Great minds think alike.

(525 words; posted Friday, Oct. 11) Great Minds Think Alike, Part One “The name? It means nothing, or practically nothing. We chose it as an empty vessel into which we can pour meaning.” –“Readme: Welcome to SLATE,” SLATEmagazine, June 24, 1996.“What we were looking for was an empty vessel, a word that really had no meaning that we could then fill with meaning.” –Nancy Friedman, marketing director of “Slates,” a new line of dress pants from Levi Strauss. Quoted in the New York Times , Oct. 9, 1996.

      We are happy to welcome Levi Strauss into our increasingly crowded vessel, but wish to make clear that there is no connection between Slates, the pants, and S LATE, the interactive magazine. When we told Bill Gates that Levi Strauss was slapping our name on a line of trousers, his reaction was eloquent. “Have them killed,” he said. “No, wait, my Dockers are getting a bit tight–order me a few pairs.” We hope “Slate” comes to mean high-quality material in both textiles and, er, text. Tell you what, guys: We’ll cover the head, you cover the lower body. (Or will that get us in trouble with the Justice Department?)