Sunday, December 31, 2017
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Dialogue Practice 2: Jordan Peterson, Inequality and Government
Calvin and Danny are walking in a forest with cameras.
Calvin: I think you would enjoy the Jordan Peterson podcast. He talks about human behavior and philosophy. He's a clinical psychologist, a researcher, and a professor. He's a fucking genius. He talks as if he's thought about whatever it is more than anyone else has. It's like he's going out of his way to explain complicated things in a way that most people would understand. He uses metaphors and stories to illustrate ideas.
Danny: I love Peterson. He's great. I was just listening to the one where he is talking to a researcher about income inequality. And how it isn't inequality in general but relative inequality that causes more crimes. If men feel like there is no hope of making it up the hierarchy then they resort to violence. They double down on the virtues of strength and courage by intimidating others and robbing and killing.
Calvin: They show everyone how important they are by rising in the physical strength hierarchy instead of the financial one. That is a problem for sure. People have to have hope or they become disillusioned with life and begin to resent it. The really poor don't have much to lose if they steal or do other violent shit. Especially if it means they can make some money.
Danny: I think we need to have lots of job opportunities and we have to legalize or decriminalize all the drugs. Make drugs legal and allow people to sell it and the government can make a little off the top like they always do and teach people the dangers of drugs and teach kids to be choosy who they fuck because if you have a kid with a meth addict, good luck paying for that kid. Gotta get rid of easy access welfare for shitty moms and dad's who can't afford children so that there are consequences to making bad decisions.
Calvin: More jobs, more accountability, and more freedom.
Danny: And less taxes.
Calvin: Yeah. Give me my fuckin money back. That's why I think we should go to a flat tax for people above a certain level. It's the fairest and it forces the government to determine what is really important and keeps them as big as the rest of society. They get to be 20% partners for managing the public's shared assets. Or whatever percentage makes sense.
Danny: I think that no matter the tax rate there is no mechanism for a revolutionary idea like that take be implemented and the people who would implement it would be the most negatively affected by it so there is no incentive for them to do it. The government does not make drastic changes. The government is huge and slow and not designed to make big "scary" changes. It could be disastrous, by the way. Who knows what would happen with all that wealth just piling up in free people's hands.
Calvin: But what happens when the rich decide to overthrow the government? If a really fucking rich guy decides to create an army of robot drones to take over the government then doesn't the government have to, at the least, have a big enough military budget to stop anything like that from happening? In order to maintain power in a region, a government has to maintain physical superiority and some regulation on the use of violence. Either it maintains a monopoly on power or it has to highly regulate the production and possession of guns and bombs and militaries and such.
Danny: And such. I agree. So there is nothing we can do to change the government system?
Calvin: Not really. Maybe you can vote on a few things or people and locally you matter more but the system has deep roots and a lot of support. And revolutions mean violence so that is not a good alternative. I think the only way is through time and patience and people will gradually steer toward peace. I think we all long for peace but find ourselves amongst violence and dangers. So we adapt and survive.
Danny: As long as people choose negotiation over force there can be peace. Do governments, with their monopoly on force, create a safe space for commerce. Since they enforce laws they make sure that people pay their debts or steal or murder their competition. How do you have a foundation for the creation of free trade without some sort of authority?
Calvin: Maybe humans can grow out of the instinct to survive at any cost or things become so good and people have so much hope for the future that they don't need to fight. I don't know.
Danny: I don't either. Oh, look at that!
They two pull their cameras to their eyes and start snapping photos of the deer running through the meadow.
Calvin: I think you would enjoy the Jordan Peterson podcast. He talks about human behavior and philosophy. He's a clinical psychologist, a researcher, and a professor. He's a fucking genius. He talks as if he's thought about whatever it is more than anyone else has. It's like he's going out of his way to explain complicated things in a way that most people would understand. He uses metaphors and stories to illustrate ideas.
Danny: I love Peterson. He's great. I was just listening to the one where he is talking to a researcher about income inequality. And how it isn't inequality in general but relative inequality that causes more crimes. If men feel like there is no hope of making it up the hierarchy then they resort to violence. They double down on the virtues of strength and courage by intimidating others and robbing and killing.
Calvin: They show everyone how important they are by rising in the physical strength hierarchy instead of the financial one. That is a problem for sure. People have to have hope or they become disillusioned with life and begin to resent it. The really poor don't have much to lose if they steal or do other violent shit. Especially if it means they can make some money.
Danny: I think we need to have lots of job opportunities and we have to legalize or decriminalize all the drugs. Make drugs legal and allow people to sell it and the government can make a little off the top like they always do and teach people the dangers of drugs and teach kids to be choosy who they fuck because if you have a kid with a meth addict, good luck paying for that kid. Gotta get rid of easy access welfare for shitty moms and dad's who can't afford children so that there are consequences to making bad decisions.
Calvin: More jobs, more accountability, and more freedom.
Danny: And less taxes.
Calvin: Yeah. Give me my fuckin money back. That's why I think we should go to a flat tax for people above a certain level. It's the fairest and it forces the government to determine what is really important and keeps them as big as the rest of society. They get to be 20% partners for managing the public's shared assets. Or whatever percentage makes sense.
Danny: I think that no matter the tax rate there is no mechanism for a revolutionary idea like that take be implemented and the people who would implement it would be the most negatively affected by it so there is no incentive for them to do it. The government does not make drastic changes. The government is huge and slow and not designed to make big "scary" changes. It could be disastrous, by the way. Who knows what would happen with all that wealth just piling up in free people's hands.
Calvin: But what happens when the rich decide to overthrow the government? If a really fucking rich guy decides to create an army of robot drones to take over the government then doesn't the government have to, at the least, have a big enough military budget to stop anything like that from happening? In order to maintain power in a region, a government has to maintain physical superiority and some regulation on the use of violence. Either it maintains a monopoly on power or it has to highly regulate the production and possession of guns and bombs and militaries and such.
Danny: And such. I agree. So there is nothing we can do to change the government system?
Calvin: Not really. Maybe you can vote on a few things or people and locally you matter more but the system has deep roots and a lot of support. And revolutions mean violence so that is not a good alternative. I think the only way is through time and patience and people will gradually steer toward peace. I think we all long for peace but find ourselves amongst violence and dangers. So we adapt and survive.
Danny: As long as people choose negotiation over force there can be peace. Do governments, with their monopoly on force, create a safe space for commerce. Since they enforce laws they make sure that people pay their debts or steal or murder their competition. How do you have a foundation for the creation of free trade without some sort of authority?
Calvin: Maybe humans can grow out of the instinct to survive at any cost or things become so good and people have so much hope for the future that they don't need to fight. I don't know.
Danny: I don't either. Oh, look at that!
They two pull their cameras to their eyes and start snapping photos of the deer running through the meadow.
Dialogue Practice 1: Star Wars Episode 8
Act 1
Scene 1
Interior: Kitchen: Morning
Abernathy and Baxter are eating cereal and discussing the new Star Wars movie. Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi.
Abernathy: Kylo isn't going to die in the second movie. He might lose a body part or get some more scars, or something but there is no way he dies. This isn't the last movie and he's the main bad guy.
Baxter: Obi-wan died in the first movie.
Abernathy: Yeah, but he's old. He taught Luke what he needed and wanted to become a ghost so he let himself die. Kylo isn't Obi-Wan. He's young and powerful. He's interested in taking over the universe, not becoming a ghost teacher.
Baxter: You're not wrong about that. So he might lose a limb?
Abernathy: Or he will be more powerful than ever and no one will be able to touch him. Except at the end, when he meets up with the newly trained Rey.
Baxter: Or, he loses a thumb. And then he gets a robot thumb.
Abernathy: Why does something bad have to happen to Kylo, anyway?
Baxter: Because he's the bad guy.
Abernathy: So. It's the good guys that have to overcome adversity in order to become strong enough to defeat the bad guys, who always seem more powerful at first but in the end, it's their flaws that kill them. Jealousy, greed, an abundance of rage. For example. Whereas the good guys overcome their flaws by facing them and conquering them. The villain doesn't require strife to remain a villain.
Baxter: But it feels good when the bad guy gets hurt or dies.
Abernathy: Of course it does, but you can't give the audience too much satisfaction all at once or you will have nothing at the end. No satisfying death scene or triumphant climax. The bad guy has to get stronger too. But only by doubling down on their flaws which leads to their demise.
Baxter: I wonder if Chewbacca will die?
Abernathy: Jesus Christ! Does someone have to die? Han Solo just died! There is no way they kill off Chewbacca this soon. Maybe at the very end. No. He'll probably have kids after the war and name them Han and Leia or something stupid. Chewbacca. What is wrong with you?
Baxter: If they kill Chewbacca there would be an even greater reason to hate Kylo Ren.
Abernathy: That's true but it's overkill. If anyone dies it will be Luke. He's old and perfectly suited to die for the cause. Probably saving Rey against Kylo as his rage and cunning are too much for her as of yet.
Baxter: As of yet?
Abernathy: Yeah, she needs Luke's sacrifice to push her over the emotional edge so she can defeat Kylo. And since he isn't a father he has no motivation to redeem himself like Vader, whom he idolizes, which is ironic because if he knew about how Vader changed his mind at the end of the third movie he might not have ended up a bad guy. He was trained by Luke, then seduced by Andy Serkis and then became drunk with power and it seems no one told him that Vader threw the emperor over the edge and renounced the dark side?
Baxter: No I meant, who says "As of yet"?
Abernathy looks at Baxter scathingly. Abernathy stands up, walks to the door where he picks up his briefcase and opens the door.
Abernathy: Have a good day at school.
Baxter: Keep it 100.
Act 2
Scene 1
Exterior: Backyard: Evening
Abernathy and Baxter are playing hacky sack discussing the new Star Wars movie.
Abernathy: I'm not sure why the androids always have a sense of humor. Maybe it's because their AI is so advanced that they have personalities. What do you think?
Baxter: I think they can say things that people can't say. So they show how silly humans are. They can talk about how emotional humans are or something. Which is funny. Cause it's true.
Abernathy: It is weird that the androids tend to break up the drama. Maybe that's because they are so smart and logical that they can say things that people would normally not out of courtesy or ego.
Baxter: Yeah. Maybe they are like people with Aspergers. Really smart but socially awkward. C3PO is pretty Aspergery.
Abernathy: The one in Rogue One was one of the only funny characters in that. They are wild cards for the writers. A robot doesn't have the same emotional connection with the audience so it doesn't have to have a normal story arch or payoff. It stands on its own in a way. It's an outsider to the rest of the characters.
Baxter: R2D2 is definitely Autistic.
Scene 1
Interior: Kitchen: Morning
Abernathy and Baxter are eating cereal and discussing the new Star Wars movie. Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi.
Abernathy: Kylo isn't going to die in the second movie. He might lose a body part or get some more scars, or something but there is no way he dies. This isn't the last movie and he's the main bad guy.
Baxter: Obi-wan died in the first movie.
Abernathy: Yeah, but he's old. He taught Luke what he needed and wanted to become a ghost so he let himself die. Kylo isn't Obi-Wan. He's young and powerful. He's interested in taking over the universe, not becoming a ghost teacher.
Baxter: You're not wrong about that. So he might lose a limb?
Abernathy: Or he will be more powerful than ever and no one will be able to touch him. Except at the end, when he meets up with the newly trained Rey.
Baxter: Or, he loses a thumb. And then he gets a robot thumb.
Abernathy: Why does something bad have to happen to Kylo, anyway?
Baxter: Because he's the bad guy.
Abernathy: So. It's the good guys that have to overcome adversity in order to become strong enough to defeat the bad guys, who always seem more powerful at first but in the end, it's their flaws that kill them. Jealousy, greed, an abundance of rage. For example. Whereas the good guys overcome their flaws by facing them and conquering them. The villain doesn't require strife to remain a villain.
Baxter: But it feels good when the bad guy gets hurt or dies.
Abernathy: Of course it does, but you can't give the audience too much satisfaction all at once or you will have nothing at the end. No satisfying death scene or triumphant climax. The bad guy has to get stronger too. But only by doubling down on their flaws which leads to their demise.
Baxter: I wonder if Chewbacca will die?
Abernathy: Jesus Christ! Does someone have to die? Han Solo just died! There is no way they kill off Chewbacca this soon. Maybe at the very end. No. He'll probably have kids after the war and name them Han and Leia or something stupid. Chewbacca. What is wrong with you?
Baxter: If they kill Chewbacca there would be an even greater reason to hate Kylo Ren.
Abernathy: That's true but it's overkill. If anyone dies it will be Luke. He's old and perfectly suited to die for the cause. Probably saving Rey against Kylo as his rage and cunning are too much for her as of yet.
Baxter: As of yet?
Abernathy: Yeah, she needs Luke's sacrifice to push her over the emotional edge so she can defeat Kylo. And since he isn't a father he has no motivation to redeem himself like Vader, whom he idolizes, which is ironic because if he knew about how Vader changed his mind at the end of the third movie he might not have ended up a bad guy. He was trained by Luke, then seduced by Andy Serkis and then became drunk with power and it seems no one told him that Vader threw the emperor over the edge and renounced the dark side?
Baxter: No I meant, who says "As of yet"?
Abernathy looks at Baxter scathingly. Abernathy stands up, walks to the door where he picks up his briefcase and opens the door.
Abernathy: Have a good day at school.
Baxter: Keep it 100.
Act 2
Scene 1
Exterior: Backyard: Evening
Abernathy and Baxter are playing hacky sack discussing the new Star Wars movie.
Abernathy: I'm not sure why the androids always have a sense of humor. Maybe it's because their AI is so advanced that they have personalities. What do you think?
Baxter: I think they can say things that people can't say. So they show how silly humans are. They can talk about how emotional humans are or something. Which is funny. Cause it's true.
Abernathy: It is weird that the androids tend to break up the drama. Maybe that's because they are so smart and logical that they can say things that people would normally not out of courtesy or ego.
Baxter: Yeah. Maybe they are like people with Aspergers. Really smart but socially awkward. C3PO is pretty Aspergery.
Abernathy: The one in Rogue One was one of the only funny characters in that. They are wild cards for the writers. A robot doesn't have the same emotional connection with the audience so it doesn't have to have a normal story arch or payoff. It stands on its own in a way. It's an outsider to the rest of the characters.
Baxter: R2D2 is definitely Autistic.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
A Little Bit of Trauma Goes a Long Way
Getting bitten by your friend's dog sucks. Before this year I had never been bitten by any animal but earlier this year my friend's little rascal bit me in the calf. I grew up with dogs and had my own for a few years. I think that dogs are by far the most amazing companion pets but I now have a wariness that I did not have before. When I am on the street or out in public and I see a stranger's dog I do not assume that it is friendly anymore. Now I imagine it attacking me. The thought is fleeting but it was never there before. The purely innocent perception that I once felt toward the creatures as a species has been forever altered and I think it is for the good.
It is important to be confronted with reality from time to time and while it can be traumatizing it can teach a permanent lesson. In this case, the lesson is to be on your toes and pay attention. Also, to trust your gut. Prior to getting bitten, there were many warning signs but my brother, the dog's owner and I did not want to admit that there was a real problem. The dog had nipped at multiple people long before we took the camping trip where the fateful bite occurred. Even the day we set out on the trip the dog was agitated and nearly bit my brother's hand.
Some background on the dog. My friend had purchased the whippet-mix from the pound in the hopes of rescuing it and from what I was told it hadn't had any issues before he got the dog. It was around 3 years old at the time and I think it had issues that it's prior owners did not disclose or it was treated very poorly early on in its life but I don't know for sure. Either that or it is just fucked in the head, or both but either way, the dog has severe aggression problems.
The experience itself seemed to come out of nowhere but as I mentioned above I should have seen it coming and should not have been complacent. We had settled into our campsite and the dog and its owner were at the site while my brother and I walked to the car to get something. We walked back to the site where the dog was on a long lead. As we approached the dog ran full speed at me and closed the distance in milliseconds. Whippets are bred for speed. It bit down on my left calf for just a moment and broke through my jeans and skin leaving distinct bite marks and a little blood. It was more surprising than painful and its owner jumped up immediately took control. I wasn't worried about any diseases as dogs from pounds have all their shots but thinking back it would have been a good idea to get checked.
I was impressed with my friend, who took responsibility for the situation and apologized profusely over the next couple of days. He and the dog slept in the car that night and he took it home in the morning. When he returned we had a relatively good time hanging out and camping. Given the situation, we were all a little down but we made the best of it. We finished up the weekend and my friend explained how he was planning on taking the dog through extensive training and was going to work with vets to make sure the aggression wasn't due to any physical problems.
Personally, I think that the dog is a lost cause. I could be wrong and it might be my bias but in my experience, an adult dog with major aggression problems may not be fixed and becomes more trouble than it's worth. My friend is not so inclined and I commend him on his resolve and commitment to keeping a troubled dog and trying to make the best of it. Unfortunately, it may create barriers in his relationships and social life but I'm sure he can work around it. I am not interested in being around that dog again and it has permanently changed the way I think about dogs.
I love dogs and I feel bad for the dog that bit me. I'm sure that it was not treated well and was either intentionally or unintentionally trained to act the way it does. While the event did create a bit of a tension my friend's reaction to it was appropriate and I harbor no ill will toward him. I still think of him as a friend and hope that his dog gets better. This experience has helped me understand how a little bit of trauma can permanently change how you think about the world and its possibilities. In a small way, I understand dogs, people, and the world better because of it.
That is a picture of the cutie that bit me.
Also, here are a couple of videos of a dog I used to own named Wowzer whom I love very much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3tOoeiQst8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUhK6kei8pM
The experience itself seemed to come out of nowhere but as I mentioned above I should have seen it coming and should not have been complacent. We had settled into our campsite and the dog and its owner were at the site while my brother and I walked to the car to get something. We walked back to the site where the dog was on a long lead. As we approached the dog ran full speed at me and closed the distance in milliseconds. Whippets are bred for speed. It bit down on my left calf for just a moment and broke through my jeans and skin leaving distinct bite marks and a little blood. It was more surprising than painful and its owner jumped up immediately took control. I wasn't worried about any diseases as dogs from pounds have all their shots but thinking back it would have been a good idea to get checked.
I was impressed with my friend, who took responsibility for the situation and apologized profusely over the next couple of days. He and the dog slept in the car that night and he took it home in the morning. When he returned we had a relatively good time hanging out and camping. Given the situation, we were all a little down but we made the best of it. We finished up the weekend and my friend explained how he was planning on taking the dog through extensive training and was going to work with vets to make sure the aggression wasn't due to any physical problems.
Personally, I think that the dog is a lost cause. I could be wrong and it might be my bias but in my experience, an adult dog with major aggression problems may not be fixed and becomes more trouble than it's worth. My friend is not so inclined and I commend him on his resolve and commitment to keeping a troubled dog and trying to make the best of it. Unfortunately, it may create barriers in his relationships and social life but I'm sure he can work around it. I am not interested in being around that dog again and it has permanently changed the way I think about dogs.
I love dogs and I feel bad for the dog that bit me. I'm sure that it was not treated well and was either intentionally or unintentionally trained to act the way it does. While the event did create a bit of a tension my friend's reaction to it was appropriate and I harbor no ill will toward him. I still think of him as a friend and hope that his dog gets better. This experience has helped me understand how a little bit of trauma can permanently change how you think about the world and its possibilities. In a small way, I understand dogs, people, and the world better because of it.
That is a picture of the cutie that bit me.
Also, here are a couple of videos of a dog I used to own named Wowzer whom I love very much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3tOoeiQst8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUhK6kei8pM
Monday, December 11, 2017
Imagining what I might ask Sam Harris about his belief in Determinism
I get how you can stick with determinism and still hold people accountable purely as a logical way to maintain society but how do you hold yourself responsible if you truly believe that you are not the author of your behavior and thoughts? When you accomplish a goal how do you celebrate when there is no "one" to celebrate? When you make a mistake who do you blame if you truly believe that there is no "self". Do you go to bed at night attempting deeply to convince yourself that the thoughts in your head are completely out of your control? Isn't meditating an example of how thoughts influence behavior? And mediating, in turn, influences thoughts and behaviors but who decided to start meditating? If thoughts cannot affect behavior then why attempt to control them, understand them or otherwise think of them in any positive regard. They are just the whisperings of neurological fireworks. Just a show to keep some observer busy? When you sit to write, isn't that an example of thoughts directly influencing outward behavior? Then why is it so hard to imagine that thoughts can also affect the world? I guess Sam Harris doesn't think that thoughts cannot affect the world, just that there are no authors to thoughts. That they are outcomes of prior causes and effects and no more under our control than a rock falling down a mountain can control how it falls. But people can control how they fall? They build things and experiment and communicate. How is that not an example of the massive difference between people and everything else? If the universe is simply a series of perfectly predictable causes and effects then humans are no different so just because humans do things differently doesn't make them special or different. If the universe is fundamentally unpredictable due to the uncertainty inherent in physics doesn't that mean that determinism can't be true? Or at least that there is some room for chaos and uncertainty. Which might be where consciousness and free will preside. IDK. Maybe free will is a non-absolute term that simply refers to the perception that a conscious effort has been made toward realizing a goal. Or it is the ability to recognize the difference between the current state and an ideal state and working toward bridging that gap? Maybe it is just another name for taking responsibility even when we know we don't control everything.
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