Episode 1: The Mind Palace
Episode 3: Morse Code
Episode 5: The Science of Abduction
Episode 7: Baritsu
Episode 10: Teach Yourself Violin
Episode 1: The Mind Palace
Notes:
There are no additional notes this time.
Links:
*The Art of Memory, by Frances Yates (1966) available as a downloadable .pdf from MIT.
http://ebookbrowse.com/yates-the-art-of-memory-pdf-d203046783
*This is the advertisement for the lecture with Sal Piacente I attended. It links to his website, but alas there are no Mind Palace details there.
http://www.xelentlectureseries.com/sal_piacente_magic.html
*This is the link to ‘Method of Loci’ on Wikipedia, but it was introduced to me as The Mind Palace, as Sherlock says.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci
Diagrams:
There are no diagrams this time.
Questions:
If you have any questions about the segment, please send them to bored@three-patch.com. Thank you very much.
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Episode 3: Morse Code
Notes:
I attempted to find good online morse code training games. One website thought that a good way for you to learn morse code was to listen to an entire novel spelled out in English and then Morse Code. Frankly, I doubt the value of listening to even a paragraph, let alone an entire novel. Another site had MP3 files of downloadable letters to which you could listen. Websites were singularly poorly designed, usually with text on a contrasting background, relatively unformatted, with a single graphic of a logo consisting of initials. There were downloadable programs that looked, from screen shots, as if they were in DOS (I’m not even joking.) Many of the sites had been set up to help one pass a test for an amateur radio license that eliminated the requirement to know Morse in 2007. Prior to 2007 the requirement had been downgraded to decoding at 5 words per minute, the requirement for a Boy Scout badge.
Likewise, I tried many iPhone apps for Morse Code. (I tested them so you don’t have to.)
The best program I found was by a company called HotPaw. The company website no longer exists. It is called MorseWords and will play you a string of random simple words in Morse to decode. You can walk along the street (I do) and translate happily away as you wait for the bus. This is useful.
They also have a program called MorseKey, which is a simple key, as one can also find below, but this one is well designed with a dot and a line. Touching the dot will yield a dot. Touching the line will yield a dash. You also have the option of the large dot sounding a dot or dash according to the length of time you hold your finger on the dot. Very basic. As it does nothing else, its usefulness is debatable (see ‘Morse Key’ below.)
They also have an app called Morse2Text with a similar design to MorseKey. It also has a line and dot which work in the same way, though they are arranged horizontally rather than vertically. This produces text as you key it, which you can then email. As the advertisement says, it means you can text without looking at your phone. Interesting.
On an amusing note, they have an app called Morse Ring, which will make a ringtone of a phrase you type into it rendered in Morse. If one were keen, one could program each important friend’s name so their phone would tell you their name when they rang, but in Morse Code. I haven’t done this yet, but it is tempting.
Also useful is Morse Code Driller, by Kevin Neelands. It has actual drills for coding and encoding, which is a nice change, as you can see below. They are very basic, but they work and will teach you Morse Code in an interactive way.
Less Useful:
Morse, by RosMedia, is well designed. It is very basic. You can type and change it to code. There are also drills for the alphabet and double letters. There are (apparently) more complex drills if you pay from inside the app, but I hate that and it was not useful enough for me to pay even the dollar they wanted.
iMorse Code, by Synaptic Entertainment, lets you type and it translates it to morse code. That’s it.
Morse Code, by Exedria (Cube Memeory) looks full of potential. Unfortunately, they seem to have a basic game or learning design and have superimposed it for many subjects and it does not work for morse code. It is very flashy, but does not function. The icon is very nicely designed, however.
Morse Key, by Ben Wheatley, is just that, a Morse key. You can tap on it to to play (but not send or display) Morse Code. It does, in fact, look like a Morse Key, but it doesn’t do anything. You can also get a ‘Morse Paddle’ from within the (one page, one function) app. I did not do this. Frankly, you could also blow a kazoo or drag your fingernail over a chalkboard for a short or long sound.
Morse Code Pro, by Mindwarrior, might have been good, but it doesn’t work. Alas.
If you find anything truly useful, I would be interested. There are a great number of Morse Code apps. I tried the ones which seemed most promising, but did not pursue all the possibilities.
Links:
*This is the only reliable interactive tutorial I could find online. It is extremely basic and will let you code and decode at an absolutely beginner’s level.
http://www.dedge.com/morse/*
*Here is an amusing chart which promises to teach you Morse Code in one minute. I am skeptical, but you can try it if you wish.
http://www.learnmorsecode.com
Diagrams:
International Morse Code, from Wikipedia.
If you have any questions about the segment, please send them to bored@three-patch.com. Thank you very much.
Question 1: Question 1 (if any) will go here.
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Episode 5: The Science of Abduction
Notes:
The long quote from A Study in Scarlet is in Chapter 14, The Conclusion (page 174 of the BBC edition.)
Links:
*The Logic of Scientific Discovery, by Karl Popper (1934) available as a downloadable .pdf from strangebeautiful.com.
Click to access popper-logic-scientific-discovery.pdf
*This is a link to the Karl Popper Wikipedia page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Popper
*This is a link to the wikipedia page on Abduction (Abductive Reasoning.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abduction_(logic)
*This is a helpful introduction to Symbolic Logic.
http://philosophy.lander.edu/logic/symbolic.html
*This is a link to the Wikipedia article on The Problem of Induction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_induction
Diagrams:
There are no diagrams this time.
Questions:
If you have any questions about the segment, please send them to bored@three-patch.com. Thank you very much.
Question 1: Question 1 (if any) will go here.
Answer 1: Answer 1 (if there is a Question 1) will go here.
Episode 7: Baritsu
Notes:
The first quote is from The Empty House, from The Return of Sherlock Holmes (page 9 of The Penguin Sherlock Holmes Penguin Collection)
The second quote is from A Study in Scarlet is in Chapter 2, The Science of Deduction (page 18 of the BBC edition.)
.PDFs:
These are available as a downloadable .pdfs from Scribd.com. You can download from Scribd if you upload. You can upload your own fanfic or, lo, almost anything. I’ve uploaded these .pdfs for you.
*Celtic Wrestling: The Jacket Styles, by Guy Jaoun and Matthew Bennett Nichols.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/149604499/Celtic-Wrestling-The-Jacket-Styles”
*Jui Jitsu Complete, by Kiyose Nakae (1958.)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/149603520/Jiu-jitsu-Complete
*Bayonet Manuals:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/149603184/Bayonet-Exercise-1853
http://www.scribd.com/doc/149603176/Fixed-Bayonets-1890
http://www.scribd.com/doc/149603151/Basic-Field-Manual-Bayonets-1940
*Boxing, Edwin L. Haislet (1940.)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/149603432/Boxing-Haislet-1940
Books:
*The Sherlock Holmes School of Self Defense: The Manly Art of Bartitsu as Used Against Professor Moriarty, E. W. Barton-Wright
http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-School-Self-Defence-Professor/dp/1907332731
*The Walking Stick Method of Self Defense, Anonymous
http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Stick-Method-Self-Defense/dp/1581604386
Diagrams:
There are no diagrams this time. If there are diagrams in which you are interested, please ask.
Questions:
If you have any questions about the segment, please send them to bored@three-patch.com. Thank you very much.
Question 1: Question 1 (if any) will go here.
Answer 1: Answer 1 (if there is a Question 1) will go here.
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Episode 10: How to Teach Yourself the Violin
Notes:
John Watson on Sherlock and his violin from A Study in Scarlet, Chapter Two: The Science of Deduction, page 19 in the Sherlock BBC edition.
“I see that I have alluded above to his powers upon the violin. These were very remarkable, but as eccentric as all his other accomplishments. That he could play pieces, and difficult pieces, I knew well, because at my request he has played me some of Mendelssohn’s Lieder, and other favourites. When left to himself, however, he would seldom produce any music or attempt any recognized air. Leaning back in his armchair of an evening, he would close his eyes and scrape carelessly at the fiddle which was thrown across his knee. Sometimes the chords were sonorous and melancholy. Occasionally they were fantastic and cheerful. Clearly they reflected the thoughts which possessed him, but whether the music aided those thoughts, or whether the playing was simply the result of a whim or fancy, was more than I could determine. I might have rebelled against these exasperating solos had it not been that he usually terminated them by playing in quick succession a whole series of my favourite airs as a slight compensation for the trial upon my patience.”
.PDFs:
Here is a PDF of a music book of easy violin songs. I arranged them myself!
A Critical Tool!
Here is a link to the Cleartune website. You can download it for Android or iPhone. It is an app that will show you if your violin is in tune or, almost more importantly, that your finger positions are correct! I find it indispensable. The website also seems to have a metronome app. I have not tried it, but I still use my grandmother’s wind-up metronome.
Here is a nice review of Cleartune.
Links
Here are links to sites for royalty-free sheet music (mostly.) Fix up your own favourite songs today!
8notes.com has many many pieces of music of various types, including folk, traditional, and classical (and more.)
LYCO Sheet Music Archive from the Launceston Youth and Community Orchestra has quite a number of pieces.
I recommend searching The Library of Congress for your favourites.
This site is extremely hard on the eyes but has a ton of Political Folk Music.
Free Scores seems to have just that, and a huge list of composers. I looked up Mendelssohn, as above and there seemed to indeed be free scores one could download!
Diagrams:
1. Here are some very nice instructions on holding a violin from the Maukau Youth Orchestra
2. Here is a picture demonstrating the way to hold a bow, shown from below.
Here is a picture demonstrating how to hold a bow, shown from above.
Both may be found here: How to Hold a Violin
3. Here is a diagram of the notes on the violin mapped to notes on the staff.
It is from this webpage: Fretless Finger Guides. I know it is very small, but it is an excellent diagram.
4. Here is the pattern of whole notes and half notes and the names of the notes. I couldn’t find what I wanted so I had to make it. 