On our ferry back from Scotland, we really enjoyed our night with Socrates.
Obviously not the long deceased philosopher (more on that below the pics), but a really great Greek professional performer of pop music.

All night, every single song was pitch perfect and sing along worthy.

If you want to read up on the classic Socrates without nodding off: Plato and a platypus walk into a bar is a really funny book that explains philosophical concepts with jokes. Here’s an example from that little book.

Deductive Logic
Deductive logic reasons from the general to the particular. The bare-bones deductive argument is the syllogism “All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is a mortal.” It’s amazing how often people screw this up and argue something like, “All men are mortal; Socrates is mortal; therefore, Socrates is a man,” which doesn’t logically follow. That would be like saying, “All men are mortal; my kid’s hamster is mortal; therefore, my kid’s hamster is a man.”

Another way to screw up a deductive argument is by arguing from a false premise.

An old cowboy goes into a bar and orders a drink. As he sits there sipping his whiskey, a young lady sits down next to him. She turns to the cowboy and asks him, “Are you a real cowboy?” He replies, “Well, I’ve spent my whole life on the ranch, herding horses, mending fences, and branding cattle, so I guess I am.”

She says, “I’m a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about women. When I shower or watch TV, everything seems to make me think of women.”

A little while later, a couple sits down next to the old cowboy and asks him, “Are you a real cowboy?” He replies, “I always thought I was, but I just found out I’m a lesbian.”

But our pop music performer, also called Socrates has spent the better part of 30 years entertaining people with his golden oldies, which he performs on ferries and other places, where people sing along with his beautiful voice, great guitar work and simple chorus added every now and then with his pedal, as well as the occasional drum track. Songs stolen with pride, I’d say, and extremely well performed.

(contact me for his email if you’re interested)

Somewhere between Newcastle and IJmuiden, july 2025