This brief post on Conservative Judaism from the Volokh Conspiracy is a great example of the intellectual weakness -- and consequent lack of appeal -- of an inconsistent, unprincipled middle ground.
Read more...Bad news: A neurobiology professor at UCLA specializing in vision research just gave up his work on primates due to persistent threats from animal rights activists. If justice was a metaphysical law written into the fabric of the universe, those &%*^@! man-haters would all go blind. Then again, I'd be delighted if ophthalmologists simply refused to treat them for even routine vision problems. Better yet, doctors could refuse to treat any known animal rights activist. It's best not to pollute those noble idealists with the fruits of medical experimentation upon animals, right? Let's end the sanction of the victim -- and let the animal rights activists wallow in the plentiful, debilitating, and oh-so-natural diseases of this earth.
(Via Slashdot and Doug Peltz)
Paul just sent me the following:
The California legislature has approved a bill to mandate universal (state-run) health care in [California]; eliminating private insurance. We'll see if Schwarzenegger vetoes this one.Holy socialism! I'm glad that Paul isn't practicing medicine in California any longer, because he certainly wouldn't practice under such a system.
http://www.sfgate.com/...
"On a largely party-line 43-30 vote, the Assembly approved a bill by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, that would eliminate private medical insurance plans and establish a statewide health insurance system that would provide coverage to all Californians. The state Senate has already approved the plan once and is expected this week to approve changes that the Assembly made to the bill."
The Ayn Rand Institute's Objectivism Academic Center is officially accepting registrations to audit the excellent year-long teleconference course on Objectivism taught by Dr. Onkar Ghate, i.e. the "Seminar On Ayn Rand's Philosophy Of Objectivism" or SARPO. Classes are recorded and made available on the web, so you don't need to block off your schedule for the whole academic year. The cost is $1000 for both semesters. That's a steal for 26 weeks of a three-hour class taught by Dr. Ghate! I took the course two years ago. It was truly superb.
For more information, see this page. Classes will begin soon -- and space is limited. So don't delay!
Update: I fixed the number of sessions, as per Greg Perkins' comment. Also, if you want to know more about how auditing works, you should contact Lin Zinser at lin@zinser.com.
I've been eagerly awaiting this announcement from ARI for weeks!
The Jihad Against the West: The Real Threat and the Right ResponseAs you can tell from the speakers, this conference will be of interest to a far wider audience than Objectivists. So spread the word! Read more...
A three-day conference event including a lecture by Yaron Brook at the Ford Hall Forum Boston, Massachusetts, October 20-22, 2006
Featured Speakers:Al-Qaeda. Hezbollah. Islamic Jihad. The Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas ... In Lebanon, Syria and Egypt; in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia; in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, in Pakistan and Afghanistan--in almost every country from the Middle East to the Far East a gang of Islamic terrorists is fighting to advance its own "holy" cause. So many groups have declared jihad that it's hard to keep them all straight--or even to know how seriously to take each of them.
- DANIEL PIPES, director of the Middle East Forum
- YARON BROOK, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute
- FLEMMING ROSE, culture editor of Jyllands-Posten
- ROBERT SPENCER, director of Jihad Watch
- PETER SCHWARTZ, author of The Foreign Policy of Self-Interest: A Moral Ideal for America
- JOHN LEWIS, assistant professor of history, Ashland University
But the threat to the West is deadly serious. We only have to remember Sept. 11 to understand that.
Some analysts have declared that we have entered an "Age of Terror" and that there is no way to permanently eliminate these violent groups. But is the West really ready to concede victory so easily? Despite their sectarian differences, is there a common goal amongst the assorted terrorist groups? Who are they and what do they actually want? What accounts for the seemingly renewed sense of purpose amongst so many of them? What can and must the West do to ensure victory? Is peace possible?
Join us for a special conference to discuss "The Jihad Against the West." A distinguished panel of Middle East experts has been assembled to answer the most important questions of our time. While the experts will answer these complex questions from different points of view, they all agree on one thing: the real threat is Islamic totalitarianism and the right response necessitates engaging in a principled, ideological battle to defend the West from the jihad declared against it
Events will take place at Tufts University, Boston's World Trade Center and Faneuil Hall, concluding with a lecture by Yaron Brook at the Ford Hall Forum.
For more information: http://www.objectivistconferences.com/fordhall06/
A co-worker of Paul's forwarded this tidbit to him:
The British are feeling the pinch in relation to recent bombings and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved'. Soon though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross". Londoners have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorised from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance". The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was during the great fire of 1666.Heh.
Also, the French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher levels in France are "Surrender" and "Collaborate". The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability. It's not only the English and French that are on a heightened level of alert.
Italy has increased the alert level from "shout loudly and excitedly" to "elaborate military posturing". Two more levels remain, "ineffective combat operations" and "change sides".
The Germans also increased their alert state from "disdainful arrogance" to "dress in uniform and sing marching songs". They have two higher levels: "invade its neighbors" and "lose".
God must be even more vain than I thought: He caused a woman to have a painful bulging disc just so that He could see His own picture in an MRI. No, really.
Pre-posting update: Whoops! Paul already put this story in the queue. (He e-mailed the link to me.) He said: "The scanners we use in our radiology practice are pretty good, but obviously not as good as the ones in this story: 'Woman Sees Jesus in MRI Image'."
I think the author of 1 Chronicles must have been some kind of ancient Rain Man. Why would anyone normal person care about this X begat Y begat Z genealogy, let alone which sons got which suburbs of which cities?!? I've been listening for quite some time... and the lists of people just go on and on and on and on...
Read more...Professors live in fear of bad course evaluations from students. One poor fellow finally did the unthinkable:
Professor Pressured To Sleep With Student For Good Course EvaluationYes, that's from The Onion. (Via TJ Orson Olson, although I first heard about it from Robert Mayhew.) Read more...
FAYETTEVILLE, AR -- Alan Gilchrist, an associate professor of English literature at the University of Arkansas infamous for his tough grading standards and dry lecturing style, was coerced into sleeping with an undergraduate on Monday in order to earn a good course evaluation. "My tenure's on the line here, so I allowed a student to take advantage of me," said an emotional Gilchrist of the experience, which he hopes will earn him at least six "very much enjoyed" responses on the eight-item evaluation form. "I told myself it would be just this once, and that it would be over soon, and that it wouldn't be that bad, but I was used. And I can't stop showering." Sources said that the unidentified student is one of the most popular and charismatic on campus, raising questions about possible abuse of power.
I'm currently watching that horrible bit of Soviet propaganda, Mission to Moscow. I've watched less than 20 minutes, but it's already far worse than Song of Russia ever aspired to be. At least the basic plot of Song of Russia revolved around an apolitical love story. Mission to Moscow has no such redeeming neutral qualities. Perhaps most offensive of all, Joseph Davies loudly proclaims his determination to judge Soviet Russia objectivity every few minutes -- even though the film is already revoltingly pro-Soviet.
Oh, and I'm watching this movie as my break after a grueling two hours paring down the second section of Kant's Groundwork into a form suitable for my students.
Yes, I am a philosophical masochist.
Update #1: Oh dear God. The Davies just arrived in Russia. The train station is overflowing with delicious foods... and equality of the sexes!
Update #2: Oh, those industrious Soviet workers undermined by evil saboteurs!
Update #3: Yes, Yes! Let's trust the Soviets not to bug the American Embassy! They'd have the right to listen in if they pleased. And America has no private business whatsoever to conduct in Russia! (Really, I'm not exaggerating. Those were the claims made by Davies when confronted with the revelation of Soviet bugging of another embassy.)
Update #4: Wow, the workers even have time to learn excellent English in night classes. They are just so friendly and happy too. Those Soviets just aren't terribly different from Americans -- except slightly superior in all ways. Oh, and Americans sure are stupid about Russia, caught up as they are in their myriad misconceptions.
Update #5: Oh, and let's just ignore that whole small matter of the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
Update #6: Hooray! A defense of Stalin's purges! (Every time I think it can't get any worse, it does!)
Update #7: Davies speaking to Stalin, "I believe, sir, that history will record you as a great builder for the benefit of mankind." Stalin is humble in response, attributing his successes to the original plans of Lenin as carried out by the people.
Someone sent this supposedly cutesy little story to me:
An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.I think I wanna puke. When will people stop ignoring the line that divides basically harmless personality quirks and cultural mores from potentially dangerous character flaws? Oh right, when they reject altruism. I doubt that a person could lower himself to the pointless degradation of sacrificing himself to worthless and/or dangerous lowlifes -- without first accepting the immorality of drawing such moral distinctions in the first place. As Jesus said: "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matthew 7:1-2). Read more...
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house." The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
So, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!
A little while ago PhilosopherEagle posted a blog entry integrateing the conventions of modern logic with Ayn Rand's distinction between motivation by love and motivation by fear. No really, see for yourself:
Tonight, I resumed my study of modern symbolic logic, and I made an important integration with the distinction between motivation by love and motivation by fear. (Harry Binswanger criticized my presentation of Galileo for being motivated by the fear of criticism, so this distinction has been on my mind.) My observation is that the basic motivation of modern logic is the fear of slipping up and making a mistake rather than the value of coming to know the world. I have been puzzled for a couple of months now by many of the conventions of modern logicians. For example, any argument whose conclusion must be true is said to be deductively valid. So if our premise is that apples are delicious, we can validly conclude that John is either a carpenter or not a carpenter. I submit that this is not a valid deductive argument, because it is not an argument at all. The conclusion does not follow from the premise. In "The Logic Book," however, one finds this defense of the standard convention: "To put the point another way, this argument is truth-preserving. It will never lead us from truths to a falsehood because it will never lead us to falsehood--because the conclusion is logically true. There is no risk of reaching a false conclusion here precisely because there is no risk that the conclusion is false" (22). This point is true enough: if we have true premises, we will never deduce anything false from them. But the purpose of logic is not the avoidance any risk of falsehood. It is to guide us as we learn about the world and discover new knowledge. "Truth-preservation" is the wrong motivation for a system of logic. It is because of this motivation that modern logic is almost completely useless in real life.Nice! Read more...
Oh cool, it's irreverent but insightful Bible blogging! The chapter-by-chapter commentary by David Plotz is witty without either being preachy or hostile. The in-progress commentary on each book spans multiple pages, so you'll want to start with the first entries for Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. More will be forthcoming, I'm sure.
David Plotz has noticed some of the same delightful tidbits that I've noticed in my reading, such as:
"Creeping" is all over these last few verses of Creation. God tells His newly minted man and woman that they rule over world and its creatures, including, as the King James puts it--"every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." What a superb phrase! It's perfect for insects, terrorists, and children.I also wondered about the sins worthy of the Flood:
The story of Noah: "The Lord saw how great was man's wickedness on earth, and how every plan devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on Earth, and His heart was saddened. The Lord said, 'I will blot out from the earth the men whom I created--men together with beasts, creeping things, and birds of the sky; for I regret that I made them.' But Noah found favor with the Lord."Nothing could top this summary of the story of Lot:
The mystery of this passage is: What has man done that's so terrible? There's no explanation here, or in the next chapter, which merely says: "The earth became corrupt before God; the earth was filled with lawlessness." What corruption? What lawlessness? It had been a very short time since Creation--how much evil could man have learned? Why would God give up on man so easily? Also, considering how detailed the Bible is about particular human crimes both before and after here, why is it so vague about the antediluvian wickedness?
This chapter makes the Jerry Springer Show look like Winnie the Pooh. The Sodom business is worse than I ever imagined. Two male angels visit Lot's house in Sodom. A crowd of men (Sodomites!) gathers outside the house and demands that the two angels be sent out, so the mob can rape them. Lot, whose hospitality is greater than his common sense, offers his virgin daughters to the mob instead. Before any rapes can happen, the mob is blinded by a mysterious flash of light. The angels lead Lot, his wife, and daughters out of the city, and God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah with brimstone. Lot's wife looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt. (God may have listened to Abraham's rebuke, but He surely didn't heed it. What of all the innocent children murdered in Sodom and Gomorrah? What of Lot's innocent wife?)The commentaries also contain some interesting and helpful discussions of themes and threads in the text.
But the chapter's not over. After the attempted mass gay rape, the father pimping, the urban devastation, uxorious saline murder, it looks like Lot and his daughters are finally safe. They're living alone in a cave in the mountains. But then the two daughters--think of them as Judea's Hilton sisters--complain that cave life is no fun because there aren't enough men around. So, one night they get Lot falling-down drunk and have sex with him. Chapter 19 poses what I would call the Sunday School Problem--as in, how do you teach this in Sunday school? What exactly is the moral lesson here?
Paul is the person solely responsible for my small interest in magic. Since I found this amazing card trick via GeekPress, he's doubly responsible for this post.
Paul does have one card trick he does that "proves" another person to have ESP. He's only done the trick for/on me once about ten years ago -- and I'm utterly baffled as to how it works. He refuses to do the trick again, since he's sure that I'll figure it out the second time around. Not knowing still kills me.
These kinds of random snide comments about Ayn Rand really annoy me:
Even today there are people arguing that Ayn Rand is a major "liberal" theorist, and fighting to preserve her holy memory on the internet. This from a philosophy that starts out from two questionable tautologies and worships getting cancer. No rhapsody anywhere in Rand's books surpasses her paean to smoking.I'm not bothered by the author's strong objections to Ayn Rand's views so much as his method of expressing them. He wants to express his hostility without offering his readers the slightest chance to judge the facts for themselves. So what does he do?
I'm so thoroughly pleased to see the tradition of Objectivist speakers at the Ford Hall Forum continue. I'm particularly pleased by the choice of speaker, since I can't imagine a better person for the job than Yaron Brook. Here's ARI's announcement:
Sunday, October 22, 2006Paul and I will be traveling to Boston to attend. Read more...
A Ford Hall Forum Event
Democracy vs. Victory: Why the "Forward Strategy of Freedom" Had to Fail
Yaron Brook
[After Sept. 11 the Bush administration declared that we must go on a mission to bring freedom to the Middle Eastern nations that threaten us; thus, the Forward Strategy of Freedom. According to this strategy, establishing democracies in key Muslim countries, starting with Afghanistan and Iraq, would spur a revolution in the rest of the Muslim world--a revolution that would bring free, pro-Western, anti-terrorist governments to power.
But the strategy has failed. With the rise of the religious Shiites in Iraq, of Hamas and of Hezbollah, and with the electoral victories of Islamic radicals elsewhere in the Middle East, the Muslim world has grown more militant.
Why has the Forward Strategy of Freedom failed, and why was failure inevitable? What are the flaws inherent in the strategy? How does it necessarily undermine victory? What motivates it and what strategy should replace it? These are the questions Dr. Brook will address in this talk.]
Established in 1908, the Ford Hall Forum hosts public lectures in Boston, Massachusetts, by leading cultural figures, politicians and intellectuals. From 1961 to 1981, Ayn Rand was a frequent invited speaker at the Forum. Several of her lectures were subsequently published as essays in such books as The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought. Since her death, Dr. Leonard Peikoff has spoken at the Forum on a number of occasions, most recently in 2003. Dr. Brook will speak at the Forum for the first time this year.
Dr. Brook's lecture... will be preceded by several lecture events and a panel discussion, beginning with a campus club talk by Dr. Brook at Tufts University on Friday evening; more details will follow.
Location:
Ford Hall Forum/Faneuil Hall
Boston, Massachusetts
Time:
6:30 PM
For once, I'm in agreement with PETA: A taxpayer-funder performance in which a naked woman spends four hours hugging and slicing a dead pig is not art but rather "a desperate cry for help that merits visits from mental health counsellors, not voyeurs." (Via Thomas Lee on SoloPassion.)
Read more...Thanks to my "Ayn Rand" Google News Alert, I ran across this article by some doomsday environmentalist. I didn't read the whole article; I didn't have the stomach for that after reading this paragraph:
Before I read Derrick Jensen's "End Game," I was a "type A" pessimist. I believed humanity had had its "run," now Atlas would "shrug" in a way Ayn Rand never dared imagine, and in a few thousand, maybe even a few hundred years life would begin anew. But having read "End Game," I realize it's not "humanity" that's the problem, merely "civilization," which unfortunately, in its brief 6,000 years (humanity's been around for about 150,000 years), managed to usurp the cultures and traditions and land bases of nearly all of humanity. Before "civilization" (which includes any society living beyond its means, or "land base," as Jensen defines it, East and West, from China to Sumer to Egypt, Rome, Britain and the perhaps the most murderous, most wasteful civilization ever to have existed, the United States) and even during, even now, primitive cultures have lived on the same land base, followed the same culture and traditions for thousands of years and would have continued had not civilization, specifically European civilization, violently colonized the planet over the past 500 years.The United States is "perhaps the most murderous... civilization ever to have existed"? Most so than Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia? So where are all the hundreds of millions that we've slaughtered?
It's Darryl-Wright-O-Rama at the Ayn Rand Bookstore.
Dr. Wright's very fascinating -- albeit dense and technical -- lecture from the 2005 OCON has just been released:
"Ayn Rand and the History Of Ethics"This lecture is fascinating, but also quite dense and technical. So if you don't have some familiarity with the history of ethics, including the standard categories of "consequentialism" and "deontology" and the standard questions about ultimate values, then you'll probably have trouble understanding it. However, if you have those meta-ethical basics, you're sure to find it worthwhile.
Can reason prescribe the ends human beings should seek in life, as well as the means to those ends? This has been a central question in the history of ethics, and it is also a central question in Ayn Rand's Objectivist ethics. This lecture explores Ayn Rand's view on this question, bringing out its distinctive and important features and contrasting it with some of the most influential historical views, including those of Aristotle and Hume.
100 min., with Q & A -- Audio CD; 2-CD set: $23.95 or Audiocassette: $19.95
Bonus clearance sale: 50% discounts on four other Darryl Wright titles!I can't say anything about Modern Political Philosophy: Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau, since I haven't listened to it yet. However, the other three courses are excellent. I would particularly recommend Advanced Topics In Ethics first and foremost, then Reason And Freedom, then The Philosophy of Motivation. Read more...
Offer good through October 1, 2006
Reason And Freedom
This course extensively analyzes Ayn Rand's groundbreaking principle that the mind cannot function under coercion--and uses this principle as a case study in philosophic methodology.
Audiocassette; 6-tape set; 7 hrs., with Q & A -- Regular price: $79.95, Sale price: $39.95
Advanced Topics In Ethics
This course develops new perspectives on key topics in the Objectivist ethics. It focuses on two broad issues: the significance of the fact that everyone acts on some philosophy, and the dependence of the concept "value" on the concept "life."
Audiocassette; 5-tape set; 6 hrs., with Q & A -- Regular price: $68.95, Sale price: $34.45
The Philosophy of Motivation
Is achieving a value equivalent to avoiding a disvalue? Is pursuing life the same as avoiding death? This course, given by Dr. Wright, explores Ayn Rand's important distinction between "motivation by love" and "motivation by fear."
Audiocassette; 6-tape set; 7 hrs., with Q & A -- Regular price: $79.95, Sale price: $39.95
Modern Political Philosophy: Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau
This course contrasts Hobbes' and Rousseau's arguments for political absolutism with Locke's intransigent defense of individual rights and limited government. Dr. Wright corrects standard misinterpretations (such as the assertion that Hobbes' theory is egoistic and pro-capitalist, or that Locke endorses altruistic limitation on property rights), and compares their views with those of Ayn Rand.
Audiocassette; 6-tape set; 7 hrs.,with Q&A -- Regular price: $69.95, Sale price: $34.95
Weeks of hand wringing over tragic deaths. Weeks of calls for a ceasefire to shield aggressors from the consequences of their aggression and leave them free to regroup and cause more trouble. Oh so much effort expended to evade and even reverse the cause of those deaths, as with for example our ex-President Jimmy Carter saying, "...the concerns I exposed have gotten even worse now with the United States supporting and encouraging Israel in its unjustified attack on Lebanon. ... I don't think that Israel has any legal or moral justification for their massive bombing of the entire nation of Lebanon."
Who would have expected a cadre of Hollywood elites lead by Nicole Kidman to take out a full-page ad in the LA Times and lay the blame for those deaths squarely at the feet of Hezbollah and friends?
[Nicole Kidman], joined by 84 other high-profile Hollywood stars, directors, studio bosses and media moguls, has taken out a powerfully-worded full page advertisement in today's Los Angeles Times newspaper.Wow, as if seeing her in Eyes Wide Shut wasn't enough...
It specifically targets "terrorist organisations" such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine.
"We the undersigned are pained and devastated by the civilian casualties in Israel and Lebanon caused by terrorist actions initiated by terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah and Hamas," the ad reads.
"If we do not succeed in stopping terrorism around the world, chaos will rule and innocent people will continue to die."
"We need to support democratic societies and stop terrorism at all costs."
The man shown in the opening of this video clip winning mucho dollars on a game show -- a short-lived clone of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"? -- is Paul's very smart brother Tim. (As of 2004, Tim was still #8 on the list of top TV gameshow winners.)
Read more...Sadly, I couldn't agree more.
Lebanon Cease-Fire Is a Victory for HezbollahWithout a doubt, any supposed military victory in which the enemy is also capable of declaring victory to the world is no victory at all.
Irvine, CA--"The cease-fire is a resounding victory for Hezbollah and for Islamic fascism," said Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute.
"How can President Bush declare that 'Hezbollah suffered a defeat' in Lebanon when it was neither disarmed nor disheartened by the fighting? How can President Bush declare that the resolution addresses the 'root cause' of Hezbollah's aggression when it does not even mention Iran and Syria for their support of Hezbollah and other terrorist groups?
"A U.N. resolution calling for the disarming of Hezbollah in Lebanon is not the same thing as the actual disarming of Hezbollah in Lebanon--let alone the defeat of Hezbollah throughout the Middle East. And by urging Israel to end its military offensive, the administration has ended any possibility that Hezbollah will actually be destroyed.
"The only way to end the threat from Islamic totalitarian groups like Hezbollah and their state sponsors is to inflict crushing devastation upon them by aggressive military action."
Copyright (c) 2006 Ayn Rand(R) Institute. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
From ARI: Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute, is scheduled to appear on CNBC's "On the Money" tomorrow, August 17, at 7:00 pm Eastern (4:00 pm Pacific), to participate in a special hour-long program on passenger profiling.
Read more...Now that I've sold my Dell Axim -- for a considerable loss, unfortunately -- I'm happy to indicate what I found so utterly intolerable about it. For comparison, I'll use my much-beloved Palm T|X that I bought as a replacement.
First: The Axim wasn't terribly portable. That's particularly important to me since my primary computer is a slim and light laptop with a five hour battery. So my handheld must be uber-portable to be of value to me, since I can easily upgrade to full functionality with my laptop.
The Axim itself was larger and heavier than the Palm T|X. It felt bulky and unwieldy. It didn't have the minimal side-flip cover standard on the Palm, but instead came in a humongous padded case. When I searched online, I couldn't find a minimal case of the kind I like, i.e. like the Palm. That's not a trivial issue for me: space in my bags is always at a premium, precisely because I hate to haul around more than absolutely necessary. So I'm downright offended at the prospect of allotting extra inches for an mongo case for a handheld.
As if all that's not bad enough, the problem of bulkiness was seriously compounded by the power supply. It was massive: it had a thick, inflexible cord and large converter in the middle. Frankly, it wasn't much better than my laptop cord -- and I already regard that as unbearably bulky.
Even worse, the USB connector required for syncing wouldn't charge the Axim: a power supply was required. So if I was traveling, I'd have to bring the power supply for the Axim, not just the USB cable. In contrast, my Palm T|X does charge through the computer. I have a lovely little zip cable to do that -- and if I want the capacity to charge from the wall, I only need to bring my small iPod USB charger.
Second: The Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system was a nightmare. It was unbearably slow: I'd often have to wait five seconds or more to do something basic like open up my tasks or calendar. I've never experienced anything like that on the Palm.
Moreover, although I'm always quick to adopt new interfaces, I found Windows Mobile to be an incomprehensible labyrinth. It was simply impossible to remember where to find settings and even programs, since they weren't all grouped together as in the Palm.
Also, I expected the integration with Windows, particularly Outlook, to be significantly better than it was. That was a disappointment. The Palm does fine on that score, however. In general, Palm has much more software available for it.
Overall, I can't possibly express how happy I am to be back with Palm. Unlike the Axim, my new T|X does all that I ask of it -- with ease.
From ARI: Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute, is scheduled to appear again tonight on CNBC's "On the Money," August 15, 2006, at 7:00 pm Eastern (4:00 pm Pacific), to discuss racial profiling. This is the same program Dr. Brook appeared on last night. Tonight's expanded discussion of the same topic will include a four-person panel.
Read more...A recent press release from the Ayn Rand Institute, "Medieval Sexual Morality at the FDA," says:
Irvine, CA--"The FDA must stop the stalling tactics that have prevented over-the-counter sale of the 'morning-after pill,'" said Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute.Personally, I'm baffled as to why we have a system in which I need a prescription for birth control at all. I've been on the pill more-or-less continuously since I was a teenager. So why exactly do I need my doctor to authorize my taking it for yet another year? Oh right, it's because government bureaucrats think me incompetent. Silly me, I forgot!
"There is no question about the safety of the drug. The FDA's own advisory panel endorsed it three years ago for over-the-counter use. The delays are clearly an attempt by conservative FDA officials to impose their brand of medieval sexual morality on Americans. Such an egregious violation of the separation of church and state is unacceptable in a free country."
Libertarians no longer argue, as they once did in the 1970s, about whether libertarianism must be grounded on moral rights or on consequences; they no longer act as though they must choose between these two moral views. In this paper, I contend that libertarians need not choose between moral rights and consequences because theirs is a political, not a moral, philosophy; one that can be shown to be compatible with various moral theories, which is one source of its appeal.This abstract is overflowing with obvious disdain for the philosophic foundations of political theory: Philosophic debates between libertarians are of no significance today. Truth need not be considered, since opposing philosophic foundations can produce "equal fervor" for liberty. Liberals and conservatives should embrace libertarianism not for its truth, but for its capacity to optimize the satisfaction of their desires.
Moral theories based on either moral rights or on consequentialism purport to be "comprehensive," insofar as they apply to all moral questions to the exclusion of all other moral theories. Although the acceptance of one of these moral theories entails the rejection of all others, libertarian moral rights philosophers on the one hand, and utilitarians on the other, can embrace libertarian political theory with equal fervor. I explain how can this be and why it is a strength rather than a weakness of libertarian political theory.
Conservatives, neoconservatives, and those on the left who seek to impose by force their comprehensive conception of "the good" neglect the problem of power - an exacerbated instance of the twin fundamental social problems of knowledge and interest. For a comprehensive moralist of the right or left, using force to impose their morality on others might be their first choice among social arrangements. Having another's comprehensive morality imposed upon them by force is their last choice. The libertarian minimalist approach of enforcing only the natural rights that define justice should be everyone's second choice. A compromise, as it were, that makes civil society possible. And therein lies its imperative.
An announcement from ARI: Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute, is scheduled to appear on CNBC's "On the Money" tonight at 7:00 pm Eastern (4:00 pm Pacific) to discuss racial profiling to stop terrorism.
Read more...Within five to ten years, I predict that substantial numbers of seriously Christian women will opt to veil themselves in church (if not elsewhere) as a symbol of modesty and submission. Why? The question of veils is a much-discussed topic in relation to Islam at present. Not all of it is negative: I remember reading reports of fashion designers influenced by Muslim dress in their designs for women a year or so ago. Serious Christians are also increasingly concerned with modesty in dress for women -- and where better to look than Islam? Moreover, Paul (of the Bible, not of GeekPress) clearly requires women to cover their heads in church in First Corinthians 11:2-16:
Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.I must admit, I find the logic of all that a bit baffling. That's not important for Christian though, since the instructions are clear enough.
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
Oh, the rationalizations of moral cowards!
DEAR ABBY: I have a good friend who owns a prosperous business. I'll call him "Oscar." Oscar has no clue that one of his employees, "Shirley," is stealing big chunks of money from him.I'm not sure that the woman is legally an accessory to the crime; I suppose that depends upon whether she has a duty to her employer about such thefts. She certainly has a moral obligation to do so, whatever the law says. Oh, and I'm delighted that Abby added the last bit about the already-dead friendship, since that was extra-offensive! Read more...
I feel bad for the friend who is being taken, and also for the person doing the stealing. I know them both well, and if I were to tell him, Oscar would lose both a friend and an employee. Shirley has worked for him for more than a dozen years. Her son and her brother now work for him, too. If I blow the whistle, Shirley could lose her home and other investments.
This could get very ugly, and I don't want to be in the middle. Please tell me what to do. -- IN THE MIDDLE IN PHOENIX
DEAR IN THE MIDDLE: You were put in the middle the minute you learned about the thefts. You must tell the employer what is going on. To do otherwise makes you an accessory to the crime.
It will then be up to Oscar to decide if he wants to press charges. And please remember that the friendship between Oscar and Shirley ended when she started stealing from him. Friends don't steal from their friends. Opportunists do.
I'm happy to report that I'm doing well in my progress through the memory exercises from the Memory Master web site. That's good, since I need to get to the section on remembering names and faces before classes begin! (I discussed my reasons for developing these skills of memory in this post.)
It's thoroughly fascinating to experience the development and working of these techniques. They're not hard at all, although they do require generally untapped skills of transformation, imagination, and association. Once I cultivate those skills, the process of memorization will be downright easy.
To practice the "Substitute Words and Phrases" section, I decided to memorize the order in which the states joined the union. So far, I've pretty solidly memorized the first sixteen, i.e. those that joined before 1800. From memory, they are:
Oh oh oh! A letter to the editor from our very own Don Watkins!
Dear Editor:Read more...
It is disgraceful that, five years after September 11, our government's response to a foiled terrorist attack is to stop airline passengers from boarding planes with tooth paste, shaving cream, and bottled water. Such measures, while inconveniencing millions of Americans, will only cause the terrorists to change their tactics. It will do nothing to quell the threat of Islamic totalitarianism.
As we've seen in Israel's struggle against its enemies, national security cannot be achieved through homeland defense or an endless cycle of diplomacy. It requires waging war to crush the hostile groups and dictatorial regimes that threaten us, so that they no longer have the capacity or willingness to do so. Only that, not screening bags and banning beverages, will make us secure.
Don Watkins
Ayn Rand Institute
Copyright (c) 2006 Ayn Rand(R) Institute. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Does anyone know what has happened to Ian Hamet of Banana Oil? Some folks are becoming worried by his total silence of late. (Since he's been living in Shanghai, there's some reason for concern, I think.)
Read more...A letter to the editor from ARI's Debi Ghate on the terror plot discovered yesterday:
Dear Editor:As John Lewis has observed, these defensive measures against terrorism are like building walls around Rome, the city that was once so powerful that it needed no walls to protect it from the barbarians. Read more...
If termites are weakening a home's foundation, what do we do? We call the exterminator and eliminate the problem. If armed robbers are at our doors trying to break their way in, what do we do? We defend ourselves to the best of our abilities until the authorities arrive to eliminate the threat.
If Islamic totalitarians come close to murdering hundreds of people by mixing common household materials to blow up airplanes, what do we do? Apparently, we stop carrying liquids and gels in our carry-on luggage.
What should we do? We should insist that our government eliminate the real source of the problem decisively and quickly. Islamic totalitarian groups such as Hezbollah and Al Qaeda, and the countries supporting them such as Iran and Syria, are hell-bent on attacking Americans. They will not stop unless we make it impossible for them to function or regroup. Their infrastructure and support networks have to be permanently disabled as quickly as possible in whatever way our military recommends. A drawn-out, five-year "War on Terror" where we help build roads, plants and hospitals in the Middle East only strengthens the resolve of our enemies.
And they'll keep trying to blow up planes in the meantime.
Debi Ghate
Copyright (c) 2006 Ayn Rand(R) Institute. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Speaking of VanDamme Academy teachers, Luc Travers will be giving two guided tours of The Huntington Galleries (near Los Angeles) this Saturday. A number of friends from Front Range Objectivism were able to attend similar guided tours in Boston during OCON: they all rave about the experience, some even describing it as the highlight of the conference. Lin Zinser told me that Luc's guided tour taught her to understand art conceptually, as opposed to merely responding emotionally, something she's never been able to do before. (Unfortunately, my schedule was so full at OCON that I wasn't able to attend.)
Here's the announcement:
Appreciating Art, ObjectivelyLuc told me that he'll accept RSVPs through Saturday morning, but space is limited, so a spot is not guaranteed. Read more...
A Guided Tour of the Huntington
by Luc Travers
When: Saturday, August 12th, 11am and 2pm
Where: The Huntington Galleries and Gardens, main entrance near ticket counter
Cost: $10 for tour fee.
Museum admission is $15*, $10 for students.
Info: www.huntington.org
Luc's cell: (949) 813-5287
Please RSVP--the number of participants on the tours will be limited!
* A substantial discount will be included if at least 15 people confirm their attendance.
This tour will apply the principles of visiting museums and "reading" art that were introduced on my previous tours. The goal is to come out of the museum spiritually refueled, just as you might feel after seeing a good movie.
The Huntington is one of the West Coast's great collections of art and is especially strong in 18th and 19th century European and American works. For breaks in your art "reading", the Huntington estate is filled with a variety of incredible gardens (the Japanese garden is especially picturesque).
This will be the first in an upcoming series of tours of Southern California Museums. I look forward to seeing you there!
Often, upon hearing one of Lisa VanDamme's excellent lectures on education, I wish that I could travel back in time to re-educate myself at her VanDamme Academy. Even though I had a stellar education by American standards, I know that I'd be a far more clear and well-grounded thinker if I'd had her kind of education under my belt. From what I've heard from people at OCON, I'm not alone in those sentiments.
Happily, my "First History for Adults" course with Scott Powell, a history teacher at the VanDamme Academy, is giving me a chance to catch up on some of what I missed. I'm growing ever-more excited about that course. Scott teaches history in a way that I've never experienced before, whether in school, with my history reading, or from Objectivists. I'm finally learning -- and really learning, not just hearing in one ear and out the other -- an integrated, essentialized, causal history. Now when I read more detailed accounts of some era or event, I'll be able to place that new material in a clear historical context -- and use the methods I've learned in class to essentialize, integrate, and retain it. So I cannot recommend Scott Powell's "First History" course highly enough.
I'm also delighted to recommend Scott Powell's new Remote History Program for homeschoolers, just officially announced. (As some might recall, I blogged the teaser a few weeks ago.) Denying your children the opportunity to learn history from Mr. Powell borders on child abuse. (Okay, I admit that I'm exaggerating a bit -- but just a tiny bit!) Here's the official press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERead more...
Contact:
Scott Powell
Remote History Program
VanDamme Academy
25201 Paseo de Alicia, Suite 105
Laguna Hills, CA, 92653
Phone: 949-510-3737
http://www.vandammeacademy.com
VanDamme Academy, an acclaimed private school in Orange County, CA founded by noted Objectivist educator Lisa Vandamme has a developed system for providing its comprehensive history curriculum to homeschoolers and parents everywhere. The school has named this educational initiative the "Remote History Program."
Starting in September 2006, VanDamme Academy's elementary grades history teacher, Scott Powell, will offer classes to students across the country. Mr. Powell explains, "Our program spans the entire history of the West, from Ancient Egypt to Modern America. This year, to keep the program synchronized with our own curriculum, we will be offering the history of Europe (from AD 300 to the present)."
The story of Europe, Mr. Powell elaborates, "is both an exciting story in its own right, and an important background and foil to the development of America. We will look at the emergence of Europe out of the Dark Ages, following the fall of Rome, and the evolution of its various nations up to the present day, noting especially the role of Christianity and monarchy in shaping their cultures. Quite simply, it is an amazing epic, with both shocking villains and powerful heroes. Children love it!"
"To make this program available as widely as possible," explains Ms. VanDamme, "Mr. Powell's lectures will be broadcast both as live teleconferences, which teachers and their students can attend by phone, and by internet, via the school's website. In this latter format, students will be able to access recorded lectures on their own time, if the class times are not convenient. This truly represents an unprecedented opportunity for students everywhere to access an essential curriculum component that has sadly been displaced in public and private schools alike."
The Remote History program is now accepting enrollment applications. Parents and teachers are directed to the program's webpage at www.vandammeacademy.com/rhp.
For those of you who haven't seen Dr. Yaron Brook's fantastic "State of ARI" presentation (or even haven't seen it lately), you'll want to check out the just-updated "About ARI page on the Ayn Rand Institute's web site. It lays out the essentials of that "State of ARI" talk, summarizing ARI's overall strategy and particular programs. While I'm always delighted to see such a small organization doing so much, keep in mind that this text version is no substitute for the excitement of seeing the full talk live and in person.
Also, for those of you who saw Dr. Brook give the latest version of "State of ARI" at OCON, you'll notice a new program under "Going Forward":
Expansion of ARI's campaign to promote a U.S. foreign policy of self-interest. This effort will entail a significant expansion of our advocacy work on college campuses, in public forums, through the print and electronic media, and with policymakers and academics.Excellent! Read more...
When I woke up this morning, my first thought was "Fantastic! I feel better!" Unfortunately, that lasted for all of about a half hour. I suspect that I wore myself out by feeding the horses this morning, just in walking the very short way down the hill to the barn and back to the house.
Right now, I'm desperately trying to do something of some value, so I'm reading Leo Tolstoy's long story "Family Happiness." However, knowing Tolstoy, I'm quite certain that won't improve my mood.
Update: Sadly, I was right about "Family Happiness." It's a well-done story, despite its abominable view of love.
Here are two stories, one serious and one a bit more whimsical:
The first is this cool photo deblurring algorithm.
The second is the instruction video, "How to Open a Beer Bottle with a Piece of Paper".
I just got this announcement via e-mail:
Greetings!The web site doesn't say much right now, but more is promised in September. From what I've heard, the goal is simply to provide students with a stellar education -- not to be an Objectivist college, whatever that might mean. Read more...
There's been a lot of mystery surrounding the startup of Founders College--the greatest revolution in higher education of our lifetime. You can be the first to get the real deal (not the media mush) on this exciting project by checking out www.founderscollege.com. Whether you're a friend or just curious about the project, you're getting a first look because you're a rational, prolific, powerful web communicator. There will be many exciting milestones to come--announcement of our location, full faculty listing, and much, much more--and we'll be in touch along the way.
Best,
Tamara K. Fuller
Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer
Founders College Education, Inc.
I got really sick yesterday. I'm still damn sick today. It's just a cold, but it hit me so hard toward the mid-morning yesterday that I couldn't do much other than lay about and watch movies. So I watched:
After a busy weekend on call at our Level 1 Trauma Center, I thought I'd post some examples of classic medical slang. Here's a related list, with a more UK flavor. And of course, there's a Wikipedia entry. Most of these terms are never used in front of patients, for obvious reasons.
Angel lust: a male corpse with an erection (not uncommon). Is also sometimes used to mean death that occurred during intercourse.Although this sounds suspiciously like an urban legend, there is a supposedly true story of one doctor who had scribbled TTFO ("Told To F*** Off") in a patient's chart. When the case later went to trial, the doctor was asked by the judge what the acronym meant, and luckily for him he had the presence of mind to say: "To take fluids orally". Read more...
BFH: Brat From Hell, usually accompanied by PFH, i.e., Parent(s) from Hell
Bobbing for apples: unblocking a badly constipated patient with one's finger
Bury the Hatchet: accidently leave a surgical instrument inside a patient.
Code brown: Incontinence-related emergency
DBI: Dirtbag index, which is calculated by the number of tattoos on the body multiplied by number of recentmissing teeth, to estimate days without a bath
Donorcycle: motorbike, the biggest cause of donated organs!
FTF: Failure to fly, for attempted suicide victims
GPO: Good for Parts Only
Journal Of Anecdotal Medicine: The source to quote for less than evidence-based medical facts
N=1 trial: Polite term for experimenting on a patient
Neuro-fecal Syndrome: S**t for brains
Organ recital: A hypochondriac's medical history
O-sign: Found on the very sick patient who lies with mouth open. Precedes Q-sign
Q-sign: Following the O-sign, it's when the terminal patient's tongue hangs out of their open mouth
Rule of five: If more than five orifices are obscured by plastic tubing then the patient's condition is critical
TFBUNDY: Totally f*cked but unfortunately not dead yet. Best avoided in the medical notes
TUBE: Totally unnecessary breast examination
UBI: Unexplained beer injury, for all those hungover people on Sunday mornings with black eyes or swollen knees and no idea how they'd got them
Whopper with cheese: Fat woman with yeast infection
These clips of "Unnecessary Censorship" from Jimmy Kimmel's show are BLEEPing great.
This NY Times article is a fascinating look at the causes of the robust health enjoyed by modern Americans. Although medications are helpful, the fact is that we suffer from the diseases themselves far less often, far later in life, and far less severely than did our ancestors. So what explains that? Scientists suspect that better living, particularly better nutrition and fewer serious diseases (thanks to vaccines) for fetuses and babies (i.e. through age two) is responsible. Fascinating! (Hat tip: Virginia Postrel)
Read more...Sascha Settegast recently posted a lengthy blog entry on on patriotism. Here's a bit of an appetizer:
Patriotism commonly is understood as "love for the fatherland". From this point of view patriotism mainly is an emotional disposition. It consists in feeling somehow "proud" of the country you live in. Tragically, most people today have no sufficient idea of their country's history, ideological makeup, and other things that could lead one to be legitimately proud of it. Instead, their pride is a seemingly causeless sense of "belonging". Ask people in the street why exactly they are proud of their country. If you can get any answer out of them at all, it will be insignificant. What these people evade is the fact that patriotism is not merely an emotional, but primarily an intellectual issue. It does not merely consist in feeling "good" about one's country without giving reasons. One should know what is good about one's country, and reversely, one also should know what is bad about it--and why. Since "good" and "bad" are value judgments, patriotism thus concerns itself with values, and especially--but not exclusively--with political values.I haven't thought much about patriotism, so I can't say much other than (1) that I like that approach and (2) that the whole post is an intriguing foray into the topic. Read more...
The Ayn Rand Bookstore is selling two of Leonard Peikoff's excellent lecture courses at a substantial discount:
Induction in Physics and PhilosophyThe sale ends on October 1st. Read more...
By Leonard Peikoff
These historic lectures present, for the first time, the solution to the problem of induction--and thereby complete, in every essential respect, the validation of reason ...
(13 hrs., 42 min., across 7 sessions, with Q & A)
Audio CD; 14-CD set:
Regular price: $210
Sale price: $145
Audiocassette; 12-tape set:
Regular price: $180
Sale price: $125
The Dim Hypothesis: The Epistemological Mechanics by which Philosophy Shapes Society
By Leonard Peikoff
This 15-session course--part lecture, part discussion--was presented live to a worldwide audience by phone and on the Internet. It is based on Dr. Peikoff's The DIM Hypothesis (book-in-progress), in which he looks at the role of integration in the culture and in practical life ...
(22 hrs., 9 min., with Q & A)
Audio CD; 30-CD set:
Regular price: $310
Sale price: $215
Audiocassette; 15-tape set:
Regular price: $265
Sale price: $185
I found The Brick Testament via this funny post from Principles in Practice. The site portrays Biblical stories -- in Legos.
I highly recommend the non-work-safe Instructions on Marriage.
Jim Valliant just posted a really interesting essay on anti-Semitism in the New Testament to SoloPassion. It's well-worth reading. (Don't just skim it!)
Although I've read bits and pieces of the Bible before, I'm in the process of reading the whole Bible straight through for the first time. Or rather, I'm listening to it: I found a pretty good reading of the King James Version available for free. (I didn't want any of those new-fangled translations.) So far, I'm finding it absolutely fascinating. For example, I never knew that God demands salt upon his meaty sacrifices, but that's quite emphatically stated in Leviticus 2:13. I'm taking notes on my digital recorder of points of more substantial interest, so I'll surely blog those once I transcribe them.
So I've not yet read the whole of the New Testament, but I'll definitely be on the lookout for the points Jim highlights when I do. That should be interesting!
In general, I expect the New Testament to be far more philosophically painful than the Old Testament. However, I must endure that pain to teach a bit of Christian ethics this upcoming semester!
The fancy RFID transponders in the keys of newer cars are supposed to make those vehicles unstealable. That sounds absurd: any technological defense can be overcome -- and will be, with the proper incentives. Nonetheless, it's precisely what some insurance companies say in the course of accusing you of fabricating a car-theft claim. In fact, thieves have found a variety of work-arounds, some provided by the vehicle manufacturers themselves! I recommend reading the full story from Wired. Not only is the information quite interesting, but it might well save you a boatload of financial hurt someday. (Via GeekPress.)
Read more...Global warming is being blamed for all sorts of crap.
Read more...
I'm Diana Hsieh, a philosopher specializing in practical ethics. I received my Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009.
Paul Hsieh is a physician specializing in orthopedic and emergency radiology. He blogs about science, technology, and random humorous items at GeekPress. He's a co-founder of Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine (FIRM) and regularly writes for its blog, We Stand FIRM. He has published a slew of op-eds and essays on health care policy. You can e-mail Paul at paul@paulhsieh.com, and follow him on Twitter @PaulHsieh.
Greg Perkins is a software architect working in the R&D labs at Hewlett-Packard, Boise. His degree is in mathematics and computer science. Greg hosts The Objectivism Seminar. Aside from work and philosophy, he plays jazz saxophone professionally with groups such as The Sidemen and Onomatopoeia. You can e-mail Greg at greg@eCosmos.com, and follow him on Twitter @gregperk.
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