Came across this TED talk by Hughes today. The talk was neither strident nor unreasonable. The general premise is that our policies should be 'colourblind'. Meaning that the policies should be indifferent to race. And that policies should be based on class instead, where the target groups, black and Hispanic, are over represented in the … Continue reading Blindness
If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord on the strength of a resolution taken once and for all. So would a Being, endowed with higher insight and more perfect … Continue reading Einstein
https://undark.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Robert-Wright-c-Barry-Munger-1-copy.jpg Just finished reading Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright. It's the third book by Wright that I have read the other two being The Moral Animal and The Evolution of God. Overall, enjoyed the book and I recommend it. Most of the book is based on how natural selection hasn't necessarily shaped us … Continue reading Buddhism (I)
We have several words that draw attention to the self or in the plural selves. For example, ourselves, selfless, selfish, selfhood, her/himself and the strangely tautological myself are just a few. What is a "self"? When we think of a self how does it seem to us? How do we describe ourselves? A scientific description … Continue reading Self
I have not written anything for a while; but ... My Internet is down, so instead of surfing the digital waves this is an opportunity not to surf and put finger to keyboard. I was talking to a friend about illegal immigration. My friend was complaining about immigrants by-passing the system and getting entry into … Continue reading My Atoms
DraftJust finished reading Just Deserts by Daniel Dennett and Gregg Caruso. Overall I liked the book. But this very brief review is a draft and subject to change. LikesThe best bit for was the interaction between Dennett and Caruso. So we did not have the typical book, where we have pages and pages of a … Continue reading Just Deserts
A quick interlude on our will. Will, as short words go has a host nuances. Take this short sentence: I have a (the) will to go for a walk … OK it is a bit stilted, but its meaning is clear. The word will could be replaced by any of these words: ambitionanimusaspirationclamoringcravingdesire dreamdrivefancyhankeringhopelonging mindneedobjectivepiningpurposethought … Continue reading Will
I have taken some data from Wikipedia which in turn is based on Credit Suisse's Global wealth databook 2019. I have not looked at how the wealth per individual is calculated; but, it is recognized that the data will be skewed by things like the age of the population, buying power and no doubt other … Continue reading Wealth
I wanted to call this blog voices in the machine. This blog is inspired by a conversation I overheard; my wife was on Zoom, discussing posting videos for her weaving guild. I was wondering whether she would have a transcript of her proposed Zoom meeting, as I find it a lot easier to read than … Continue reading Voices
Quite often it is speculated by some believers and non-believers alike, that atheists are missing something. Well I suppose, the veracity of this depends on the perspective of the individual atheist. This post is inspired in part by Alain de Botton's Religion for Atheists that catalogues some of the things that de Botton thinks that … Continue reading Religion Revisited
rom's corner 
