The title of this article might seem a strange one coming from an economist. This is the third of three planned essays. The two preceding articles in this series, the first of which built a lens to observe life from a tautology and the second, took reasonable scientific inference from the first. In this article,… Continue reading In Genuine Praise of So Called Folly: Why Only Nonoptimization Matters
Category: Philosophy
Receptor Theory: Why Fiction is “True”
This is a continuation of the last article on The Universal Lens. But only two claims from that article are needed. -All life must in some way be a statistical response model to its environment. This is because for life to continue, it must fulfill the dual mandates of gathering energy from the outside environment… Continue reading Receptor Theory: Why Fiction is “True”
The Universal Lens: Basic Logic of Any Self Organizing System
(of which so far constitutes only life, but this logic applies to any and all future robot overlords[1]). All systems tend towards the inevitability of entropy. A drop of ink placed in a glass of water quickly and with statistical necessity will become a glass of tinted water. A rock placed in the water would… Continue reading The Universal Lens: Basic Logic of Any Self Organizing System
Jun
It was a hot summer's day. The shadows had grown short, the perfect time to acquire vitamin D from the sun's rays.I took my laptop in my bag, walking to the nearby park, doing my best to stay in the bits of road and path dappled in the sun's rays, passing parasols as I went.I… Continue reading Jun
I Appear Missing
The two sat across from each other, teapot between them, a cup in each hand. Brock's countenance was craggy, filled with all the lines one might expect of a map of local rivers and tributaries. Caleb's skin was smooth. His childlike face held a relaxed open expression. They were the same age. "And that is… Continue reading I Appear Missing
Floyd and Towards a More Useful Definition of Privilege
What I think is the best way of understanding privilege is what you get to overlook in your day to day life that other people don't get to. I remember I used to tell students about taking late night bike rides in Beijing and how freeing that is to experience, biking through a massive empty… Continue reading Floyd and Towards a More Useful Definition of Privilege
Beaver Emperor
There once was a beaver who wanted to rule Japan, well first Japan and then the world. His plan was simple; first he would chew on trees and then! Then! He would continue to chew on trees, he wasn’t exactly sure how this would accomplish his goal, but he did not falter from his mission.… Continue reading Beaver Emperor
Guiding Principle
My guiding principle when teaching, telling a story, speaking with others, or well anything is pretty simple: People can tell the difference between real and fake. The world is, let's face it, a pretty dark place, filled with hypocritical self serving motives, that we largely mask and pretend are not true. That is why I… Continue reading Guiding Principle
Meditation Full Interview
Wendy: Would you please briefly introduce yourself? Rush: So I am Mr. Rush. I teach AP Economics and Advanced Economics. I have really wide set of interests, and I try to cultivate new interests all the time. Oh, and, if you don't know who I am, I'm the guy who walks around with a cane.… Continue reading Meditation Full Interview
Country vs People
Would people in Germany today be better off if the Nazis won? Would people in Japan be better off if Imperial Japan had won? In both cases I think it very unlikely. It is an easy mental shorthand to think of what a country "wants" by the actions of their government, or what is good… Continue reading Country vs People