6 Things That Blew My F*****g Mind – 1\ Entropy

The increase of entropy is THE law of the universe.   What is it?   As described before: It is the integral of reversible heat transferred into a system over the infinitesimal change in the temperature of system over which that heat is transferred. In an isolated system entropy always increases or remains static. In …

6 Things That Blew My F*****g Mind – 2\ The Drawbridge Exercise

Ethics can be tricky.   What is it?   The original story can be found here, but I’ve reprinted it below for you: As he left for a visit to his outlying districts, the jealous Baron warned his pretty wife: "Do not leave the castle while I am gone, or I will punish you severely …

6 Things That Blew My F*****g Mind – 3\ Intelligence in evolution

Thinking is weird and doesn’t make much sense. It also kinda sucks.   What is it?   I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware, nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself, we are creatures that should not exist by natural law. We are things that labor …

6 Things That Blew my F*****g Mind – 4\ Maxwell’s Demon

I don’t know how to explain this one quickly. Basically, a tiny demon can violate the laws of physics and this tears apart everything we know about reality. I think.   What is it?   Okay, brief overview. Entropy: Shit falls apart. Shit will always fall apart. The universe tends towards disorder. Stop resisting and …

6 Things That Blew my F*****g Mind – 5\ Roko’s Basilisk

Nerds freak out about whether they’ll go to hell or not   What is it?   Roko’s basilisk is a variation of a well-known thought experiment in game theory called Newcomb’s Paradox. Imagine an alien comes down on Earth and offers you two boxes. Box A has one thousand dollars in cold hard cash. Box …

6 Things that Blew My F*****g Mind – 6\ Godel’s Incompleteness Theorems

Obviously. I’ve written about this a few times. What is it? Godel’s theorem is mathematical theorem that shows that self-referential statements inevitably occur in a system of axioms, leading any system of axioms to either be incomplete but consistent or complete but inconsistent. This is, of course, an informal introduction. I like this explanation: The …

Some Thoughts on Education – Pt. 2, Possible Solutions

Obviously, I have some thoughts as to possible improvements. One thing I want to shy away from is “Let’s make learning more fun!” or “We need better teachers”. I mean, I agree with those things, but how do we do those things? Just saying it doesn’t make it so. Will these work? No idea. I’m …

Some Thoughts on Education – Pt. 1

The answer is, seemingly, always more education. Any conversation about large issues ranging from voter fraud to climate change inevitably ends with the tract “Well, we need to have better education…” or “In a more educated population, we wouldn’t have this issue!” And it goes on. Excuse me, while I clear a cough that sounds …

An Engineer’s Apology – A Metamodern Take on Becoming a Dasein Ronin

This blog seems out of left field if you were to simply look at my credentials on paper. Why does an energy engineer write about ideasthesia or anarchism or other esoteric ideas? It’s somewhat simple – they actually do relate to engineering. In fact, engineering is the common thread. It is a truism that we …

World War III

I wrote a while ago about how our current social media is driving a society that is becoming more and more isolated. This atomization creates, I argued, a perfect breeding ground for cults and cult-like power structures. I want to revisit that idea and explain exactly why it’s my greatest fear. I believe that everyone …

The Scientific Method, Pt. 2 – Godel’s Incompleteness Theorems

Previously I discussed my misgivings about totally subscribing to the scientific method. I was unnerved by many epistemologically unsound underpinnings that seem to show that the scientific method on offers a small light to the corpus of truth. These weren’t criticisms against practitioners or assumed malice at scientists, but actual structural flaws in the system …

The Scientific Method, Pt. 1 – Refutations

*EDIT: I've added links now and I realized I misremembered one of the scientific established facts, so I got rid of that. That's what happens when you write based off the seat of your pants I guess. My bad. I have to begin this by reminding you that I’m an engineer and that, yes, we …

The Three Gates of the Enemy

In several martial arts styles, there is an attempt to isolate ranges or locales of fighting. In the Chinese arts, like Ving Tsun, Jeet Kune Do, and Bajiquan, these are referred to as gates. Generally, the gates refer to the fist, the elbow and the shoulders, at least in these arts. The theory goes that …

Ideasthesia – Art, Genius, Insanity, and Semiotics

Is it possible to feel an idea? Is it possible that rational thought and emotive, sensory, or otherwise phenomenological experiences are tied together? I think this is an important question to ask because so much of what is dictated by culture seems to separate these two modes of experiencing the world around us. We tend …

Ishmael, Progress, and Talking Animals

You may have been able to ascertain, but a driving force in some of my thought is the fiction book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. I suppose you can think of this as a book review, but I also write this as I realize now that what Quinn stopped short of proposing was a vision of …

Rashomon Revisited

“His argument for these is pretty simple: they ensure that we have a financial stake in being accurate when we make forecasts, rather than just trying to look good to our peers." - Nate Silver, the Signal and the Noise Long time, no update. Not that it’s that important though. But I’m making good progress …

Anarcho-Social-Capitalism

If you couldn’t guess by the last post, I was teeing up to something greater. Previously I discussed anarchism and some of the possible reasons to at least consider anarchism as a legitimate political thought. You may remember, I also wrote a mini-series of posts on capitalism, critiques and potential ways to address those critiques. …

An Anarchist’s View

Let’s first dispel some myths: Anarchy is not chaos. It is not the Purge or the Joker or whatever other construct that has been fed by the media. So what then is anarchism? Taken literally, anarchism is “an” meaning no or not and “archos” meaning leader, ruler, or taken more generally, authority. It essentially proposes …

Khutbah #5 – Reflections

.                                                                                                                                              . Freedom of Speech – The Importance of Community – Ayat al-Nur and Guidance – My Advice – Forgive Me .                                                                                                                                               . [In]al-hamdu Lillaahi [nahmaduhu wa] nasta’eenahu wa nastaghfiruhu, wa na’oodhu billaahi min shuroori anfusinaa [wa min sayi’aati a’maalinaa]. Man yahdih Illaahu falaa mudilla lahu wa man yudlil falaa haadiya lahu. Wa …

Khutbah #4 – On the Messenger

.                                                                                                                                           . Freedom of Speech –The Importance of Community – Creation and Love – Ayat al-Nur and Guidance – My Personal Existentialism – Islamic Existentialism – Forgive Me .                                                                                                                                             . [In]al-hamdu Lillaahi [nahmaduhu wa] nasta’eenahu wa nastaghfiruhu, wa na’oodhu billaahi min shuroori anfusinaa [wa min sayi’aati a’maalinaa]. Man yahdih Illaahu falaa mudilla lahu …

Khutbah #3 – On Environmentalism

.                                                                                                                                          . Call on Climate Change –– Man’s Regency – On Planting Trees – Conservation of Water (and Energy) – Hima and Conservation Sites – Worship of Nature – Day of Judgement and Planting the Last Seed .                                                                                                                                             . [In]al-hamdu Lillaahi [nahmaduhu wa] nasta’eenahu wa nastaghfiruhu, wa na’oodhu billaahi min shuroori anfusinaa [wa …

Khutbah #2 – On Khutbahs

.                                                                                                                                                   . The Woman who spoke only Quran– the Two Fish – the Nature of Worship – Mortality and Humanity – Meaning and Etymology of Khutbah – Remembrance of Life – the first Khutbah - On Taqwa .                                                                                                                                                   . [In]al-hamdu Lillaahi [nahmaduhu wa] nasta’eenahu wa nastaghfiruhu, wa na’oodhu billaahi min shuroori anfusinaa [wa …

Khutbah #1 – On Mercy

A couple of disclaimers. Ramadan is about to begin this coming Friday night (May 26, 2017), with the first fast on Saturday. In anticipation for this coming holy month, I've put my khutbahs, sermons, that I wrote a year or two ago. If you are non-Muslim, fell free to read on, but it may not …

Vertical Farming

The Goal: Vertical Farming - To introduce and accelerate the emergence of vertical farming, which is the production of crops in a controlled indoor environment (CEA – Controlled Environment Agriculture) generally by stacking crops on top of one another for high density and high output. And of course, make a profit off the new technology. …

Generations

At this risk of being ageist (which I wholeheartedly accept), I think a primary driving force to explain historical phenomenon can be the changeover from one generation to another. I also believe this is the underlying theory to the American right. Historiography, conservatively. I think, when comparing conservative and liberal thought, we tend to see …

Mein Politik

I get asked this time to time, mostly I think because I tend to be fairly varied and I base my position on the issue and not to some ideology or singular thought process. If someone were to ask me, "What political identity do you hold?" I would say that I don’t like labels (pauses …

Blockchain

Bitcoin is revolutionary. More specifically, blockchain, the technology and mechanism underlying bitcoin is revolutionary. I am by no means a bitcoin maximalist, but blockchain offers significant paths forward for attacking the second gate of the enemy. So here are two I’ve been thinking about: an alternative to the petrodollar and (if this doesn’t get me …

Rashomon, or Fake News and What To Do About It

So, I’m rehashing an old topic, but one that I’ve never formally written a post about: fake news. It being 2017, the recent spats of fake news, filter bubbles, and misinformation along with (at the moment, as of May 2017, things may change) allegations of Russian interference has several pundits wondering whether we live in …

Idolatry

So why the name Totem and Token? A couple of reasons, mostly esoteric and not practical or connected in a worldly sense. I've been looking at this idea of Animism lately and several of the concepts have struck me as still relevant and not only surviving in, not only thriving in, but driving our society. …

Agriculture and Civilization

I won't beleaguer this point for too long, but there is (I believe) a growing critique of 1) Propaganda and misinformation techniques 2) Capitalism and 3) Civilization. In martial arts, these would be the three ranges or gates of the enemy. I've addressed two of these, but not the third. I don't believe that it …

The Language Revolution

Anthropological thinkers define humanity's trajectory in terms of revolutions - the Industrial revolution, digital revolution, etc. From what I can tell, the latest revolution is the information revolution or the digital revolution, maybe tied with Borlaugh's Green Revolution. But what was the first? History texts say it was the agricultural revolution, but I think there …

Capitalism – Social Business and Government

"Greed is good" is often cited as the core mantra of capitalism. Supposedly greed is the driving force for insuring maximum dividends for shareholders, effective and stable markets, and well-defining pricing mechanisms. But is greed the sole human motivator? Of course not. So why then is there an institution developed so intensely around greed when …

Capitalism – Makerspaces

Generally in history we've only really had two means of production. Mass production, which I would say is an industrial scale, highly engineered enterprise and personalized production, like artisan crafts and bespoke or commissioned works. Recently there has been the emergence of a new thought to production: Mass Customization. Mass Customization is primarily an artifact …

Capitalism – John Fullerton’s Regenerative Capitalism

So the first thinker who speaks to some of the points I've been considering lately is John Fullerton. Mr. Fullerton was once the COO of JP Morgan Bank and had a successful career for 20 odd years. During the Morgan-Chase merger he began to question his industry and left. He came to believe that the …

Capitalism – Impacts and Ponzi Economics

Ok, so continuing off my previous post, we know what Capitalism is, but why give a crap? Capitalism has been the driving force for American Civilization to attain hegemony. Capitalism offers 1) freedom, 2) mechanistic, efficient markets, and 3) growth. That last one, growth, is its own topic but for this post we should agree …

Capitalism – Definitions

Ahhh... So I've been avoiding this one for a while, partially because it is such a loaded thing and partially because it is well beyond my grasp. But, I'm going to take a stab at it, because life is effort and I'll stop when I die. This will probably be a series building off of …

Subvertisements

So lately I've been thinking a bit about this idea of subvertisements. Subverts are basically like ads but with supposedly jarring messages that force you to rethink consumerism or at least the specific think you are consuming. So imagine looking at a soft drink can and seeing the "Capitalism" or "Consumerism" instead of cola. It's …

Progress

This might be inflammatory, but the idea of progress is complete BS to me. What are we progressing towards? To what ends? To what metrics? I guess what I am really against is anthropocentric notions of progress. That we must pursue science and knowledge for the good of MAN, that we must maximize happiness for …

Microcosms

A very interesting process/structure (?) to encapsulate some larger scale system in a small scale system. Literally translates to "small world". I think microcosms are essential to developing an experiment in the scientific method. Creating a microcosm creates an amazing little playground to test and play with ideas. Even the process of creating a microcosm, …

Social Isolation

This one is tough (and long, but they all are), mostly because I don't even know where I stand on such a complex issue and because I cannot even offer a hint of a solution to the problem. If you haven't recognized the deepening fractures in our political system, I would like to be the …

Appropriate Technology

Somewhat a loaded term, but applicable as I see it. Generally, the notion of "appropriate technology" applies when we talk about renewable or sustainable technologies. So solar panels, LEDs, that sort of thing. Some of these apply almost anywhere, but some do not. For example, in cloudy Michigan you most like will not get as …

Defending Sociopathy

I think it is fairly well known that corporations display sociopathic behaviors (see the documentary "The Corporation"). Many business founders and commentators have noted that a business generally tends to amplify the characteristics of its founders, so what does a sociopathic corporation say about its founder? It should be noted that the defining trait of …

Information Theoretic Thermodynamics

Our current era is wholly devoted to this idea of information but from a physics standpoint several fundamental questions remain unanswered. Questions like, "Is information quantized?" and "is there an energy-mass-information equivalence principle?" still are open ended. One area of particular interest is the relationship between information theory and thermodynamics. Maxwell's Demon posits the existence …

Self-Reference

When I was taught Godel's Incompleteness Theorem I was told "this statement is false." And when I was taught Islam I was taught "There is no god but god". Zen koan are stereotyped as contradictory statements to reveal truth. Self reference is the heart of definition.

Natural Rights

I think most Americans believe in some form of rights, but can't pinpoint where they come from. I think rights are what you are born with. Consider the hypothetical situation of a human child left in the wilderness. This child is alive, so therefore has a right to life. This child can move as it …

Biomimetic Engineering

The idea that we look to nature to develop technologies and understand how principles in nature inform design and how design fits in the overall ecosystem deeply resonates with me. I wonder if we could take it to another level by using biomimicry in social engineering. Essentially use our understanding of how other primates or …

Natural Law

I think that there is some set of laws to animal behavior that must be obeyed or there will serious consequences for violators. I don't mean in a strictly religious sense either. Call it karma, call it evolutionary stable strategies, call it game theory, whatever. The point is, there exists a set of rules that …

Development

As creation evolved, it moved from mechanical interactions with its surroundings to sensory perception. But the sensory perception of a starfish (light or dark) is nowhere near as evolved as the eyesight of, say, a fish. Sensory experience allows us to perceive our environment in rich detail. The next layer of interaction with our surroundings …

Motivations

This is the excerpt for your very first post.