Category Archives: Philosophy

Existential Question: Competence vs. Expertise?

Posted on 3 March, 2023 by alfin2101

The future survival of modern societies is balanced on a razor’s edge. Those societies that learn to distinguish between competence and expertise are most likely to survive and prosper. It is not clear that most modern societies will make the … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics | 1 Comment

Jordan Peterson in Clown Suit Speaks Profound Truth

Posted on 13 January, 2023 by alfin2101

Often the court jester is the wisest man in the kingdom. Dressing as a clown does not negate the truth in what a man says. In a recent interview with cognitive scientist John Vervaeke, Jordan Peterson delves into deep issues … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Brain, Jordan Peterson, Machine Intelligence, Philosophy, Russia, University | Comments Off on Jordan Peterson in Clown Suit Speaks Profound Truth

Is Re-Electing President Trump the Only Alternative to the Unutterable Madness and Decay of Wokeism?

Posted on 4 January, 2023 by alfin2101

Wokeism has taken over the US Deep State and most large social institutions in the US. The slow release of the Twitter Files by the innovative entrepreneur Elon Musk, is gradually unwrapping the ugly truth behind the government and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Trump, Education, Elon Musk, Government, Green Quagmire, Groupthink, Philosophy, Politics | 3 Comments

Habits and Metaphor: Constructing the Person

Posted on 15 December, 2022 by alfin2101

Rule One: Patterns of Action are Built on Habits It starts in the womb, as young minds construct habitual patterns of behavior — and create a new self-identity, with growing memories of “me.” The process continues throughout life, as ongoing … Continue reading →

Posted in Metaphor, Philosophy, psychology | 1 Comment

3 Sacred Rules of Coming Dystopia

Posted on 5 October, 2022 by alfin2101

“If AI went bad, and 95 percent of humans were killed,” he said, “then the remaining five percent would be extinguished soon after. So despite its uncertainty, it has certain features of very bad risks.” Stuart Armstrong 3 Rules from … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Anarchy, Dangerous Child, Future, Machine Intelligence, Philosophy, Superfluous Humans | 8 Comments

Rejecting Your Most Cherished Beliefs

Posted on 22 July, 2022 by alfin2101

Have you ever changed your mind about something that was of critical importance to you? Have you had beliefs that you were sure you would never change, but which you were forced to change by the evidence? That has happened … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Knowledge, Longevity, Philosophy, Russia, Ukraine | 1 Comment

The More Words, the Less Truth

Posted on 20 May, 2021 by alfin2101

To use many words to communicate few thoughts is everywhere the unmistakable sign of mediocrity. To gather much thought into few words stamps the man of genius.  Arthur Schopenhauer (Bio and work) Proverbs 10:19 The more talk, the less truth; … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Comments Off on The More Words, the Less Truth

How Belief Systems Crumble

Posted on 4 April, 2021 by alfin2101

Human belief systems are fascinating things. Whether they last a lifetime or whether they are demolished and rebuilt every few years, they all share some things in common. A belief system is ordinarily built from many separate pieces, like a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Ideology, Philosophy | 2 Comments

If We Cannot Solve Our Problems on the Same Level of Thinking that We Created Them then What Do We Do?

Posted on 9 March, 2021 by alfin2101

One of the largest problems needing to be solved is that most of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful elites do not want real problems to be solved at all. “A great crisis is a terrible thing to waste,” as … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Knowledge, Learning Theory, Philosophy | 2 Comments

You Don’t Know Me

Posted on 2 February, 2021 by alfin2101

Of course you don’t know me. I don’t even know myself. Here are some of the reasons why: Philosopher Thomas Metzinger makes an interesting case in his book The Ego Tunnel that we really have no selves at all, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, psychology | Comments Off on You Don’t Know Me

All Bye and Bye

Posted on 31 December, 2020 by alfin2101

No one knows who wrote this classic old time gospel favorite. It has been recorded by a long line of master musicians, from Mississippi John Hurt to Johnny Cash to Elvis Presley to Willie Nelson to Dolly Parton. The 1960s … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Philosophy | Comments Off on All Bye and Bye

Chasing the Dragon of Bliss

Posted on 28 December, 2020 by alfin2101

The term “chasing the dragon” was originally a description of the undulating nature of the opium vapor in a pipe, as the smoker attempted to suck up every gram of bliss contained in the drug. “Chasing the dragon” was expanded … Continue reading →

Posted in emotions, Philosophy | 1 Comment

Can You Explain?

Posted on 22 June, 2020 by alfin2101

Civilizations fall apart without steady maintenance . . . For something to last, knowledge, skills, culture, and enthusiasm must all be maintained through future generations. If you want to perpetuate human knowledge and human culture, you must do more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Maintenance, Philosophy | Comments Off on Can You Explain?

Science is the Belief in the Ignorance of Experts

Posted on 4 May, 2020 by alfin2101

We live in a pandemic of political correctness, which demands the brainless repetition of daily talking points from official experts. But rational actors must see the evidence for themselves, and will automatically disregard the “experts” in order to get at … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Science | Tagged | 3 Comments

Hobbling Time

Posted on 8 February, 2020 by alfin2101

There is an allotment of time for every thought. Our bandwidth of consciousness is limited to under one hundred bits per second at best, in spite of our ability to chunk information and utilise massive parallelism of cortical columns. When … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Pram | Tagged | 1 Comment

We Are Marching to Utopia . . . We Will Soon Be There! 2020 Edition

Posted on 5 February, 2020 by alfin2101

First published on the original Al Fin blog …optimists and idealists — with their ignorance about the truths of human nature and human society, and their naive hopes about what can be changed — have wrought havoc for centuries….instead of … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Utopia | Tagged | 1 Comment

Ending Your Life So As to Live a Better One

Posted on 18 December, 2019 by alfin2101

“The only serious question in life is whether to kill yourself or not.” __ Albert Camus Most of the questions we entertain are frivolous. It is the work of family, schools, employers, advertisers, friends, media, governments, and almost everyone else … Continue reading →

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Science: What it Is

Posted on 12 December, 2019 by alfin2101

Science is a Verb Science is an active and systematic way of building knowledge upon knowledge. We call it “the scientific method:” The steps of the scientific method go something like this: Make an observation or observations. Ask questions about … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Science | Tagged | 1 Comment

John Boyd: Destruction and Creation

Posted on 28 September, 2019 by alfin2101

Link to Paper: John Boyd: Destruction and Creation PDF This short work by John Boyd is re-published below to illustrate the type of thinking that is necessary to break out of fixed perspectives on how past and current events shape … Continue reading →

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Taking Responsibility by the Numbers, thru the Word, from the Heart

Posted on 6 May, 2019 by alfin2101

Note: This article is cross-published from the Dangerous Child blog Dave Ramsey: Responsibility by the Numbers Dave Ramsey is an author and radio personality who teaches different ways for people to take responsiblity for their finances: Get out of debt, … Continue reading →

Posted in Jordan Peterson, Philosophy | Tagged | Comments Off on Taking Responsibility by the Numbers, thru the Word, from the Heart

Everything Dies

Posted on 8 February, 2019 by alfin2101

A few thoughts on death — We will all face this moment at the end of our time. But before our own end, we are likely to watch while someone we love passes that mile marker. I think there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Comments Off on Everything Dies

If Not for Miscomprehension There’d be No Comprehension at All

Posted on 8 November, 2018 by alfin2101

Jordan Peterson has been on a speaking tour of Europe and the Anglosphere for most of the year 2018. On the surface, this grand tour of the western world is about promoting his latest book, Twelve Rules for Life. On … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Dysgenics, Jordan Peterson, Philosophy | Tagged | 2 Comments

Density

Posted on 19 September, 2018 by alfin2101

Density: The quality or condition of being dense. The quantity of something per unit measure, especially per unit length, area, or volume. The mass per unit volume of a substance under specified conditions of pressure and temperature. __ The American … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged | 2 Comments

Surge of Americans Renouncing US Citizenship

Posted on 2 August, 2018 by alfin2101

It seemed like there was exponential growth in the number of expatriates from 2008 until the end of 2016. However, the numbers seem to be leveling off, or even dropping. __ Source via TaxProf A large number of US citizens … Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Trump, Ideology, Philosophy, Politics | Tagged | 4 Comments

Jordan Peterson Read All of Sam Harris’ Books

Posted on 23 June, 2018 by alfin2101

The respective philosophies of Sam Harris and Jordan Peterson have not intermeshed smoothly so far. In two separate hour-length podcasts, the two men could not agree on a common concept of “truth” or an agreed upon method for the discovery … Continue reading →

Posted in Jordan Peterson, Knowledge, Philosophy | Tagged | 7 Comments