Writing always accrues detritus so here’s some bits and pieces from Waiting for the Flood.
Playlist
Waiting didn’t really have a playlist as such – I listed to Kind of Blue on repeat along with Rainy Mood.
Honestly, I just recommend this as a general thing to do. It is perfect.
That Damn Logician Joke
The question I get asked the most about this book is what the hell is going on with Adam’s favourite joke. Which is the one where three logicians walk into a bar and the barman asks “does everyone want a drink?” The first logician says, “I don’t know”, the second logician says, “I don’t know”, and the third logician says “yes, please.”
Here’s how it works:
The question the barman asks is “does everyone want a drink.” So the first logician answers he doesn’t know because he wants a drink but he doesn’t know about the other two. The second logician answers he doesn’t know because he also wants a drink and he knows the first logician wants a drink, but not the third.
If he hadn’t wanted a drink the answer to the question would have been ‘No thanks’ because he would have known that not everyone wanted a drink because he didn’t.
Therefore the third logician can deduce that both the first and second logician both want a drink and wanting a drink himself he can answer”yes please” to the question “does everyone want a drink”.
And … like so many things in life, isn’t that so much less entertaining once you explain it?