The Differences

Elasticity

2011-04-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

You can't fix systemic failure overnight, or even in five years. You either blow it up or wait a generation. Neither choice is pretty.

Hypothesis

2011-01-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

The media has been reporting several incidences of large numbers of birds or fish dying all at the same time. My guess: atmospheric levels of toxic gas clouds, left over from this summer's volcano in Iceland, floating about or getting carried into the water because of rain. Just a guess ...

Blind Alleys

2010-03-18T07:50:00.001-07:00

Knowledge follows paths, as each new person adds to it. Some paths lead to advanced understanding, some just lead back onto themselves. Knowing the complete space of knowledge from an invalid path is irrelevant, and possibly mis-leading. For once most people have framed their view of the world, they are stuck there forever. If that view is a step forward, then they to can move forward, but

2009-07-19T13:49:00.001-07:00

Gravitational RamblingsI was never really interested in physics, preferring instead the more pure branches of mathematics. Given that, much of what I'll say in this little discussion is probably already out there or just total nonsense, still just in case it isn't, I figured I just write it down. You never know, it's a strange world.I was watching a newly published lecture series with the eminent

2009-07-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

Human-Oriented DynamicsTo model our larger behavior as organizations, we need some irrationally motivated, inconsistent system, that in it's lack of completeness manages to predictably move around the same territory that we do. A system completely opposite in nature to a mathematically formal system, yet one sufficiently expressive enough to be able to draw conclusions from its changes in

2009-05-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

Third-world democracies are often driven by large populations of un-educated voters, resulting in poorly chosen elected officials and mass amounts of corruption. A large stable middle-class tends to stabilize the voting, which indirectly stabilizes the country.Restricting the voters to something elite like 'land owners' defeats the fairness principles enshrined in democracies. A better approach

2009-05-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Simple answers to complex problems always make the problems worse.You cannot solve a complex problem with anything other than a complex solution; partially solving a problem is just adding to it. The solution must fully cover the problem, or the ignored attributes will cause major side-effects.A simple answer will work fine for a simple problem, but likely somebody has probably already solved

2009-02-24T20:28:00.001-08:00

Blowing up a house, to get rid of an infestation of cockroaches is not a real solution to the problem. Too many people on this planet don't seem to understand why it's such a bad thing. That's probably why there are more problems getting created than there are getting solved.

2009-02-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

Countries should be forced to always live by their own rules. They should not be allowed to do to someone else's civilians what they cannot do to their own.Any technique that a country uses to get its way, should be one that is used equally internally and externally. All they need to to comply with this, is to be honest and document what they've done, and what they are planning to do. Just

2009-02-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

Mankind iterates its knowledge. Somewhere, in some dark and dank corner of the web sits the answers to most of our problems. It's just that with all the noise out there, it's unlikely that we'll be able to recognize them in time.

2009-02-23T20:23:00.000-08:00

The world is over-populated. Nearly 6.5 billion is a staggering number of people. Why then are we focusing on curing cancer or saving starving children from dying in regions of the world that clearly can't support them. What we really need is not more old or young, it's a model for how we could possibly live a sustainable life-style. Until we understand how to manage our limited resources, our

2009-02-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

Competitism -- a form of government based around the idea that competition is good. In general, the goal is to promote competition wherever possible, and intervene when it has become unbalanced for some reason.In all circumstances, those who are winning bear the greater share of the burden. That is, if you are rich you pay more taxes, if you are better known you carry more public duties. That

2009-02-16T09:01:00.000-08:00

We need people to accept that there is no "personal" god. That is, one that you can call upon to fix the things in your life, or one that routinely enters into conversations with lots of people.The problem is that it is too easy for people to claim conversations and divine guidance. The sick or untruthful benefit from this. In that way, they can direct others to do things that are inappropriate.

2009-02-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

Laws should not restrict us from doing things, unless other people are impacted. People should be allowed the maximum freedom; a government should never play the role of parent. If it's bad for you, it's your problem.In those cases where society really wants to stop some behavior because it is expense or unpopular, they need only restrict half of the transaction. For instance, it might be illegal

2009-02-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

We need something better than capitalism. While the competition aspect may work wonders, the system degenerates into a lot of slimy people producing a lot of crap. And the worst part is that it's not sustainable in any way. We need something similar, but where the winners can't pull quite as far ahead of the others, as they do now.A nicer life, sure. More stuff, OK. Hundreds of people ripped off

2009-02-04T08:14:00.001-08:00

Frequent-customer plans should be regulated. If you're going to jack up the price to cover some optional annoying plan that is based around everybody carrying yet another stupid card in their wallet, the least you can do is not be allowed to just arbitrarily enforce some expiry date.Many people think these things are just 'free gifts', but in reality we pay for them, is it just another excuse to

2009-02-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

Justice should be swift and decisive. If there is no evidence, or it's circumstantial, the waiting just compounds the problems. If there is evidence, then waiting is a waste. Either way, the accused has a right to get the proceedings over with 'as fast as possible'.Trial by jury should only be applicable when there is some underlying possibility of doubt. If you have enough solid witnesses,

2009-01-28T15:03:00.000-08:00

We need quality. Capitalism tends towards producing inferior goods for low prices. We're surrounding our selves with crappy disposable goods, at the same time as we are getting increasingly concerned about recycling. Disposable cloths, computers and gadgets cost more in the long run, and waste more overall.

2009-01-22T07:46:00.000-08:00

Ban hand-guns. Only military and police should be allowed to own and use them. For the rest of the world, there is no legitimate reason for ownership. Owning a shot-gun or a rifle is should be sufficient for those that like the destructive power of a gun.

2009-01-21T20:26:00.001-08:00

New laws don't make things better. Rules must exist, but should be well-thought out and minimized.

2009-01-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

We need a new model for our lives. With the old ones overturned, so many people have been cast adrift in a complex world. How can you make sense of the world around you, if you're not aware of your place in it?