May

2011

The primary role of capitalist governments

From my observation, the primary role of capitalist governments is to protect national interests. Given increasing globalization and a reality in which everyone is interconnected and national boundaries continue to blur, the most important of these interests today are those of multinational corporations. So, as I see it, the job of capitalistic governments is to protect against profit and GDP loss. And this inevitably includes protection against a government’s own citizenry.

posted in politics | No Comments

May

2010

Vive hodie

by intrinsi

“Vive hodie” is Latin for “live today.” I agree with this perspective because tomorrow might not be there, waiting for my plans.

But how practical is it? It depends on the consequences. Usually, living for today amounts to making the most of working in my cubicle. It amounts to making the most of opening as many browser windows as possible and reading as many articles as possible in the shortest amount of time possible, all without any real, clear purpose as to why or what I hope to get out of it all.

That’s one problem. The other is myopia. I lack foresight. I am simply no good at predicting how I will react emotionally in any given situation. For instance, I might think it thrilling to bungie jump. Yet, if I ever do, I might throw up and think it rather dangerous and retarded. Or, I might think it satisfying to jump while skiing. Yet, if I ever do happen to try that sort of stunt on, say, my second day of skiing, with weak and tired legs, I might find myself staining the snow and wishing that I had never talked myself into doing something so equally dumb. In short, regret and guilt tend to show up arm in arm when I least expect them.

What I have learned, though, and what I can use to offer as a bit of advice is that it usually helps a lot to quickly think through your impulses and weigh any foreseeable consequences before taking action. That usually helps.

posted in life | No Comments

Jan

2010

Awareness and evolution

by intrinsi

It fascinates me that, right at the point where technology and biology begin to intersect and coevolve, we are also beginning to understand how we came to exist, using such discoveries as chaos theory, fractals, and cybernetics. Yet, from a slightly broader perspective, this seemingly remarkable timing makes perfect sense given that science and technology have always coevolved.

My only fear is that technology will solve our problems for us without requiring our understanding. For example, we can already write AI software that learns from a few basic facts and solves incredibly complex problems for us, such as evolutionary optimization. Quantum computers are also being used to answer fundamental biological questions, like the precise energy of a hydrogen molecule. These are no doubt great advances. My fear is that we do not understand them and, therefore, cannot ask our newest oracle, as it were, the right questions.

Then again, the worst effect of our ignorance is probably slow advancement, since technology can also be used to help us optimize our questions. And, if not, then we will inevitably merge enough with technology to provide a different kind of “understanding” through brain-computer interaction. So, I guess my fear is irrational, a human quality that I would gladly give up in the merger.

posted in biology, technology | No Comments

Jan

2010

Multiplication and division

by intrinsi

What does it mean to ask why one exists? It seems wiser to ask why the universe exists, since we are part of it. And what could it possibly mean to ask that?

Using organic life as a guide, purpose relates to procreation or, more generally perhaps, multiplication and division. We are here to prove a math theorem?

posted in teleology | No Comments

Aug

2009

If I could control the world

by intrinsi

If I could control the world, I would want countries competing, with strong national identities and unique sensibilities about core values. The goal is noble, to foster progress. But it comes at the expense of individual happiness, which is what all critics of governments oppose. Unfortunately, a world at peace is a world in stagnation.

posted in politics | No Comments

Jul

2009

Do we understand quantity?

by intrinsi

The concept of quantity presupposes the concept of identical entities, which do not exist in nature (i.e., having all of the same properties, since at least one spatial dimension must differ to perceive discreteness). So, quantity must be a purely abstract concept, being a property of nature, but not part of it directly. This also presupposes that a purely abstract concept can realistically or accurately represent an entity. Obviously, it can do so accurately enough to help us progress both scientifically and technologically, but at what cost if we fail to understand something so fundamental?

posted in mathematics | No Comments

Jun

2009

Temporal survival

by intrinsi

If the perception of time is subjective, then temporal perception is, in a strange way, a survival mechanism. This suggests that our everchanging perception of time is, like our everchanging perception of space, governed by our immediate survival needs. As a basic example, if time seems to slow down, then this might be the brain’s way of giving our awareness more “time” to process new information. In the same way, if time seems to speed up, then this might be our brain’s way of helping us coast past previously processed information.

posted in perception, time | No Comments

Jun

2009

Catching a waterfall in a paper cup

by intrinsi

Among those of us, typically cited as 1/5 (but probably now 1/4) of world’s population, who have access, and are typically addicted, to the Internet, one of our biggest problems is information overload and, because of it, time management. Even without the Internet, time management is a real problem for people, but the Internet severely compounds that problem by introducing nearly instant and ubiquitous access to instantaneously updated information. Trying to cope with information online is like trying to catch a waterfall in a paper cup.

What this means for those of us who now live a good portion of our lives online is that we must improve our ability to manage our very finite and irreversible time on this planet if we expect to accomplish anything or, in the most basic sense, feel content at the end of the day. I cannot remember the end of a day in which I felt content for having achieved all that I had planned to achieve at its beginning.

We could adapt to the Internet’s impact by not only organizing our time, but also scheduling each 30-minute block of it. The clear benefit of this mad method is that it would surely minimize our misuse of time. Unfortunately, this would also just as clearly minimize our creativity and overall sense of humanity. We might as well give in and accept ourselves as machines.

So, the problem of time management in the Age of the Internet is how we manage time without losing ourselves. If creativity could be scheduled, I suppose that would be a start.

posted in information | No Comments

Apr

2009