The start of my previous blog entry triggered a conversation on twitter with @XiXiDu. My comment about it being harder these days to carry on a serious discussion with people, resulted in XiXiDu's comment that its probably easier than ever. This points out lazy thinking on my part, and how our perceptions are shaped by where we focus our attention.
My brain is full of stuff since I have been an avid reader all my life. In recent years I have added blogs and social media to the torrent feeding my brain. With social media, some of those ideas are starting to spill out, so it is no longer a one way flow of information.
In the past I have occasionally tried to express my ideas, but have often run into opposition. This opposition typically come from people who have never or have rarely done any reading since they got out of school. People who do not actively seek new ideas, tend to reject anything that doesn't comfortably fit with their world view. They don't take the time to understand and point out the flaws in the ideas, they just automatically reject them.
The people I meet online typically have a different perspective, they are people that actively seek new ideas and are willing to push the boundaries. In other words "to boldly go where no man has gone before".
My online activities and resulting offline activities have increased the ridicule from people who have not taken the time to explore new ideas and find out what social media is about.
Being hperconnected using second life, facebook, flickr, twitter, blogs and other online applications is changing who I am and how my mind works. Thanks to all my online friends who are helping to kick my mind up to a new level.
Hyperconectivity is not only changing me and my online friends, it is changing the way our global society works. For example the offline world seems intent on patching the old economic order to try to get it functioning again. Online there are many groups and thousands of individuals working out new ways of doing things.
Here is the conversation I had with @XiXiDu. I pulled it out of friendfeed, merged the two streams, and inverted the time line so it can be read top to bottom.
XiXiDu: "With many people these days it is hard to carry on a serious conversation..." - These days? It's probably easier than ever... @wburris”
April 6 at 8:45 am
wburris: “RT @XiXiDu: "With many people these days it is hard to carry on a serious conversation...", I should have qualified that with "offline"”
April 6 at 8:51 am
XiXiDu: “What I meant was that people are generally more open-minded today than ever before. I agree, just not about "these days"... @wburris”
April 6 at 8:59 am
wburris: “@XiXiDu There seems to be a completely different mindset between people I have know for years, & people I meet online.”
April 6 at 9:08 am
wburris: “@XiXiDu Hyperconnectivity changes people”
April 6 at 9:10 am
XiXiDu: “Same. The difference is that the appearance of people online is by interest and offline by more organic reasons. @wburris”
April 6 at 9:12 am
XiXiDu: “That's why I think that even tho most people are not autistic, socializing will increasingly shift towards the metaverse. @wburris”
April 6 at 9:14 am
XiXiDu: “It's just so much more appealing, because you can group with people that are much more like you than the people physically around. @wburris”
April 6 at 9:15 am
XiXiDu: “Which is at first very good, since it empowers completely new kinds of ideologies. But later it may cause only reassurance, not evolution...”
April 6 at 9:18 am
XiXiDu: “The old days of spatial dependence that caused adherence to corporeal entities like countries are replaced by the empowerment of memes!”
April 6 at 9:21 am
XiXiDu: “Memes like transhumanism would have no chance of becoming strong in a spatial dependent world, a world without a Noosphere.”
April 6 at 9:23 am
wburris: “@XiXiDu you are correct, it is that my online contacts typically have similar interests to mine, which is not always true offline”
April 6 at 12:39 pm
Here is a twine about hyperconnectivity:
http://www.twine.com/twine/11h43rww7-2xq/friendship-in-hyperconnectivity-fh
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Woo Woo
With many people these days it is hard to carry on a serious conversation, because their brains are bogged down in woo woo.
You could say why worry about peoples crazy ideas. The reason is that the world has some serious problems to be solved, and it would be nice if everyone was committed to solving those problems instead of making them worse. A large portion of society seems to be committed to pulling the rug out from under the very tools that will help us solve these problems.
Do your part by understanding critical thinking and the scientific method, and fight for these topics to be included in your children's education.
For an idea of some of the problems to be solved and the seriousness of them, please watch this video of Jared Diamond. Why Societies Collapse
You could say why worry about peoples crazy ideas. The reason is that the world has some serious problems to be solved, and it would be nice if everyone was committed to solving those problems instead of making them worse. A large portion of society seems to be committed to pulling the rug out from under the very tools that will help us solve these problems.
Do your part by understanding critical thinking and the scientific method, and fight for these topics to be included in your children's education.
For an idea of some of the problems to be solved and the seriousness of them, please watch this video of Jared Diamond. Why Societies Collapse
Friday, April 3, 2009
Do you believe in evolution?
This is really a stupid question, but it is a good trick question, for revealing someones understanding or lack of understanding of science.
Acceptance of evolution is not a belief, it is a recognition of the scientific process in action. If you have no understanding of the concepts behind the modern theory of evolution, and the scientific process, you might think the question is about your religion.
The theory of biological evolution is not just something that popped into Darwin's head, turning him into a god who is to be believed forever after. Darwin observed the natural world and came up with some possible explanations and wrote these down. His own personal beliefs on the matter are irrelevant. What matters is that his work was the needed inspiration, to start a new area of investigation that has vastly improved our understanding of how the world works. The success of modern medicine is largely a result of this understanding. Thousands of scientist have worked hard over the last 150 years to refine our understanding of biological evolution. This is not something you just throw away because it contradicts your belief, and you are too lazy to educate yourself about critical thinking.
The whole argument about God vs Darwin is a stupid argument. The real argument is about whether or not we should base our actions on careful observations, experiment, and critical thinking, or our beliefs.
Believe whatever you want, but please keep it at home, and don't use it as an excuse for destroying the foundation on which modern society is built. Let our children get a proper education, based on an understanding of how to use their minds for solving problems.
If your personal beliefs interfere with your understanding of the scientific process, you should definitely not hold public office in a position where you make national decisions on science policy and funding.
Acceptance of evolution is not a belief, it is a recognition of the scientific process in action. If you have no understanding of the concepts behind the modern theory of evolution, and the scientific process, you might think the question is about your religion.
The theory of biological evolution is not just something that popped into Darwin's head, turning him into a god who is to be believed forever after. Darwin observed the natural world and came up with some possible explanations and wrote these down. His own personal beliefs on the matter are irrelevant. What matters is that his work was the needed inspiration, to start a new area of investigation that has vastly improved our understanding of how the world works. The success of modern medicine is largely a result of this understanding. Thousands of scientist have worked hard over the last 150 years to refine our understanding of biological evolution. This is not something you just throw away because it contradicts your belief, and you are too lazy to educate yourself about critical thinking.
The whole argument about God vs Darwin is a stupid argument. The real argument is about whether or not we should base our actions on careful observations, experiment, and critical thinking, or our beliefs.
Believe whatever you want, but please keep it at home, and don't use it as an excuse for destroying the foundation on which modern society is built. Let our children get a proper education, based on an understanding of how to use their minds for solving problems.
If your personal beliefs interfere with your understanding of the scientific process, you should definitely not hold public office in a position where you make national decisions on science policy and funding.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Free Health Care
Free health care here in Canada is great, we can see a doctor whenever we feel the need, without worrying about being able to afford it. When we are in an accident or have a major illness we can obtain excellent care at no cost (as long as we don't get stuck in the lineup in emergency).
The downside is that it is still based on the monetary system, and the government is always looking for places to cut funding. At the family doctor level, they are not always up to date on the latest advances in technology. They are also limited in the amount and types of testing that they can recommend. This results in many people falling through the cracks and not getting the advice & treatment that they need.
We need access to regular testing of our state of health, including genetic analysis, nutritional analysis, and detection of life threating illness. The public education system in addition to teaching critical thinking and science needs to teach what is known about nutrition and personal health care. I would prefer to focus on my own area of expertise and not have to read medical and biology scientific papers just to keep myself going.
If the government funded health care system is not willing to provide these basic services, they need to allow private clinics which provide these services. Here in Canada, if you want to maximize your health care, you need to fly to the US or elsewhere, and pay out of your pocket. The problem with this is that in addition to the health care costs you have the additional travel and accommodation expenses.
All I am asking is that the public system does its best to keep up with science & technology, as well as focusing on prevention, and early detection. In addition, allow me to explore other options without having to leave the country.
The scientific & technological revolution is on the verge of providing us with virtually unlimited resources for enhancing and extending our healthy years. Now is the time to embrace this so that we all can be as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
The economic collapse is not a valid excuse for stopping progress. It is not a sudden end of resources, it is the disintegration of systems based on bullshit, and limited thinking. It just means we have to apply a little more intelligence, science, & technology to the way we do things. Health care, like any system can be optimized by applying engineering, science, and critical thinking.
The downside is that it is still based on the monetary system, and the government is always looking for places to cut funding. At the family doctor level, they are not always up to date on the latest advances in technology. They are also limited in the amount and types of testing that they can recommend. This results in many people falling through the cracks and not getting the advice & treatment that they need.
We need access to regular testing of our state of health, including genetic analysis, nutritional analysis, and detection of life threating illness. The public education system in addition to teaching critical thinking and science needs to teach what is known about nutrition and personal health care. I would prefer to focus on my own area of expertise and not have to read medical and biology scientific papers just to keep myself going.
If the government funded health care system is not willing to provide these basic services, they need to allow private clinics which provide these services. Here in Canada, if you want to maximize your health care, you need to fly to the US or elsewhere, and pay out of your pocket. The problem with this is that in addition to the health care costs you have the additional travel and accommodation expenses.
All I am asking is that the public system does its best to keep up with science & technology, as well as focusing on prevention, and early detection. In addition, allow me to explore other options without having to leave the country.
The scientific & technological revolution is on the verge of providing us with virtually unlimited resources for enhancing and extending our healthy years. Now is the time to embrace this so that we all can be as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
The economic collapse is not a valid excuse for stopping progress. It is not a sudden end of resources, it is the disintegration of systems based on bullshit, and limited thinking. It just means we have to apply a little more intelligence, science, & technology to the way we do things. Health care, like any system can be optimized by applying engineering, science, and critical thinking.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Blog Engineering
After a twitter discussion between myself @wburris and @ thzatheist I was thinking I should write a blog about some of the topics that came up.
Part of the discussion was about applying scientific & engineering techniques to solve a wide range of problems in society. While thinking about what to say, I realized that I don't even have the skills to engineer a blog. In high school English, I spent the time thinking that this was a waste of time, because physics & math were a lot more interesting and useful. Looks like I was partially right, because I faild first year university Physics & Calculus. This was partly because my high school preparation in those areas was inadaquate, but also because I had no study skills.
The problem was not that English class was a waste of time, because it was English and not Physics or Math. It was a waste of time, becuause there was no discussion about the purpose behind it. There was no talk about critical thinking and how to organize ideas. I hope that the education system has improved some since the sixties & seventies, but it probably hasn't.
Throughout adult life, I have often thought about how to learn these skills, and often start working through a book to teach myself, but easily get distracted. My work life is made easier by learning more about computer programming and electronic circuit design, so working through a writing book, still feels like a waste of time.
I think that the reason my communication skill have been somewhat effective, is because of the number of books I have read. In grade 2, I ignored the librarians suggestion that "The Secret Garden" was too advanced and took it out and read it cover to cover. I haven't stopped reading since. See Spot Run style books in grade one were very boring. I have lost track of how many books I have read, but 1 book per month since 1964 would be a good estimate.
Since the theme of this blog is about finding ways to enhance the ability of my mind, its time to get busy on learning how to learn, how to think critically & how to write.
Part of the discussion was about applying scientific & engineering techniques to solve a wide range of problems in society. While thinking about what to say, I realized that I don't even have the skills to engineer a blog. In high school English, I spent the time thinking that this was a waste of time, because physics & math were a lot more interesting and useful. Looks like I was partially right, because I faild first year university Physics & Calculus. This was partly because my high school preparation in those areas was inadaquate, but also because I had no study skills.
The problem was not that English class was a waste of time, because it was English and not Physics or Math. It was a waste of time, becuause there was no discussion about the purpose behind it. There was no talk about critical thinking and how to organize ideas. I hope that the education system has improved some since the sixties & seventies, but it probably hasn't.
Throughout adult life, I have often thought about how to learn these skills, and often start working through a book to teach myself, but easily get distracted. My work life is made easier by learning more about computer programming and electronic circuit design, so working through a writing book, still feels like a waste of time.
I think that the reason my communication skill have been somewhat effective, is because of the number of books I have read. In grade 2, I ignored the librarians suggestion that "The Secret Garden" was too advanced and took it out and read it cover to cover. I haven't stopped reading since. See Spot Run style books in grade one were very boring. I have lost track of how many books I have read, but 1 book per month since 1964 would be a good estimate.
Since the theme of this blog is about finding ways to enhance the ability of my mind, its time to get busy on learning how to learn, how to think critically & how to write.
Monday, March 2, 2009
War Is Good
Of course I don't believe war is good, but I was talking to someone who insist that it is.
His first argument is that it contributes to the economy, therefore it is good. My response is that it may create short term jobs, but the end result is negative. First off the tools of war are destroyed in the process of war, so have no secondary contribution to the economy. Second infrastructure is destroyed, causing the need for reconstruction and further debt loads. Third and most important, lives are lost.
According to him, loss of life on a massive scale is good, because if there had never been any wars the planet would be so crowded from overpopulation, that we would all be starving. Maybe over population would be a problem now, if all the past wars had not taken place, but maybe not, we can't assume that. We may have found other solutions to the problem, if that was our most dire problem. Because we have acted like savage beasts in the past, does not mean that we should continue in that manner.
I work under the assumption that killing humans is wrong, and advocate doing whatever is possible to end violence. If this causes overpopulation, then we will work on solving that problem. Do not assume that war is the best solution to this problem.
The problem with over population, seems to be a lack of resources, but is it really a lack of resources, or is it a lack of application of brain power. For example, we will probably run out of oil in the near future, but this is only a major problem if we never find alternatives. If we spend all our effort searching for oil we will not find alternative ways of doing things and alternative sources of energy.
The real problem is beliefs. We believe that there is no solution so we don't look for one. We believe that the other guy is the problem, so we don't do anything about improving ourselves. We believe that our beliefs are the truth, and all other beliefs are false.
Be careful what you believe in, because the mind has the habit of turning your beliefs into reality. Its not that your beliefs cause the universe to reconfigure to conform to your beliefs. There is no hidden Secret here that will make all your wishes come true. What is happening is that your mind is very good at filtering reality, so that you only see evidence that appears to support your beliefs and don't see contradictory evidence. Your beliefs also drive your actions, both consciously and subconsciously.
If we start believing that every life on this planet is valuable, and that our problems are solvable, we just might start doing things differently. The status quo is not acceptable, we as a global society, and as individuals must constantly strive for better ways of doing things.
His first argument is that it contributes to the economy, therefore it is good. My response is that it may create short term jobs, but the end result is negative. First off the tools of war are destroyed in the process of war, so have no secondary contribution to the economy. Second infrastructure is destroyed, causing the need for reconstruction and further debt loads. Third and most important, lives are lost.
According to him, loss of life on a massive scale is good, because if there had never been any wars the planet would be so crowded from overpopulation, that we would all be starving. Maybe over population would be a problem now, if all the past wars had not taken place, but maybe not, we can't assume that. We may have found other solutions to the problem, if that was our most dire problem. Because we have acted like savage beasts in the past, does not mean that we should continue in that manner.
I work under the assumption that killing humans is wrong, and advocate doing whatever is possible to end violence. If this causes overpopulation, then we will work on solving that problem. Do not assume that war is the best solution to this problem.
The problem with over population, seems to be a lack of resources, but is it really a lack of resources, or is it a lack of application of brain power. For example, we will probably run out of oil in the near future, but this is only a major problem if we never find alternatives. If we spend all our effort searching for oil we will not find alternative ways of doing things and alternative sources of energy.
The real problem is beliefs. We believe that there is no solution so we don't look for one. We believe that the other guy is the problem, so we don't do anything about improving ourselves. We believe that our beliefs are the truth, and all other beliefs are false.
Be careful what you believe in, because the mind has the habit of turning your beliefs into reality. Its not that your beliefs cause the universe to reconfigure to conform to your beliefs. There is no hidden Secret here that will make all your wishes come true. What is happening is that your mind is very good at filtering reality, so that you only see evidence that appears to support your beliefs and don't see contradictory evidence. Your beliefs also drive your actions, both consciously and subconsciously.
If we start believing that every life on this planet is valuable, and that our problems are solvable, we just might start doing things differently. The status quo is not acceptable, we as a global society, and as individuals must constantly strive for better ways of doing things.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
PZ Myers to vist Alberta
PZ Myers is visiting Calgary & Edmonton
"Voices of Reason" Lecture on protecting Evolution education
Sunday, January 25, 2009
2:00pm - 5:00pm
University of Calgary ICT 102 (Information & Communications Technologies Building)
Collegiate Place N.W.
Calgary, AB
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=62250041400
Does God Exist? Debate Featuring Dr PZ Myers
Monday, January 26, 2009
5:30pm - 7:30pm
ETLC E1-001 University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=44612767332
"Voices of Reason" Lecture on protecting Evolution education
Sunday, January 25, 2009
2:00pm - 5:00pm
University of Calgary ICT 102 (Information & Communications Technologies Building)
Collegiate Place N.W.
Calgary, AB
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=62250041400
Does God Exist? Debate Featuring Dr PZ Myers
Monday, January 26, 2009
5:30pm - 7:30pm
ETLC E1-001 University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=44612767332
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