Serpent logic and related

[ by Charles Cameron — where paradox begets form in phrasing, redux ]

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Here for your entertainment and entrainment are some further instances where the tweet doubles back on itself, bites its tail, or otherwise embodies some form of “form” that’s noteworthy in its own right, and possibly indicative of the heart of a problem — think of these tweets as eddies in the flow of things, knots in the wood…

Two arms crossed as in that MC Escher hand-draws-hand piece:

Microeconomics successfully describes situations that never occur. Macroeconomics unsuccessfully describes situations that occur constantly.

— Zach Weinersmith (@ZachWeiner) September 1, 2013

And a net version of the same, aka “tit for tat”:

How cute, since you blocked me. MT @Ali_Gharib: @EliLake blocked me. What a delicate flower. He can dish it, but can't take it.

— Zach Novetsky (@ZNovetsky) September 6, 2013

Speaking of economics, here’s a bit of spiral logic — the economics of spiralling out of control?

Bokassa logic: "those caught misappropriating public funds were promoted on the grounds that higher salaries would help them pay it back."

— Louisa Lombard (@louisalombard) September 10, 2013

And here’s an example of “endless” recursion, as featured in two tweets about “end” times from Barth’s Notes:

2006: Lebanon conflict means it's the End-Times http://t.co/HyMWQ1m7Ow; 2011: Egypt unrest means it's the End-Times http://t.co/PLhLXEM29z

— Richard Bartholomew (@Barthsnotes) September 6, 2013

and its 2013 equivalent:

NEW POST: Syria Crisis Raises Profile of Apocalyptic Novelist @JoelCRosenberg http://t.co/gu9SoPgl0V #isaiah17

— Richard Bartholomew (@Barthsnotes) September 5, 2013

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Okay, here are some simple sample opposites. First, the weather forecast for Syria:

How intensely dark to see Syrian state media tweeting about their sunny weather forecast.

— Hannah Armstrong (@HannahHaniya) September 14, 2013

— spelled our explicitly by Andrew Stroehlein, who tweeted “Sunny with a chance of cluster bombs…” in response.

Pete King 8/27: Obama shd consult Congress! Pete King 8/31: "Obama abdicating responsibility as commander-in-chief." http://t.co/x6Mrx89vhl

— Molly Ball (@mollyesque) September 3, 2013

That one seems fairly fair, but click on the links yourself to see the nuances in King‘s actual statements.

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Now for some regular serpents’ tails, from the reasonably light-hearted to the heavier end of the scales:

Taking pics of yourself you share with no one. #selfie-hatred

— Elizabeth Pearson (@lizzypearson) September 9, 2013

You should always dance when you're sober enough not to miss a step and not sober enough to caer anout a ttypo.

— Nandini Krishnan (@k_nandini) September 2, 2013

Where's the motivational coach for the motivational coach?

— Patrick C Marks (@PatrickCMarks) September 5, 2013

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