Fake News II

It is an irony that a man, a man without a lot of substance, a man made by the media, is now POTUS.  It is a further irony that we are at this pass because the media manipulated the man, while the man manipulated the media.  Both sets of manipulation continue.

For the Love of Reason

Far be it from me to divide humankind in two, but were I so inclined, I’d divide it into those who love reason and those who are indifferent if not outright hostile to it. Members of the first group adore the reasoning process and their own reasoning faculties. The others find the process burdensome and discomforting, something that threatens long-held beliefs and intuitions.

The World is a Theme Park

As we cross from one part of a park to another, we leave behind medieval knights and come upon space aliens. In theme parks, we are heroes, and we are surrounded by opportunities for adventure. Theme parks – from the mundane parks of today to the Westworlds of tomorrow – offer us access to romance of the kind most of us don’t see in our everyday lives.

Safety Regulations Could Kill the Scooter Revolution (But They Totally Won’t)

With so many Birds and Limes already scooting around Atlanta’s Midtown district, I decided that I wanted to give one a try. I downloaded the app and headed eagerly over to a Lime scooter parked on the side of the road. I was giddy with excitement, dreams of zipping down Atlanta sidewalks scooting through my head. Then I came upon the Terms and Conditions.

On Pushing Boundaries

Boundaries are useful toward the goal of protecting what’s considered valuable. What people, places, things, ideas, and customs a person values is likely the result of both their nature as human beings and their nurture as being raised in a particular socio-cultural and economic environment. Often the boundaries we encounter as we explore our world are not set as we would like them, and so we push against them.

Radicalism Without Revolution

“Radical” is a scary word, but radicals are (fundamentally) just very consistent people. If they believe in a principle, they believe that it applies to the very root (“radix” – a Latin term) of things. If they believe in non-aggression as a social norm, for instance, they think the value of non-aggression holds true for everyone – including the police officers and bureaucrats and military members whom we normally excuse from this rule.