One down, three to go

Or, hmm. Let's say instead, three down, three to go. There, that makes me feel better. (Two papers and a final) down, (a paper and two finals) to go. And it's only Monday. Yayness.

And for some reason I'm in the mood for MILK.

... And, having just checked my calendar, less than two weeks to Christmas. Time to change music, methinks.

influence

It may not be a truth universally acknowledged, but in most cases, really the only way to learn about something is to do so from someone who believes in it. Thus, to learn about things that the average member of society doesn't believe in, you have to find those labeled "nuts" or "quacks" or whatever. They may or may not be, but the belief they hold makes everything seem so reasonable that, even if one doesn't believe themselves, it still makes sense.

I haven't looked at the whole site, but the section on alchemy, at least, seems to be just a presentation of knowledge without any attempt to convert. I can, and do, respect that. It's far better than someone saying, "look at what these idiots believe! They're wrong, of course, but..." I have absolutely no patience for that.