Monthly Archive: August 2010
I gotta say, I’m becoming increasingly suspicious of the Simulation Hypothesis. For those of you unfamiliar, it basically boils down to this. The idea is, you calculate the numbers – what is the probability of you ACTUALLY being born in this era? In this particularly exciting life (compared to those poor fuckers in Africa, that is – results may vary)? Have you ever won the lottery? Sorry, numbers say that never happens, not in the length of this Universe; winning the lottery pretty much guarantees that you’re a simulation operated by a super-computer who’s trying to figure out “Why 42?”...
A long time ago, in another lifetime perhaps, I remember being tasked with the Leading of Young Soldiers. Hard work, dedication, discipline; all of those were important parts of the military ethos which I tried to instill in them. But above all of them, more important by far, I wanted each and every one of them to be a Low Maintenance Troop. There’s an old saying in the army: “Solve it at the lowest level!” It’s usually offered up as a rebuke to some hapless Private, who in terror of all things brass just asked his section commander whether he...
I’ve pointed it out before; it’s usually the people who claim to be the most moralistic/progressive/unprejudiced who are the worst offenders. No surprise really. Anyone making a big stink about discrimination is probably doing so to cover up the knobby, bigoted cherry-pit they have instead of a heart. But a recent post by Katja Grace got me thinking about feminism specifically and why it irritates me more than having an aroused ferret shoved down my pants. She comments on some of the ‘pro-women’ statements she’s seen in the past: Some examples from the advertising and equity policies of various academic...
“But if Evolution were true, wouldn’t that imply Moral Nihilism?” The guy saying this wasn’t stupid by any means; quite the opposite, actually. He was one of those rare people who actually use religion to become a better person, not just as an excuse for moral complacency. If he could’ve just learned to buy his own packs of cigarettes, I’d of been proud to call him a friend. His understanding of Evolution thought… As Eliezer Yudkowsky, Chief Cenobite of the Bayesian Conspiracy, once pointed out Evolution is a force best compared to the blind idiot-god Azathoth from the Cthulu Mythos;...
Recent Comments