Politics and Science

            I am glad that I will die early, a couple decades from now, from the climate crisis. I am glad that the fossil fuel CEOs and financiers who fund fossil fuel projects will be able to live their lives of luxury in underground bunkers while millions of people die. This is the way it should be. How could it be any other way? I am glad that we will potentially sacrifice humanity for the free market and profit and fossil fuels. We must never admit the free market is not perfect! All hail the free market. It is infallible and all-knowing. I am disappointed that the Inflation Reduction Act passed with its climate provisions, because it might extend my life. Clearly, I am excited at the prospect of an early grave, and any action that might prevent me from reaching my early grave is a tragedy. On a lighter, more sincere, and less sarcastic note, I am tentatively hopeful about some the climate action that's going on in the world. Things could still turn ou...

  Everyone knows there are two types of people. Dog people and cat people. Tea and coffee people. Meanderers and striders. Weak and strong. Rich and poor. Tall and short. However, there is another way to divide people. Those who think there is one type of person and those who think there are two types of people.             In the land of Monarchy Incorporated, people were divided into their categories and had their place and everyone was content. Then one day, a philosopher had an idea and said to the king, “Your highness, if there are two types of people, then what if there was one group who thought there was only one group, and a second group who thought there were two groups of people.” The King was flummoxed by this. If everyone thought there were two types of people, then really there was only one type of person. If everyone believed there was one type of person, then everyone could be correct, assuming no one changed the...

            Many movies depict aliens as violent creatures. However, my guess is that any alien that could visit Earth would be so advanced, that we wouldn’t be a threat to them. Do humans feel threatened by mice? By analogy, as the aliens would be to us, we would be to mice. I decided to eat vegetarian in December 2019, however, I realized that by analogy, just as I didn’t want to eat less advanced Earth creatures, maybe if we didn’t eat simpler Earth creatures, maybe we could hope that any advanced alien that comes to Earth wouldn’t eat us.             Furthermore, I have written about transparency and opacity. I think that if aliens did visit Earth, they would be powerful enough and advanced enough to remain opaque, although based on the reports of Unexplained Aerial Phenomona from the US military, the United States's sensors are picking up some unexplained things.      ...

 Here are some books that I'm reading this summer. How Not to Be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg. Ellenberg has a great history in mathematics competitions, and has written one novel. This book explains how mathematics can result in surprising conclusions, and are applicable to everyday life. Accessory to War by Neil Degrasse Tyson and Lang. This book examines the relationship between the military and astronomy, although it is probably an example of the relationship between the military and the sciences and mathematics in general. The Way Forward by Meyer and O'Neil. The book is about life lessons from the Navy SEALs. 

  It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the other ones. I think that is true of US hegemony. US hegemony can be awful, except for any other country’s hegemony. For example, withdrawing from the Kyoto Accords, which were attempting to address the climate crisis early, and torturing captives during the Global War on Terror are two examples of US blunders on the international stage. While US leadership isn’t perfect, it is preferable to any of the other countries. Many of the countries that might seek to supplant the US are even worse in many ways. It is imperative that the US act with its allies, to build consensus and address issues. Since the US is the most powerful country, it is necessarily the least innocent country. Since the US is the most powerful country on Earth, it is therefore strongly in the US interest to maintain its moral authority, and image of benevolence and gentleness.          ...

I am deeply troubled by one question. How do I know what I say or do is the morally correct thing? Although it is cliché, I am bothered by Hitler. How do I know that I am not Hitler? On the other hand, how do I know that I am not infinitely good? Because of what Hitler did, and it was so awful, and presumably he thought he was doing the right thing, how do I know whether or not I am also mistaken? From this example, it should be clear that moral knowledge about right and wrong is not just about me feeling correct or righteous, there is some element of externality to it, something beyond my subjective experience. Just as I may never know whether I am Hitler or not, how do I know whether I am not racist, or sexist, or antisemitic, when people who are those things, rarely realize it?             Right and wrong is not even determined by norms. Again, in Hitler’s Weimar Republic, some awful things became normal. But that did not make th...

             Many policies involving law enforcement are flawed, but public police are best of an unideal situation. If we defund or abolish police run by governments, then police run by corporations will fill the void, and they will be even less accountable. Compare the US military to private military contractors, like Blackwater. As awful as it is that the US military kills people, there is even less accountability for private corporations. Privatizing law enforcement, and abolishing would simply mean privatizing, would be as awful as privately run prisons or the privatized military.             Non-violent protest, like the Civil Rights Movement, can only be effective with a government with a monopoly on the use of force and the rule of law. Think of protestors or activists in other countries, how long do they last without a government that deters violence against them? As awful as force that ...