On Summit

Now that we're almost a month in, I feel like I should at least check in and share some updates on what's happening at the Akron almost-mansion. I don't know that I'm going to document every element of the Great Akron Home Renovation and Reconstitution Project , but if I do, I'm absolutely going to have to come up with a snappier title for it. Until then, GAHRRP it is. Looking through an interior doorway of a residential home, a plumber in a red hoodie can be seen in an adjoining bathroom measuring a space for a toilet. We are currently in the "Planning for Progress" phase. Here, "Planning for Progress" is my shorthand for the fact that nothing is visibly happening at our new house. Instead, through a series of phone calls with contractors, on site consultations with contractors, follow up conversations with contractors, and disappointing news from contractors, we are laying the groundwork for progress. We are planning for progress to happen in t...

Sorites paradox, sometimes called the paradox of the heap or paradox of the pile, asks us to consider how many small things might be needed to add up to something substantive. The typical version of sorites paradox starts with a heap of sand. From that heap, grains of sand are removed one at a time.  Obviously, removing a single grain doesn't change the nature of the heap. It will still be a heap of sand. But what happens when we repeat the process? What if we were to keep going to the point that only one grain remains? Is it still a heap? If not, at what point did our collection of grains change from being a heap to not being a heap? A picture of a sandy beach, taken from ground level and looking out towards the ocean. A common variant of sorites paradox starts with a single grain of sand and prescribes adding granules one at a time. Adding one grain won't make a heap, nor will the addition of two or three. Through repetition though, we know that a heap of sand will eventually...