I was going to write about this initially. But I got distracted by the wider context, and wanted to address that, first. Like I said: I am privileged. I have opportunities. I want to be more egalitarian. But while this is superficially easy, I am not a naturally open and empathetic person. I try to be compassionate, but I can be a little cold. I’m not that great for the front lines of charity. I... [Read More]

Sometimes I am naive. I like to believe that some aspects of our lives—especially our social relationships—can be simplified. Maybe this is an error. What do I mean by “simplified”? I think a lot about language. I’ve even studied language in school, both in humanities (English Lit Crit) and science (computer science). Really, a lot of higher ed is about clarifying language. Although art critici... [Read More]

Businesses should be semi-democratic. Everyone should participate in decision-making. Everyone should share in the fate of the business, and help direct that fate. The problem with that ideal is that it nullifies the benefits of specialization, upon which most organizations depend. And not just businesses, or even human organizations in general. Sophistication of an organization relies on the dis... [Read More]

I don’t know why I think about this stuff. I could probably spare myself the trouble, and read a book by someone who has done the work. But here I am, amateur philosopher, doing a terrible job. I can’t solve global warming, or similar problems. I doubt that any individual can. They would have to be the leader of a global cult, with billions of followers, and an ethical paragon. Though if they wer... [Read More]

I am a macroscopic particle, bouncing around the social universe. Do you ever try to understand yourself? To explain yourself? It’s probably a futile act. There are limits to the ability of a system to understand itself. But “understanding” is a slippery concept. “Understand” basically means “describe accurately and mechanistically”. Which is awkward, for a person. Most people don’t want to cons... [Read More]

I prefer imaginary worlds that respect the laws of nature, as discovered by scientists. I do also like fantastical worlds, but it’s better if they only violate the laws of physics in consistent ways, or only for insightful symbolic reasons. Of course, there is always room for dreamlike places, which follow no rules beyond those which manifest our fears and desires. But as with dreams, it’s a bad ... [Read More]

I have not done much blogging in a while. I was not enjoying blogging on WordPress. And I could not find a viable alternative. I thought about doing a bespoke solution and hosting it myself, but I can’t be bothered. I have more important things to do. So I’m trying this integrated app and service made by my friend, Aaron Veigh. [Read More]