The Mystery of Consciousness: Anesthesia, Identity, and the Self
Anesthesia disconnects the brain’s orchestra, turning off awareness entirely. What this reveals about consciousness, identity, and the mystery of selfhood.
Category: Thoughts
Thoughts on the world and the things in it.
Negative Income Tax: A More Judicious Path to Financial Security
Discover why negative income tax could be the fair and effective alternative to universal basic income Canada needs today.
Citizenship Reconsidered: Five Essential Responsibilities in a Functioning Democracy
Sadly the founders of America didn’t think to make a Bill of Responsibilities when they were writing the Bill of Rights. Perhaps they thought they were self evident. Or perhaps they didn’t want to dictate what people should do. In my opinion there are certain things that individuals owe to …
Time to change the race or die
When discussing the climate crisis many optimists will point out that the costs of doing nothing is in the trillions of dollars (69 trillion by 2050 which is only 26 years away) and that there are opportunities for innovative companies to make billions providing clean energy, waste reduction and similar …
When does grave robbing become archeology?
I stumbled upon this image of a child’s toy horse from ancient Greece. I found the piece rather upsetting. Perhaps a grandparent made this for a grandchild they adored. Or a birthday gift from an affectionate aunt. You can picture a toddler playing in the courtyard, pulling it along on …
Should AI generated pictures be considered art?
AI generated images are not “Art”. They can be beautiful, even transcendent, but that doesn’t make them art any more than stepping in paint makes my cat the next Picasso.
Personal choices, free will, and the nature of the universe…
I was listening to a podcast this morning which was talking about nature vs. nurture. To what affect does genetics play and how much influence does our upbringing have on us. While listening to this conversation it occurred to me that another forces shape who we become. Our own choices. …
iPhones and true costs we don’t pay
The products that we buy have costs associated with them that we don’t pay. They’re invisible to us because those costs get pushed onto others, usually in less developed counties. For example, you buy a new iPhone for $1500. But only costs Apple $570 to make. In reality though the …
No Billionaires: We’re ridiculously poor at understanding big numbers
To reiterate how poor humans are at judging the differences between big numbers take a look at the Reuters headline regarding Barclays Bank in the UK. “Barclays hit by $361 million penalty over issuance of securities” That is a tremendous amount of money; over a third of a billion dollars. …
Effective Altruism Is White Washing For Rich People
I have had this post percolating in my head for awhile, and the idea is this: effective altruism is white washing for rich people. A few months ago I started this post. And then let it lie, but now with the revelations about Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX I dug it …