Empires rise and fall - we have known this, ever since empires appeared, a few thousand years ago.
This seems to be part of human nature. We want to build things up, and tear things down. Without thinking much, about which we are doing - or why we are doing it.
The classic example was the Roman Empire, and the Romans were typical - they had no idea what they were doing, overall. If the Empire was getting better. or getting worse.
They were not capable of planning - and didn't seem to want to. They wanted to do whatever they were doing - as thoroughly as they could. Whether it was up or down, didn't seem to matter.
In our time, we haven't changed much. We went on a building boom, a couple of centuries ago - building railroads and factories everywhere. And then destroyed them (and the people also) in a series of bloody wars, where millions were killed.
At the time, all this seemed perfectly logical - what else could they do?
Americans are now destroying America - without being aware of this, at all.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
The Rise of Narco Tourism
New Yorker Magazine - The Afterlife of Pablo Escobar
This is an excellent example of online journalism - but it is not an easy read, I had to read it in several sittings. Here is a quote:
Omar Rincón, the media-studies professor, once wrote, “We live the culture of drug trafficking, in aesthetics, values, and references. We are a nation that took on the narco idea that anything goes if it will get you out of poverty: some tits, a weapon, corruption, trafficking coca, being a guerrilla or a paramilitary fighter, or being in government.” He was careful to note that the narco aesthetic was not merely bad taste. It was a way of life “among the dispossessed communities that look to modernity and have found in money the only way to exist in the world.”
This is an excellent example of online journalism - but it is not an easy read, I had to read it in several sittings. Here is a quote:
Omar Rincón, the media-studies professor, once wrote, “We live the culture of drug trafficking, in aesthetics, values, and references. We are a nation that took on the narco idea that anything goes if it will get you out of poverty: some tits, a weapon, corruption, trafficking coca, being a guerrilla or a paramilitary fighter, or being in government.” He was careful to note that the narco aesthetic was not merely bad taste. It was a way of life “among the dispossessed communities that look to modernity and have found in money the only way to exist in the world.”
Mechanism vs Organism
People, who were animals, or organisms - have become machines, or mechanisms. And they consider this a huge improvement.
Perhaps it was, but this huge change also created some huge problems - and they need to be recognized.
Especially their moral implications - that resulted in a hundred years (from the middle of the 19th Century to the middle of the 20th Century) of violent warfare and moral degradation. Culminating in the Holocaust.
And just as important, in my opinion - the institution of The Office. Where people behave just as badly - and think nothing of it.
People all over the world are destroying their world - and I see no way of stopping this.
Perhaps we should just recognize this as the way things are - and do the best we can, as individuals, to limit its damage to us, personally.
In fact, I see this already - people are saying, they are not responsible for all the horrible things that are going on - and simply let them go on.
If the world goes to Hell, maybe that is where it should go.
Perhaps it was, but this huge change also created some huge problems - and they need to be recognized.
Especially their moral implications - that resulted in a hundred years (from the middle of the 19th Century to the middle of the 20th Century) of violent warfare and moral degradation. Culminating in the Holocaust.
And just as important, in my opinion - the institution of The Office. Where people behave just as badly - and think nothing of it.
People all over the world are destroying their world - and I see no way of stopping this.
Perhaps we should just recognize this as the way things are - and do the best we can, as individuals, to limit its damage to us, personally.
In fact, I see this already - people are saying, they are not responsible for all the horrible things that are going on - and simply let them go on.
If the world goes to Hell, maybe that is where it should go.
Monday, February 26, 2018
Two Articles from the Times, that get It Right
Why Is It So Hard for Democracy to Deal With Inequality?
What Is a Populist?
Both of these arrived in my inbox this morning. Both of them are heavy reading.
You might want to start with the second one first - it's from the Atlantic Magazine, and does an excellent job of nailing down a difficult subject.
Here is a quote from the first one:
Most recently, Thomas Piketty, a French economist who is the author of “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” has come up with a straightforward answer: Traditional parties of the left no longer represent the working and lower middle classes.
You might want to start with the second one first - it's from the Atlantic Magazine, and does an excellent job of nailing down a difficult subject.
Here is a quote from the first one:
Most recently, Thomas Piketty, a French economist who is the author of “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” has come up with a straightforward answer: Traditional parties of the left no longer represent the working and lower middle classes.
He writes in English, writes well, and exposes us to some of his original thinking. Your thinking will benefit as well.
And it shows how the NY Times, is the American paper of record.
How America Ruined its Savings and Loans - and the American Economy also
Delanceyplace
I had to read this twice, to begin to understand it. High Finance is far away, from where I live on my Social Security retirement, in Costa Rica.
Americans did not think much about their economy - but that is now the first thing on their minds - and on the minds of Real Estate developers in Costa Rica. Whole sections of the country are now up for sale.
And the little town where I live - is building, or renovating everywhere. Coffee fields are rapidly being converted into subdivisions, containing hundreds of the tiny homes that Ticos can afford.
I had to read this twice, to begin to understand it. High Finance is far away, from where I live on my Social Security retirement, in Costa Rica.
Americans did not think much about their economy - but that is now the first thing on their minds - and on the minds of Real Estate developers in Costa Rica. Whole sections of the country are now up for sale.
And the little town where I live - is building, or renovating everywhere. Coffee fields are rapidly being converted into subdivisions, containing hundreds of the tiny homes that Ticos can afford.
Money over Morality
I am still trying to understand what happened to America. And can't help but notice most Americans are not doing this - and seem to feel that not understanding is better than understanding.
I can remember when I went to High School - and everyone was interested in two things: Athletics and Money. The two were firmly fused in their minds. Nothing else mattered. And one other thing - to not think about this basic harmony - the same harmony that made the Planets rotate about the Sun.
I wasn't too sure about this, but I could see one thing: I had to have a career that made money. How it made money was not important - and it was best to not think about that.
So I became an Electronic Engineer, specializing in the newest Radars, built to detect incoming Soviet bombers (that never existed). Huge amounts of money were spent on these monster radars, and a little of that money, went into my pockets.
Everyone thought this was perfectly normal - but in fact, it exhausted the economies of the USSR, and the US. Everyone thought in terms of the enemy - and not in terms of themselves.
We had the finest economy in the history of the world - but ended up with something not so fine. And could not understand why. I think this was the question at the bottom of American minds, in the unconscious part of their minds "What happened to us?"
They could not understand, that they had wasted their money - so much money, that their economy could not recover. And not only that - lost their morality, and could not recover that either.
This was America, at the end of the Seventies. I remember it well, because my career as an Electronic Engineer ended also - when Vacuum Tubes were replaced with Solid State devices. And all the money went into Computers instead.
Americans could not understand this either - the factories that produced most of the world's goods, in the Industrial Midwest, in the Fifties, went out of business. These empty factories still exist - monuments to a past that no longer exists.
They have lost the most important thing of all - their minds.
I can remember when I went to High School - and everyone was interested in two things: Athletics and Money. The two were firmly fused in their minds. Nothing else mattered. And one other thing - to not think about this basic harmony - the same harmony that made the Planets rotate about the Sun.
I wasn't too sure about this, but I could see one thing: I had to have a career that made money. How it made money was not important - and it was best to not think about that.
So I became an Electronic Engineer, specializing in the newest Radars, built to detect incoming Soviet bombers (that never existed). Huge amounts of money were spent on these monster radars, and a little of that money, went into my pockets.
Everyone thought this was perfectly normal - but in fact, it exhausted the economies of the USSR, and the US. Everyone thought in terms of the enemy - and not in terms of themselves.
We had the finest economy in the history of the world - but ended up with something not so fine. And could not understand why. I think this was the question at the bottom of American minds, in the unconscious part of their minds "What happened to us?"
They could not understand, that they had wasted their money - so much money, that their economy could not recover. And not only that - lost their morality, and could not recover that either.
This was America, at the end of the Seventies. I remember it well, because my career as an Electronic Engineer ended also - when Vacuum Tubes were replaced with Solid State devices. And all the money went into Computers instead.
Americans could not understand this either - the factories that produced most of the world's goods, in the Industrial Midwest, in the Fifties, went out of business. These empty factories still exist - monuments to a past that no longer exists.
They have lost the most important thing of all - their minds.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Full Stack
This is a common term used in Software Development. It describes a Web App that resides on the user's computer (the Front End) - and on a remote computer (the Back End).
Different technologies are used in each location. And a big part of the design process is getting them to all talk to each other - properly. Each component talks to only one other component, using libraries that are available for doing just that.
This includes a Database, that records all the important information - neatly organized. The User can be doing things, the Business Logic can be doing things, and the Database can be doing things - all at the same time.
Thirty years ago (in the Eighties) this could not be done. Now it is done all the time, everyone demands that it be done - and are pissed off, when it is not done properly.
I hardly need tell you, that this is often the case.
Different technologies are used in each location. And a big part of the design process is getting them to all talk to each other - properly. Each component talks to only one other component, using libraries that are available for doing just that.
This includes a Database, that records all the important information - neatly organized. The User can be doing things, the Business Logic can be doing things, and the Database can be doing things - all at the same time.
Thirty years ago (in the Eighties) this could not be done. Now it is done all the time, everyone demands that it be done - and are pissed off, when it is not done properly.
I hardly need tell you, that this is often the case.
The Mass Society
Ortega y Gasset got the credit for discovering this, back in the Twenties. But he did not understand the technologies that caused it - Electricity and Photography. These merged to create the Movies, that everyone became addicted to.
I am of the opinion, that people and their technologies have always been united - and in the 19th Century, technology got the upper hand - and people went crazy. And started killing each other in huge numbers. And, at the same time, created a population boom.
But something else was also happening - the Industrial Revolution, that invented the Machines that powered its Factories and Railroads.
And, if that wasn't enough - the automobile appeared, with its internal combustion engine and pneumatic tires.
Too much was going on! And, taken all together, for most people, it was impossible to understand. So they decided to not even try.
They were in the grips of something huge - the Mass Society was running everything!
I am of the opinion, that people and their technologies have always been united - and in the 19th Century, technology got the upper hand - and people went crazy. And started killing each other in huge numbers. And, at the same time, created a population boom.
But something else was also happening - the Industrial Revolution, that invented the Machines that powered its Factories and Railroads.
And, if that wasn't enough - the automobile appeared, with its internal combustion engine and pneumatic tires.
Too much was going on! And, taken all together, for most people, it was impossible to understand. So they decided to not even try.
They were in the grips of something huge - the Mass Society was running everything!
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Christiana Figueres: ‘Costa Rica is in danger of losing what it’s gained’
TicoTimes
This woman is asking Ticos to stop and think about the future of their country.
I am wondering if it is already too late - that they have lost the ability to think about any question so abstract - so far removed from the immediate present and their own personal affairs.
Costa Rica has benefited enormously from their revolution of 1947, led by her own father - that made it the most advanced country in Central America.
The leaders of their country then, were determined to make Costa Rica a better country - and they succeeded. Now, they are faced with strong regressive forces, and they are failing.
To be fair, many other countries, including the US, the UK, and the EU - have also failed at this task.
This woman is asking Ticos to stop and think about the future of their country.
I am wondering if it is already too late - that they have lost the ability to think about any question so abstract - so far removed from the immediate present and their own personal affairs.
Costa Rica has benefited enormously from their revolution of 1947, led by her own father - that made it the most advanced country in Central America.
The leaders of their country then, were determined to make Costa Rica a better country - and they succeeded. Now, they are faced with strong regressive forces, and they are failing.
To be fair, many other countries, including the US, the UK, and the EU - have also failed at this task.
Friday, February 23, 2018
Don’t Trust the Internet
NY Times - Bits newsletter
So much has been said praising the Internet, people never see the bad side - that, believe me. is very much there.
The Net is part of everything else - both Good and Bad. And the Bad is often something new, unexpected, and hard to defend against.
This article does a good job of explaining how this is affecting Americans - in an easy, five minute read.
Plenty of Bad Stuff goes on in other countries, also
So much has been said praising the Internet, people never see the bad side - that, believe me. is very much there.
The Net is part of everything else - both Good and Bad. And the Bad is often something new, unexpected, and hard to defend against.
This article does a good job of explaining how this is affecting Americans - in an easy, five minute read.
Plenty of Bad Stuff goes on in other countries, also
Enterprise means Networked
In Software nowadays you hear a lot about Enterprise - such and such is "Enterprise-Ready". What on earth does that mean?
I learned what it means, when I studied the Java programming language. It comes in two versions - Java SE (Standard Version) and Java EE (Enterprise Version). The Standard version does not need the Internet (it can run on one machine, that has its own servers) but the Enterprise version does - it connects to servers on the Internet.
Either kind uses a browser/server technology. Browsers ask servers for information - and severs supply that information. It's all about Information, and that used to be slow, because the Internet was so large - it covered the whole world. A lot of clever technology however - has made it much faster, and a lot more complicated.
The differences here are huge. Programs used to be sold on Optical Disks. You put one in the Optical Drive on your computer (probably a Desktop computer, something three feet tall, and two feet deep) and installed your new program from that disk.
Now, you probably use a Laptop computer, with a fast Internet connection (usually a WiFi) - and download software from the Net. Optical Disks are obsolete.
Software now is smarter, AI (Artificial Intelligence is used a lot) - but, as we are finding out, this intelligence contains its own problems - that are biting us in the ass.
I learned what it means, when I studied the Java programming language. It comes in two versions - Java SE (Standard Version) and Java EE (Enterprise Version). The Standard version does not need the Internet (it can run on one machine, that has its own servers) but the Enterprise version does - it connects to servers on the Internet.
Either kind uses a browser/server technology. Browsers ask servers for information - and severs supply that information. It's all about Information, and that used to be slow, because the Internet was so large - it covered the whole world. A lot of clever technology however - has made it much faster, and a lot more complicated.
The differences here are huge. Programs used to be sold on Optical Disks. You put one in the Optical Drive on your computer (probably a Desktop computer, something three feet tall, and two feet deep) and installed your new program from that disk.
Now, you probably use a Laptop computer, with a fast Internet connection (usually a WiFi) - and download software from the Net. Optical Disks are obsolete.
Software now is smarter, AI (Artificial Intelligence is used a lot) - but, as we are finding out, this intelligence contains its own problems - that are biting us in the ass.
They Do Not Want to be Part of This World
Because this world is such a terrible place. They will take what they can (why not?) but not contribute to it.
The little church I grew up in, made this explicit "Be in the world, but not of it!" And they were serious about this.
As a result, the world of the Fifties is no more - and the church itself is no more. And these people were (and are) satisfied with the results of their endeavors. They have destroyed everything in their world - no small achievement!
This was not the result of carefully thought-through process - no thinking was involved at all. They just knew they had been treated badly (which they certainly had been) - and they were going to get even.
Any attempts to create a better world (and there are still plenty of them) have to recognize this past injustice, as the source of their problems. There are some strong feelings here, and they have to be recognized.
"Fine," you may say, "I can recognize the feelings that are driving their destructive behavior, but this will not change them, one bit!" True, but it will change you, and keep you from wasting your precious time.
I have decided to spend my precious time learning Software - because it is fun. I have no idea what I am doing there - but there are plenty of persons willing to help me along (and a few who are doing me no good at all).
An advertisement for a new course appeared in my inbox this morning GraphQL with Angular & Apollo - for $10. I bought it, and am watching it as I sip my espresso.
Will this change the world? Of course not, nothing on earth will change those people. But I am moving into another world - the Software World, that is making their world obsolete.
The little church I grew up in, made this explicit "Be in the world, but not of it!" And they were serious about this.
As a result, the world of the Fifties is no more - and the church itself is no more. And these people were (and are) satisfied with the results of their endeavors. They have destroyed everything in their world - no small achievement!
This was not the result of carefully thought-through process - no thinking was involved at all. They just knew they had been treated badly (which they certainly had been) - and they were going to get even.
Any attempts to create a better world (and there are still plenty of them) have to recognize this past injustice, as the source of their problems. There are some strong feelings here, and they have to be recognized.
"Fine," you may say, "I can recognize the feelings that are driving their destructive behavior, but this will not change them, one bit!" True, but it will change you, and keep you from wasting your precious time.
I have decided to spend my precious time learning Software - because it is fun. I have no idea what I am doing there - but there are plenty of persons willing to help me along (and a few who are doing me no good at all).
An advertisement for a new course appeared in my inbox this morning GraphQL with Angular & Apollo - for $10. I bought it, and am watching it as I sip my espresso.
Will this change the world? Of course not, nothing on earth will change those people. But I am moving into another world - the Software World, that is making their world obsolete.
Which IDE for Me?
Software, it seems to me - is where it is. And this is where I want to be.
And once I made that decision, I had to decide which software community to join. Software is a social process, and who you are with, makes a huge difference.
The most obvious choice was Microsoft, because they seemed to have everything. Including their flagship IDE, Visual Studio - that has everything imaginable. But that was a problem - everything is too much! Too much memory, and too complicated to run. I bought a cheap, litle Windows 10 laptop to install it on - but after many tries, I had to give up. Perfection was beyond me.
The Java Programming language, is not the latest one around - but it has staying power, and is very popular. Being part of this crowd, would be easy.
And it has an excellent IDE: Eclipse - that I could download easily on my Windows 7 laptop. But not not my Windows 10 laptop, that doesn't seem capable of doing much of anything. You have to have an expensive machine to be an Windows 10 programmer.
And once I made that decision, I had to decide which software community to join. Software is a social process, and who you are with, makes a huge difference.
The most obvious choice was Microsoft, because they seemed to have everything. Including their flagship IDE, Visual Studio - that has everything imaginable. But that was a problem - everything is too much! Too much memory, and too complicated to run. I bought a cheap, litle Windows 10 laptop to install it on - but after many tries, I had to give up. Perfection was beyond me.
The Java Programming language, is not the latest one around - but it has staying power, and is very popular. Being part of this crowd, would be easy.
And it has an excellent IDE: Eclipse - that I could download easily on my Windows 7 laptop. But not not my Windows 10 laptop, that doesn't seem capable of doing much of anything. You have to have an expensive machine to be an Windows 10 programmer.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
An Excellent Introduction to Object Oriented Programming
Oracle docs
This is actually an introduction to Java, the most successful Object Oriented Programming (OOP) Language ever.
I can remember when it was introduced, in the Nineties, in Silicon Valley. The company I was with, decided to adopt it - and was sure it would make them a successful company. That was their intention, but not what they actually did.
The move to OOP was too difficult for them, and they only used parts of it - selected at random. The result was a mess, that got them nowhere. And the company failed.
Programming is something you cannot mess around with. Because companies smarter than you, will drive you out of business - in a hurry. .
America is still the leader in Software Development And is likely to remain that way - because it allows freedom of expression between software developers. They are always attending conferences, in many places - but not in China, or similar countries. These countries do not even allow a free Internet.
This is actually an introduction to Java, the most successful Object Oriented Programming (OOP) Language ever.
I can remember when it was introduced, in the Nineties, in Silicon Valley. The company I was with, decided to adopt it - and was sure it would make them a successful company. That was their intention, but not what they actually did.
The move to OOP was too difficult for them, and they only used parts of it - selected at random. The result was a mess, that got them nowhere. And the company failed.
Programming is something you cannot mess around with. Because companies smarter than you, will drive you out of business - in a hurry. .
America is still the leader in Software Development And is likely to remain that way - because it allows freedom of expression between software developers. They are always attending conferences, in many places - but not in China, or similar countries. These countries do not even allow a free Internet.
Trump’s Miss Universe Gambit
New Yorker
This is an excellent example of Online Journalism - that has largely replaced the paper variety.
It's also an exposé of Trump himself - a person who seems custom-made for such exposure. This guy is dishonest in so many ways, no one can keep track of them all. This fascinates most Americans, who want to be like him.
Reading the whole article is too much work for them - and it is intended for the few people who want to know, what is really going on.
For most people, this is exactly what they do not want to know.
This is an excellent example of Online Journalism - that has largely replaced the paper variety.
It's also an exposé of Trump himself - a person who seems custom-made for such exposure. This guy is dishonest in so many ways, no one can keep track of them all. This fascinates most Americans, who want to be like him.
Reading the whole article is too much work for them - and it is intended for the few people who want to know, what is really going on.
For most people, this is exactly what they do not want to know.
Machines are Not Alive
But people persist in believing they are - and not only that, supernatural!
But this is a late development - machines existed in human society ever since we became civilized. In fact, this was the main advantage in being civilized - it allowed large groups of people to organize themselves to accomplish things they could not otherwise - such as irrigate crops. The key concept here was organization. And organization is how any machine works.
This is what built the pyramids - workers were organized into different groups, and each one performed its function. Every worker was paid in bread, beer, and onions. Our present Business society originated in Egypt, not in Greece. The beer and beer, were replaced by money.
Our present machines, originated in the Industrial Revolution. and they were made of steel. They could perform two kinds of actions - a continual back-and-forth motion, and rotating actions. This is how the automobile engine works - the pistons go up-and-down, and the drive shaft and wheels go round-and-round.
The energy that makes them work, came from the Wind, or from Water. But this was soon replaced with the burning of fossil fuels - Coal at first, but then Oil.
Allow be to return to my original assertion - that machines are not alive. This is obvious, but it is also obvious that - at and abstract level, they are! Anyone who sees a Steam Locomotive pulling a heavy load up a steep incline - knows this instinctively, and is eager to make movies of it.
And this is how Industrial Society was organized - with one important addition: the Market.
Then another kind of machine appeared - the Computer, powered by Electricity. But also by a series of instructions: Software. This forced a huge transition, from Hardware to Software. The Hardware is still there - the computer is also made of metal, but a different metal - Silicon.
But Software is more important, because it (with its networks: the Internet, and the Cellular) now run nearly everything, including the blog this is written on.
This was such a huge change, most people cannot comprehend it - even as it makes them obsolete, as Industrial workers.
But this is a late development - machines existed in human society ever since we became civilized. In fact, this was the main advantage in being civilized - it allowed large groups of people to organize themselves to accomplish things they could not otherwise - such as irrigate crops. The key concept here was organization. And organization is how any machine works.
This is what built the pyramids - workers were organized into different groups, and each one performed its function. Every worker was paid in bread, beer, and onions. Our present Business society originated in Egypt, not in Greece. The beer and beer, were replaced by money.
Our present machines, originated in the Industrial Revolution. and they were made of steel. They could perform two kinds of actions - a continual back-and-forth motion, and rotating actions. This is how the automobile engine works - the pistons go up-and-down, and the drive shaft and wheels go round-and-round.
The energy that makes them work, came from the Wind, or from Water. But this was soon replaced with the burning of fossil fuels - Coal at first, but then Oil.
Allow be to return to my original assertion - that machines are not alive. This is obvious, but it is also obvious that - at and abstract level, they are! Anyone who sees a Steam Locomotive pulling a heavy load up a steep incline - knows this instinctively, and is eager to make movies of it.
And this is how Industrial Society was organized - with one important addition: the Market.
Then another kind of machine appeared - the Computer, powered by Electricity. But also by a series of instructions: Software. This forced a huge transition, from Hardware to Software. The Hardware is still there - the computer is also made of metal, but a different metal - Silicon.
But Software is more important, because it (with its networks: the Internet, and the Cellular) now run nearly everything, including the blog this is written on.
This was such a huge change, most people cannot comprehend it - even as it makes them obsolete, as Industrial workers.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
The Blessing and the Curse of the Human Mind
We are unusual creatures, because we have a mind - something that no other species has. We should be impressed by this, and try to understand it better - but for some strange reason, most of us are not.
An important part of our mind is our language - that is also unique. And allowed us to spread from the Savannas of Eastern Africa, to everywhere in the world, quite rapidly. We made ourselves at home everywhere. We were not the most numerous species, but we were certainly the most adaptable.
Other predators learned to avoid us, because we could run better than they could (we had no body hair, and we had sweat glands in our skin to cool us off) - and because we had weapons, and could gang together, and go after them.
We could cooperate in many ways, and invent more all the time. Other animals could only cooperate in a few ways, and these never changed.
All of these were products of our minds.
I have summarized the positive aspects of having minds - but there were negative aspects as well. Our minds sometimes work well - but sometimes they work poorly.
And we are quite capable of (and seem to relish) killing each other. In other words - invented War.
And we can be insane - in many, many ways, and to many degrees. Our brains are extremely complex, and diseases of the brain are limitless, with more showing up all the time. Our minds are related to our brains - how, we do not know - but a malfunctioning brain, or a any malfunctioning body part - affects our minds powerfully. The body and the mind are the same thing - and not the same thing.
In its mildest forms - are fashions, of all kinds. Where for no reason at all, groups of people, decide some things are fashionable, and some are not. And people can be cruel in enforcing these fashions.
It is not hard to summarize the human situation now - it's simply not working! Our computers are working, and talking to each other, but we are not.
An important part of our mind is our language - that is also unique. And allowed us to spread from the Savannas of Eastern Africa, to everywhere in the world, quite rapidly. We made ourselves at home everywhere. We were not the most numerous species, but we were certainly the most adaptable.
Other predators learned to avoid us, because we could run better than they could (we had no body hair, and we had sweat glands in our skin to cool us off) - and because we had weapons, and could gang together, and go after them.
We could cooperate in many ways, and invent more all the time. Other animals could only cooperate in a few ways, and these never changed.
All of these were products of our minds.
I have summarized the positive aspects of having minds - but there were negative aspects as well. Our minds sometimes work well - but sometimes they work poorly.
And we are quite capable of (and seem to relish) killing each other. In other words - invented War.
And we can be insane - in many, many ways, and to many degrees. Our brains are extremely complex, and diseases of the brain are limitless, with more showing up all the time. Our minds are related to our brains - how, we do not know - but a malfunctioning brain, or a any malfunctioning body part - affects our minds powerfully. The body and the mind are the same thing - and not the same thing.
In its mildest forms - are fashions, of all kinds. Where for no reason at all, groups of people, decide some things are fashionable, and some are not. And people can be cruel in enforcing these fashions.
It is not hard to summarize the human situation now - it's simply not working! Our computers are working, and talking to each other, but we are not.
Monday, February 19, 2018
Photographing Food is not easy
I saw these for sale at a local store - three packages for little more than a dollar - three little cookies, in three groups. I had to buy them, and gobbled down a package of them - not bad!
Then I had to take a picture of them - not realizing what a struggle this would be. You have to get the light just right - something special ad agencies know how to do. You can see my feeble result here.
The shiny surface of the plastic bag is difficult to photograph. You have to use polarized light, and special assistants, holding translucent panels. Photographing people is easy, by comparison.
I wish I could send you the cookies over the Internet.
My Father photographed fountain pens, back in the Fifties. Sheaffer Pen Company made the fountain pens that were used to sign the Japanese surrender, on the Battleship Missouri.
Google's New Ad Blocker
WIRED
One thing this site forgot to do, was made the standard upper and lower case titles - that most other sites have.
This update applies to Google's Chrome browser, that many people don't bother with. They just use the Microsoft apps, they got with their laptops. Or the ones they got with their Phones.
The objective here, is to make online advertising more effective than ever - and to make Google (and Apple, and Amazon) richer than ever.
One thing this site forgot to do, was made the standard upper and lower case titles - that most other sites have.
This update applies to Google's Chrome browser, that many people don't bother with. They just use the Microsoft apps, they got with their laptops. Or the ones they got with their Phones.
The objective here, is to make online advertising more effective than ever - and to make Google (and Apple, and Amazon) richer than ever.
Machines that Do Work
One of my handy machines is the one that makes espresso coffee for me every morning. It has a boiler that creates steam, that passes through the coffee grounds, and extracts concentrated coffee from it. You can also steam milk, to make cappuccino drinks.
People have known about steam forever, but only recently did it occur to them that it could be used to do work - that had always been done by muscle power before. The result was the Industrial Revolution - that had huge effects on people, both good and bad.
This was a textbook example of how technology affects people. And its most important effect was the simple fact - that the people involved did not notice the huge changes that were happening to them.
Our brains were formed millions of years ago, and they cannot comprehend the huge changes that happened only a few thousand years ago - when we became civilized. And they cannot begin to comprehend the changes of only a couple of hundred years ago - when our machines changed us completely.
But I must make an important observation here - some people knew about these changes, although most did not. A gap developed between those who knew (or thought they knew) and those who did not - and didn't want to. Even as millions died in two World Wars.
I can see right now - that I have stumbled onto the subject that I wanted to write about all along. That is simple enough - we have changed so much, most people have decided not to think, about these changes. But just let them happen, on their own - without human intervention.
Their minds have shut down - with enormous consequences for the society they are in.
Then along came the Computer - and another gap widened, between Hardware people and Software people! It's not hard to be a Software person - I am learning the Java programming language myself, and I am not a very bright person. But for most people - this is impossible. Their minds cannot bridge this gap.
Allow me to speak of the first gap - between people who are socially aware, and those who are not. In America, this has resulted in the election of Trump - a huge event, that most cannot understand, and do not want to. He was elected by people who wanted changes - but could not think about the changes they wanted.
He is like them - making changes (huge changes) without thinking about the changes he is making.
People have known about steam forever, but only recently did it occur to them that it could be used to do work - that had always been done by muscle power before. The result was the Industrial Revolution - that had huge effects on people, both good and bad.
This was a textbook example of how technology affects people. And its most important effect was the simple fact - that the people involved did not notice the huge changes that were happening to them.
Our brains were formed millions of years ago, and they cannot comprehend the huge changes that happened only a few thousand years ago - when we became civilized. And they cannot begin to comprehend the changes of only a couple of hundred years ago - when our machines changed us completely.
But I must make an important observation here - some people knew about these changes, although most did not. A gap developed between those who knew (or thought they knew) and those who did not - and didn't want to. Even as millions died in two World Wars.
I can see right now - that I have stumbled onto the subject that I wanted to write about all along. That is simple enough - we have changed so much, most people have decided not to think, about these changes. But just let them happen, on their own - without human intervention.
Their minds have shut down - with enormous consequences for the society they are in.
Then along came the Computer - and another gap widened, between Hardware people and Software people! It's not hard to be a Software person - I am learning the Java programming language myself, and I am not a very bright person. But for most people - this is impossible. Their minds cannot bridge this gap.
Allow me to speak of the first gap - between people who are socially aware, and those who are not. In America, this has resulted in the election of Trump - a huge event, that most cannot understand, and do not want to. He was elected by people who wanted changes - but could not think about the changes they wanted.
He is like them - making changes (huge changes) without thinking about the changes he is making.
Saturday, February 17, 2018
The American Drone Program
This how I think it works, correct me if I am wrong.
The first part of the program are large unmanned drones that can take off, a long way from the action, spend a lot of time over area in question, at a high altitude, take thousands of photographs with their high-resolution cameras, and return home, perhaps to some Air Force base in the US. Or, they may take off and land much closer to the action. This is amazing technology, no question about it.
The next part of the team is hundreds of analysts, who spend a lot of time looking at these photos. Trying to understand what is going in the area under question. They can understand what is going on, over large areas. For example, which areas are controlled by which Taliban. They should be able to do the same thing for Syria, but a far as I know, they have not been used there.
But there are other aircraft (maybe the same ones) transmitting videos in real time - and their handlers, somewhere in the ground below, can order guided bombs against moving targets. They have assembled a hit list of people to be killed - who are then killed, if this killing is approved by the proper authorities (including the President himself).
And, of course coordinated activity, involving all of these. This is very effective, if used properly - but disastrous, if used improperly - killing thousands of innocent people.
The first part of the program are large unmanned drones that can take off, a long way from the action, spend a lot of time over area in question, at a high altitude, take thousands of photographs with their high-resolution cameras, and return home, perhaps to some Air Force base in the US. Or, they may take off and land much closer to the action. This is amazing technology, no question about it.
The next part of the team is hundreds of analysts, who spend a lot of time looking at these photos. Trying to understand what is going in the area under question. They can understand what is going on, over large areas. For example, which areas are controlled by which Taliban. They should be able to do the same thing for Syria, but a far as I know, they have not been used there.
But there are other aircraft (maybe the same ones) transmitting videos in real time - and their handlers, somewhere in the ground below, can order guided bombs against moving targets. They have assembled a hit list of people to be killed - who are then killed, if this killing is approved by the proper authorities (including the President himself).
And, of course coordinated activity, involving all of these. This is very effective, if used properly - but disastrous, if used improperly - killing thousands of innocent people.
The Strange Position of Java in Software Development
The Java programming language was developed by Sun Microsystems in the Nineties - as direct competition to Microsoft's Visual Basic. It was a big success, and nearly put Microsoft out of business - because it had overlooked the Internet, that had become the domain of Netscape and Javascript.
Microsoft responded by putting Netscape out of business and with .NET, something that was supposed to do everything for everybody. But existed mainly to scare off its rivals in Software Development. The message was clear "You threaten us, and we will stomp on you!" .NET eventually evolved, twenty years later - into a whole range of software products - that are state-of-the-art.
But meanwhile, Sun Microsystems went out of business, and was bought by Oracle - who ended up owning Java, as well. There were now two ruthless companies in Software - Microsoft and Oracle. Microsoft tried to grab Java for itself, but could not. Oracle did not want it much either, and it is now owned, and managed by a group of software developers, acting on their own - and is doing fairly well.
I am now taking a course that introduces me to Java, using the Eclipse IDE - a mature combination that takes Java as far as it can go. There are many other languages, a nearly endless supply of them, but Java is still the most popular of them.
This is what should be taught to kids in our school (even Grade School) - how to program in Java, and make lots of money.
This is not being done, however. Their parents do not want them to move into the new Software world - but stay behind in the Hardware world.
Microsoft responded by putting Netscape out of business and with .NET, something that was supposed to do everything for everybody. But existed mainly to scare off its rivals in Software Development. The message was clear "You threaten us, and we will stomp on you!" .NET eventually evolved, twenty years later - into a whole range of software products - that are state-of-the-art.
But meanwhile, Sun Microsystems went out of business, and was bought by Oracle - who ended up owning Java, as well. There were now two ruthless companies in Software - Microsoft and Oracle. Microsoft tried to grab Java for itself, but could not. Oracle did not want it much either, and it is now owned, and managed by a group of software developers, acting on their own - and is doing fairly well.
I am now taking a course that introduces me to Java, using the Eclipse IDE - a mature combination that takes Java as far as it can go. There are many other languages, a nearly endless supply of them, but Java is still the most popular of them.
This is what should be taught to kids in our school (even Grade School) - how to program in Java, and make lots of money.
This is not being done, however. Their parents do not want them to move into the new Software world - but stay behind in the Hardware world.
Trump is America's Collective Unconscious
The Unconscious is the part of our mind where we keep - the disreputable, but active parts of the mind, that we do not want to know about. When it acts, as it sometimes does, we can always disown those actions - as those of another, mysterious person - that we cannot change.
When Trump does. all the crazy things that he does, people treat him the same way - as actions of a deranged mind, they cannot change. And do not want to change, because he is part of them - the unconscious part of them.
There is a balance of power between the conscious and the unconscious, in every person, and every nation. When the unconscious gets the most power, craziness results, and they become dysfunctional.
I grew up in a time, the last half of the last century, when America was becoming dysfunctional - and was not aware of this.
But, at the same time, the Computer, and its Software - was making America stronger than ever.
There are now two cultures in America - Hardware and Software. And they coexist together uncomfortably.
When Trump does. all the crazy things that he does, people treat him the same way - as actions of a deranged mind, they cannot change. And do not want to change, because he is part of them - the unconscious part of them.
There is a balance of power between the conscious and the unconscious, in every person, and every nation. When the unconscious gets the most power, craziness results, and they become dysfunctional.
I grew up in a time, the last half of the last century, when America was becoming dysfunctional - and was not aware of this.
But, at the same time, the Computer, and its Software - was making America stronger than ever.
There are now two cultures in America - Hardware and Software. And they coexist together uncomfortably.
Friday, February 16, 2018
The New Wave
I am looking back on my past, and wondering when and where I went wrong.
It was in the Nineties, in Silicon Valley - when a new approach in Software Development appeared. This made cooperation more important than competition and replaced Destruction with Construction - doing it right, over doing it wrong. A big deal.
This was embodied in the Java programming language, and the Internet it knew how to relate to.
Everyone talked about Object-Orienting Programming constantly (OOP) instead - having no idea what they were blabbering about.
They could not say, that what they had been doing for hundreds of years, was wrong, and had to be changed, and in fact - eliminated. The future was there, right in front of them - but they didn't want to see it.
I had been a tech writer for 20 years, and this was wrong for me personally. I made the decision to leave the country, which worked for me - I could have made the decision to go back into programming again, and surf this new wave.
But I wasn't strong enough to do it.
It was in the Nineties, in Silicon Valley - when a new approach in Software Development appeared. This made cooperation more important than competition and replaced Destruction with Construction - doing it right, over doing it wrong. A big deal.
This was embodied in the Java programming language, and the Internet it knew how to relate to.
Everyone talked about Object-Orienting Programming constantly (OOP) instead - having no idea what they were blabbering about.
They could not say, that what they had been doing for hundreds of years, was wrong, and had to be changed, and in fact - eliminated. The future was there, right in front of them - but they didn't want to see it.
I had been a tech writer for 20 years, and this was wrong for me personally. I made the decision to leave the country, which worked for me - I could have made the decision to go back into programming again, and surf this new wave.
But I wasn't strong enough to do it.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
There is Limited Room in the Universe for Intelligent Beings
This is an idea of mne, that I am not too sure of - but I am sure, it has lots of promise.
I can see that two things have been going on, in the last two hundred years. Machines have gotten smarter, and people have gotten stupider. It seems like smart machines are somehow getting rid of the smart people - somehow pushing them out of the way.
More work has to be done, to see what is being done, and how this is being done.
First, I must speak of Smart Machines - beginning with the machines of the Industrial Era. Consider the factories of that era. I can remember them well. They were awesome assemblages of machines and people - that could produce large numbers of products, at a low cost The American Midwest was full of them.
The people in these places were united in their efforts to produce these products. They, and their machines, seemed supernatural. To put this another way - they were smart. And the money agreed with them, and financed them. The whole thing was called Capitalism.
What happened to these factories? The Chinese got them - who were even smarter, harder working, and better financed.
I will now switch to Computers (smart machines) where intelligence is built in - and is called Artificial Intelligence, and (with its robots) is taking much of our work away from us.
This means many people will not have good jobs, and will be forced to take what low-paying jobs they can get.
I can see that two things have been going on, in the last two hundred years. Machines have gotten smarter, and people have gotten stupider. It seems like smart machines are somehow getting rid of the smart people - somehow pushing them out of the way.
More work has to be done, to see what is being done, and how this is being done.
First, I must speak of Smart Machines - beginning with the machines of the Industrial Era. Consider the factories of that era. I can remember them well. They were awesome assemblages of machines and people - that could produce large numbers of products, at a low cost The American Midwest was full of them.
The people in these places were united in their efforts to produce these products. They, and their machines, seemed supernatural. To put this another way - they were smart. And the money agreed with them, and financed them. The whole thing was called Capitalism.
What happened to these factories? The Chinese got them - who were even smarter, harder working, and better financed.
I will now switch to Computers (smart machines) where intelligence is built in - and is called Artificial Intelligence, and (with its robots) is taking much of our work away from us.
This means many people will not have good jobs, and will be forced to take what low-paying jobs they can get.
Human History, as Explained by a Software Developer
Hugh Dubberly - Connecting Things
For Heidegger there is an aspect of the jug that is not captured by describing it as an entity or an object. The jug takes what is poured into it, and then pours the liquid out. The water and wine come from a rock spring or from the grape growing in the earth. The pouring out can quench thirst for humans or be a libation to the gods. So the jug connects humans, gods, earth and sky. It is this ‘gathering’ that makes the jug a thing. Heidegger refers to Old High German in which a thing means a gathering to deliberate on a matter under discussion. The jug, as thing, gathers together for a moment humans, gods, earth and sky.
Oracle product manager Tim Misner argues that, “All products want to be web-sites.
There is enough material in this article to fill a book - in fact, it may be a book, I am not sure about that. What I can say, is that it is slow reading, suitable perhaps, for teaching a college course.
The writing is dry - with little emotional content. As if it had been written for an academic journal.
Here are some quotes:
I can expand on that - people want to be web-sites also. As I am on this blog.
Low-Cost Health Care in Costa Rica
Costa Rica had a revolution in 1947, that made it unusual in Latin America. It no longer has a military, only a number of police forces, that have no political power. It also has free education and health care. It is the health care I want to write about today - because it is unusual.
The public health service (the CAJA) was intended to be free, but instead it is low-cost - which is quite an accomplishment in itself. It is paid for, by deductions from the paychecks of workers. Or, by monthly payments by residents, such as me. My monthly payment is sixty dollars a month, in Colones, the National currency.
Most of the health care is provided by clinics, that are located everywhere, even in the smallest towns. The quality of care provided varies greatly - with good care provided in the richer parts of the country, and poor care in the poor parts of the country. The Government tries to provide better care for the poor parts of the country, but it doesn't have the money to do much about this.
These clinics also have pharmacies, that provide the medication, that is prescribed by the clinic's doctors, for free. These are very popular.
Visiting a clinic is not easy, you have to wait in line, just to get in. And then you have to fill out many forms, each of which has to be formally approved by the appropriate authority. The paperwork required to do anything in the undeveloped world, is awesome. This inefficiency is one reason, the underdeveloped countries remain underdeveloped.
Hospitals, in the larger cities, also exist. But the care provided in these hospitals is also basic. Any illness that requires the use of a medical specialist, involves a long wait, of many months.
For this reason, every hospital is surrounded by many clinics - that provide such specialized care, such as the neurologist I consulted recently. This high-quality care is inexpensive, compared to the same services in the US - but you have to shop carefully.
The public health service (the CAJA) was intended to be free, but instead it is low-cost - which is quite an accomplishment in itself. It is paid for, by deductions from the paychecks of workers. Or, by monthly payments by residents, such as me. My monthly payment is sixty dollars a month, in Colones, the National currency.
Most of the health care is provided by clinics, that are located everywhere, even in the smallest towns. The quality of care provided varies greatly - with good care provided in the richer parts of the country, and poor care in the poor parts of the country. The Government tries to provide better care for the poor parts of the country, but it doesn't have the money to do much about this.
These clinics also have pharmacies, that provide the medication, that is prescribed by the clinic's doctors, for free. These are very popular.
Visiting a clinic is not easy, you have to wait in line, just to get in. And then you have to fill out many forms, each of which has to be formally approved by the appropriate authority. The paperwork required to do anything in the undeveloped world, is awesome. This inefficiency is one reason, the underdeveloped countries remain underdeveloped.
Hospitals, in the larger cities, also exist. But the care provided in these hospitals is also basic. Any illness that requires the use of a medical specialist, involves a long wait, of many months.
For this reason, every hospital is surrounded by many clinics - that provide such specialized care, such as the neurologist I consulted recently. This high-quality care is inexpensive, compared to the same services in the US - but you have to shop carefully.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Computer Man has Built a New World for Himself
And this has created
two worlds, that do not understand each other at all.
To understand all
this, we have to go back in time to the Medieval World – that had
developed from the Ancient World. Try to follow me, here – even if
you have to expand your mind somewhat.
The Medieval World
lasted for about a thousand years, and was followed by the Modern
World, where things began to speed up, and get more complicated. One
of these complications, was the development of Philosophical Idealism,
where everything was seen as an idea. This is hard to explain,
because it was so bizarre – but it was a belief that changed the
world, and made the Industrial Revolution possible.
I will not try to explain how
this happened, but – it did happen. And after WWII, America became
the world’s foremost Industrial power. We were the richest and
most powerful nation ever – but this economic boom rapidly began to
fade. Here again, I will not try to say how this happened –
but just say it did happen. And it drove Americans nuts, and resulted in the Election of Trump.
However, at the same time the Computer arrived - and again put America back in the front of the World - in this case, the Computer World. In this case, I will try to explain this amazing development.
The Computer Hardware is now made of small number of Chips (huge integrated circuits) that are mass-produced and are available at a low cost.
The Computer Software - is a series of instructions to the computer. Do this, do this, and then do this - cleverly arranged so each set of instructions can be repeated as many times as wanted. Each instruction was a series of binary numbers, that only the computer could understand.
These machine instructions were replaced by software languages that people could understand - and the code for these languages could be compiled into machine instructions, that the computer could understand.
At a higher level, the hardware and the software was tied together by an Operating System - such as Microsoft's Windows, Linux, or Google's Android. These were also mass-produced and available at a low cost - or even for free.
The user interface was improved, so that anyone who could type with a keyboard, and use a mouse - could use one of the new laptop computers easily. And they showed up everywhere - even at the checkout lines in grocery stores - where they scanned in the barcodes on every purchase.
Back in the Nineties, in addition, the Internet was invented - and the effect, for the whole world, especially the World of Business - was revolutionary. The Industrial Revolution had been followed by the Network Revolution.
This was soon followed by the invention of the Cellular Phone, that was soon upgraded to the SmartPhone, that could access the Internet. These little devices, that could fit in the palm of your hand - were improved so they could do almost anything. Including the taking of photos.
Did people understand this? No. They just used it - and let it use them. Even though it was clear, that some Software capabilities, such as Artificial Intelligence or Cyberterrorism - could be used against us, very effectively.
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
I am Subject to Drop Attacks
This is a TIA that originates in the Brain Stem, not in the Brain itself. It affects the legs, and not much else.
To prevent this I am taking Plavix that you can read about in this Wikipedia entry.
It costs less than $25 a month in the USA, but $60 a month in Costa Rica - probably due to the recent Central American Free Trade Agreement - that was not a free trade agreement at all, but a agreement between the Rich and Powerful of the Countries involved, Those who are not Rich and Powerful, end up paying more.
To prevent this I am taking Plavix that you can read about in this Wikipedia entry.
It costs less than $25 a month in the USA, but $60 a month in Costa Rica - probably due to the recent Central American Free Trade Agreement - that was not a free trade agreement at all, but a agreement between the Rich and Powerful of the Countries involved, Those who are not Rich and Powerful, end up paying more.
Conformity and Violence
These are common traits of any mass society. The conformity is obvious enough (this is part of any society, but especially a mass society) and this causes violence that is unavoidable. Superficially, the connection here is not obvious - but at a deeper level, it is.
When people are forced to be like everyone else - and they respond by hating everyone else.
One reason they are like everyone else, is because they were formed by mass technologies - notably Electricity and Photography. These created the Movies, Radio, Television, and the Computer - with its Internet and Wireless networks.
That in our time, are embodied by the Phone, that can do anything, and fits in the palm of our hands! It is too soon to see what the ultimate effects of this will be - but it will no doubt take attention away from us, and our problems - and focus us on it, and its problems.
When people are forced to be like everyone else - and they respond by hating everyone else.
One reason they are like everyone else, is because they were formed by mass technologies - notably Electricity and Photography. These created the Movies, Radio, Television, and the Computer - with its Internet and Wireless networks.
That in our time, are embodied by the Phone, that can do anything, and fits in the palm of our hands! It is too soon to see what the ultimate effects of this will be - but it will no doubt take attention away from us, and our problems - and focus us on it, and its problems.
Monday, February 12, 2018
Microsoft lets Computer Companies sell Windows 10 Computers that Do Not Work
I have never heard anyone object to this - and I have sniffed around the Computer Ecosystem for some time. Not a bad smell anywhere!
But I have a new Windows 10 laptop, that simply does not work. And the Company that makes it (RCA) is hiding beneath Microsoft's skirts - where it knows it is safe.
Nearly every State in the Union was suing Microsoft for deceptive business practices. But the Feds stepped in, and said they would take care of the problem - and appointed a special judge to do this. She diddled around for awhile, didn't do much of anything - and got away with it!
The Feds were protecting Microsoft (and still are) - for obscure reasons they do not wish to divulge.
But I have a new Windows 10 laptop, that simply does not work. And the Company that makes it (RCA) is hiding beneath Microsoft's skirts - where it knows it is safe.
Nearly every State in the Union was suing Microsoft for deceptive business practices. But the Feds stepped in, and said they would take care of the problem - and appointed a special judge to do this. She diddled around for awhile, didn't do much of anything - and got away with it!
The Feds were protecting Microsoft (and still are) - for obscure reasons they do not wish to divulge.
Groupthink
Ortega y Gasset popularized the idea of the Masses, that everyone accepted as self-evident - but never examined very carefully. And no one looked very carefully at his strange definitions, or explanations of what they were.
He wrote his book in the Twenties, when Fascism arose after WWI. And was in the process of making Spain one of the first Fascist countries. A horrible process that England and America ignored. Even during WWII, when Nazi submarines were being repaired in Spanish shipyards - Spain was not considered an enemy. Franco had Spain under his control, and was not interested in anything else.
After WWII, it was common to speak of mass totalitarian dictatorships - without considering how this unusual string of words fit together. And how this was also being applied to America itself.
As an American who grew up during this period, I can see how this applied, and continued to apply later in that Century. When Computer people were subject to groupthink.
The more thoughtful members of this crowd, realized this was a problem. But most did not, and they plunged ahead into mass insanities - where trillions of dollars were wasted, and thousands of lives also (including mine). This was not considered to be a problem, however!
More importantly, this also applied to America - that was in the process of destroying itself, with the eventual election of Trump!
This was done, because Americans believed they were part of a mass of people called Americans. And anything they did, had to be right - and they had to have a strong leader as part of this package.
He wrote his book in the Twenties, when Fascism arose after WWI. And was in the process of making Spain one of the first Fascist countries. A horrible process that England and America ignored. Even during WWII, when Nazi submarines were being repaired in Spanish shipyards - Spain was not considered an enemy. Franco had Spain under his control, and was not interested in anything else.
After WWII, it was common to speak of mass totalitarian dictatorships - without considering how this unusual string of words fit together. And how this was also being applied to America itself.
As an American who grew up during this period, I can see how this applied, and continued to apply later in that Century. When Computer people were subject to groupthink.
The more thoughtful members of this crowd, realized this was a problem. But most did not, and they plunged ahead into mass insanities - where trillions of dollars were wasted, and thousands of lives also (including mine). This was not considered to be a problem, however!
More importantly, this also applied to America - that was in the process of destroying itself, with the eventual election of Trump!
This was done, because Americans believed they were part of a mass of people called Americans. And anything they did, had to be right - and they had to have a strong leader as part of this package.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
How India and a Shady Guru Changed the Beatles Forever
Daily Beast
I knew another guy who was also a devotee of this guru. He had been into TM, and had set right next to The Man himself, at one time.
We were Tech Writers and shared the same room in San Diego, CA. He was always saying how much he wanted form his own group. I got tired of this, and told him to advertise and get the people - and I would find a place for us to meet.
Sure enough, he came up with twenty people, or so, by advertising in the New Age newspapers. I had a new apartment, and we sat on floor of the living room, and talked about ourselves. That was all we did - but the group was a success!
He did not share in this success - because he had to take care of his mother, who happened to come along just then.
San Diego went downhill after that. The Central Coast, that used to be so nice, was developed also.
I went north, all the way to Silicon Valley - with its awesome ups and downs.
The energy there moved northward - away from Santa Cruz, that had been a Hippy town - and even ended up in Seattle.
Somehow these areas had the right stuff - and that included a little Meditation, also.
I knew another guy who was also a devotee of this guru. He had been into TM, and had set right next to The Man himself, at one time.
We were Tech Writers and shared the same room in San Diego, CA. He was always saying how much he wanted form his own group. I got tired of this, and told him to advertise and get the people - and I would find a place for us to meet.
Sure enough, he came up with twenty people, or so, by advertising in the New Age newspapers. I had a new apartment, and we sat on floor of the living room, and talked about ourselves. That was all we did - but the group was a success!
He did not share in this success - because he had to take care of his mother, who happened to come along just then.
San Diego went downhill after that. The Central Coast, that used to be so nice, was developed also.
I went north, all the way to Silicon Valley - with its awesome ups and downs.
The energy there moved northward - away from Santa Cruz, that had been a Hippy town - and even ended up in Seattle.
Somehow these areas had the right stuff - and that included a little Meditation, also.
A World that is Not Good for Little People
I saw this, this morning, on my bicycle ride. A father was taking his young children for a bicycle ride, also. The little girl had her own new bicycle to ride, and the little boy would ride on his father's bike.
This highway is not usually very busy, but this was Sunday - the busiest day of the week. A pack of motorcycles zoomed by - very close, and very loud. They scared me, but they scared the kids even more.
Two worlds collided. the world of power, and the world of small children - and I don't have to tell which came worse off.
This highway is not usually very busy, but this was Sunday - the busiest day of the week. A pack of motorcycles zoomed by - very close, and very loud. They scared me, but they scared the kids even more.
Two worlds collided. the world of power, and the world of small children - and I don't have to tell which came worse off.
How Many Ways do I Hate Thee?
RCA Cambio 10.1" 2-in-1 Tablet 32GB Intel Quad Core Windows 10 Blue Touchscreen Laptop Computer with Bluetooth and WIFI
I thought this would solve all my problems (or at least my computer problems) - but it only gave me a few more.
It sits, right now, next to my Windows 7 laptop, that is connected to our WiFi - where everything is working fine. This thing keeps saying the same WiFi is not working at all!
It cost me $128, delivered to Miami - plus $51 more to bring it down here (Cartago, Costa Rica). This will may not sound like much to you - but it's a big hunk out of my limited budget.
I should have known better. If something sounds to good to be true - it probably is.
Mind the Mind
The emotions should
be part of the conscious mind. And they were, until only recently,
when they became inaccessible, because they objected to the
domination of the destructive, industrial mind, in the 19th
Century – and had to be banished from consciousness.
This was a huge
loss, and knowledge of this loss – had to be banished from
consciousness also.
There have been many
attempts to remedy this situation, so far with little effect. Because
the Industrial Mindset is still very powerful – and can override
any attempts to modify it.
What is this
Industrial Mindset? To explain this, we have to understand how we
think, and how this thinking has changed. We have to know more about
ourselves – and our minds. I quote from the book Freedom and
Circumstance:
The result is a
world seen in reverse, a magnificent, anti-natural doctrine that
cannot be understood without previous initiation, a doctrine for the
initiated, a secret wisdom, an esoteric knowledge. Thought has
swallowed the world: things have become mere ideas.
The response to this
insight, on the part of most people, is simple – they don’t want
to know about it! They are well-adapted to the present situation, and
they don’t want to change. If this means the world is going to Hell
– let it!
And, quite frankly,
the world is going to Hell – as has been observed many times. But
it is also becoming Networked, and this is something that has to be
taken into account.
I am sitting here,
in my pajamas, in front of my laptop, with a fast Internet connection
(that is not working right now). I can see the world getting better,
and getting worse – at the same time!
Saturday, February 10, 2018
I didn't start out as a coder
KBall
The beautiful thing about this industry is that you can self teach. While technology is far from the meritocracy we'd like to imagine, if you can build something and put it online, you can start something amazing, no matter where you live and what your background.
This plopped into my inbox this morning, and I had to help it along by putting it in this blog.
What he doesn't say, is the sad truth - most people, who would rather die, than learn anything.
The beautiful thing about this industry is that you can self teach. While technology is far from the meritocracy we'd like to imagine, if you can build something and put it online, you can start something amazing, no matter where you live and what your background.
This plopped into my inbox this morning, and I had to help it along by putting it in this blog.
What he doesn't say, is the sad truth - most people, who would rather die, than learn anything.
The Knowledge Economy
What Happens When the Richest U.S. Cities Turn to the World?
Before you can be a knowledge worker, you have to be. And that immediately eliminates most Americans - who have ceased to exist, and are determined to remain that way. If this means they not part of the future - that's the fault of someone else.
One shocking thing I learned from reading this article, was that Chicago was on its way down. It doesn't have the intelligence to play with the big guys anymore. It was the hog butcher for the world, but that is not cutting it anymore.
This process began back in the Fifties, when the American Midwest manufactured most of the world's products. It is now the Rust Belt, that manufactures nothing. The people there have no idea how this happened - and don't even know that it did happen. When you know nothing - you know nothing.
Without realizing it, I was part of this trend. I worked as an Electronic Engineer in the Midwest, in the Sixties and Seventies. I then moved to Hightech California - not because I was smart, but because that was where the jobs were.
And that was where the jobs were, because that was where the smart people were, who needed other smart people around them. I wasn't so smart myself, but I gravitated toward people who were. And who were building their own support system - that included me.
I am looking for someone to help me - and they are looking for someone to help.
Friday, February 9, 2018
We are Being Sucked Into Software
Software sucks - you already know that. But what you don't know - is that it is sucking the rest of the world into it!
First, a word about sucking. It was originally a derogatory phrase - indicating that something was inferior. But gradually people realized that sucking was vital for our survival. This is how we got our food, as babies - and in some ways, we never grow up, and should not grow up - but keep learning keep eating) all our lives. To put his another way- Software is eating the world.
Take a look at The increasing nature of frontend complexity. He is talking as a person, to other persons. And what he is talking about is something concrete (code) - not the mathematical abstractions of the traditional Sciences.
This is Computer Science, and it is not same at all.
First, a word about sucking. It was originally a derogatory phrase - indicating that something was inferior. But gradually people realized that sucking was vital for our survival. This is how we got our food, as babies - and in some ways, we never grow up, and should not grow up - but keep learning keep eating) all our lives. To put his another way- Software is eating the world.
Take a look at The increasing nature of frontend complexity. He is talking as a person, to other persons. And what he is talking about is something concrete (code) - not the mathematical abstractions of the traditional Sciences.
This is Computer Science, and it is not same at all.
WIRED is Nothing Much
I don't know how I got subscribed to the print version of wired, but I now get it every month, whether I want it or not. As I recall, WIRED used to be a big deal.
Now it is pretty much nothing - a lot of ads with some superficial commentary. The Software ecosystem - that is engaged in a massive feeding frenzy - has passed it by.
Now it is pretty much nothing - a lot of ads with some superficial commentary. The Software ecosystem - that is engaged in a massive feeding frenzy - has passed it by.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Morgan for Michigan
Their web site
I am on the mailing list for this guy and his wife - and, in my opinion - they both know how to walk their talk.
My father was once a Marine himself, and was part the occupation of Haiti (1930-34). I knew another woman, in the Seventies, who had been a Marine, with her husband in Vietnam. Her husband re enlisted, and she promptly got a divorce - and married another man more interested in her, and less interested in fighting.
My father was once a Marine himself, and was part the occupation of Haiti (1930-34). I knew another woman, in the Seventies, who had been a Marine, with her husband in Vietnam. Her husband re enlisted, and she promptly got a divorce - and married another man more interested in her, and less interested in fighting.
The Newest from Linkedin
My Newest Investor Was a Total Surprise; Here's Why
I have mixed feelings about this outfit. It claims it is doing professional networking, when there is no such thing. All professionals, of every kind - do their own networking, as part of their job. The people who join Linkedin are not professionals, but want to be included in that category, anyway.
But it is also operating its own newsletter, with many articles in it. This one caught my eye.
He Noticed the Masses, but not How Destructive They Were
I am referring to Ortega y Gasset (he got the Ortega from his father and the Gasset from his mother).
He was the first person to write about the Masses, and he became famous for that. He was functioning as a Sociologist, when he did this - but was never placed in that category.
The Masses were the result of the Industrial Revolution - that has never been dealt with adequately either. It was a huge thing that overwhelmed the people it affected. And produced both Good and Evil, in abundance.
The Evil it produced, were a series of wars (the American Civil War, WWI, the Depression, WWII, the Cold War) much more destructive than any before them. The Good it produced, was material abundance (Affluence) - more than ever before dreamed of. This also included huge Medical advances - and a population boom.
And, most importantly - a reversal of values, that made a different kind of people - and a different kind of machines.
This different kind of people were the Masses. That became powerful in the Twenties, when he was writing about them - but even more powerful, later in that century, with the arrival of Television and the Computer. Both networked machines.
I have found it useful to categorize different cultures, or periods of history, as constructive or destructive. And the US, the UK, and the EU (all mass cultures) - are going through a period of self-destruction.
He was the first person to write about the Masses, and he became famous for that. He was functioning as a Sociologist, when he did this - but was never placed in that category.
The Masses were the result of the Industrial Revolution - that has never been dealt with adequately either. It was a huge thing that overwhelmed the people it affected. And produced both Good and Evil, in abundance.
The Evil it produced, were a series of wars (the American Civil War, WWI, the Depression, WWII, the Cold War) much more destructive than any before them. The Good it produced, was material abundance (Affluence) - more than ever before dreamed of. This also included huge Medical advances - and a population boom.
And, most importantly - a reversal of values, that made a different kind of people - and a different kind of machines.
This different kind of people were the Masses. That became powerful in the Twenties, when he was writing about them - but even more powerful, later in that century, with the arrival of Television and the Computer. Both networked machines.
I have found it useful to categorize different cultures, or periods of history, as constructive or destructive. And the US, the UK, and the EU (all mass cultures) - are going through a period of self-destruction.
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
The Philosophy that caused The Industrial Revolution
I discovered this in the most unlikely place Freedom and Circumstance: Philosophy in Ortega y Gasset.
Before I read this, I didn't think much of the guy - he said nothing about WWI, an extremely important event that reshaped Europe. And not much about the mass totalitarian dictatorships that followed it - including the dictatorship of the Fascist Franco, who ruled Spain itself.
Like many other writers, he was not too clear about his most important ideas.
Here is a quote from the book I referenced above:
The metaphor, “the world is a machine,” began to replace the [ancient, classical] metaphor, “the world is a living organism.”. . . . This rationalist mode of thought is omnipresent and seems natural and inevitable. The rationalist tradition proved seductive. . . . But it does contain certain limitations and biases. This mode of thought is reductionist …. It is purposeful rather than playful. It values the sort of knowledge that can be put into words and numbers over the sort of knowledge that cannot . . . . and undervalues the importance of specific contexts.
And the latest machine, the Computer, also has these limitations.
This made me download another book Summary of The Road to Character: by David Brooks.
Great ideas are pushing their way into by old brain - and demanding that they be told.
Before I read this, I didn't think much of the guy - he said nothing about WWI, an extremely important event that reshaped Europe. And not much about the mass totalitarian dictatorships that followed it - including the dictatorship of the Fascist Franco, who ruled Spain itself.
Like many other writers, he was not too clear about his most important ideas.
Here is a quote from the book I referenced above:
The metaphor, “the world is a machine,” began to replace the [ancient, classical] metaphor, “the world is a living organism.”. . . . This rationalist mode of thought is omnipresent and seems natural and inevitable. The rationalist tradition proved seductive. . . . But it does contain certain limitations and biases. This mode of thought is reductionist …. It is purposeful rather than playful. It values the sort of knowledge that can be put into words and numbers over the sort of knowledge that cannot . . . . and undervalues the importance of specific contexts.
And the latest machine, the Computer, also has these limitations.
This made me download another book Summary of The Road to Character: by David Brooks.
Great ideas are pushing their way into by old brain - and demanding that they be told.
The Universal Pain Killer
People have always used drugs, the most common one being Alcohol. But Tobacco is used more frequently now, because the user can continue to function normally, even while the body is being seriously damaged. Even overeating can be a drug, with serious medical consequences. And there are many, many others, I will not go into here.
But the most effective drug, by far - is a different kind of thinking, that takes avoidance of pain as its basic objective. Its operation is simple - if you are not aware of what is going on in the world, and the pain it is causing others - you have no pain yourself!
And this can be a group strategy, even a national strategy - keep pain outside your borders! Inflict pain on others, to keep it away from you.
I hardly need tell you, that this is insane. And only makes the situation worse.
But, strangely enough, this does not bother people - if the world is destroying itself, let it go ahead, and finish its destruction!
But the most effective drug, by far - is a different kind of thinking, that takes avoidance of pain as its basic objective. Its operation is simple - if you are not aware of what is going on in the world, and the pain it is causing others - you have no pain yourself!
And this can be a group strategy, even a national strategy - keep pain outside your borders! Inflict pain on others, to keep it away from you.
I hardly need tell you, that this is insane. And only makes the situation worse.
But, strangely enough, this does not bother people - if the world is destroying itself, let it go ahead, and finish its destruction!
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Mass Societies
I am reading The Revolt of the Masses - and am fascinated by his idea of the masses. An important idea, obviously - but an idea we have not focused on enough. Going to Amazon to get a reference to the book just mentioned - led me to download Freedom and Circumstance: Philosophy in Ortega y Gasset - for free!
These are truly the best of times, and the worst of times!
Mass societies were produced by mass production - by the factories of Industrialization. The pursuit of power, instead of happiness - as Thomas Jefferson thought.
The impact of Industrialization was something Ortega y Gasset did not understand very well. Spanish involvement in Industrialization (even though it was hugely affected by Fascism) was only marginal - as it still is in Latin America.
These are truly the best of times, and the worst of times!
Mass societies were produced by mass production - by the factories of Industrialization. The pursuit of power, instead of happiness - as Thomas Jefferson thought.
The impact of Industrialization was something Ortega y Gasset did not understand very well. Spanish involvement in Industrialization (even though it was hugely affected by Fascism) was only marginal - as it still is in Latin America.
Denial of the Unconscious
The discovery of the Unconscious was one of the important discoveries we can take credit for - but few do, because it makes them too nervous. They prefer to say, they are just what they seem to be - and nothing else!
This position cannot be defended - because nothing is as it seems to be. It seems like the earth is flat -but it is not.
Basically, this is the difference between the Religious world view, and the Scientific world view.
Science was popular, only a few years ago - because it made people rich. Now however, people have turned against it - because it states that, this growth of wealth cannot continue forever. And the Religious world view has returned to favor.
It has not only returned to favor - it has gone to war against those who appose it.
This position cannot be defended - because nothing is as it seems to be. It seems like the earth is flat -but it is not.
Basically, this is the difference between the Religious world view, and the Scientific world view.
Science was popular, only a few years ago - because it made people rich. Now however, people have turned against it - because it states that, this growth of wealth cannot continue forever. And the Religious world view has returned to favor.
It has not only returned to favor - it has gone to war against those who appose it.
Monday, February 5, 2018
I had a TIA
TIA in Wikipedia
I had the first one of these back in the Nineties, when I was working in Silicon Valley. I was running down a hill in a Wilderness area, when my legs stopped working. Bam! down I went. I threw up my arms to protect my face, but they got badly scratched, and I broke my glasses.
A short while later however, I got to my feet and walked to the trail head, where a fire engine was waiting for me. They gave my some oxygen, and called an ambulance. When the ambulance got to the hospital, I could no longer speak, only make strange noises. I passed out, and and when I woke up, early the next morning, I had my arms tied down to a hospital bed, a catheter was inserted in my penis, and I was connected to a lot of instruments, that were monitoring my condition.
Was I frustrated! Because I could not explain to myself what had happened to me - I learned, right then - that you need language to think. But in a couple hours, or so, I recovered, could function normally, and I was released from the hospital.
After that, when I was hiking, I could feel the loss of control of my legs beginning - but could slow down, and become normal again. But this gradual onset did not continue. And I would lose control of my legs without warning. But quickly regain control again.
When I moved to Costa Rica in 2001, I would sometimes get them, but they would last for longer. And they would have to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital. When these happened, the people seeing them, would be terrified by my loss of control. They didn't happen very often, maybe once every several months.
The last time, yesterday, I was riding my bicycle, not far from home, on a Sunday. I ended up on my back, looking up at a lovely sky, with a crowd of people around me. Two of these were Americans living in Orosi. One of them took my bicycle to the Police station, where I could get it later. The other one, Ron, agreed to follow the ambulance, to the hospital in Cartago, an hour's drive away!
Off I went, in the ambulance! I was already beginning to recover, but had no choice, but stay in the ambulance, all the way to the hospital.When I got there, I went through the routine of checking in, and filling out the paperwork. I had most of the information with me, in a neck holster. I had been paying my health insurance for years, and everything was in order.
Next, I had to see a doctor, and there was a long wait for that. Meanwhile, my friend Ron showed up, and was able to interpret for me, since the doctor spoke no English. He and the doctor had some long conversations, that I could barely understand.
She said I should consult a neurologist, and gave me the phone number for one. Then Ron drove me home. He had been calling all my friends, back in Orosi, so everyone there knew what was going on. This happened to be voting day, something Ticos take seriously, so the streets were packed.
I took a hot shower, and went to eat at a eatery nearby and got ready for a long night's sleep.
This morning, I feel much better.
I had the first one of these back in the Nineties, when I was working in Silicon Valley. I was running down a hill in a Wilderness area, when my legs stopped working. Bam! down I went. I threw up my arms to protect my face, but they got badly scratched, and I broke my glasses.
A short while later however, I got to my feet and walked to the trail head, where a fire engine was waiting for me. They gave my some oxygen, and called an ambulance. When the ambulance got to the hospital, I could no longer speak, only make strange noises. I passed out, and and when I woke up, early the next morning, I had my arms tied down to a hospital bed, a catheter was inserted in my penis, and I was connected to a lot of instruments, that were monitoring my condition.
Was I frustrated! Because I could not explain to myself what had happened to me - I learned, right then - that you need language to think. But in a couple hours, or so, I recovered, could function normally, and I was released from the hospital.
After that, when I was hiking, I could feel the loss of control of my legs beginning - but could slow down, and become normal again. But this gradual onset did not continue. And I would lose control of my legs without warning. But quickly regain control again.
When I moved to Costa Rica in 2001, I would sometimes get them, but they would last for longer. And they would have to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital. When these happened, the people seeing them, would be terrified by my loss of control. They didn't happen very often, maybe once every several months.
The last time, yesterday, I was riding my bicycle, not far from home, on a Sunday. I ended up on my back, looking up at a lovely sky, with a crowd of people around me. Two of these were Americans living in Orosi. One of them took my bicycle to the Police station, where I could get it later. The other one, Ron, agreed to follow the ambulance, to the hospital in Cartago, an hour's drive away!
Off I went, in the ambulance! I was already beginning to recover, but had no choice, but stay in the ambulance, all the way to the hospital.When I got there, I went through the routine of checking in, and filling out the paperwork. I had most of the information with me, in a neck holster. I had been paying my health insurance for years, and everything was in order.
Next, I had to see a doctor, and there was a long wait for that. Meanwhile, my friend Ron showed up, and was able to interpret for me, since the doctor spoke no English. He and the doctor had some long conversations, that I could barely understand.
She said I should consult a neurologist, and gave me the phone number for one. Then Ron drove me home. He had been calling all my friends, back in Orosi, so everyone there knew what was going on. This happened to be voting day, something Ticos take seriously, so the streets were packed.
I took a hot shower, and went to eat at a eatery nearby and got ready for a long night's sleep.
This morning, I feel much better.
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Machine Learning and Security
I have just downloaded this book, using O'Reilly's Safari service. Here are the first paragraphs:
Machine learning is eating the world. From communication and finance to transportation, manufacturing, and even agriculture, nearly every technology field has been transformed by machine learning and artificial intelligence, or will soon be.
Computer security is also eating the world. As we become dependent on computers for an ever-greater proportion of our work, entertainment, and social lives, the value of breaching these systems increases proportionally, drawing in an increasing pool of attackers hoping to make money or simply wreak mischief. Furthermore, as systems become increasingly complex and interconnected, it becomes harder and harder to ensure that there are no bugs or backdoors that will give attackers a way in. Indeed, as this book went to press we learned that pretty much every microprocessor currently in use is insecure.
This honesty is refreshing! The amount of hype in the software industry, is staggering.
Machine learning is eating the world. From communication and finance to transportation, manufacturing, and even agriculture, nearly every technology field has been transformed by machine learning and artificial intelligence, or will soon be.
Computer security is also eating the world. As we become dependent on computers for an ever-greater proportion of our work, entertainment, and social lives, the value of breaching these systems increases proportionally, drawing in an increasing pool of attackers hoping to make money or simply wreak mischief. Furthermore, as systems become increasingly complex and interconnected, it becomes harder and harder to ensure that there are no bugs or backdoors that will give attackers a way in. Indeed, as this book went to press we learned that pretty much every microprocessor currently in use is insecure.
This honesty is refreshing! The amount of hype in the software industry, is staggering.
We Must Stay Aware of our Main Problem
Yes, we do have such a problem, and it is a serious one. Because, for the most part - we are not aware of it.
We have known about it. however, for a long time, at least since the Greeks started thinking about what strange beings they were. And since then, we have become even stranger.
The problem can be stated simply - we do not want to think about what we are, how strange we are. We insist, with all our might - that there is nothing strange about us, at all. That we can explain ourselves simply, and logically. That we have no mysterious ingredients.
I will have no difficulty telling you, that I am strange. But enormous difficulty telling you that you are. Because once you admit that, heavens knows where your thinking will led you. You might end up thinking you are mysterious yourself!
We have known about it. however, for a long time, at least since the Greeks started thinking about what strange beings they were. And since then, we have become even stranger.
The problem can be stated simply - we do not want to think about what we are, how strange we are. We insist, with all our might - that there is nothing strange about us, at all. That we can explain ourselves simply, and logically. That we have no mysterious ingredients.
I will have no difficulty telling you, that I am strange. But enormous difficulty telling you that you are. Because once you admit that, heavens knows where your thinking will led you. You might end up thinking you are mysterious yourself!
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Is This Good?
For me, this is the most fundamental question, and it really bothers me if it is not other people's fundamental question. Or if they say it is, and I can see it is really not. Being happy seems to be their most important value - and they concentrate on that.
I have nothing against being happy, and I spend most of my life, as any animal does, letting my body take care of that. But I am not just an animal - some of my ancestors decided to become something other than an animal, and we call that different way of being - being human.
But this different way of life, did not include an instruction manual. We were simply made that way, and had to do the best we could with what we had. And what we had was not the best, and caused us lots of problems.
We have to start with that - we are imperfect beings, with some fundamental problems, that are not going to solve themselves. We have to do the best we can, with the cards we have been dealt with.
.
I strongly disagree with the belief that perfection is possible, and we should aim for that. This is a pernicious belief, and has caused us lots of problems. We have to start where we are - and not where we want to be.
This not what most people believe. They believe they are perfect, but have become imperfect, because of demonic forces - and they have to go after them, first. Then they can become perfect, easily.
They will not accept, that they are not perfect, and cannot be perfect. They cannot, cannot, and cannot accept this. And no one can change their minds about this.
This is what the Liberals have not realized - what they are up against. They have to look deeper, into what people really are - not what they say they are. They can easily say the right things, and then do the wrong things.
This is one of our basic defects - we can easily deceive ourselves.
I have nothing against being happy, and I spend most of my life, as any animal does, letting my body take care of that. But I am not just an animal - some of my ancestors decided to become something other than an animal, and we call that different way of being - being human.
But this different way of life, did not include an instruction manual. We were simply made that way, and had to do the best we could with what we had. And what we had was not the best, and caused us lots of problems.
We have to start with that - we are imperfect beings, with some fundamental problems, that are not going to solve themselves. We have to do the best we can, with the cards we have been dealt with.
.
I strongly disagree with the belief that perfection is possible, and we should aim for that. This is a pernicious belief, and has caused us lots of problems. We have to start where we are - and not where we want to be.
This not what most people believe. They believe they are perfect, but have become imperfect, because of demonic forces - and they have to go after them, first. Then they can become perfect, easily.
They will not accept, that they are not perfect, and cannot be perfect. They cannot, cannot, and cannot accept this. And no one can change their minds about this.
This is what the Liberals have not realized - what they are up against. They have to look deeper, into what people really are - not what they say they are. They can easily say the right things, and then do the wrong things.
This is one of our basic defects - we can easily deceive ourselves.
Friday, February 2, 2018
What Makes People Do What They Do?
This is not a question that keeps most people awake at night. Like sensible people, they just go to sleep - and go on with whatever they were doing, the next morning. The world they left behind, will still be the same the next day.
But there are still some people (such as me) who will persist in asking why - why does everything work this way? The basic answer, for thousands of years, has always been - supernatural beings make everything work the way it works. And this is still the default answer for most people.
But a few hundred years ago, Science arrived, with a different answer - there were scientific laws, expressed as mathematical equations, that described how things worked. And these laws could be used to give people control over their world - to make them more powerful, and to make them rich!
This was immediately put to use by the Industrial Revolution - that devised many machines, that could use the power of fossil fuels, initially Coal, but later Oil.
And this made some people rich - but the rest, poor - and very poor. There had always been poor people, but this was a new kind of urban poverty, that was appalling. Clearly, something had gone wrong - but what?
People had devised a new ideology, that was called by many names - none of the very flattering to the society that devised them. This new ideology gave too much control, to the wrong kind of people.
This was easy enough to see, and most people agreed with it - but they could not agree on how to solve this problem. They knew something other than people had to be in control - and they could not betray this fundamental belief.
The Enlightenment had an answer - the rule of Reason. But this was quickly overruled by Passions, that were much more powerful. As shown by the French Revolution, that destroyed an entire nation.
This brings us up to the end of the 19th Century - and WWI, the Depression, WWII, and the Cold War. What was in control here? Whatever it was, it was not very nice - even though people tried their very best to make it look that way.
This is when I came on the scene, as an Electronic Engineer (U of Illinois, 1959). I could make no sense of what was going on - but no one else could either. We just kept on making money from the Cold War, that was bankrupting the USSR.
Then the Vacuum Tube became obsolete, and I was out of a job. So I moved to where the money was - in Computers. This made sense, at the time, because I had a technical background, and I could write - so I became a Tech Writer, in high-tech California.
I had walked into a minefield, and was lucky to be able to retire on my Social Security pension - in 2001, in Costa Rica. Here I can sit, in my pajamas, and my laptop, with a fast Internet - and watch the craziness going on back in the States.
This includes the Bits Newsletter from the NY Times. You might want to subscribe to it, for yourself.
Computer Science is a new kind of Science, that works entirely differently - using a different kind of mathematics, called algorithms. That most people cannot comprehend.
But there are still some people (such as me) who will persist in asking why - why does everything work this way? The basic answer, for thousands of years, has always been - supernatural beings make everything work the way it works. And this is still the default answer for most people.
But a few hundred years ago, Science arrived, with a different answer - there were scientific laws, expressed as mathematical equations, that described how things worked. And these laws could be used to give people control over their world - to make them more powerful, and to make them rich!
This was immediately put to use by the Industrial Revolution - that devised many machines, that could use the power of fossil fuels, initially Coal, but later Oil.
And this made some people rich - but the rest, poor - and very poor. There had always been poor people, but this was a new kind of urban poverty, that was appalling. Clearly, something had gone wrong - but what?
People had devised a new ideology, that was called by many names - none of the very flattering to the society that devised them. This new ideology gave too much control, to the wrong kind of people.
This was easy enough to see, and most people agreed with it - but they could not agree on how to solve this problem. They knew something other than people had to be in control - and they could not betray this fundamental belief.
The Enlightenment had an answer - the rule of Reason. But this was quickly overruled by Passions, that were much more powerful. As shown by the French Revolution, that destroyed an entire nation.
This brings us up to the end of the 19th Century - and WWI, the Depression, WWII, and the Cold War. What was in control here? Whatever it was, it was not very nice - even though people tried their very best to make it look that way.
This is when I came on the scene, as an Electronic Engineer (U of Illinois, 1959). I could make no sense of what was going on - but no one else could either. We just kept on making money from the Cold War, that was bankrupting the USSR.
Then the Vacuum Tube became obsolete, and I was out of a job. So I moved to where the money was - in Computers. This made sense, at the time, because I had a technical background, and I could write - so I became a Tech Writer, in high-tech California.
I had walked into a minefield, and was lucky to be able to retire on my Social Security pension - in 2001, in Costa Rica. Here I can sit, in my pajamas, and my laptop, with a fast Internet - and watch the craziness going on back in the States.
This includes the Bits Newsletter from the NY Times. You might want to subscribe to it, for yourself.
Computer Science is a new kind of Science, that works entirely differently - using a different kind of mathematics, called algorithms. That most people cannot comprehend.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Why am I Interested in Software?
Be darned if I know. I worked in that Industry for 20 years, and I saw so many bad things go on there - it should have given me a permanent aversion for the subject. But somehow I knew that was not what Software was supposed to be - and things would get better.
And things have gotten better - in some ways. And there are plenty of people who want to show me those ways - without sending me to college first.
They are not going to make the world better - only make software better. But we will have to settle for that.
Enterprise Must Be Free
This is what Adam Smith said in 1776, and what his followers have been saying ever since. The Government must let Business alone - so it can make money, and everyone else can benefit from that precious money.
This is what brought my father's family to Ft. Madison, Iowa, early in the last Century - jobs! This is what brought me to Silicon Valley, in the last half of the Century - I had to have a job, to support myself and my lovely, but crazy wife.
This was I was paid to write, as a technical writer "Our product is Enterprise-Ready, and you have to buy it, right now!" You, no matter who your are, must spend your money, right now!
Money has to be kept flowing, or horrible things happen - to the producers and the consumers. And you do not want that to happen!
This is what brought my father's family to Ft. Madison, Iowa, early in the last Century - jobs! This is what brought me to Silicon Valley, in the last half of the Century - I had to have a job, to support myself and my lovely, but crazy wife.
This was I was paid to write, as a technical writer "Our product is Enterprise-Ready, and you have to buy it, right now!" You, no matter who your are, must spend your money, right now!
Money has to be kept flowing, or horrible things happen - to the producers and the consumers. And you do not want that to happen!
The Prozac Hoax
I was part of this, beginning in Silicon Valley in the Nineties - and ending in Costa Rica ten years later.
I had a therapist in the Valley, who diagnosed me as suffering from Depression. In a way, he was right - being in the Valley was an awful experience, for me - for a number of reasons, some of them quite valid.
I had worked for many computer companies, on many projects - and all of them had failed. And most of the companies had gone out of business. And no one saw this as a problem, for anyone to worry about. I saw it as an ongoing disaster.
He only saw I was depressed. But he had a solution for me - Prozac, the wonder pill that would solve my problems. He worked with a Psychiatrist, who gave me a prescription for it, starting off at 10 milligrams a day, when the normal dosage was 20 milligrams. This was powerful stuff, and he wanted to take it easy.
It did nothing for me, so they keep increasing the dosage. And when I moved to Costa Rica, they kept increasing the dosage to 60 milligrams, a very high dosage, that my doctors worried about.
Meanwhile studies were being done, by medical researchers - to determine its effectiveness. Some people were given Prozac, and some people were given a pill with no active ingredient - and the results were compared. There was no difference in the results!
On my own, I decided to reduce my intake down to nothing. immediately. And experienced no ill effects. I was feeling better, because I was in a country that still liked people. And my condition continued to improve.
I do not recommend my solution for everyone - but it was the right one for me.
I had a therapist in the Valley, who diagnosed me as suffering from Depression. In a way, he was right - being in the Valley was an awful experience, for me - for a number of reasons, some of them quite valid.
I had worked for many computer companies, on many projects - and all of them had failed. And most of the companies had gone out of business. And no one saw this as a problem, for anyone to worry about. I saw it as an ongoing disaster.
He only saw I was depressed. But he had a solution for me - Prozac, the wonder pill that would solve my problems. He worked with a Psychiatrist, who gave me a prescription for it, starting off at 10 milligrams a day, when the normal dosage was 20 milligrams. This was powerful stuff, and he wanted to take it easy.
It did nothing for me, so they keep increasing the dosage. And when I moved to Costa Rica, they kept increasing the dosage to 60 milligrams, a very high dosage, that my doctors worried about.
Meanwhile studies were being done, by medical researchers - to determine its effectiveness. Some people were given Prozac, and some people were given a pill with no active ingredient - and the results were compared. There was no difference in the results!
On my own, I decided to reduce my intake down to nothing. immediately. And experienced no ill effects. I was feeling better, because I was in a country that still liked people. And my condition continued to improve.
I do not recommend my solution for everyone - but it was the right one for me.
Saving the World
This used to be something a lot of people were working on - and they took their duties seriously. There must be some of these people still around, but I don't know any of them. I suspect they got discouraged and gave up. But they haven't realized this, and are not likely to.
They observed, correctly - that the world was no longer good for people. And they also observed, correctly - that this situation was not likely to be changed. There were too many forces working against it.
This conclusion needs to be carefully examined - but to do that, they must first realize, this conclusion had been reached.
How did this happen?
Little by little - in their collective unconscious. And this is an important point - the collective unconscious does exist, but we have not taken it seriously.
It is a vast repository of observations, people have made collectively, and stored away for future reference. Since it is unconscious, people are not aware of it - but it affects how they act, anyway.
If they had been smart, they would have spend some time getting acquainted with it - getting acquainted with their unconscious beliefs. But they were not smart, and avoided doing this.
When I was back in Silicon Valley, in the Nineties - I had therapists, a number of them. But none of them encouraged me to examine my unconscious beliefs. This was not something that was done in the Valley.
In fact, this was not being done anywhere.
They observed, correctly - that the world was no longer good for people. And they also observed, correctly - that this situation was not likely to be changed. There were too many forces working against it.
This conclusion needs to be carefully examined - but to do that, they must first realize, this conclusion had been reached.
How did this happen?
Little by little - in their collective unconscious. And this is an important point - the collective unconscious does exist, but we have not taken it seriously.
It is a vast repository of observations, people have made collectively, and stored away for future reference. Since it is unconscious, people are not aware of it - but it affects how they act, anyway.
If they had been smart, they would have spend some time getting acquainted with it - getting acquainted with their unconscious beliefs. But they were not smart, and avoided doing this.
When I was back in Silicon Valley, in the Nineties - I had therapists, a number of them. But none of them encouraged me to examine my unconscious beliefs. This was not something that was done in the Valley.
In fact, this was not being done anywhere.
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