We should be able to solve most problems, particularly those arising through war, poverty, irrationality, and malfeasance. But the scroll of history shows the contrary. We have little to boast of in any of these areas.
Tag: logic
Education and Its Discontents
What is taught to the students at school is basically: “You have no choice in where you will be. If you do not do as I tell you, worse things will happen to you. If you follow orders, better things will happen to you.” The subject here is learning to accept the basic context of being in a prison and to follow orders to escape a worse fate. The kind of learning environment that I support can more or less fit under the category of unschooling.
The Relation of Purposelessness to Prosperity
Centuries ago people produced to survive. The journey of survival was the motivating factor, but we evolved to be able to produce and find purpose in that production. We felt value as human beings in providing for ourselves and serving the people and values we care about. Today, our production is seemingly more distanced from our survival and the result is purposelessness.
The Power of Feeling Good
Minds are complex things. Too complex for their owners sometimes. We don’t always know how to get to the bottom of our frustrations, anxieties, fears, depression, or listlessness. The harder the conscious mind tries to unearth its subconscious sibling, the deeper the disconnection from good feelings gets.
Net Neutrality Will Neuter The Net
Rather than letting market forces incentivize innovation, net-neutrality supporters are advocating that the state step in and force the internet to maintain a status quo that the market, in response to the increasingly high demand for a scarce resource, may or may not want to keep.
The Wonder of the Hard Fork
Bitcoin split into two different versions back in August, after years of debate between insider experts, outsider novices, businesses, hobbyists, tech-types, ideological types, investor types, and everyone else you can imagine.
Optimist, Pessimist, Realist
An optimist believes that civilization is rapidly advancing on the economic, scientific, and technological front. A pessimist believes that civilization is rapidly deteriorating on the cultural, philosophical, and spiritual front.
Disobedience is a Virtue
When we spend most of our formative years being bombarded with the message—from parents, teachers, the media, agents of the state, etc.—that obedience is a virtue and disobedience is a sin, we “learn” that lie at a very deep psychological level, way beyond merely an intellectual understanding.
The Books I Keep Coming Back To (and Why I Do)
I’m not a fan of retreading old ground where knowledge is concerned. Once I know something, I want to use it. I don’t want to just read it again. There are a few books that get an exception to that rule.
As They Perpetuate Their Endless Crimes
Many Americans become enraged in response to reports of personal misbehavior by politicians (of the other party), especially sexual misbehavior. The news media cover the matter 24/7. Allegations are periodically resurrected decades after the public has lost interest. Meanwhile…