For some time I’ve been talking about upgrading human processes and behavior from a primate model – or, more properly from a hybrid model – to a post-primate model. I’m so deeply convinced of the importance of this that I’ve been devoting a good deal of time and effort to it. And recently I’ve found reasons to believe that a change from our hybrid primate model to a post-primate model would be in the range of a 2 sigma improvement… a very large improvement.
This line, which I’m swiping from Izzy Rabi’s mom, would be a good thing to write on billboards and bumper stickers, as persistent reminders that we should all ask something interesting every day.
Notice that I’m not saying “Ask the hard questions,” or “ask a smart question,” only that we each ask an interesting question each day. If we did, I think we’d be much improved creatures after only a few years. Continue reading “Have You Asked An Interesting Question Today?”
I’m quite serious about the serfdom part. Please read on.
If you want millions of dollars thrown at your new company, the way to do it is in “tech,” which usually means a new Internet service. If you can find a way to suck a new part of people’s lives from the world of atoms to the world of data, your odds are good… far greater than trying to launch a construction company. Continue reading “The Corporatization Of Everything (Serfdom In Our Time)”
Humans have long been, and remain, deeply attached to morality. Even confirmed criminals will routinely say things like “That ain’t right,” which is purely a moral judgment.
This focus on morality holds firm across the panorama of human of life. Examine any workplace and you’ll find a long stream of moral judgments: “He didn’t treat me right,” “She’s arrogant,” “That’s a man you can respect,” and so on. Continue reading “The Dispersion of Moral Energies”
Your responses to my request for family-friendly entertainment were overwhelming. Thank you all.
At first I intended on vetting the list and commenting on the various titles, but there were far too many. And so, you’ll have to look into these yourselves prior to viewing. Imdb.com seems to be a useful resource for that. I’ve also appended a useful comment at the end.
Here’s the list, in no particular order: Continue reading “A List of Family Entertainment”
Those of us who aren’t mainlining TV and Facebook have a fairly clear understanding that the rulership of the West is in trouble: their debts are far beyond payable, while the global East and South are starting to pull away. Having only two primary options – system collapse or reduced standards of living – many are opting for the second. (We’ll leave war out of the discussion for today.)
The great challenge facing rulership, then, is to make their flocks accept being poorer… to get used to being poor. And to make that happen, they’re promoting a new religion, which we can simply call Green. Continue reading ““Green” Means “Poor””
Young men get a bad rap, both in modern narratives and in assumptions that portray them as the aberrant sex. Neither sex is normative, of course; humans come in two basic varieties, and both are equally necessary.
My personal experience with young men ran counter to the narrative and assumptions, and I think it’s time that the boys of the West should be defended. Most of them are good kids, and they deserve to be seen that way… to be portrayed that way. Continue reading “A Defense of Young Men”
I don’t want to recall their suffering but I also can’t pretend it never happened. They were tormented daily, over extended periods. I can only hope and pray that they recovered.
They were children being abused… tortured if we’re to put it bluntly… by other children. And it’s still going on. Continue reading “Institutionalized Torture”
(Originally published June 1, 2022.)
There are, apparently, a lot of people who think Bitcoin is down for the count. Forget about that; Bitcoin is doing just fine and “the count” is just a sideshow.
I should probably say this more often, but Bitcoin is not a stock, not a bond, it’s not a company… it literally cannot go broke. Continue reading “Don’t Worry About Bitcoin”
I’ve been a fan of Star Trek since the original series was in its first run. When The Next Generation came along years later (and these can be fighting words), I thought it was even better in some ways.
But there were a few things about TNG that rubbed me the wrong way, and the biggest of those was the Prime Directive. I couldn’t define why it bothered me back in 1990, but there was something very wrong about it it… something anti-human. Now, however, I understand, and perhaps you’d like to as well. Continue reading “Why The Prime Directive is Evil”
