Archive Page 2
On Knighthood
“A knighthood is a unique thing,” said Hoy. “You can’t compare it to anything else – it’s something that money can’t buy.
via BBC SPORT | Olympics | Olympian Hoy surprised by honour.
Something tells me this statement is less than accurate. I’ll get back to you if/when I can back up my gut feeling (not that my gut is anything less than reliable).
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Tags: hoy, knighthood, Olympics
The Quintessential Knowledge
I thought I should draw your attention to a blog started by a good friend of mine. You’ll find that he is loquacious at times and his opinions are strong and forceful, but that’s what blogs are for, right? He also writes much more regularly than I do, which I admit is one of my many shortcomings.
You’ll find a direct link to his blog, The Quintessential Knowledge, on the BlogRoll to the right.
Post Script: You’re welcome, Shine.
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Tags: quintessential knowledge, shine
Torture
I find it hard to accept confessions of guilt that are extracted under the duress of torture. My line of reasoning is that torture (be it physical or psychological) is likely only employed after a person is unwilling to divulge information voluntarily. This is not to say that he is innocent of the purported crime or does not know the answer to what is being asked, but only that his willpower to stay silent is more powerful that the external forces questioning him.
By initiating torture in the first place, the torturers are admitting that they were unable to obtain the confession/information through milder means. So when the torturer asks a question (such as, Did you kill that man?) the question is not only the one explicitly stated. Rather, the implicit (and perhaps more important) question being asked is Do you want this pain to stop? Luckily for both parties involved, this question (and the “right” answer) needs not be said outloud. The person being tortured know how to stop the pain.
This seems to me to be quite a lousy balance between the two answers. Say what your torturers want to hear (which in all cases of torture is easily identifiable) and the torturing stops. Say what your torturers don’t want to hear, and the torturing continues. Even if the person being tortured understands that in the long run his or her confession will have larger negative ramifications, torture’s main purpose is obviously to have the immediate pain override this larger reasoning.
Post script: After writing this, that graphic scene in the movie Casino Royale comes to mind, where James Bond is stripped naked and whipped in his sensitive nether regions. Unfortunately, the scriptwriters conveniently write in a scene where Mr. White strolls in and shoots Le Chiffre, leaving the question of Bond’s heroic ability to stay true to his superiors unanswered. Sorry for the aside…
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Two Things on my Mind Right Now
The Tobacco Industry and the proliferation of cigarettes in particular
-Why are tobacco companies so successful despite a mound of evidence that undeniably shows how cigarettes kill people?
-How are these tobacco companies and their apologists able to use the defense that smoking (or not smoking) is purely a matter of choice and free will (i.e. it would be unconstitutional, immoral, Orwellian for any authority to discourage/ban/stop smoking)?
The Fine Wine Industry
-I just watched a fascinating talk given by Benjamin Wallace about the expensive things in life, including his investigation of the Jefferson Wine Bottle controversy.This rekindled my interest in the realm of wine (and the larger realm of alcohol consumption)
-What are people paying for when they buy incredible expensive bottles of wine?
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My preliminary thoughts…
On Smoking
The phenomenon of smoking must be deconstructed to a greater degree than the simplistic dualism of choice vs. non-choice, . If tobacco businessmen [Ha, I almost said smokers, but I have a feeling those at the head of smoking companies are not necessarily smokers themselves] want to bring in the philosophical ideals of free will, let’s bring in some real philosophers to weigh in on the matter. I’ll share my personal thoughts in the near future, but my general feeling is that free will advocates ask themselves how they define free will itself in the context of biologically addictive substances which are intentionally added to mass consumed products.
On Wine
I think wine (and other alcoholic drinks) reveal a lot about the twin powers of peer pressure and suggestion, even in the the mature, grown up, sophisticated people who think they are immune to such things. Dare I say that when rich billionaires buy wine they are buying (in order of decreasing importance): social status, a pretty glass bottle, and then the liquid inside it.
Post script
I was introduced to the world of Social Theory in a class I took last quarter, and one guy in particular caught my attention, Pierre Bourdieu. If I get the change I’d like to read his book Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. This might help me in addressing the two issues above, especially the wine one…
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Tags: addiction, alcohol, benjamin wallace, cigarettes, free will, hardy rodenstock, smoking, tobacco, wine
Just Watched Harold and Maude
In short, I loved it.
I first heard about Harold and Maude over the summer after my discovery of the music of Cat Stevens. Having him provide most of the soundtrack already gave me a good feeling about the film. I was even more delighted to find that the movie’s feel suited my own personality greatly, namely its randomness. This is not to say that there were no profound moments (because there were many), but I like movies that leave a lot of explaining to the viewer, and Harold and Maude certainly fit the bill in this regard.
But wait, there’s more…
I was shocked and delighted when halfway through the movie Maude gave Harold a banjo to play. Over the summer (when I wasn’t listening to Cat Stevens) I decided to start learning the banjo, due in large part to my introduction to Bela Fleck. This sealed it for me: Cat Stevens, randomness, and banjo. What more can I ask for?
In short, watch it.
Harold and Maude
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Tags: banjo, cat stevens, harold and maude
When I first learned about the hundreds of people that have been killed every year at Mecca during Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage, I was shocked at how stupid and senseless these deaths were (and still are). No single individual in the crowd can be blamed for the ensuing chaos, yet these predictable regular casualities can hardly be attributed to natural “Acts of God” either (the dates of Hajj have been set by the Islamic religious authorities).
I was reminded of these annual deaths when I read an article earlier this morning about a Walmart employee who was trampled to death by shoppers rushing into the store. These deaths were not caused by that ancient religion Islam, but by a much more recent and discreet one, consumerism. The
In both cases, no one can be blamed, but can someone be responsible?
P.S. Hajj is just around the corner (December 6th to December 9th 2008) and while I sincerely pray no one will be killed or injured, I am certain I will be proven wrong.
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Tags: black friday, death, hajj, islam, mecca, stampede
I just got back from a Bela Fleck and the Flecktones concert at Yoshi’s in San Francisco, and it was incredible (for lack of a better, stronger, more emotional word). I’m going to hold off on completing this post until I’m more awake, but stay tuned…
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Tags: banjo, bela fleck, christmas, flecktones, jazz, music, San Francisco, yoshi's
Top 100 living geniuses
I had a laugh after reading the following list of the “Top 100 living geniuses” compiled by “Creators Synectics, a global consultants firm.”
Here’s the set up…
British geniuses feature heavily in a recent list that notes the greatest living thinkers of our time – proportionately more than any other country.
And the punch line
The company emailed 4,000 Britons this summer and asked them to nominate up to 10 living people who they considered geniuses.
In related news, I just polled a random sampling of 4,000 corn farmers, and it turns out that the top 100 living geniuses really live in Iowa.
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Tags: geniuses, not
Arbitrary Boundaries?
This is the sort of post where a vivid concept has come to my mind on many occasions, but I still don’t know if it has a name or background. It’s very hard to discuss a concept that has no name, so I hope that someone out there can help me. Here’s what I mean by arbitrary boundaries…
When we take lofty abstract ideals and attempt to enforce or codify them, we must often determine where one category starts and the other ends. People often criticize such arbitrary boundaries. For example, if a tax law were enacted that taxed people making $50,000 or more, what about the guy that making $50,001? How about $49,999? When someone is standing in line (say a ride at an amusement park) and find out that the guy in front is the last person they’ll let in, the person who just missed the cut will surely argue his case to get in.
For the tax example above, the problem can be partially rectified by creating a continous scale that prorates by income. However, not all problems are so easily solved. Take illegal immigration. Assuming that it is necessary that a country set limits on how many people enter per annum, someone in the beauracracy has to figure out just how many people to allow into the country. There’s no reason why the last person to fulfil the quota deserves to get in any more than the one who is shut out, but the law does exactly that. On an individual basis, all of us can surely empathize with those wronged by such arbitrary boundaries. However, at a grander scale, we also can understand why such boundaries must sometimes be drawn up (unless you are an anarchist or Jean-Jacques Rousseau).
I’m of the opinion that such arguments (which almost always stem from the individual adversely affected) are moot. If you just miss getting into the store that’s closing for the night or just miss getting that A on the midterm, you might argue with the authority figure and get bumped up. The boundary then shifts, and the next person in line or the next student on the gradesheet has his or her chance to complain. A slippery slope if there ever was one.
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Tags: arbitrary, boundaries, immigration
Dave Brubeck Concert
I went yesterday with a few friends to watch Dave Brubeck perform in San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall. Our trip from Stanford was quite an adventure, as we arrived in San Francisco around 6:45 (Caltrain) and walked about 2 miles to get to the concert (which started at 7:30). We got to the front doors right at 7:30, but ended up missing about fifteen minutes of the conert as the Will-Call line was enormous.
While Dave Brubeck is long past his prime, it was an incredible opportunity to witness an 87 year old moving his fingers faster than I can. In my short experiences with other octogenarians, I think Brubeck is living proof that aging is hardly an immutable process. However, I don’t feel that Brubeck the man nor his craft of piano playing are somehow immune to the ravages of age. I’m sure he constantly practices in private, and I think that’s why he’s able to stay sharp and perform at such an advanced age. I only wish that more people his age had such a devotion to their hobby, passion, or craft.
A Lion in Winter
There aren’t any insights or profound thoughts in this particular post, but I just wanted to take a break from studying for midterms to get this out. Of course, I have been interested recently at the way society treats its older members. Breaking this lofty thought down into more specific (and perhaps more threatening) terms, how do we as individuals treat the elderly people that we encounter, whether they’re relatives, friends, or strangers. More on this at a later date (read: after midterms).
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Tags: dave brubeck, davies hall, jazz, San Francisco
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