John Stuart Mill on grammar and Logic

"Grammar is the most elementary part of Logic. It is the beginning of the analysis of the thinking process. The principles and rules of grammar are the means by which the forms of language are made to correspond with the universal forms of thought. The distinctions between the various parts of speech, between the cases of nouns, the modes and tenses of verbs, the functions of participles, are distinctions in thought, not merely in words. The structure of every sentence is a lesson in Logic."
John Stuart Mill, Rectorial Address at St. Andrews, 1867, quoted from Jespersen, The Philosophy of Grammar, London, 1924, p. 47.

The Taj Mahal in Agra

I thought I'd share a picture of the Taj Mahal from my trip to India. It really looks gorgeous, especially on this photo. Otherwise it was quite hot, I had a really bad stomach and there were way too many people. Oh, and my camera ran out of batteries as soon as I took a couple of pictures.

So all in all this was not a very pleasant trip. We were also given a guide, included in the hotel/car package, who felt absolutely driven to tell me everything about the history of the Taj Mahal. Love, death, tomb, etc.

Cars in old Shanghai

This is an old picture from Shanghai in 1919, showing a taxi company called Johnson Garage. Cars first appeared in Shanghai in 1901, imported from Hong Kong by Leinz, a Hungarian businessman. Initially they were all used as taxis, and the number of private cars was minimal.

Of course, today there are zillions of cars in China and the number of cars made there is now more than in Germany.