Joseph Jastrow and his duck – or is it a rabbit? (2004–2020)

(ocf.berkeley.edu)

22 points | by dang 16 hours ago ago

8 comments

  • erulabs 14 hours ago ago

    Recently became totally enamored with Wittgenstein - one of those thinkers who's core ideas have lived, inarticulate, in my heart, since I was a child: Language has no definite meaning, we operate in a fog of connotation, real communication of meaning is impossible, there is no possible scientific description of every-day concepts like "chair"... So much to be gained from overcoming "the bewitchment of language". Brilliant thinker.

    Had no idea the duck-rabbit was attributed to him! Appears attributed incorrectly, but one can see why: The drawing is neither a duck nor a rabbit, while also being both a duck _and_ a rabbit. Ask a toddler if it's a duck and they'll say of course! Ask a philosopher, and they wont be sure! Language is fun (and meaningless!)

    If you’re in the mood for a nice philosophy lecture, here’s a great overview on Wittgenstein: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X7Rb56kZQSk

  • rav 14 hours ago ago

    Solving the duck-rabbit puzzle in Animal Well gave me such chills. In the beginning of the game the player comes across a room with a duck that quacks at you when you walk by. In a distant corner of the world there's a picture of a duck-rabbit with a passcode. When you enter the passcode in front of the duck, it transforms into a rabbit and warps away through a portal that appears for a brief moment while a spooky sound effect plays.

  • pugworthy 12 hours ago ago

    I’m reminded of the New Yorker cartoon where two armies face each other, both carrying the same image on their flags.

    “There can be no peace until they renounce their Rabbit God and accept our Duck God“

  • leetrout 15 hours ago ago

    Always a rabbit. Ducks bills are never that thick.

  • type0 14 hours ago ago

    if it walks like a duck...