Freedom, Truth, Intelligence & Information

In this wide ranging post Richard Fernandez one of the deeper thinking Bloggers out there looks at the relationship between freedom, truth intelligence and information.   He posits that absent freedom, there can be no discovery, and hence no intelligence. But to really learn you have to be prepared to listen to what you don’t want …

Admire the Art Ignore the Man

Here is a good example of what happens when we love the art and try to follow that admiration back to the man.  We are sure to be disappointed.

Rules, Principles & Virtue

Consider that whenever we have a massive failure in a business industry like the .com era, real estate or banking we usually wind up with more regulation and more rules.  Rules are expensive to comply with.  Most compliance efforts are "letter of the law" not the spirit.  Before, during and after the rule process there …

US Government + Big Corporation = ?

No privacy apparently.   No worries though, it's for your own safety.   I wonder how long it will take for people to realize that improved security argument has been stripping people of their God given freedom for more than a thousand years. Ben Franklin called it in 1775, "They who can give up essential liberty to …

Art as Challenge to Orthodoxy

Over the years artistic expression has been celebrated for its challenge of various orthodoxies whether those were, religious, gender based, sexual or long standing cultural norms.  Who can forget the artist Andre Serarano's photograph Piss Christ where the artist submerged a crucifix in a jar of his own urine all with US taxpayer money.  It …

I am raging inside Like the mad man at sea Cursing the storm Beyond all reason I cannot hide my madness for you I will pull you into the sea of my desire I will drown you there in my passion I will dominate you And your weakness will become strength And my strength weakness …

The Joys of Extrapolation

At technology review they have an article discussing the work of two scientists:These guys argue that it’s possible to measure the complexity of life and the rate at which it has increased from prokaryotes to eukaryotes to more complex creatures such as worms, fish and finally mammals. That produces a clear exponential increase identical to that behind …

Amateur Pursuits

A great blog post on the importance of creative pursuits as their own end (h/t the shape of everything).  She states the following: There are plenty of reasons to engage in creative activity that has no possibility of being professionalized and won't receive external validation. We paint because it’s therapeutic. We paint because it gives …

There are no pictures Past the age of 32 You have disappeared in every one. And in the empty space Is just the background A tree, some snow A car, a monument Your mind.

Of Course They Will

Google will brick Google Glasses if owners resell or loan them out Terms of service warn users that their $1,500 high-tech specs will be deactivated if they try to resell or loan them to another person. Apparently buying their glasses means they still own them.  Just remember, "Don't be Google" or something. There is also …