The end of an age?

In generations to past, philosophy and logic students have stood outside ugly concrete buildings in the bracing Scottish wind as the night draws in, and arguing furiously because someone is wrong about politics and philosophy of science. (Even though it was definitely only going to be a five-minute-chat, but now that so-and-so has said such-and-such about Karl Popper or Palestine and before you know it, you’ve been huddling in the cold for two and a half hours arguing about whether their premises were sound…)

But future generations of students they won’t be huddling around the Existentialist’s or the Logic Lecturer’s conical roll-up cigs for warmth anymore. They’re both quitting the smokes.  Maybe it will be too cold in Decembers to come, without the cigarettes to huddle around. Maybe in future, the arguing will have to be done in the pub, or via listserve or something.

Reminds me of the old xkcd:

Image description: the cartoon shows someone sitting at a computer. The speech bubbles are transcribed:

Person outside room: Are you coming to bed?
Person at computer: I can’t. This is important.
Person outside room: What?
Person at computer: Someone is wrong on the internet.

–IP