Blogging may be light the next few days because I’m off to the APA Central. From the looks of things it will be less exciting than the APA Pacific, largely because there will be many fewer people attending. For various reasons, perhaps just the relevant seductiveness of San Francisco and Cleveland, OH, many people from the east and west coasts seem to skip the Central in favour of the Pacific. As they put it in economics, this conference will have many more sweet-water philosophers than salt-water philosophers.

There are some good papers to look forward to. Sadly, the two super-highlights of the program – Frank Jackson’s paper on representation and the food fight paper Andy and I will be starting – are on at the same time. The trick I think will be to go to Frank’s paper, which is on 2.30-5.30 Friday, for the first two hours, then follow the crowds (or at least the speakers) to our paper at 4.30.

At many sessions the relative thinness of the program means that there’s only one “Can’t miss” paper on at a given hour, rather than 3 or 4 as is standard at the Pacific. Some may not take this to be a cost. (And the program is still light-years ahead of the average Eastern conference. But going to the Eastern for the philosophy is like reading the Wall Street Journal for the pictures.)

I’ll be co-hosting a party at the conference (time and place to be confirmed) and if you’re there you’re invited, so hopefully that’ll be fun. (–But how can I go to the party if I don’t know where or when it is? –Er, if you run into me, or Andy Egan or Adam Elga, at the conference, ask any of us for details and we’ll provide them. Provided we are organised enough to do so by then.)