The question about rice and potatoes can go a little bit further. The
question is size and scorch. Rice has an atomic expression. You cannot
think of a grain as food and you can think of one potato as food.
The suggestion of mixing rice and potatoes underlines the possibility of
dealing with opposite approaches in producing knowledge. Admitting that
knowledge can be simply described as valid logic substitutions of reality,
rice, as a conglomerate of presumably equal entities that only can exist
functioning as rice by aggregation, has only parallel in the study of
societies. Rosan point out that briefly reminding the discussion on
qualitative and quantitative methods in Social Sciences.
Rules and Laws in societies regulate situations in which unequal is
permitted. Social contracts regulate differences because they admit basic
equal origins of humans.
In research you can produce knowledge by identifying the power of
aggregation of similar entities and thus promoting a logic discourse about
it. There is a limited amount of entities that you can aggregate as well as
a minimum number of entities to legitimate the discourse. This is very much
what we do, also, in holistic approaches. The same with rice. To call it
food you must have at least a hand full (aprox. the same size of a potato).

My younger daughter used to eat bits of raw potatoes and hide the leftovers
under her sister’s mattresses. This is no method of eating potatoes, not
even a method for identifying princesses.
Normally we take out the scorch, although there are a lot of recipes with
the scorch, and slice or chop the potatoes. Of course, when the potatoes
are small you can eat one full size but most of the times you cut it in
pieces.
The difference between humans and small children and mice is that humans
admit that there is a veil that covers reality that must be removed to
understand it. This is a remote platonic stigma very difficult to escape
from. Of course that onions could jump to the discussion, but sticking to
potatoes, the nice tubercula represents very much a Modern paradigm of
Science. We must slice and separate parts of the same problem in order to
solve it.  Italo Calvino gives a powerful poetic description of this
paradigm in “The Cloven Viscount”. The bad half of the viscount slashed in
two explains to his nephew that beauty is achieved in slashed things since
a veil of mischief covers the “whole things”.
Mixing rice and potatoes would mean, in fact, something that we must do if
we don’t want to leave leftovers. I’m thinking of research strategies for a
whole institution (school, research centre, bunch of people).
Portuguese are the Europeans that eat more rice per capita. An ordinary
Portuguese meal will include a soup first, a dish where you can find salad,
rice, potatoes, meat or fish, all together. This would be heretic for an
Italian. In the North of Portugal you have rice in every meal that you mix
with whatever, even spaghetti. Rice levels the flavours; you use it almost
to clean your mouth from different tremendously succulent greasy salty or
sweet flavours.
The metaphor of mixing rice and potatoes doesn’t work that well with us.
Maybe that’s why we like chaotic and erratic conversations like this one.

To have a mouth full:

Wash and dry a bunch of small potatoes with the scorch and put it on an
oven tray. Pre heat the oven at 200º and let it cook for about 15 min. Time
to time refresh with a little water. Take the potatoes out and give each
one a punch so that they break in the middle. You will probably smash too
much the first one or two, but you will get the grip of it.  Smash 6 cloves
of garlic and distribute them over the potatoes. Shower a few leaves of
thyme and some salt over it. Pour generously olive oil and little pieces of
very greasy bacon over it. (If you have problems with pork use smoked
salmon. If you have problems in eating animals you must start up with cubes
aubergine altogether with the potatoes).  Back to the oven for five
minutes.

Aside: chop half an onion and smash a clove of garlic. Put it on the bottom
of a pan with a bit of salt and pour olive oil until the bottom is covered
and then pour a little bit more. Put it on fire until the onions start to
be transparent. Pour a large teacup of clean white rice and let it fry a
little bit stirring delicately. Pour two teacups of water and let on strong
fire until it boils. Then reduce to minimum fire and let it cook until it
appears to be dry. The pan must be almost covered.

Eat all together with red wine.

Bon apetit,

Eduardo

P.S. For all Brazilians abroad: I went to a “picanha” restaurant yesterday…
P.S. for Italians: What about Sicilian Aranci?...