Create and Modify Memes!

Ok, this may sound a bit crazy (I know, that's pretty normal for this blog), but I had an epiphany. We need to spend less time intaking and filtering through the masses of information that is available to us, and spend more time creating and modifying existing information. This means becoming less of an information consumer and more of an information producer. This is the way of becoming influential and effective. Sitting around consuming information keeps people complacent and occupied.

I went to a concert last night

And all I have to say is Propagandhi is fucking awesome!

My computer lives again!

I finally fixed my computer! This means I will be more likely to make blog posts in the future, since I don't have to share a computer. I should have something vaguely interesting to talk about in the next few days, so check back soon.

Finding the Truth?

Ok, so this topic has been stewing in my brain for a while, so I'm going to give it an attempt. What is Truth? (note the capital "T") . There are two different kinds of truth, truth and Truth. Little "t" truth is what is in accordance with reality. This is what most people are familiar with, since we attempt to determine if something is true or not on a regular basis. The other kind of truth, Truth, is much harder to define and understand. I define it as truth that exists independently of reality, but defines or affects reality. This implies that Truth isn't part of reality, but that reality at most can only point to Truth.

So why is Truth important? Truth would include any cosmic forces that act upon reality, such as God or karma. Truth includes the answers to questions like what happens at death. Truth includes anything that exists outside the realm of reality and in the realm of speculation.

So if Truth isn't inside reality, then where does that leave us? There have been countless attempts to find, or even just assert Truth throughout time. I'm going to say that many may contain elements of Truth, but none contain a complete picture of it. I use the approach of trying to understand as many different perspectives and beliefs as possible. This has led me to a conclusion, that Truth is incredibly elusive. Understanding Truth comes less from what others have said about it and more from one's own pursuit. One person's understanding of Truth may be radically different than someone else's, and both can be correct.

There is one major trap in the pursuit of Truth: Believing that you know Truth in its entirety. Understanding Truth is a journey, not a destination. When you believe that journey is complete, there is no where else to go. Just by the nature of Truth, it is impossible to complete this journey in a lifetime. But it doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

If this is incoherent, it means I need to blog less after a sleep deprived night and a long day, late that night.

Free Will

After a long hiatus, I am back. I will be making periodic updates whenever I am inspired to. The reason I was gone was college, in its various aspects, had consumed my life. Now that I have graduated, it should not be a problem until I (hopefully) go off to grad school. But enough of my rambling.

One question people have wrestled with is the topic of whether free will exists or not. I have come up with several ways of approaching this problem. The first is determinism, the idea that people do not have free will, and their minds, bodies, behaviors, etc follow a strict cause and effect pattern. This means that human behavior is in theory completely predictable given enough information, and that there is no unpredictable factors such as free will or other random variations that affect people.

The second way this problem can be approached is that free will does exist. First, free will is defined as a conscious, non-physical self that makes decisions about behavior, that has some level of independence from the physical mind. Free will can be divided up into two categories, unlimited and limited. Unlimited free will is the idea that people can do whatever they want whenever they want, without limitations. This is the only approach that I can reject outright, since I cannot right now start speaking in Chinese or Sanskrit because I lack the knowledge to. Thus, my own knowledge limits my free will (if I have free will). Limited free will is the idea that free will does exist, but there are limitations to it in one manner or another.

The third approach is probabilism, which is the idea that human thoughts and behavior do have variation, but it can be described using probability models. This can also be divided into two categories, free will and random. In free will probabilism free will exists, but is limited and affected by probabilities of which behaviors are more likely than others, and which ones are not likely to happen. The other possibility is that a random factor determines which behavior happens, with likelihoods affected by probabilities of certain behaviors either happening or not happening.

In conclusion, there are many ways the problem of free will can be approached, but only one can be dismissed.

I hope this little discussion adds to your knowledge of the topic.

One of these days

I will make an actual post. I promise. I just haven't been sufficiently inspired to do so.

Long time, No See

This semester has been busy as hell. I am going to post some stuff on memes in the (hopefully) near future. Seriously. I'm almost done for the semester.

I'm still alive

Despite regular posts, I still intend on posting, however the updates will be irregular. I'm working on some new material to post, and hopefully will have something up in the near future. 70 hours of obligations a week are fun!

Finals

I'm busy going through finals, but it's not so bad. I just haven't had any time to sleep.

Getting My Shit In Line

I'm starting to get some direction as to what I want to do after college (or my undergraduate, more specifically). I want to study memes which are pieces of information that are passed by imitation which change over time. A classic example is the urban legend about the guy who gets drugged and wakes up in a bathtub without his kidneys. It has been passed around countless times, and has slowly changed over time. There's a lot more to it than that (hence the Wikipedia link), but it is a really new field with plenty of fields to be worked in.

But to get there, I have to do stuff to make a graduate school application look good (it's how things work), so I've been doing all that stuff to help. That's resulted in a shortage of free time, elevated stress levels, and never enough sleep. I can't wait for break, I am ready for it.

David

Life at 900 MPH

Lately, it feels like my life has been flying by at an incredible rate. I'm not complaining, but I haven't had a lot of downtime. That's probably why I haven't updated my blog lately. When I do have time, I don't really feel like it. It doesn't look like it's going to slow down anytime soon either. I'll try making more frequent posts, as I am doing some reading in some pretty interesting subject areas.

Ironic Quote

This one is just too good:

However, on religious issues there can be little or no compromise. There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in "A," "B," "C," and "D." Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of "conservatism."
-- Senator Barry Goldwater, Congressional Record

Is it just me or...

Does it seem like that the middle class is struggling more to keep in the middle class? It just feels like the job market for middle class jobs in America are slowly disappearing. If it is really happening, the long-term implications are pretty scary. It would most likely mean the future economic viability of those who are not already pretty wealthy is disappearing. But even more importantly, a lot of industries depend on the spending of the middle class, such as entertainment and automotive industries, which could cause more job losses, and more downward mobility. It's all kind of scary to think about, being that I will be entering the job market, looking for a career in the next few years.

Quickie

Don't sleepwalk through life.

So much of nothing

I haven't posted in a while, partially due to a lack of a functioning internet connection, partially because I haven't had anything compelling to post. I will figure out something worthwhile to post soon, so check back in a few days. Hopefully there will be something new to read.

Positivity

I haven't been posting much since I got back to school. It's largely due to a hectic schedule with plenty of time commitments coupled with sleep deprivation. I'm going to post yet another thing from my notebook, so you have something new to read. It's about positivity. And by positivity, I mean good stuff.

It is simple: positivity begets positivity. If you try hoarding it, you lose it. If you give it away freely, it comes back tenfold. If you aren't giving out some sort of positivity, you give out negativity. It ranges from mere apathy to downright malice. And that will also come back tenfold. It is up to you to determine what you give, and therefore, what you get.

Just something to think about. Hopefully, I'll get used to my new schedule soon, so I'll have the energy and inspiration to post more.

David

Back in FoCo

I'm finally back at school, and my computer is fixed! Unfortunately, I've been sleep deprived due to a hectic schedule. So I'm probably not very coherent right now. I'll post again once I get my mind back.

David

School

In a couple days, I will be moving back to Fort Collins, so I don't think I'll be able to blog very often until I get my computer fixed or I get settled in (I don't know what'll happen first). Either way, I'm not going to make any promises about when my next post will be. So I will leave you with some lyrics from one of my (many) favorite songs that I think are both encouraging and fitting. They are from the song Phoenix Ignition by Thrice

Like a phoenix ignition
like a crematorium
Like a swelling volition
from the barrel of a gun
From the ashes and the embers
like a rocket I'll ascend
Like a cry gone up for a fallen friend
I'LL ASCEND!

Everyday tear down the walls
till cornerstones remain
Coming ONE STEP CLOSER ALL THE TIME
And although we'll never reach perfection ALWAYS PERSIST TO TRY!

No regrets, just rebirth
move forward, and ignite.
Incandescent Reinvention
a new renaissance
A NEW FIRE EACH DAY!

I still think that is one of the most uplifting songs ever written. I will have time to check my email and stuff, so don't think I'll be completely incommunicado.

David

This blog

Now that I have established this blog a bit, I'm going to try to shift the purpose of this blog away from me talking about my life, and towards ideas. As a step in that direction, I am going to post something out of my personal notebook that I like. No one has read it, except myself, until now. It's entitled Unity Prayer. It's written in such a way that it is not specific to any belief.

To whoever is listening
I pray for humanity, that they may grow together as one
I pray for my brethren
For those who keep the faith: that they remain strong
For those who lost the faith: that they return
For those who never understood: that they see the light
I pray that malice will be overcome with kindness
Hatred overcome by friendship
Poverty overcome with bounty
I pray that people will not judge each other
But that they will accept each other for who they are
I pray for everyone, that life will be good
For those who came before, and those who are yet to come
For people who share my beliefs, and those who believe otherwise
But ultimately, I pray for
UNITY

I wrote this as something positive for everyone. It doesn't require belief in anything except good intent for everyone. One word that could be misinterpreted is faith, which within the context of the prayer is faith in humanity. Also, when I say brethren, I mean humanity as a whole, but addressed in a brotherly way. It is simply my expression of hope for everyone.

David

I'm outta here

Tomorrow I am leaving, and I won't be back for a few days. Unfortunately, I won't be able to blog, check email, etc. So don't complain about the fact that I fell off the face of the world wide web.

I need to fall asleep earlier than 5 tonight, so I am going to stop writing, and go to bed. Peace.

David