Here's something I struggle with: To what extent ought we have the right to believe falsehoods? Similarly, what is the appropriate reaction when individuals believe falsehoods? What does it mean to have the right to believe?
There are many examples of what I'm thinking of. To list a few. Please let me state, these are FALSEHOODS:
Falsehood number 1: The sky is green.
Falsehood number 2: I like peanut butter.
Falsehood number 3: America is a land of equal opportunity.
Falsehood number 4: There is one god, and his name is Xenu.
There are meant as interrogative examples, each of a different type.
The first is factual incorrect, and could be true in other possible worlds.
The second is a statement of my own mind -- one i know personally and immediately, and that you know by my actions.
The third is a meme that I want to be true, but events say otherwise.
The last is a religious belief, which are often separated from empiricism altogether: To what extent do religious beliefs even have truth values?
These are things I think about all the time. If you're reading this and think it is about a discussion I had with you: it isn't.
I'm hopeful for a discussion. I'll be on and off tonight, though I am heading out for a run. If things get crazy, I'll moderate.
What does it mean to have the right to believe? Am I entitled to beliefs that are provably false? What if my actions would hurt myself? What if they would hurt others?
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Star Wars: Season 2, Episode 3: Children of the Jedi
Star Wars: Season 2, Episode 3: Children of the Jedi
When a datacube with the location of force-sensitive children in the galaxy is stolen: Mace Windu, Anakin and Obiwon Kenobi work together. And what do they do to the thief? They magnify the Mind Trick by doing it together.
This scene made me really uncomfortable. They break his will. They force their will upon him. They don't give him a choice, and invade his mind against his will.
Dammit, Jedi. You're supposed to be the good guys.
Of course, at the same time, Palpatine is stealing jedi children and conducting weird experiments on them. So, that's worse, i guess?
When a datacube with the location of force-sensitive children in the galaxy is stolen: Mace Windu, Anakin and Obiwon Kenobi work together. And what do they do to the thief? They magnify the Mind Trick by doing it together.
This scene made me really uncomfortable. They break his will. They force their will upon him. They don't give him a choice, and invade his mind against his will.
Dammit, Jedi. You're supposed to be the good guys.
Of course, at the same time, Palpatine is stealing jedi children and conducting weird experiments on them. So, that's worse, i guess?
Is anyone else concerned with the treatment of droids in Star Wars?
Is anyone else concerned with the treatment of droids in Star Wars?
This has always been problematic, from the Imperials not shooting the escape pod, to purchasing droids for farm work, to -- of course -- memory wipes. In the EU (now Legends), we learn that droids don't interact with the force and are considered, at least by some jedi, to be an abomination. And restraining bolts! How could I have forgotten?
Yet, we see from the very beginning they have emotions, are cognizant of their own existence, and want to live and be free. With the exception of R2, most droids we see are OK with their lot. We even see some free droid bounty hunters.
To misquote Measure Of A Man, one droid is a curiosity. But a million? That's a race. A race of disposable people.
If you can produce sentients, is there a moral requirement to give them freedom?
This has always been problematic, from the Imperials not shooting the escape pod, to purchasing droids for farm work, to -- of course -- memory wipes. In the EU (now Legends), we learn that droids don't interact with the force and are considered, at least by some jedi, to be an abomination. And restraining bolts! How could I have forgotten?
Yet, we see from the very beginning they have emotions, are cognizant of their own existence, and want to live and be free. With the exception of R2, most droids we see are OK with their lot. We even see some free droid bounty hunters.
To misquote Measure Of A Man, one droid is a curiosity. But a million? That's a race. A race of disposable people.
If you can produce sentients, is there a moral requirement to give them freedom?
Clone Wars, Season 1: Episode 13:
Clone Wars, Season 1: Episode 13:
This episode addresses the problem I always had with yoda with a lightsaber. Namely, that a peacekeeper does not kill people they disagree with. Fighting and killing leads to the destruction of the very thing you thought to save.
The prequil movies never address it, unless you view these as the fall of a corrupt regime. The original trilogy sort of deals with it -- Luke tosses away his lightsaber and refuses to fight. While Vader threatening his sister does instigate further action, he tosses away his light saber once again when Vader is defeated. And it is with love and an open heart that the Emperor's regime is finally taken down.
Increased militarization, upping the stakes, and increasing the tension only lead to worse outcomes. Instead of trying to take out Grevious and the Separitists, the role of the jedis should be as actual peace keepers: to find what legitimate concerns they have, and make the Republic a more democratic society. And the role of cops should be similar -- to work hard to find a solution that benefits everyone.
Theoretically, this is why Qui-Gon and Obi Wan were sent to Naboo in episode 1. They weren't trusted, and rightfully so -- they went all crazy kung fu with light sabers when they thought they were back stabbed. Imagine how differently galactic history would have gone if, instead, they'd stayed calm and had a conversation with their captors.
I hope the connection to recent events is painfully obvious.
This episode addresses the problem I always had with yoda with a lightsaber. Namely, that a peacekeeper does not kill people they disagree with. Fighting and killing leads to the destruction of the very thing you thought to save.
The prequil movies never address it, unless you view these as the fall of a corrupt regime. The original trilogy sort of deals with it -- Luke tosses away his lightsaber and refuses to fight. While Vader threatening his sister does instigate further action, he tosses away his light saber once again when Vader is defeated. And it is with love and an open heart that the Emperor's regime is finally taken down.
Increased militarization, upping the stakes, and increasing the tension only lead to worse outcomes. Instead of trying to take out Grevious and the Separitists, the role of the jedis should be as actual peace keepers: to find what legitimate concerns they have, and make the Republic a more democratic society. And the role of cops should be similar -- to work hard to find a solution that benefits everyone.
Theoretically, this is why Qui-Gon and Obi Wan were sent to Naboo in episode 1. They weren't trusted, and rightfully so -- they went all crazy kung fu with light sabers when they thought they were back stabbed. Imagine how differently galactic history would have gone if, instead, they'd stayed calm and had a conversation with their captors.
I hope the connection to recent events is painfully obvious.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Its time again to discuss the minimum basic income.
Its time again to discuss the minimum basic income. Inspired to think about this again by Rowan Cota morning post on a similar topic.
According to wikipedia, we currently spend something on the order of a trillion dollars in state and federal means-tested welfare programs (not including social security and medicare). To put that into perspective, there are about 250 million adult Americans, so that's $4,000 per person.
Social Security is another 830+ billion dollars, or about $3,000 per person.
Along these lines, the national poverty line is defined at about $12,000 per person. That is, if you have $12,000 per year, then you are not in American poverty. While there are other issues to poverty than simply money, its a pretty important part.
At the same time, there's less and less respect for federal employees. It costs money to administer these plans, and to police the use of these funds.
So, why not have a minimum basic income of about $1,000 a month for every adult?
You get to eliminate poverty in one swoop. You get to fire a bunch of federal contractors. And -- my favorite part -- you get the federal government out of the business of policing how we spend dollars.
I've talked about this before, and I'm hoping to hear some different views from my own. Would a minimum basic income eliminate poverty? What would be wrong with this model? What problems would be created?
According to wikipedia, we currently spend something on the order of a trillion dollars in state and federal means-tested welfare programs (not including social security and medicare). To put that into perspective, there are about 250 million adult Americans, so that's $4,000 per person.
Social Security is another 830+ billion dollars, or about $3,000 per person.
Along these lines, the national poverty line is defined at about $12,000 per person. That is, if you have $12,000 per year, then you are not in American poverty. While there are other issues to poverty than simply money, its a pretty important part.
At the same time, there's less and less respect for federal employees. It costs money to administer these plans, and to police the use of these funds.
So, why not have a minimum basic income of about $1,000 a month for every adult?
You get to eliminate poverty in one swoop. You get to fire a bunch of federal contractors. And -- my favorite part -- you get the federal government out of the business of policing how we spend dollars.
I've talked about this before, and I'm hoping to hear some different views from my own. Would a minimum basic income eliminate poverty? What would be wrong with this model? What problems would be created?
Monday, April 6, 2015
I got an email from a past version of myself yesterday.
I got an email from a past version of myself yesterday.
This version had been on crutches for a month. He'd lost a lot of mobility, his knee had been in a brace for a month, and he wanted to make sure I know how great it is to have legs that work.
That was early October. About a week ago, I started the preliminary steps towards a 5k. This isn't even couch to 5k, its injury to 5k. I'm most of the way through the injury part, with barely any problem.
It is damned fantastic to be able to hop on a treadmill with a view of the Washington monument and jog for half an hour, while listening to streaming music piped directly to my ears.
This version had been on crutches for a month. He'd lost a lot of mobility, his knee had been in a brace for a month, and he wanted to make sure I know how great it is to have legs that work.
That was early October. About a week ago, I started the preliminary steps towards a 5k. This isn't even couch to 5k, its injury to 5k. I'm most of the way through the injury part, with barely any problem.
It is damned fantastic to be able to hop on a treadmill with a view of the Washington monument and jog for half an hour, while listening to streaming music piped directly to my ears.
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