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It astonishes me how often I am offered opportunities on silver platters to engage in petty squabbling with other people. Just about every day at least one person (different people all the time) makes it his or her business to drag me into the middle of something that will do nothing but drain out all my emotions. And then there's me. I'd like to think I'm less guilty of doing this to others, but probably only a little bit less guilty sometimes. The question is about motivation. Why do we seek outrage, strife, angst, argument, and all the rest of it? The answer might simply be catharsis. We all have it in our heads how unfair life is, and as such we seek cathartic experiences on a regular basis, in the form of projecting perverted shadows of our real problems upon the people around us. Or perhaps it is fear. We fear life, we fear failure, we fear death, we fear that others will think us bad and unworthy people. Fear causes us to lash out, or more accur...

So the news has broken: the only white man left seriously contending for the democratic party nomination in the USA (John Edwards) is dropping out. This leaves Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and it is now a guarantee that one of them will run for president. I quite like this. Not once in the last 219 years and 43 different presidents has anyone other than white men made it to an official party nomination. F-ing finally! I no longer have cable television, but from what I did watch before it got disconnected, I honestly couldn't get much of a read on either candidate. The process down there is so utterly rigid - lines of argument, lines of motivation, lines of ideology; they are pre-cut and simply chosen by candidates to run with. In a funny way, the system is designed such that frivolous things will inevitably become of great importance to the decisions of voters. I mean, if every candidate is just recycling the same talking points that previous candidates used (and yet not much ...

Another variey show: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So tonight I will take a break from the usual stuffy and pseudo-intellectual offerings, and get down to something that every can relate to: sexual fantasy. Recently I was having a conversation with someone (whose name can't be mentioned, because my girlfriend Vanessa doesn't want the name of this someone to be mentioned) about what the proper 'etiquette' is when it comes to pleasuring oneself on ones own time, but while in a relationship. In all fairness, I brought up the topic, talked about it, and concluded it, without really much input from the aforementioned nameless person. Here's my thought: when people 'service' themselves, they typically fantasize about other people while doing so; it is only natural. My question was regarding whether there are any 'off limits' fantasies when you're in a relationship. For example (fake names here), Say Bob ...

I find that people quote statistical averages far too often, not knowing just how misleading averages can be. For example, a friend of mine (www.colinboorman.ca) recently wrote an article defending beef production and consumption in Canada; included in his points was the statistic that the average Canadian cattle farm carries 53 cattle. The seemingly obvious conclusion is that Canadian cattle farms are, on the whole, smaller, probably family-owned, and distinctly not massive corporate-owned factory-style feedlots; this is precisely the conclusion that my friend drew. But hold on a second! I want to note that this may be entirely false, in spite of the average. The flaw that people commit quite often is the confusion between an average number, and a commonly occurring number. Often times, the average can be lifted or lowered by odd extremes, which I bet is very much the case with respect to factory farms in Canada. For example: Imagine a community of 1000 p...

Today's entry will be something of a variety show: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'm just getting over a cold today. I know that every single person out there thinks thay've got the be-all end-all home cold remedy, but my personal recommendation is a good hour in and out of the steam room (10 or so minute intervals) at any rec center. It made me feel much better! Among the strangest home remedies I've heard: Tea of bonset leaves and elder root. Snorting salt water. Eating honey. Avoiding all milk products. Come to think of it, you might be able to write a hilarious diet book purely out of combining wacky cold remedies into a general health plan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The penis and the brain have something in common: It's not so much size, but how you use it that matters. But really, size helps a lot. ---...

It isn't all that bad to remind those animal activists among us that a bullet through the neck is arguably the least cruel way in which any given deer is likely to die. It is not as though the deer has a choice, but if I were to choose, I'd take the bullet ahead of the starvation or the wolf pack. Ludwig Wittgenstein said that if a lion could talk, we'd never understand it. I spent some time thinking about what this means not about the animal, but about humanity. I think the idea is that different creatures simply think and communicate under different systems, such that ideas and communications aren't translatable the way our human languages are. Perhaps we take for granted a little too heavily the translatability of human language, especially over history. Sometimes when I'm deep into Aristotle's or Socrates' work, I suddently get the impression that how they viewed the world was so completely different that no amount of reading on my part would ever lead m...

So what of all these dichotomies we have in our minds, about the world and the human condition? We've got male and female, day and night, good and evil, right and wrong, and all the rest of them. GW Bush wants the world to know that "you're either with us or against us." Neutrality is no longer an option, as he so declares, for neutrality is by ommission a way of allying with the enemy, apparently. The dichotomy is a great way to simplify the our perceptual world. What better a way than to take every thing we know, and lay each into either of any two given opposing categories. Morality, in my view, is one place where the whole exercise has gone terribly awry. I do not believe it a stretch to say that violent movies and shows over the last generation have played their part in creating a public willing to accept the notion of a world comprising of 'good' and 'evil' nation states. Where we see an anomaly, we simply call it an ambiguity, rather...

So, every time I grow a beard, I stop getting ID'd at bars. Every time I shave it off, they ID me again. And the same goes for my buddy Jordan. So, depending on our respective facial hair decisions at any given time, often one of us gets waved through and the other is stopped at the door for ID. The beard I have now is pretty scruffy. I've been growing it for about 3 weeks now, with minimal trimming. People say I look like the young Obe Wan Kenobe (from the prequils). Enough about that. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wonder if the biggest problem with relationships (amongst us youngsters) is our well-fed vision of what they are supposed to be like. On top of movies and other media, we have all our friends insisting that their relationships are just amazing and perfect. "Why isn't mine like that?" Truth is, nobody's is like that. Divorce lawyers have a time-tested saying: "The bigger t...

I do believe that there is such a thing as a just war, but I am a pacifist when it comes to war metaphor in language. It is strikingly common, so much so that it goes unnoticed; many writers, politicians, and journalists simply cannot characterize a debate in the public realm without resorting to war metaphor! Have a look, keep an eye out. It is everywhere. Debate for its own sake has merit of course, but there ought not to be systematic language operators injected into debates such that the sides cannot clash without the hope for resolution eliminated in advance. (notice anything?) I figure that any democracy has to be based on a kind of consensus. That is, "majority rule" can apply to lots of non-democratic systems just as easily; it is not sufficient. Hell, look at what kind of power GW Bush has exercised with only 51 percent of the vote in '04. All a healthy democracy really needs is a well-educated public, fair opportunities for debate an resoluti...

You never get time back. I find this difficult to fathom sometimes. While pessimistic, it is perfectly legitimate to view one's life as a countdown to death. The fact that the exact day and time of one's demise is unknown doesn't really matter, since it is a certainty nonetheless. Perhaps all things are trivial, yes. But still, I wonder about whether my time is well spent, or wasted (or 'well wasted', as Comedy Central might have it). Speaking to this: people have their standards, and I find the most common to be: 1. Deathbed talk. 2. "Difference in the world" talk. Will I look back on life with disappointment or satisfaction, while I am nearing death? Will I feel deep regret, or will I feel fulfillment? Who will be at my side? Or, Did I make a difference in the world? Have the actions of my life improved the lives of others? Has the world become a better place from my being on it? ----------------------------------------------...

I went for a very long walk today. Started from home (near the barn market at Mckenzie and Blenkinsop), walked up to campus, then up Mt. Tolmie, then around Cedar Hill golf course, then back home after a rest at the duck pond. There were many ducks. A few words tonight about memory: Repetition doesn't bode well for memory; that is, I find though introspection that I have almost no memory of things I did for years. My nearly 3-year stint at Denny's part time (probably 1000 hours all told) has 'condensed' into very few tangible memories. Entire relationships of mine are little more than a few stories and moments now. Things I did a hundred times I can only really remember doing once, if that makes sense at all... The interesting thing about memory is that it informs much of what we decide to do in the present. I believe that if a person has memories of only a small 'world', that person will see fewer options in life, as well as raise the level of import...

Twenty entries consecutively! It can actually be difficult to think of something to write every day, or, at least, something I believe you will find at least mildly interesting. I've been blogging for quite some time now; prior to here I had a thing going at: http://ironbooger57.spaces.live.com/ It is still there! There are many many entries dating back to may of '05, and several very long arguments within the comment sections of some entries. For a little bit of history on how my thoughts about the world have evolved over the four years I've spent studying philosophy, that's the place to go. I've taken the time to look back and read some of it; I am astonished at how much my thinking, or rather, my way of thinking has changed since first year. Tonight is a night for catharsis: I shall make absolutely no effort to garner your interest as I write the following. Recently I've begun to view the world in a highly amoral sort of way. Things that we no...

"Want to rent a movie or something?" Translation: "Want to rent a movie, and hopefully be having sex by the time it is over?" "Want to hang out or something?" Translation: "Please have sex with me." "I never lie" Translation: "I lie constantly. Hell, I'm lying right now!" "Like you care" Translation: "I am very insecure. Please love me." "I'm not in it for the money" Translation: "I'm in it for the sex/increased ability to get sex." I'll think of some more later!

Today's topic at the debate club (where I volunteer) was about tasers. The resolution, specifically, is: "Be it resolved that taser use be banned in Canada." The debaters all initially agreed that it was too simple a resolution; that is, they believed that there are only really one or two good points for each side of the debate, wheras with a 'good' topic there'd be at least 4 or 5 fairly obvious points for each side. After some discussion, however, we came to the conclusion that it was in fact a very good topic to be debating. I feel inspired to give a thought or two of my own on the topic here: As always, we begin with form. Arguments made without a tangible idea of formality (by form I intend to mean the structure, or systematicity of arguments) typically are more vulnerable to problems on a more basic level. So, when we examine tasers and their usage I like to think of how they 'fit' into current issues regarding crime to begin wi...

This one will be short as I am hoping to go to bed as soon as possible! But, I'm not about to give up this blogging streak for an extra 10 minutes' sleep, at least not yet. I've been thinking about the night before last's entry, and I'll add a little to it here. It was about structures of ideolody, and how often there comes about a debate such that each opposing side is arguing for how to alleviate the symptoms of a problem, while not addressing the problem itself. Perhaps this line of thought could be applied to the main prepared topic of a high school debate tournament I judged for last weekend. It was a resolution stating that Canada ought to make Nuclear energy its primary source of power generation. The main lines of thought were: Pro: Nuclear energy is clean, no emmissions, very little contribution co global warming, greater resources, less dependence on foreign fossil fuels, stellar safety records of nuclear plants (which is frightfully true, when compare...

After 29 games of chess with only one loss and one draw, I'm nearing the top 50 of all facebook chess players. Granted many of the victories have been against novice friends, but many have also been very difficult. Ratings start at 1000 for everybody (wins raising and losses lowering; playing a higher-ranked person offers a higher potential gain and lower potential loss, while playing a lower-ranked person offers a lower potential gain and higher potential loss). To break the top 50 requires a rating of approximately 1625. My rating is 1557... There's no rank order outside the top 50, but I can bring up the 50 players ranked closest to me. The highest few are at 1600,, and the lowest around 1520, so I must right now be at least in the top 200. I think that's pretty good considering the application has 28,000 daily users and almost 200,000 total users. I'm challenging everybody I can now, but I do fear that some people use chess computer programs in order to win. ...

A gang-member is found dead. He's got a hole in his chest, and inside that hole a bullet through the heart. There are no other injuries. What killed him? He was killed by the stoppage of brain function. He was killed by heart-stoppage. He was killed by a bullet. He was killed by a gun. He was killed by the hand of the shooter. He was killed by the actualized intention of the shooter. He killed himself, for this death is a likely consequence of joining gangs. He was killed by a society in which guns are accessible. He was killed by a society in which violence is too often a solution. He was killed by time; his death was never avoidable. He was not killed, only his body. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe that many debates only occur as a result of differing underlying structures. "There is just no arguing with some people" is something we say often, but it makes 'them' soun...

I have an idea for a reality show for US networks: "President of Reality" It will be a little like American Idol, and a little like Survivor: a show in which the contestants are fake politicians. They would be non-famous people, but people who are very savvy thinkers, debaters, and public speakers, as well as highly informed individuals. They'd probably be something like the "Apprentice" contestants in appearance and smarts, but much more personable. Gender and racial diversity would be a must. They all must compete against each other in various categories and competitions. One episode may be creating a radio ad, the next a negative attack ad, the next a stump speech, and there will be several debates on various issues. Episodes will be unpredictable, however, as each of the candidates will be 'given' a fake past, including various indiscretions that will be revealed at random points over the course of the series. Each episode ends much lik...

So I've grown a beard. It took a good two weeks, but it's nice and full now. It came in particularly reddish this time around; I usually re-grow it once every half a year or so. People seem to like it... "hey, cool beard man," they say. --------------------------------------------------- So I've been following the presidential race down south of the border. It interests me as yet another wacky experiment in combining methods of mass psychological pursuasion with democratic theory. The republicans have absolutely dick all with which to advertize themselves, in terms of credentials over the last 8 years. Everything, I mean absolutely everything, has gone to shits in the country, in large part thanks to the policies of the Executive and Legislative branches of government. They've even managed to spread the bad times to other countries! So, when you have nothing to run on, what do you do? Attack! If people don't want you in office, your only real optio...

This is an obligatory post, since I'm in a rush and can't think of anything to say. So, in there spirit of trying to post every day, this is a post about not having anything to post. Hm. A philosophy puzzle: ---------------------------------- "This sentence is false." ---------------------------------- Is the sentence true, or false, or neither, or.. both.. ?

Today was quite lovely. Class was all good, and I managed to get to a rousing colloquium by one of the philosophy professors. Watching all the other professors criticize and critique, then get criticized in return, was impressive. Birthday wishes were abundant, though I admit there were one or two people I had hoped would extend a word, but did not. Had dinner with the folks. Food was also abundant, as was dessert. But enough about me! Here are three words/phrases that people misuse to my shagrin on a startlingly regular basis: "Begs the question" "(very, somewhat, fairly, a bit, etc.) unique" "Literally" To beg the question means to make an argument in which you presuppose the conclusion within a premise. Ie. A question begging argument is a circular (typically bad) one. For instance: P: The Bible says God exists P: The Bible is of divine revelation ------------------------------------------- C: Therefore, God exists. The second premise only ...

I think that jealousy is often a sincerer form of flattery than imitation. Today was slow. Went to class, ate food, went to the bathroom a few times, read stuff for class, mulled about in the rain, moped to myself about the cold, won an epic-length facebook chess game, finally. Took all of 50 moves each before the opponent resigned.. there would have been another 10 each had he made me complete the game. I assume this is true for most people: we want the end results of things more than we usually want the process. Heidegger would be batting me ofer the head, but still, I find this problem apparent when I ponder career possibilities. There are plenty of things I'd like to be, but few things I'd like to become. Now, something philosophical: Some moral theories don't get any of the attention that they deserve. I wonder if, for example, moral relativism is so darn popular merely because it is (a) very easy to understand, and (b) with virtually no restrictio...

There once was a boy whose caps lock key got stuck one day. His online life was never quite the same, because everyone thought he was yelling at them. I'M NOT YELLING, IT'S JUST THAT MY CAPS LOCK KEY IS BROKEN. "Stop yelling at me!", said all his friends, " Soon, nobody would talk to him at all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ People who use caps to get a point across are usually the same people who can't think of a way to express a point in reality without yelling. Magic show tonight over at the Royal Theatre. They do it every year, and it's pretty upper-deck, as in some of the tricks are pretty darn impressive, and often non figure-outable. School readings are piling up already, however, so all these fun-related outings will be scaled down as soon as upcoming essays pile atop the readings. I read a story today, about a mind-body dualist. He leads a miserable l...

I attended the Wittgenstein seminar for the first time today; quite the experience. The professor (Zwicky) is very much an artistic type... we spent the first hour reading and analyzing poetry, of all things. It was said by Wittgenstein himself that the greatest philosophical ideas are best expressed in poetic language - the class is intended to focus on the link between philosophy and poetry. I contributed by likening poetry to music - that the notation of Chopin, for example, has highs and lows, particular sounds and patterns designed to excite the emotions, and in my mind a certain rhythm to it; the music breathes very much the way a human breathes while reading a poem. The only drawback to this course is that the reading load is borderline unreasonably high. We're expected to ingest all of three of W's books (which, in terms of time spent reading, equates to about 10 books of normal english), and several essays. Truth be told, with this schedule of six classes, most of w...

The Honours Seminar kicked off today, in startlingly difficult fashion. The professor decided to start us with a rather complicated paper attempting to refute the claim that deductive logic is somehow 'better' than inductive logic. The 3 or so logic students (out of 15) talked their heads off, while the rest of us just sat there. I'm getting back into chess these days. After a few hours working with the Chessmaster 9000 (computer program) tutorials I gained a new appreciation for the game. Time is the only real problem. Ditto for piano. The just isn't enough time for everything. On an unrelated note, what's the deal with Japan these days? I mean, I don't want to assume anything, but pop culture over there is really wacky... between the reality television shows (MXC, anyone?), life-like robots of various sorts, and "tentacle porn" animations, I'm just not sure what to think.

Beethoven was really something else. It's hard to explain live symphony, but there's something about it that neither digital nor analog media can recreate. I think it's the tangibility of the vibrations, the visual aspect to the music, and especially the feeling that it is very much a human creation. I don't want to get all stuffy and poetic here, but watching the bodies and instruments move with the music completes the experience. School again tomorrow. Tonight is going to be consumed by reading... this time around I'm really going to get these readings done, all of them, and in time for class. My aim, since star grades aren't really on the books, is to get a star reference letter or two from some of the big names in the department. Descartes, Aristotle, and Lewis Carroll are on the docket for tonight. Descartes, from "Rules for the direction of the mind," Aristotle, from "Metaphysics," and Carroll, a short passage between Achilles a...

So there's a logician in hell, who's been there for millions of years already, suffering in all kinds of horrible ways. God says to him, "You must be repentant by now, since you know that you'll be suffering here for an eternity." The logician responds, "Ah, I've got you there! No matter how long you keep me here, it'll never be an eternity." The infinite is a concept that I just can't get my head around. The moment I come across a notion that feels infinite is inevitably followed by the realization that what I'm thinking about is in fact very much finite. A professor was trying to explain infinity, noting that he always thought it best to imagine an ant walking around Mt. Everest, slowly wearing the mountain down into a flat plain.

You're probably wondering what my new years resolutions are. In truth, I have only a few, but I don't want to reveal them until December 31st of this year ("Day 365" on this blog, with a little luck). People who go on and on about all their resolutions, I suspect, are really just posturing, not unlike politicians who agree to do this or that "within the next five years." The news-making promise garners attention, but those who pay their attention rarely follow up. Typically, the only political follow-up that makes a headline occurs when said politician is running for re-election, and an opponent is digging up dirt to make accusations of false promises; that sort of thing. "Attack ads" are statistically greatly more effective than "positive ads." That is, you're more likely to be convinced that X is better than Y, be watching an ad about how Y is bad, than by watching an ad about the merits of X. "Nobody gossips about a pe...

The Honours seminar wasn't quite what I expected. Each week we're to read a selected paper (or two) in a particular area of philosophy. The grades are fashioned from participation, several shorter response papers to the in-class articles, and one 20 page research paper. What I don't like is that the research paper must revolve around a particular philosophy book or article published within the last ten years. That is, it must be strictly a response paper. As it turns out, the same guy is teaching both Aristotle and the Rationalists! He's alright, a bit bumbly, and in his words, pretty rusty after having spent 2 years on sabbatical. Psychology 100 is a bore. It's hard not to feel a little insulted to be told all the exact ways in which one thinks. Sometimes I want to "shhhh!" the professor: "Don't tell me this stuff, I'd really rather just not know!" It is also difficult to take seriously. Just this morning, the professor explained that pu...

My first class this morning is supposed to be The Rationalists (philosophy). I woke up for the 11:30 class at 11:10, freaking out and managing to shower, dress, pack up, and get out the door by 11:20! But I didn't know where the class was, so I had to drop off at the computer lab, where I realized that the time was in fact about 10:30, and class wasn't for another hour. It is ironic that we sometimes hurry so much, we fail to notice the time, of all things. So, here we are. Rushing to get ready to go out is a lot like trying to survive on a sinking boat. You dump things over the side in order of least importance. First goes breakfast, then showering, then preparations (brushing teeth, deodorant etc), then, I suppose if necessary, clothing. I managed to get out this morning only missing breakfast. Only once in life have I had to abandon literally everything to get out of the house on time; it was a logic exam for which I had awoke 10 minutes prior. I ran upstairs and be...

New Years day doesn't count, because it's the day you take to make up for new years eve. I am going to attempt to write an entry for every day this year, possibly more on some says, and exceptions may include days upon which I'm vacationing. Today, a trip to the doctor for STD testing, something I urge all people to do once every year or two even if there aren't symptoms of anything. Then, off to teach a piano lesson, dinner, and preparation for the first day of school tomorrow. Christmas break was a delight, but also too short this time around. And, props to Earth for making it around the sun once more. I am impressed. Speak of Earth, I'm two DVDs into the BBC's "Planet Earth" series, and I'd recommend it with the highest regard to anyone and everyone. I'm canceling my cable as well this year (as of today). It is high time.