Rational about Rationality (Skin in the Game)
Rational about Rationality You don’t need science to survive, but you need to survive to do science. The best definition of rationality: actions that increase the chances of survival.
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Philosophy
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Chapter 1: See Things for What They Are – Intense Realism (The 50th Law)
Malcolm X* Curtis Jackson (50 Cent) learned from his experience on the streets, that the only way to get what you want in life, was to be realistic.
The Anti-Escape
The person who stands accused of escaping is usually the alcoholic or the chronic gamer, the drug addict or the problem gambler, but who cannot be accused of escaping? Do people not escape by doing things that are…
Chapter 17: Post-truth (21 Lessons for the 21st Century)
A prevalent idea today is that we live in a post-truth world. That fake news and political figures like Trump and Putin have driven the world away from their ability to recognize truth from fiction. In this chapter,…
Chapter 14: Secularism (21 Lessons for the 21st Century)
What is secularism? It is important to know first what it is not. Unlike religion, secularists don’t believe that they have a monopoly on truth, compassion, and morality. Seculars try to separate truth from belief.
Habits That Blind You
William James, the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, made an interesting argument about habits. He said that society would fall apart if not for habits. James was not arguing that this…
Chapter 2: Work (21 Lessons for the 21st Century)
Chapter 2: Work AI* When you grow up, you might not have a job What will our future look like with AI? Already, we are seeing signs of a very different world.For example, technologies already exist that can recommend…
Chapter 11: The Data Religion (Homo Deus)
Dataism says that everything consists of data flows and the value of any phenomenon or entity is determined by its contribution to data processing. This is not a new idea. Since Darwin’s On the Origin of Species,…
The Meaning of the Word and Other Essays Summary (8/10)
In his book, “The Meaning of the Word and Other Essays”, Jacques Ellul delves into the etymology and history of words to explore their true meaning. He argues that the original meaning of a word is often lost over…
Chapter 10: Terrorism (21 Lessons for the 21st Century)
Since 11 September 2001, every year terrorists have killed about fifty people in the European Union, about ten people in the USA, about seven people in China, and up to 25,000 people globally (mostly in Iraq,…
Trapped in Simulacra and Simulation?
The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth–it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true.Ecclesiastes In a world increasingly mediated by technology and awash in data, the…
Cain And Abel – What Is The Purpose Of This Story?
In the story of Cain and Abel, God asks Cain why he killed his brother. Cain tells him that he was angry because he had been cursed by God.* This short story in the Bible talks about two brothers, Cain and Abel –…
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