Why “other dimensions” do, and do not, exist

A friend asked “Do you believe in other dimensions?”. I replied as follows:

Other dimensions of what? I’m not being obtuse here. It’s just that anything can be quantified as a dimension. For example: the sweetness of a fruit, the hardness of a snowball, the volume of precipitation etc. There are literally as many dimensions as there are things to quantify. Read more

Bombings in Brussels: Everything you’ll read about them, in one tiny article

Earlier today, explosions “rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing at least 28 people and injuring many more“…but we cannot be certain of the bombers’ motive, and ultimately this is a response to something awful we’ve done in another country (for oil…or, something money-related), and religion certainly had nothing to do with it, and the bombers were mentally ill, and they were odd, and “real” people of their religion (possibly Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism…we can’t rule that out) would never do such a thing, and saying otherwise is racist (even though religion has nothing to do with race), or isolationist (even if you are pro-immigration), or “privilege” and “patriarchy” (because, well, what isn’t?), or….whatever….and we should respond by turning the other cheek, and taking our troops out of the Middle East, and telling would-be attackers that we mean no one any harm so, please, please, don’t hurt us (pretty please, we’ll be nice). In short: nothing to see here folks. Move along. Everything is double-plus good.

Celebrate Judge Me According to My Genetics Day!

Rise up, ugly people. You are not a group of individually judged entities (sometimes quaintly called “human beings”). You are but cells comprising the ugly people entity. Whether you’re a saint or a sinner, a winner or a loser, a producer or a vampire…none of that is relevant to the issue of how you should be judged. None of that should determine what you deserve or get. You are a single ugly people entity, and you should be judged as such. What you deserve depends upon the worthiness of the collective entity of which you are but a cell. Read more

Why political philosophy, by itself, fails

A facebook friend of mine asked how a teacher can impress upon a politics/philosophy student the importance of not treating political philosophy as a stand-alone, self-sufficient thing; the importance of knowing the philosophical underpinnings of one’s political philosophy. I responded as follows:

Teacher: What is your view of politics/economics?

Student: I’m in favour of capitalism.

Teacher: What if I told you that capitalism is evil, because your highest value is your death, your highest virtue is obedience to the will of God, and your highest purpose is to sacrifice yourself for the benefit of others? Read more

Creed of the Celebrity-trial Watcher

Whoever loses, I will never forget: it was the lawyer’s fault. It was the lawyer’s fault that the legislators drafted the Code the way they did. It was the lawyer’s fault that the judge/jury interpreted the law they way they did. It was the lawyer’s fault that witnesses lied, or had a bad recollection or inconsistent testimony. It was the lawyer’s fault that there was no evidence, or that the judge allowed something into evidence, or refused to do so. Whatever I do, I will be sure to reject the idea that…justice prevailed.

Thought of the Day: Technology and the Death of Banks

This is more a note to myself for future consideration, but I share it with you now in case you want to ponder it, my dear readers.

Consider: Technology eliminates middle-men. Banking is the epitome of middle-manning. Banking arguably is a do-do bird service in an age when lenders and borrowers could use software and data sharing to assess credit-worthiness, to find the lowest interest rates and best terms, and to create records of who owes what to whom. This will all become apparent when the banks are finished laying-off all of their employees and we realize that we’ve all been paying a corporation for the use of their computer.

Terrorism is not an enemy

Terrorism is not an enemy. It is an activity carried out by enemies.

Terrorism serves a purpose: the purpose of the enemy who uses it.

If one merely targets terrorism and terrorists – as Western leaders are now (weakly or strongly) promising to do in response to the November 13, 2015 murders by proponents of Sharia in France – one is not fighting a war. One is merely cleaning up after a battle. Read more

Letter to France re: The Paris Attacks of November 13, 2015

DEAR FRANCE: “Atlas Shrugged” is a novel by Ayn Rand. The central message of the hero is that one must not sanction one’s own victimhood, and cannot be forced to do so. You are now experiencing the practical consequences of not taking that message seriously; of eschewing both factual certainty and moral absolutes. Neutrality has its costs. You’re paying them.

On Brock University’s Hallowe’en ‘Fun Rules’™

According to Brock University, the last thing you would want to do is break Hallowe’en’s “FUN RULES”™. Brock University’s Student Union has put out a poster telling Brock students what they are prohibited from wearing on Hallowe’en. A number of officially verboten examples are given. ‘Oddly’ though, whereas a bindi or Arabic or Native headware is prohibited, you will find no mention of kilts, lederhosen, or wooden shoes. No mention of prohibitions on Pope hats, or anything else Christian or Jewish. Some cultural stuff deserves more protection than other cultural stuff, apparently. That is hardly an important point though.

To the contrary, here is the point: Read more

The “Soldier Card”, and Voting

In the coming days, the newspapers and others will start publishing the standard editorials about how if you don’t exercise your right to vote, you’re disrespecting the soldiers who fought for this country. Here’s my advice to you. Read more

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