Jamie Klinger

Should science and moral philosophy mix? Can we definitively say what constitutes as evil? One psychologist sees a major link between our so-called view of ‘evil’ and a lack of empathy. While he may not be entirely right or complete in his argument, he certainly opens the door for a debate.

Are DDOS attacks actual cyber-terrorism or simply a form of protest?

Here it talks about how the media is keeping wikileaks from being ‘big news’. Which is truly incredibly frustrating.

Why a male porn star is refusing to do interracial porn (NSFW) anymore. He talks about how the industry self-promotes a dated form of racism that is clearly anti-black. This is a rare look directly into the industry and a truly interesting read (albeit somewhat wordier than necessary).

And lastly, a free will article.

Here’s a solid reddit comment that I mostly agree with by Turil: This article is kind of poorly written (for one thing, humans are animals, obviously), and they seem to suggest that stochastic behavior is somehow not included in determinism, but still, the article is otherwise useful in bringing up a point that intention is probably less “special” than it looks, and is most likely just “special effect” that makes things look like magic, when it’s really just a more complex system that has more detail in it’s deterministic causes~effects than we are able to see using our limited data collection equipment (human senses).
So yeah, I’m still saying that a better way to define “free will” is to call it something like “internal action”, or something similar that clarifies that it’s the behavior of a system that is unique enough to be said to have it’s own inside and outside. (It’s a namable “thing”, rather than a very fuzzy concept.)

I didn’t want to clutter my last post with these thoughts because they aren’t nearly as succinct, so here is a secondary posting, much later in the day.

So I discovered a very convincing argument for it being a living universe by Duane Elgin. So anyways, I put my iPod in the trunk by accident before getting into the car, and as I turned on the radio, this man was on, talking about the connectivity of the universe, a conversation that I was having with Kasia not minutes before. Maybe it’s coincidence, maybe it’s ‘fate’, but either way, it was worth listening to. It happened to be on CJAD 800 (which I was not opposed to listening to since stumbling upon Bill Hicks the last time a few nights prior).

In any case, he spoke about how it would only make sense that something live (us) would come from something live (universe) and that’s how a lot of scientists/physicists do see it. I need to find a broadcast of the program, but I seem to be having issues.

The other night I imagined an infinitely recursive universe where it does not end in scale or size and that this is it. The universe IS. It was a scary and comforting thought.

Anyways, the two scientists on the show last night (I can’t remember the other gent’s name) had similar views about our interconnectivity, not knowing how many genuine connections there are, stating that our lives are much greater than acquiring assets and about how discovering our purposes and our relation to this earth is quite likely (but not necessarily) greater than we can possibly imagine. They don’t claim to have answers, but have some very good theories and interesting proposals. They’re asking the right questions. I’ll be reading ‘The Living Universe‘ at some point soon. I have to say, just by reading some descriptions and looking at his webpage, I feel like it comes across as pseudo-science bunk, but that feeling is just fear of challenging the status quo…And it lies in my heart too, so don’t be afraid to think a little differently, even if at the end you believe the same things, learning someone else’s way of thinking can be helpful in actualizing your own path.

Firstly, the big bang happened. Every particle was propelled outwards in one fashion or another, and over time, everything that is/was/ever will be was put into the path of creation. Our existence is just a complex series of actions based on those original particles. In fact, everything that we are made of existed at the very beginning of the universe! Amazing, I know. That’s the short and short of it and what the following beliefs are founded upon.

The meaning of life is quite simple. I believe that we have absolutely no control over anything. This is to say that there is no free will at all, and that we’re all destined and determined to end up wherever we are supposed to end up. And I thank the glorious universe for that.

There’s two ways to read what I wrote, and most people have a lot of trouble seeing just how freeing that statement truly is. So let’s start with how it’s usually perceived.

“If there’s no free will, and everything is just going to happen the way it’s supposed to happen, then what’s to stop me from sitting on my couch and doing nothing with my life…because whatever is supposed to happen will happen, right?”

Well, if you sit on your couch for the rest of your life, then that’s what was meant to happen. So stop yourself for a second and reflect whether or not that’s what you actually want to happen. And then you make the choice to get up.

“But if there’s no free will, how do I get to make a choice?”

Good question (muahahaha, Socrates…). In place of genuine free will, we have the illusion of free will. This illusion is so incredibly well constructed that we’ll absolutely never know that we’re not in control of ourselves. It is a flawless computer program that never glitches. So if you want something in life and you go out and take hold of it, that was meant to be. If you don’t, then that was meant to be.

“So let me get this straight. We’re not actually in control of anything, but we have the illusion that we are in control of everything?”

Correct.

“And whatever we do is exactly what was supposed to happen anyways? So…I have complete freedom to do anything I want in my life, and ultimately, it will have been what was supposed to happen, whether it was good or bad?”

Absolutely. The greatest thing you can do in life is to try and fail. It will help you to better gauge what success really is. It will also help you try harder to live your life without regrets, for there really is a purpose to everything we do, no matter how insignificant feeling.

Whether or not free will actually exists, we will never know either way, so just pretend like it does (or that we have the illusion that it does and seems incredibly realistic) and do exactly what you want to do. Don’t let anything get in your way…And your biggest obstacle will always be yourself, so don’t forget, you’ll more likely regret the things you don’t do than the things you do. The only person that can make you into the person you want to be is you. And be happy, we can do whatever the hell we want! We’re well off, educated and have unlimited potential! Now get off your ass and go make yourself happy.