Posts tagged “society”

Responding to comments on my defense of selfishness: I support free speech and personal choice, but not your right to harm others. Secondhand smoke crosses that line. America isn't monolithic. And yes, a smoking ban might cut union services, but fewer carcinogens is a net win.

Scientology isn't uniquely corrupt. Christianity, Islam, and Scientology are the same animal at different life stages. Religion is a strong, viral, self-defending idea, but strong doesn't mean good. I'm done apologizing for rationalism. I think religion is actively harmful, personally and socially, even if I won't hassle you about it.

Looked up the etymology of "racism" today. The concept of race didn't exist until around 1770, and the word "racism" wasn't coined until 1935, by the Nazis. Before that it was "racialism." Apparently discrimination was so normal it didn't need a name. Also, being a victim doesn't make you an expert.

The information revolution mirrors the industrial revolution: cheap data is just raw material. The real innovation will be in mass-producing quality information. Social interaction matters not as an end in itself, but because it improves information quality. Build the barrel-making machine, not the barrel.

Found a great Kuro5hin piece linking the nature of reality to corporate vs. individual conflicts, exploring how organizations do things none of their members actually want, a theme Steinbeck touched on in The Grapes of Wrath.