Society « The Ramblings of An Eternal Student of Life

Sunday, April 6, 2014

◊ The Caboose: End of the Train, But Not (Yet) of the Word

Society ...

There was an interesting comment on the Bloomberg web site this past week in an article about the US Supreme Court’s decision allowing rich political donors to give campaign contributions to as many incumbent or wannabe Congressional representatives and senators as they want, despite previous restrictions under the Federal Election Campaign Law of 1971. The previous cap on how much can be given to any one candidate remains ($2,600 per candidate); but the campaign contribution law also had a provision limiting the total amount that any person can give to all federal-level candidates in a year to $123,200. The decision in this case (McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, brought against the government by an Alabama businessman and GOP official), “deal[s] a fresh blow to efforts to curb the role of money in American politics” according to Bloomberg. The Court vote was a close one, though, at 5 to 4.

As to the interesting comment in the article: Dirk Van Dongen, president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributers and a longtime Republican fundraiser, felt that the Court’s decision was good because it strengthens the political parties. Well, that isn’t very surprising given that Mr. Van Dongen is a Republican and stands to benefit from the decision. But Mr. Van Dongen also said that “[c]ampaign-finance reforms and Citizens United have weakened the party committees such that they are often the caboose of contribution-consideration sequencing,”

Again, the meaning of Mr. Van Dongen’s words aren’t all that interesting – i.e. that the national Republican and Democratic parties had previously lost power and influence because of the individual donation limits and the Supreme Court’s recent » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 8:46 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Thursday, March 27, 2014

◊ Brains Battling It Out in the Void: Carroll, Craig and Boltzmann

Philosophy ... Science ... Society ...

Back in 2008, I got interested in the idea of “Boltzmann Brains” after reading an article about them in the NY Times. That article explained the concept and examined the philosophic implications, but really didn’t get down to the political nitty-gritty behind it all. Boltzmann Brains turn out to be a battlefield of hubris, a battle between smart people who become really dumb about just how smart they really are. This is something that has gone on since the days of the ancient Greeks, when the first “intellectuals” (as we think of them) came on the scene and fell in love with the exquisite fabric of thought that they wove about themselves and their followers.

I wrote a blog about Boltzmann Brains after reading that article, a compendium of my own rambling thoughts and reflections on the subject. I was trying to find reasons why the idea (and it’s only an idea, there is no evidence whatsoever of even one “Boltzmann Brain” floating out in space) means anything at all. But only recently did I discover why Boltzmanns Brains are truly relevant — and it’s not because of the subtle ontological and epistemological ramifications that Dennis Overbye of the Times and I focused on.

Boltzmanns Brains are something more than an interesting intellectual theory based on the implications of modern science and cosmology; they are “mortar shells” in an ongoing battle » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 8:16 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Thursday, March 20, 2014

◊ Greek Mayhem and Greek Memories

Personal Reflections ... Society ...

If you’re tired of reading about the crazy winter weather of early 2014 and about Flight 370, or about Crimea or Beyonce or Ashley Judd or Johnny Weir or Phil Jackson and the Knicks, there’s an interesting article in The Atlantic about fraternity life in the 21st Century (“The Dark Power of Fraternities” by Caitlin Flanagan).

I wasn’t aware of the bad things that have been going on at the frat houses over the past decade or two. I’ve been out of college for almost 40 years now, and during my undergrad years I had almost nothing to do with fraternities. (More on that “almost” qualification in a moment).

There were a handful of frats at my engineering school, and like all frats they offered their members more beer, partying and sexual adventure than the average schlug got. But most of us average schlugs were still » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 7:49 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

◊ On Scapegoating the ‘Levantines’

Religion ... Society ...

I came across some interesting observations recently about organized religion and it alleged antagonism towards the ancient myth of the “hero’s journey”. These observations are contained in a book called “Seeking Truth, Living With Doubt” by Steven Fortney and Marshall Onellion; a collaboration between a Buddhist high school teacher and an agnostic condensed matter physicist. Somewhere in the middle of the book, chapter 7 to be exact, the authors discuss the relationship of the “individual’s heroic journey” to the institutions of science, art, mysticism and institutional religion. They review the ancient theme of the hero who leaves his home turf for a long-term road trip in search of truth, beauty and meaning; i.e. your basic Joseph Campbell stuff. The classic example of course is Homer’s Odyssey, but as Campbell points out, the hero’s journey is a theme that runs throughout the course of human history, showing up in many different ways in different civilizations, in different eras both modern and ancient.

These fellows feel that art, science and mystical spiritualities (Buddhism, most notably) are generally good things for human-kind. Not surprisingly, they portray these institutions as being mostly favorable and supportive of the individual’s journey. But as to organized religion . . . well, they basically find that religious institutions, especially the “Levantine faiths” (i.e. Christianity, Judaism and Islam), are responsible for most of the pig-headedness and closed-mindedness in the world, both yesterday, today and presumably tomorrow. So obviously the traditional religions are not open very receptive to someone, however inspired she or he might be, who goes off on his or her own in search of wisdom. According to Fortney and Onellion, the fathers of the church, temple and mosque stubbornly assert that they have a lock on wisdom, and thus any attempt to gain wisdom outside of their standard doctrines and teachings is dangerous and deluded, an infidelity and heresy.

Here’s a taste of what Fortney and Onellion have to say on this: “The Levantine faiths disavow the individual journey as » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 1:30 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Friday, January 3, 2014

◊ Preparing The Way For A High Tech / A.I. Jesus?

Science ... Society ...

Not long ago, I posted an essay about artificial intelligence. In it, I mentioned a new and controversial book recently released by documentary maker James Barrat, called “Our Final Invention“. In a nutshell, Mr. Barrat asks us to become more aware of what the artificial intelligence field is up to, and what the possibilities are once it really “gets” what human thinking is all about. I.e., what happens when computer systems (you can no longer talk about individual computers; every computer worth its salt is part of a bigger “system” today) can really start to think on our level, and can have discussions amongst themselves. And take it even further, what about when they start pushing their own intelligence past what we humans are capable of. And even better (or worse, perhaps), these computer systems might be able to do this much faster than we anticipate, perhaps beyond human control.

Next, consider that these systems basically run the world — they execute our economy (think about stock market high-frequency algorithms, which are now responsible for a majority of stock trades); they run our factories; they oversee our food supply; they oversee our utility infrastructure including electrical power, clean water and natural gas . . . In a few years we will start to see self-driving vehicles (autos, buses, trucks) on our roads. Unpiloted drones are already taking to the sky. Our governments and educational and law enforcement agencies increasingly rely on these networks to execute their actions (some school courses are already “taught by algorithm” via a computer device; and Robocop is not going to be a sci-fi joke much longer, so thank you for your cooperation!).

So, imagine what could happen if these networks, which most certainly are or can easily inter-link, suddenly become “enlightened” with their own self awareness; if they discover each other and start conversing, and rapidly increase their own intelligence. Imagine that » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 1:52 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

◊ But For Some Microbial DNA Variants . . .

History ... Society ...

Despite my interest in history, I’ve never learned all that much about the European conquest of the American continents between the 16th and 19th centuries. Pretty much all that I know came from suburban grammar school in the early 1960s. The flavor of it all was pretty much that there were some people occupying the region stretching from the Bering Strait and Newfoundland down to Cape Horn, and they had some interesting if rudimentary civilizations going for them. But the Spanish first arrived, followed later by English, Dutch, French and others, who brought forth better, more advanced arrangements than the natives could ever dream of. So, even though some of the tactics used by the Euro invaders weren’t very kind, the “Indians” weren’t making all that much out of the rich natural resources surrounding them. It was for the Europeans to come in and set the Americans on the path of progress, to set up some real civilizations that could make the most out of the mostly-untouched natural bounty available in the “New World”. The various Indian nations put up some resistance, in some cases tough and noble resistance, but in the end, the inevitable march of human progress could not be denied.

Of course, that point of view itself could not survive the “march of progress”. The Euro conquest of the American continents is now seen more honestly, basically as an invasion by one people eager to take away the riches that another people enjoyed. One reason why the Spanish and then French and English (and eventually the young American nation) were so successful against the natives was supposedly because the “Indians” were mostly backward. They were small, unorganized groups living in a fashion similar to what the Europeans experienced during the Dark Ages, a millennium before.

Or were they? Before the Europeans started arriving in mass after 1500, modern research shows that the native populations in both North and South American were much larger than » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 11:31 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Monday, December 9, 2013

◊ It’s Only Science Fiction . . . For Now

Science ... Society ...

It seems like every month or two I discuss or at least mention an article in The Atlantic. Maybe I should give The New Yorker more attention, but The Atlantic tries pretty hard to keep up with some of the more interesting aspects of human civilization these days. Well, in my opinion anyway.

The latest article to get my attention is about Douglas Hofstadter, a scientist who caught fire and went viral back in the 1980’s with a book called “Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid“. He won a Pulitzer Prize for “GEB”, which is all about . . . well, it’s kind of hard to say (even though I read the book!). It’s about a lot of different things, but in a nutshell, it’s a lot of thinking about thinking, and how human consciousness emerges from our thinking. And thus, how computers, if they could be taught how to think like us, can and will eventually become conscious. One of his key concepts in GEB was the “strange loop”, an abstract notion which is sort of a pattern that feeds on itself in order to bootstrap its way into existence. Or emerge into something that sort-of has an effect on things, anyway.

Hofstadter tried to bottle lightening again in 2007 when he published “I Am A Strange Loop“. Hundreds of books had come out since the late 90’s trying to define and explicate what human consciousness » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 3:17 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Monday, November 18, 2013

◊ No Longer in Vogue: The Universal Soldier

Music ... Society ...

I was thinking today about my religious heritage, and it reminded me of a song. For the most part, my religious heritage is . . . well, nothing and everything! I grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition, and I remained loyal to that faith well into my 30’s. For various reasons, I became a “roam-in catholic” after that, roaming from religion to religion. I committed myself to the Episcopalians for a few years (not much of a commitment, I guess), sat with a Quaker congregation on and off for about a year, went to a Unitarian church for a few weeks, visited a few Buddhist groups, and for the past 3 years have been a part of a Zen sangha. Furthermore, my initial DNA ancestry results indicate that my paternal grandfather may have hailed from a Jewish family. If this evidence holds up, I may need to somehow honor the Jewish tradition in my old age.

I’ve also read quite a bit about all of the major world faith systems, and include many of their sacred writings within my evening prayer routine. I even give atheism it’s due; I feel that faith and doubt are two sides of one coin; they are part of a yin-yang complementarity, like the quantum wave-particle dualism of light. Without a legitimate atheist shadow in our lives, we could never take God seriously. I think that God wants us to have our doubts, even though it causes a deep existential longing, a sometimes painful longing. No pain, no gain.

But that aside, the song that came to mind today was “Universal Soldier“, which was originally written and recorded in 1964 by Buffy Sainte Marie, a Canadian folk singer that I’m not otherwise familiar with. I remember “Universal Soldier” because » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 5:20 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

Monday, October 14, 2013

◊ Ted Cruz and the Tea Party: Men Acting Badly?

Politics ... Society ...

Once in a blue moon, I come across an article on current affairs that really cuts thru the fog, an article about today that sounds like it was written 25 years in the future, with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight. There’s a lot of fog these days in the realm of national politics. How can anyone make sense of the current dysfunctional struggles in Washington DC between President Obama and the GOP / Tea Party alliance? What can be said about all the infighting and the corresponding failure of our collective leadership to address immigration problems, long-term debt and other financial dangers, global warming, slow economic growth and unemployment, heightening economic inequality, inadequate education systems, on and on? Even our national decision to expand access and fairness of the health care system thru the 2009 Affordable Care Act is now being re-visited in a rather unwholesome fashion. Why are our leaders fighting so much amidst themselves while the pillars fall and the barbarians approach in the distance?

One interpretation of the vehement efforts by Republicans to undermine President Obama’s leadership is based on racism, on racial prejudice against those of sub-Saharan African heritage; pure and simple, old-school bigotry. The Tea Party is seen by some as being driven and inspired by racist resentment of Obama’s political success.

I believe that there is some truth to that point of view. The uncooperative behavior on the part of Republicans goes beyond what I have » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 2:22 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

◊ Part 2 – Millennials as Ghosts in the Machine(s)

Society ... Technology ...

In my last blog, I pondered the complaint of the Millennial generation, i.e. that they have been given a raw economic deal, especially compared to the opportunities to achieve the “American Dream” that my own Boomer generation was given. Instead of seeking some form of anti-youth conspiracy amidst our aging leaders (arguably in their quest to maintain Social Security and Medicare benefits for their peers, including myself), or suspecting an unhealthy sub-conscious mindset grounded in the jealousy and disappointment of an aging generation that once sang “hope I die before I grow old” and chanted “never trust anyone over 30”, I will next focus on what machines and technology are doing to the modern workplace . . . which is quite a lot. I will note that technology has been changing what workers do for over a century now, with mostly good results (e.g. increasing pay tied to growing worker productivity). But the pace of technology change seems to be accelerating and taking us into new territory, such that humans and their social systems are losing the ability to keep up. Are the Millennials the shock troops facing an ultimately contracting need for human skills and abilities in an increasingly automated production economy guided by artificially intelligent (computerized) managerial systems?

The human race overall is getting smarter and better with regard to finding improved techniques to build or create things from nature. The pace of progress seems to keep on accelerating. Entrepreneurs and politicians soon see the possibilities created by these new techniques, and put them to use for their own fortune and power. The biggest impact on the masses results from better and cheaper ways to do things that once required people to do. So, are we facing the nightmare of a world where machines eventually take over most everything, while most people (other than a handful of rich “masters” and a small contingent of their extremely intelligent lackeys who are able to keep up with accelerating machine intelligence) become un-needed, and are thus cast into desperate poverty with lives that are nasty, brutish and short?

This nightmare is not a new one, as many economists like to point out. Technology and change in the workplace has been going on for at least 300 years now in the west. A look at the economic history of America since the Civil War reveals many innovations that » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 4:49 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

TOP PAGE - LATEST BLOG POSTS
« PREVIOUS PAGE -- NEXT PAGE (OLDER POSTS) »