There is an episode of the original Star Trek called "Ultimate Computer". The premise is that the genius Dr. Daystrom has built a revolutionary supercomputer that, he claims, can run a starship more efficiently than any human captain and obviates the need for a human crew at all. They install in the Enterprise for a … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts: Failed Systems
Modern Cluelessness
Altering Thoughts
As I’ve shared before, I suffer from moderate depression. Lately, in my effort to combat it, I’ve been reading a book called Feeling Good by David Burns, MD. Though I’m very skeptical of most modern psychology, this one is actually based on pretty solid insights, ones that harmonize with what I read from older authors … Continue reading Altering Thoughts
Reaction to the News for the Past Month
It would be funny if it weren't getting people killed.
Stop Feeding the Beast
I struggle with what is called Depression, though recently I've had better success in dealing with it by stumbling onto a very important insight, which I call 'Don't Feed the Beast.' See, Depression takes the form of extreme negative thoughts, sometimes explicit, more often present as a kind of underlying assumption. E.g. "I am never … Continue reading Stop Feeding the Beast
Everyman Corona Thoughts
I offer some of my thoughts on the present insanity at The Everyman: In fact, we are wedded to the idea that any given problem is solvable, and that we – those fortunate enough to be born in the age of science and reason – do not have to put up with what our poor … Continue reading Everyman Corona Thoughts
The Scorpion and the Frog: Modern Version
A frog was walking down the riverbank one day when he saw a scorpion sitting in front a pile of dead frogs. “What happened here?!” the frog exclaimed. “Oh, I’m trying to make the world a better place,” said the scorpion. “I want a world where everyone loves each other, no one is greedy or … Continue reading The Scorpion and the Frog: Modern Version
Gunga Din at ‘The Everyman’
A new 'Everyman' post went up yesterday, talking about Rudyard Kipling's Gunga Din and what it reveals about both his perspective and ours: Now, you cannot think sense about morality unless you get this idea of principles clear, and you cannot get it clear until you can identify what is and is not an equivalent case. The … Continue reading Gunga Din at ‘The Everyman’
An Architectural Fisk
Dipping a little into politics with this one. Kind of. I recently learned that President Trump has drafted an executive order entitled Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again. Basically, it orders that “classical and traditional architectural styles” should be the default for constructing new Federal Buildings in the future, specifically saying that styles like ‘brutalism’ and … Continue reading An Architectural Fisk
Everyman Hate Speech
This post went up a little while ago, but preoccupations in real life caused me to miss it. I go into some of the problems I see with the whole 'hate speech' concept (there's a lot more to be said, regarding speech laws and freedom of speech and all that, but I decided to focus … Continue reading Everyman Hate Speech
Thought of the Day: 11-7
So, apparently they're planning a gender-swapped Zorro TV show. Because that sort of thing has been so successful with Ghostbusters, Batwoman, Ocean's Eight, Terminator: Dark Fate, and so on. You just know that the writers are patting themselves on the back for being so modern and up to date, calling it a 'modern re-imagining'. The funny thing is, this has … Continue reading Thought of the Day: 11-7
Serpent's Den 