  • Featured Ad-Free
  • Featured Article
  • General Announcements
  • Interview
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Misc. Philosophical Musings
  • Nakedly Examined Music Podcast
  • Nakedly Self-Examined Music
  • NEM Bonus
  • Not School Recording
  • Not School Report
  • Other (i.e. Lesser) Podcasts
  • PEL Music
  • PEL Nightcap
  • PEL's Notes
  • Personal Philosophies
  • Phi Fic Podcast
  • Philosophy vs. Improv
  • Podcast Episode (Citizen)
  • Podcast Episodes
  • Pretty Much Pop
  • Reviewage
  • Song Self-Exam
  • Supporter Exclusive
  • Things to Watch
  • Vintage Episode (Citizen)
  • Web Detritus

Follow:

Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Apple Podcasts

Copyright © 2009 - 2023 · The Partially Examined Life, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Copyright Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in