Posted Jan 2, 2009 by millwallbill
I agree that Ray Monk produced a readable biography of Russell. I particularly recall the anecdote that involved Russell`s total lack of practical skills. Apparently Russell was inacpable of even changing a light bulb. So when LW came to hsi rooms for a tutorial, Russell would make full use of his engineering background & get him to do any oddjobs around the apartment before beginning the tutorial.
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Posted Jan 6, 2009 by Recumbentman
"Ah, Wittgenstein--you're an engineer, can you do anything about this light bulb?" 
It is hard to imagine Russell running a secondary school. That is one of the many sadnesses in the book, the way his son became estranged through R's excessive imposition of even-handedness. He just didn't see he was depriving his son of the consideration of a father.
A sadness that struck me particularly was Russell's rejection of a logical lifeline for his mathematical theory, offered late in his life by Gödel. Russell had chosen Wittgenstein to succeed him in logic and philosophy, and if he said "give up" then Russell just gave up.
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