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 … Continue reading World War III
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 … Continue reading The Scientific Method, Pt. 2 – Godel’s Incompleteness Theorems
*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 … Continue reading The Scientific Method, Pt. 1 – Refutations
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 … Continue reading The Three Gates of the Enemy
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 … Continue reading Ideasthesia – Art, Genius, Insanity, and Semiotics
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 … Continue reading Ishmael, Progress, and Talking Animals
“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 … Continue reading Rashomon Revisited
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. … Continue reading Anarcho-Social-Capitalism
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 … Continue reading An Anarchist’s View
. . 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 … Continue reading Khutbah #5 – Reflections
. . 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 … Continue reading Khutbah #4 – On the Messenger
. . 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 … Continue reading Khutbah #3 – On Environmentalism
. . 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 … Continue reading Khutbah #2 – On Khutbahs
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 … Continue reading Khutbah #1 – On Mercy
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. … Continue reading Vertical Farming
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 … Continue reading Generations
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 … Continue reading Mein Politik
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 … Continue reading Blockchain
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 … Continue reading Rashomon, or Fake News and What To Do About It
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. … Continue reading Idolatry
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 … Continue reading Agriculture and Civilization
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 … Continue reading The Language Revolution
"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 … Continue reading Capitalism – Social Business and Government
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 … Continue reading Capitalism – Makerspaces
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 … Continue reading Capitalism – John Fullerton’s Regenerative Capitalism
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 … Continue reading Capitalism – Impacts and Ponzi Economics
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 … Continue reading Capitalism – Definitions
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 … Continue reading Subvertisements
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 … Continue reading Progress
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, … Continue reading Microcosms
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 … Continue reading Social Isolation
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 … Continue reading Appropriate Technology
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 … Continue reading Defending Sociopathy
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 … Continue reading Information Theoretic Thermodynamics
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.
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 … Continue reading Natural Rights
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 … Continue reading Biomimetic Engineering
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 … Continue reading Natural Law
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 … Continue reading Development
This is the excerpt for your very first post.
