Oh

[flemmings]

Seidensticker is dead. Rather an unlikable git in many ways, but still, an institution. And he died in Tokyo, which is devotion. If I had a worrisome medical condition at an advanced age, I'd come home to where there are western doctors. They at least are accountable. Japanese doctors are regarded as God, and think themselves God, and like God reserve the right to slay their worshippers without repercussion.

(Spellcheck suggests 'Seidensticker' wants to be any of Sadistic, Hedonistic, Modernistic, Dynastic, Sternest, Stochastic, Statistic, Stylistic. All of the above, say I, though I need to look up Stochastic.)

Comments

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

I gather from Wikipedia that yes, it means random at a guess by chance; and still a math term. Except for something I probably read in an early Trek novel about a school of err maybe philosophy founded by Bonner the Stochastic, which name won't leave me alone. I think it's probably an injoke.