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Proof You Can Do Hard Things: An Essential Piece to Your Life Resume

blog.nateliason.com link posted by c_prompt in parenting

When a precocious yet nonconformist teenager asks why they need to learn calculus, what should you say? You know they will never use it in adulthood, outside of certain career choices. You co...

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• self-esteem,
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Ancestral Mathematics

editorial posted by c_prompt in Note to Self

In order to be born, you needed: 2 parents 4 grandparents 8 great-grandparents 16 second great-grandparents 32 third great-grandparents 64 fourth great-grandparents 128 fifth...

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A Philosophical Game: An Interview with Saul Steinberg

theparisreview.org link posted by c_prompt in baseball

The artist Saul Steinberg, who immigrated to the United States in 1942, was deeply preoccupied with identifying the essential threads of American life. For him, baseball was rich material. In 1954, h...

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How Imaginary Numbers Were Invented

youtube.com link posted by c_prompt in todayilearned

A general solution to the cubic equation was long considered impossible, until we gave up the requirement that math reflect reality. References: Some great videos about the cubic: 50...

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Debate: Be an Anarchist, Not a Minarchist

reason.com link posted by c_prompt in anarcho-capitalism

Should we be satisfied with limited government rather than no government? AFFIRMATIVE: Private, Contractual Methods Are More Efficient and More Just (Katherine Mangu-Ward) NEGATIVE: In Praise o...

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• philosophy,
• government,
• non-aggression principle,
• libertarianism,
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The political significance of LSD - the shifts in consciousness brought about by psychedelics could help to dissolve our fear of the other

opendemocracy.net link posted by c_prompt in politics

“Microdosing” on psychedelic substances like LSD—ingesting just enough to heighten cognitive faculties, enhance creativity, improve concentration and alleviate depression—is currently back i...

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• psychedelics,
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• social change,
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Rewarding Disobedience: 2018 - MIT Media Lab is giving out a no-strings-attached cash award of $250,000 for "disobedience" that benefits society

media.mit.edu link posted by c_prompt in politics

Nominations are now open for the second MIT Media Lab Disobedience Award, which carries a $250,000 cash prize, no strings attached. This award will go to a person or group engaged in what we...

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Tu Quoque: Anatomy of an online argument

bardoloi.com link posted by pot_kettle_black in pot.kettle.black

The real goal of tu quoque (or any ad hominem attack) is to shift the focus to your opponent’s weaknesses as a way to hide your argument’s weaknesses. To create a hypocrisy meme: 1) pick a trigger...

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Does hypocrisy invalidate an argument? A great discussion from Philosophy Stack Exchange

philosophy.stackexchange.com link posted by pot_kettle_black in pot.kettle.black

The general rule is that a person’s behavior does not invalidate that person’s arguments. This is because ideally philosophical arguments are based on reason. Thus if the reasoning is valid, it do...

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The Worst Man In Modern History

goldmoney.com link posted by c_prompt in capitalism

It seems extraordinary that in defiance of all factual history and philosophical knowledge anyone should celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of Karl Marx. More than anyone, through wrong-headed ide...

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Jeff Bezos Just Revealed the Remarkably Powerful Mind Trick That Made Him a Multibillionaire

inc.com link posted by c_prompt in Note to Self

Live without regrets: On November 4, Jeff Bezos was interviewed by his brother Mark at the ideas festival Summit LA17 event in Los Angeles. During the course of this interview, Jeff revealed...

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The Great Hoax of Equality

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

History repeats itself. Men have constantly fought and died in the war for equality throughout the centuries. However, not all of them had in mind the same idea of equality when they gave their lives...

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Manipulating Americans is easy

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

You're an idiot. That's right. According to New York spin doctor Sheherazad Jaafari (aka press-aide or press attaché), Americans are easily manipulated. All politicians need to do is admit that th...

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Oh No! Science Supports... The Anarchists!!

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

I'm talking about the real anarchists here, not bloody bomb-throwers or anti-capitalist window breakers. I'm referring to people who have faced the scary fact that all coercive power corrupts and tha...

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Irrational self-interest

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Selfishness is often defined as an evil that deals with one caring for oneself more than for others. Many evils in the world are blamed on selfishness. Hunger, poverty and illness are supposedly all...

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Dealing with pain during the holidays

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The holidays are often difficult, and can be downright depressing, especially for those who have pain from a loss, a traumatic experience, or just plain loneliness (e.g., not having a date for holida...

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• psychology,
• holidays,
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Killer viruses - should we make them?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

We all have previously learned about the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918, which killed between 20-40 million people worldwide in our history classes. Now with the advance of modern molecular biology techn...

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The last line of defense when the law is wrong

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

There's a button that some wear on election day. It says "I voted." It's as if voting makes them feel powerful. But the vote they cast typically isn't for a specific law - it's usually for a polit...

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TIL Plato didn't believe in Platonic love and supported erotica

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Today I learned that Platonic love isn't what we thought it was. In fact, Plato didn't even believe in it, was pro-sex, thought erotica was a spiritual force that helps us find our true selves, and e...

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What really matters in life - it should be our first lecture

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Life is a constant struggle, especially because the lessons we learn are oftentimes knowledge gained after we really needed it. It's one of the reasons mentors are so important - they've "been there,...

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The revolution for individual freedom and the principles of cooperation

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Throughout most of human civilization, centuries of men have starved, died from the elements (for lack of proper housing), suffered terrible health, and barely lived. Even today, starvation kills mil...

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Madly in love - is there a rational basis to love?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

We need a new demotivational poster: "Science. A quick way to mess-up all those great love poems." The definition of rational isn't very controversial: "having reason or understanding." The defini...

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An interview with David Eagleman, neuroscientist

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

A neuroscientist is someone who studies "the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, or molecular biology of nerves and nervous tissue and especially their relation to behavior and learning." Although the...

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Ron Paul didn't go far enough - unleash the retirement accounts

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Ron Paul just came out with a plan to cut $1 trillion from the US's federal budget and severely curtail entitlement programs. According to the "Plan to Restore America," it cuts $1 trillion in spendi...

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• politics,
• libertarian,
• economics,
• philosophy,
• retirement,
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The rationality of alternative medicine

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

As many mourn the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs, they use words such as visionary, brilliant, innovative, leader, entrepreneur, capitalist, and philanthropic to describe him. Many aren't aware th...

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Imagine... what a wonderful world it would be

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Aristotle spoke of music as having "influence over the character and the soul." He noted that "Rhythm and melody supply imitations of anger and gentleness, and also of courage and temperance, and of...

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What happened to the "we" in "yes we can?"

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

How we do like to complain about politicians. We vote them into office (well, some don't vote) and expect them to change the world. To reduce war. To make our lives better. To keep their promises. Af...

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TIL you CAN prove a negative

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Today I learned the adage "you can't prove a negative" is false because you can prove a negative. It's very easy. We need to stop saying that. A better statement to use is "he who asserts a positive...

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Breaking the laws of physics - will philosophy become more important?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Just when you thought you understood how the world works, the tachyons come to shake things up. For those who haven't heard by now, the masterminds at CERN who brought you the LHC rap have made wh...

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The ethics of competition and our obligations to each other

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Competition increases change and motivates people to excel. For example, gamers recently competed to solve a scientific problem that has "vexed researchers for a decade." Companies compete for your b...

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It doesn't always get better, so stop faking what's real

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

It was all the rage. Following 14-year old Jamey Rodemeyer's tearful "It Gets Better, I promise!" video, in which he tried to show how positive he was in the face of gay bullying, other well-know...

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• children,
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• psychology,
• homosexuality,
• teenagers,
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Listen to my music - the philosophy of The Trees

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Make everyone equal. It is a common battle cry across the centuries. Just look at the current class warfare that Obama is pushing because we are not all equal. (Or, as Orwell famously put it in Anima...

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• music,
• philosophy,
• ayn rand,
• objectivism,
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The examples adults set for children

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Why are so many children familiar with the adage "do as I say, not as I do?" The answer should be obvious - because we, as adults, often do things that we don't want our children doing. Let's face it...

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The enemy to slay in a constant state of emergency

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Ron Paul famously said of neocons: The neoconservative ethos, steeped in the teachings of Leo Strauss, cannot abide an America where individuals simply pursue their happy, peaceful, prosperous l...

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How to get decent people to do terrible things - put them in positions of power

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Einstein once wrote that "our conscious acts spring from our desires and our fears." Many agree. For example, David Hume suggested in A Treatise of Human Nature that humans are prone to letting emoti...

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The seven blunders of the world that lead to violence

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

When it comes to non-violent, ideological leaders, Mahatma Gandhi has got to be toward the very top of the list. His resistance to British tyranny through mass civil disobedience is famous. Needless...

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Taxation is a fight between individualism and collectivism - which side are you on?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

When it comes to politics, it's difficult to say "liberals believe this" or "conservatives believe that." After all, within each political ideology, there are many views; sometimes even views that se...

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The makings of a good apology - act like a changed person

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Paris Hilton did it to Lindsay Lohan. Tiger Woods did it. American Idol did it. Couples do it. Sometimes we even do it to ourselves. Politicians do it as well, but they do it badly (just like everyth...

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If I voted, Ron Paul is the man I would vote for

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

First, let me make this perfectly clear: I am an anarchist (or, more specifically, an anarcho-capitalist). I do not support any kind of government, including a president. The last election I voted in...

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Space and "empty space": Much ado about nothing, or is it?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Space is a concept which is very rarely correctly understand by anybody, including modern physicists. However, the purpose of this essay is not to discuss the confusions of others in relation to this...

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Three cheers for capitalism - not two

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

As scary as it might sound, we already know that evidence doesn't matter much in the context of politics. So, even when there is clear evidence of a certain idea being factually true, many people don...

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The Davies Certainty Principle (Two-Minute Case Against The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle)

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Most of you are probably aware of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. It states that it is not possible to know the precise position and momentum of subatomic particles such as electrons. (There is...

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Short-selling - the protected companies

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

(Meanwhile, as the Italian cabinet approves a tough austerity plan, and as Nero feasts while Rome burns...) According to the AP, "France, Italy, Spain and Belgium are banning short-selling on sele...

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Gaming theory - why it matters and a definition

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

As this is an article about the theory of games, I thought that, as I intend to do this systematically, I should start with a brief post defining what a game actually is. You might think that I could...

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Superstitions - finding an impenetrable prophylactic against ignorant beliefs

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

One of the many fun things to do as a kid is to sit around a campfire late at night and hear adults tell ghost stories. Our imaginations would run wild - are there really such things as ghosts? Bu...

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• psychology,
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Does porn hurt relationships? Science says no

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Porn is like bacon: some won't eat it for religious reasons, some consider it filthy, some feel guilty after eating it, but everyone else (which is most of the population) loves it. Funny enough, sci...

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Selling organs for education

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Nowadays, you have to take on massive amounts of debt to go to college, only to graduate and find that there aren't any jobs available. So you leave college, go back to living with your parents, and...

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How to understand people - look at their actions

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Praxeology is a general theory of human action or, more specifically, purposeful behavior. Unlike unconscious behavior such as breathing or reflexes, we act in conscious, chosen ways to achieve vario...

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The courage of convictions - rational people don't agree to disagree

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Politics. Morality. Religion. Relationships. Even science. These are examples of the many categories in which you will find disagreements. These debates occur just as much with intelligent people as...

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The poor don't want charity - they want justice

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The latest weapon of mass destruction: starvation. The situation is dire. It's the worst drought in Africa in 60 years. The UN is airlifting food to Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. It's estimated th...

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• politics,
• economics,
• charity,
• poverty

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The savages among us

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Imagine that you are a human brought to another planet. You are not religious. You haven't any belief in God or the supernatural. On this planet, the aliens are immediately able to cure all your dise...

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Let's raise the debt ceiling to $1 quadrillion

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Remember the guy who talked about change? Where'd he go? In 2006, Obama said this: The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a...

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Have you no shame, and whose fault is that?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

You sometimes have to wonder why teaching children seems to be more complicated than rocket science. There are many valid debates in education as to the proper conditions required for a child to lear...

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• children,
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Tough love - the philosophy of BDSM

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

No doubt about it - we humans have a strong desire for sexual intercourse. It certainly makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, as the desire helps further humanity. But some are programmed for...

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Scary - facts don't change our minds

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

"Facts don't necessarily have the power to change our minds. In fact, quite the opposite." Before you read this article to determine where that conclusion came from, ponder that quote for a moment...

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The courage to resist

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Winning people's hearts and minds through ideas is one way to affect change, but it's a very, very slow process. Most would consider it "impractical." For those who want to implement change quicker,...

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The spirit of revolution

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

"Philosopher of revolution" Pyotr Kropotkin (aka Peter Kropotkin) once wrote: "America is just the country that shows how all the written guarantees in the world for freedom are no protection against...

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Well I'll be a monkey's uncle - evolution is not a matter of faith

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Humans and chimpanzees share 96% of the same DNA. In other words, from a scientific perspective, humans and chimpanzees are genetically very similar. As the battle between evolution and intelligen...

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• animals,
• biology,
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The morality of helping the poor family - where does it end?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who "passionately" believes in the welfare system, is lashing out at parents who are raising their children through social welfare programs. He thinks the issue is a...

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The Horse in the Plain

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Once upon a time, in a land far away which has nothing at all in common with the world we humans inhabit, a horse was running free in the plain. He longed to climb up the mountains and see the world...

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TIL hot water freezes faster than cold water (and be careful with reigning paradigms)

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Today I learned hot water sometimes freezes faster than cold water. Although there isn't one, conclusive scientific explanation for the phenomenon, one of the theories for why this occurs is that hot...

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Abolish political parties and add none of the above

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Jesse Ventura, of wrestling, acting, and conspiracy theory fame, is disgusted with politics. (And anyone who isn't disgusting isn't sane.) So he's come up with some new ideas. What do you think el...

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Slut walks, rape, and hypocrisy - what's eye candy got to do with it?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

How we do love eye-candy. And, after all, "since when is a woman dressing sexy in public a bad thing?" By now, you've probably heard about the various "slut walks" that are happening all over the...

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Apathy - ignorance going through the motions

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Considered the third, best-selling poet of all time, Khalil Gibran once said "Desire is half of life; indifference is half of death." Apathy is defined as having a lack of emotion, interest, or conce...

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Why is there so much hate and anger in the world?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

From a WoW forum: Original post: "So many trolls be trolling....thugs be thugging....haters be hating.... I love everyone on this server Spread the love." Reply post: "Homo." Sarcasm aside,...

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Are safety and freedom opposites?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

When it comes to protecting civil liberties, it just keeps getting worse. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now testing what it calls Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST). It i...

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Mine! The never-ending fight over Palestine

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Obama is currently getting criticized because of his recent speech asserting that the US government officially supports a two-state solution based on Israel's pre-1967 borders along with negotiated...

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O Me! O Life! and being thankful for what you have

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Monty Python famously sang "life's a piece of shit when you look at it." There's also the adage that, if everyone threw all their problems on the table, most would reach back down and pick up their...

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Ray Kurzweil - bringing my dreams to real life in a virtual world

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

When I was much younger, I told my father I believed I would live forever. He asked how that would happen and gently reminded me that we all die sooner or later. I explained that I believed we would...

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• technology,
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• second life

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The ethics of the placebo effect

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

A placebo is a sham or simulated medical intervention by a doctor in which some patients experience actual improvements in their conditions. Although it doesn't work on everyone, these effects in pat...

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Good form - etiquette and manners for politeness

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Good etiquette facilitates relationships, and good relationships help us live better lives. We've previously discussed proper manners in communications. Continuing in our etiquette and manners series...

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The essence of political definitions: what does it mean to be a liberal?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Ayn Rand once wrote that "Definitions are the guardians of rationality, the first line of defense against the chaos of mental disintegration." Perhaps that's one of the reasons politics always appear...

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Other people are not your property

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Ron Paul has entered the US presidential race for the third time as a Republican. But he's not really a Republican - he's a Libertarian. Ron Paul, like all Libertarians, is always talking about limit...

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The right to health care

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Here's the backdrop: in 2005, the US Supreme Court ruled in Castle Rock v. Gonzales that a person does not have a constitutional right to police protection, even in the presence of a restraining orde...

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Would you, personally, force someone to give charity?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The great political theorist and economist Frédéric Bastiat wrote in The State: "The oppressor no longer acts directly by his own force on the oppressed. No, our conscience has become too fastidiou...

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Is neurobiology making us morally ill?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Getting people to agree on objective moral principles is difficult, to say the least. Moral codes seem to span the gamut of culture, time, environment, experience, geography, gender, race, etc. Could...

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The cosmic conflict of religion and science

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

If you're looking for the meaning of life, religions are ready with an answer. As of yet, science doesn't have an answer, other than to possibly claim that there isn't any purpose. (Nihilists of the...

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The ethics of capitalism

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with morality, and the moral code/ideology used when differentiating between right and wrong is critical (e.g., consider that Hitler used national socialis...

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US has highest prison population - why?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Let this sink in for a moment: the United States has the highest prisoner population rate in the world. That's right, even more than China. (And, no - that doesn't include all of the hidden prisons i...

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Legislating morality and homosexuality

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Politics are a disgusting abyss of failed attempts to legislate morality. But why is it like that? Perhaps one of the primary reasons is because people can't seem to agree on what morality is; or, mo...

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Sports socialism

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Discussing sports, Noam Chomsky once remarked: "Take, say, sports -- that's another crucial example of the indoctrination system, in my view. For one thing because it -- you know, it offers people so...

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Environmental suicide

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Contrary to what the United Nations does, Mother Earth doesn't have a conscience. She can't tell us which of her resources she wants us to save, which to take care of, and which to use. Ergo, how we...

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Reducing HIV/AIDS by eliminating IP laws

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In the adventure film Sahara, General Kazim states: "Don't worry. It's Africa. Nobody cares about Africa." In 2009, it's estimated that 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with almost 70% liv...

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Government's taunt: "I know you are but what am I?"

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

There's an old Russian political joke where an American and a Soviet car salesmen are arguing about who makes better cars. The American asks: "How many decades does an average Soviet man need to work...

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Copyright trolling

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin which revolutionized the cotton industry. But he had a hard time profiting from his invention because he tried to charge farmers a huge price (2/5 of their profits...

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Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand's vision and warning

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

There's an adage that goes: if you've got enemies, it means you stood up for something in life. Out of all of the potential philosophies that you could adopt in your life, perhaps none may be more co...

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Learned helplessness

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In 1967, psychologist Martin Seligman performed an experiment on dogs by shocking them with electricity which appeared to start and stop at random. After the dogs were conditioned, he put the dogs in...

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If women ruled the world

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Do a search on the web and you'll find all sorts of criteria for what makes an effective leader. People can't even seem to agree on the definition of leadership. As a result, theories abound. But wha...

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People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The US government consists of a bunch of hypocrites. I know, tell you something you don't know, right? Recently, Hillary Clinton and her lackeys at the US State Department released the Country Re...

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Pronouncing moral judgment

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Sometimes it seems that the worse things get, the more we tolerate. It's not that we become impartial to a particular wrong, but it does seem that we often "sit on the fence" when we see wrongdoing....

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Beauty and the eyes of the beholder

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Many women like having big breasts. They also like looking good. According to the American Society for Plastic Surgeons, of the 13 million cosmetic plastic surgeries performed annually, women seek 9...

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• fashion,
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When what you're doing in economics doesn't work, just do more of it

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

You can call a fish a duck, but that doesn't make it so. Does anyone else find it funny that people claiming to be anarchists - which is, by definition, being against government - are rioting in su...

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The value of "no"

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Alexander Pope once said: "A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying that he is wiser today than he was yesterday." As in any discussion about a topic of...

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Any monkey can be an artist

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

We experience art as an emotional reaction to our senses. Enjoying art has a personal meaning and relevance; therefore, we evaluate art differently depending upon our own values, perceptions, and kno...

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Epic win - making a better world with video games

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

"Gamers are super-empowered hopeful individuals." They are masters at figuring things out, even medical problems. So who wants to use gaming to change the world? There are many problems to address...

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What's an hour of your life worth?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

So many consider money as the primary asset in life. Sometimes we are so caught up in the "rat race" that we forget that money, and each possession we acquire from it, costs us something very valuabl...

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America is very hostile to many businesses, believe it or not

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Attention US government. You're not very bright. By having a high corporate tax rate, you are pushing jobs, profits, patents, executives, research, and operations of US companies overseas. (And, as a...

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OMG! There's Discrimination in the Modeling Industry!

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

New research confirms scandal: not just anyone can be a supermodel. Such discrimination! Say the word discrimination and most immediately think of prejudice. In many countries, by law, employers cann...

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Administering justice through self-injury

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Pain is a part of life, and we all have different ways to deal with it. In what might appear to be a strange contradiction, some even go so far as to self-inflict pain in order to avoid pain. It's al...

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Better ideas - the Socratic method

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Socrates, the philosopher who claimed the contradiction "I know that I know nothing," provided us with a method to help us question what we think we know and to demonstrate otherwise: the Socratic me...

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America's leading leftist intellectual is angry

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

"America's leading leftist intellectual" and MIT professor Noam Chomsky once remarked that "The U.S. is a leading terrorist state, as are its clients." He has said "that there is no War on Terror." H...

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War powers and rebranded neoconservativism

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Can we all agree that, no matter who it is, the US president does not have the legitimate power to bomb another nation without an act of Congress formally declaring war? Five wars have been declar...

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Society and the meaning of individual actions

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Libertarians are often talking about freedom and liberty. Thomas Jefferson claimed in his magnum opus the Declaration of Independence that we all have a right to liberty. But freedom and liberty aren...

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Politics - a zero-sum game

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In politics, it seems that everything is an issue. Why? Because everything that politicians do is based on wealth redistribution - taking from one person and giving to another. As a result, politics...

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Japanese inspiration

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

If we don't stand for something, then we stand for nothing. In her famous novel Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand asks through Dr. Robert Stadler: "Have you ever felt the longing for someone you could admire?...

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• energy,
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Intellectual bankruptcy

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Why aren't liberals abandoning Obama when he does the same things for which they screamed at Bush (e.g., indefinite detention at Guantanamo, approving torture)? Because they have nowhere else to go....

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Eliminate all corporations

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

One of the problems with democracy is that it leads to corporatism. "Corporatism is a system where businesses are nominally in private hands, but are in fact controlled by the government. In a corpor...

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Honestly, why bother?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Given the growing unrest and corruption in the world, it's reasonable to generalize that social relations are strained and getting worse. It's difficult to pinpoint one specific problem but it's logi...

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Political correctness, sticks, and stones

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

It's interesting to trace the history of controversial subjects. Take political correctness for example. Political correctness, "used to describe language, ideas, policies, or behavior seen as seekin...

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• culture,
• philosophy,
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Rules for intelligent discussion

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Our Second Life intellectual discussion group is about bringing people together who like to think. We have wonderful discussions in group chat but, in an effort to constantly improve our discussions...

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Democracy - FAIL

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Article 21 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states the following: (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely ch...

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Initiating force against tasty animals

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

To sustain life, the human body requires nourishment. Such is the "catch-22" - how to sustain life without destroying life? Most (but not all) consider cannibalism as the ultimate cultural taboo, so...

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• animals,
• food

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Engineering the perfect human

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Recently, Harvard University had a panel discussing the legacy of the Human Genome Project. Started in 1990, and with scientists from six countries and initial funding of $3 billion, the project publ...

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• biology,
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The failure of unions and socialism

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Someone once made a comment that he was 100% supportive of a tyrannical, socialist government as long as he was the only citizen of his country (paraphrased). Throughout the world, and especially in...

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TIL all numbers do not equal all other numbers

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Today I learned through math that Aristotle was correct on the law of identify (i.e., A = A), and that everything that exists does have a specific nature. Specifically, all numbers do not equal all o...

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• philosophy,
• math

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War - can't we all just get along?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Besides death and taxes, there is arguably another clear constant in the world: war. Seemingly at all times, someone, somewhere, is always using violence to either get what they want or protect what...

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• philosophy,
• politics,
• military

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Which is better - absolutism or relativism?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Putting aside for a moment the idea of quantum entanglement, as of now, we know that you cannot physically be both in Spain and America at the same time. This is an absolute. We know that you cannot...

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Optical Illusions - Proof That The Senses Are Valid

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The senses have no power of distortion; what they observe is what is. Optical illusions do not validate the claim that the senses can deceive us: optical illusions are the senses making valid observa...

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• philosophy,
• science,
• biology

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For God's sake

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Possibly suggesting that religious beliefs were necessary for maintaining social order, Voltaire once wrote: "If God did not exist, he would have to be invented." Karl Marx agreed, calling it the "o...

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• religion,
• military,
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Private security forces

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Insurance companies have been getting a lot of negative press lately, especially when it comes to health care. It seems that, generally, people believe that insurance companies exist primarily for so...

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• business,
• politics,
• philosophy,
• economics,
• insurance

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Why Philosophy Precedes Physics

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

A few months ago, I was discussing certain aspects of quantum mechanics with somebody. I got around to saying that certain claims within the realm of physics can be rejected outright on philosophical...

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• philosophy,
• science,
• physics,
• ayn rand,
• objectivism

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Philosophy - Everybody Needs It

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

We deal with philosophy in one form or another, multiple times every day. For instance, every time we form an ethical viewpoint or act on such, we are forming a philosophical (ethical) idea or applyi...

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Ethics in the marketplace

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

When people argue against capitalism (aka the free market), almost never do they argue from an efficiency perspective. Instead, the arguments typically claim capitalism exploits the working class by...

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• economics,
• philosophy,
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Standards of love

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Have you ever seen posts on social networks where someone will say to all of her friends indiscriminately "I love you all!" or something to that effect? Well, if the Beatles were right, that all you...

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• philosophy,
• love,
• objectivism,
• relationships

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Relationship ultimatums

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

If you're a person who prefers the grayness of relativity to the "black or white" positions of an absolutist, ultimatums likely make you uncomfortable. But such is the nature of choices - selecting a...

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• relationships,
• philosophy

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Synthesizing happiness

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Through Hamlet, Shakespeare said "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." You'd never believe it if someone told you the secret to happiness in life is to accrue wealth, power...

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• philosophy,
• happiness,
• psychology,
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The myths of income equality

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Capitalism gets a bad rap, often claimed to be the destroyer of everything good. One argument made is that capitalism creates class warfare - the rich against the poor. So-called "social crusaders,"...

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• economics,
• philosophy,
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Zeitgeist - robots will fix everything

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The folks at the Venus Project and the larger Zeitgeist movement think society has many problems, and they are concerned. Hard to disagree. When a doctor is trying to cure what ails you, he'll typica...

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• politics,
• economics,
• intellectualism,
• technology

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Giving away something you don't have

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Through John Galt in Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand said: "The source of man's rights is not divine law or congressional law, but the law of identity. A is A - and Man is Man. Rights are conditions of exis...

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• philosophy,
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Get tough and improve a child's self-esteem

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Philip Larkin once wrote in a poem: "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do." We've discussed in this forum the benefits of self-responsibility on self-esteem. But what...

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• parenting,
• children,
• philosophy,
• psychology

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Desires are not rights

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

All economic goods must be produced by someone. They aren't gifts of nature or something that can be conjured up by waiving a magic wand. Somehow, people have gotten the false idea that it is governm...

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• philosophy,
• politics,
• history,
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The goals of mankind: the state vs. anarchy

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

As Murray Rothbard put it in his marvelous article The Anatomy of the State, "Some theorists venerate the State as the apotheosis of society; others regard it as an amiable, though often inefficient,...

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• philosophy,
• politics,
• anarchism

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Politics and philosophy - like water and oil

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Obama has a car czar, a food czar, a bank bailout czar, a poverty czar, bird flu czar, a czar czar... he has 37 czars in all. Interestingly enough, he doesn't have a philosophy czar. Perhaps you thin...

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Bearing responsibility for your own existence

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The higher your self-esteem, the more confidence you have in your ability to cope with life's never-ending challenges. Strong self-esteem is based on many factors, one of which is self-responsibility...

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• philosophy,
• psychology,
• self-improvement,
• objectivism,
• individualism

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Political regression and the meaning of words

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

John Adams once wrote "Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man...

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• philosophy,
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• objectivism,
• ayn rand

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Skins - I'm over it

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

I recently read "Conservatives Freak Out Over MTV's "Skins" -- Teenagers Have Sex. Get Over It." posted at the liberal blog AlterNet. If you have any question as to why kids, especially teenagers, ha...

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• philosophy,
• parenting,
• children,
• entertainment,
• education,
• teenagers

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Step-up and be a man

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Contrasted with being a "good guy," what does it mean to be a "real man?" Putting aside the obvious requirements of XY chromosomes "and a pair of testicles," what determines masculinity? Is there a w...

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• psychology,
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Rules vs. principles

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Our current culture appears to revolve more around "dos and don'ts," which is to suggest that society appears more focused on rules of what you are and aren't allowed to do. With that premise, perha...

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• objectivism,
• ayn rand

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Feeding the homeless banned

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Meanwhile, as people in Haiti continue to starve in a country "occupied" by 10,000 aid organizations under the government umbrella of the United Nations (an organization designed for war)... They're...

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• politics,
• philosophy,
• charity,
• poverty

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Disobeying an unjust law

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

A few days ago, the US celebrated a holiday dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. A prominent leader of the civil rights movement, he was a huge proponent of civil disobedience. As the "did they kill...

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• philosophy,
• police state,
• religion

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Perfectionism - doing better than your best

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In the movie The Rock, Sean Connery says to Nicholas Cage "Your best? Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen." There are those who think that perfection can be...

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• happiness,
• self-improvement

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Critical thinking

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Ayn Rand wrote that the process of thinking "is the process of defining identity and discovering causal connections." She claimed that thinking is a choice - not an automatic function - and she admon...

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• intellectualism,
• individualism,
• self-improvement

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Hedonistic self-gratification

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Morality is about determining which choices and actions are good or bad, which always leads to the question - what is the good? There are some who consider the good as those choices and actions which...

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• philosophy,
• ayn rand,
• objectivism,
• happiness,
• sex

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Stop being a bystander

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. displays the ominous words: "Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander." Although there are except...

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• science,
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Do we need morality?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Ayn Rand claimed that morality is a "code of values to guide man's choices and actions - the choices and actions that determine the purpose and the course of his life. Ethics, as a science, deals wit...

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Mixed economy fundamentals

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

There's a funny sign that reads: "Confused Socialist Party. Smash capitalism! Then blog about it on your $2500 Macbook." All of the major economies in the world are known as mixed economies. You migh...

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• ayn rand,
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The meaning of life

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Probably the most important question for most philosophers is what's the meaning of life. Although individuals have their own values that provide meaning to each, we don't yet have a verifiable princ...

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The simpler, the better?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Albert Einstein once said: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Although not supported by math or science, and certainly not an axiom of physics, Occam's Razor (or Ockh...

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• science,
• philosophy

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Philosophical Health Check

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Through Francisco d'Anconia, Ayn Rand claimed in her marvelous novel Atlas Shrugged that "Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You...

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I am sorry - now what?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Referring to the sexual abuse of children by priests, the Pope said "forgiveness cannot be a substitute for justice." Some people admit it when they are wrong and say so. But is that enough? Is forgi...

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Truth as a Christmas present

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

There's a funny t-shirt for babies that says "Santa doesn't exist but I can't read, so it's okay." Do you lie to children about Santa Claus (or leave it ambiguous)? What are the benefits and limitati...

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• philosophy,
• holidays,
• Christmas,
• children,
• parenting,
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Utilitarianism and justice

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

How do we know the right thing to do in our lives? In other words, what moral principles are at the foundation of our actions? Utilitarianism is the philosophy that the moral worth of an action is de...

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• philosophy,
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• happiness

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Good will among men

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In her interview with Playboy, Ayn Rand stated "My views on charity are very simple. I do not consider it a major virtue and, above all, I do not consider it a moral duty. There is nothing wrong in h...

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• charity,
• holidays,
• Christmas,
• music,
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Hero worship - no cape required

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Through John Galt, novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand discussed the "hero in your soul" in her famous book Atlas Shrugged: "Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless s...

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• philosophy,
• psychology

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Civil disobedience against the censors

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In his famous treatise On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau argued that individuals can promote justice by disobeying the law. History is replete with examples of civil disobedience...

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• politics,
• whistleblower,
• philosophy,
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The social contract defined and demolished in less than 5 minutes

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

By definition, a contract has to be an agreement. It's intellectually dishonest to call something a contract without an agreement. To paraphrase Lysander Spooner, a contract made hundreds of years ag...

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• philosophy,
• politics,
• economics

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Empathy - can you feel me?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

As a soft science, sociology is the study of the social behavior of humans in the pursuit of social welfare. Dr. Sam Richards suggests that the sociological analysis of the various aspects in your ow...

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• philosophy,
• sociology,
• science

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Making money from what you love

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

What do you love? What are your passions? Have any hobbies? Want to make some money from them? With the economy suffering, many continue to look for other income sources. Granted, many of the article...

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• jobs,
• writing

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The true story of Thanksgiving

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

As Thanksgiving rolls around to the US, children will be taught the false story of the first Thanksgiving (just one of many myths children are taught). The real story is a case study that teaches a v...

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• politics,
• philosophy,
• holidays,
• Thanksgiving,
• history

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A culture of dependence

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Have we become a culture of dependence? As far as we can see, the "producers" continue to support the "non-producers" instead of, say, "going on strike." Why do people generally think that they have...

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Ayn Rand vs. Mike Wallace - liberty vs. collectivism

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Ayn Rand warned us. She did it in her books such as Atlas Shrugged (and, to a certain extent, >The Fountainhead). She did it on TV such as in this famous interview between her and Mike Wallace on...

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• philosophy,
• ayn rand,
• objectivism,
• politics,
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• taxes,
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The irony of political agreement

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

It appears the "natives are getting restless." Liberals were "up in arms" (pun intended) because the organization Oath Keepers is preparing for violent revolt. They blasted Tea Partiers for purported...

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• politics,
• philosophy

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Most people don't vote

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

For those of you who refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils, take comfort in knowing that you're in the majority. Politicians are always claiming their wins indicate that "the people have spoken....

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• politics,
• philosophy

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Cloning - playing God

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In 1996, Dolly the sheep made headlines around the world as the first mammal to be successfully cloned. As a result of the experiment, President Clinton ordered research into the legal and ethical is...

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• philosophy,
• health care,
• medicine,
• politics,
• religion

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The morality of animal testing

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In the movie Extreme Measures, a brilliant doctor attempts experimental surgeries on live patients (who eventually die), trying to find a way to help spinal cord victims walk again. I think most agre...

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• animals,
• philosophy,
• medicine

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Is there justice in the world?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Louis Pasteur once wrote that chance favors the prepared mind. But is that the way it always works? Isn't it also true that, sometimes, good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• psychology

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Morality, politics, and reason

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Putting aside the debates as to whether or not social psychology is less rigorous because it is a soft science, or whether or not it is really science at all, how closely do our political choices mir...

• No comments
• politics,
• philosophy,
• libertarian,
• intellectualism,
• psychology

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TIL: Principles not based on majority vote

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Today I Learned that moral principles are not determined by majority vote. FTA: "A majority vote is not an epistemological validation of an idea. Voting is merely a proper political device within...

• No comments
• politics,
• philosophy,
• ayn rand,
• objectivism

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Suppressed war crimes

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The cover-up of the Iraq war is significant. Whereas many of us suspected it, WikiLeaks has provided the facts to support the truth. And the truth is - the US government has been lying to everyone (a...

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• politics,
• philosophy,
• whistleblower,
• conspiracy,
• terrorism,
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Pursuing the common good

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Although it's impossible to define it with objective standards, the concept of the "common good" is directly linked with "society" and the "majority." Which is better for humanity and should take pre...

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• philosophy,
• ayn rand,
• economics,
• objectivism,
• politics

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TIL: The media can legally lie

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Today I Learned that the media can legally lie. FTA: In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or...

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• politics,
• media,
• entertainment,
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Child exploitation

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

If we are to believe UNICEF, there are about 158 million children aged 5-14 engaged in child labor, "working in hazardous situations or conditions." Most people give this a scary name like "child ex...

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• politics,
• economics,
• philosophy,
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To the men and women of the mind - go on strike

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Making generalizations always comes with challenges. After all, just because a claim is oftentimes true doesn't make it fact in all cases. Although intellectual dishonesty abounds, I generally catego...

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Teach a man to fish

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In group chat, we recently went on a tangent to discuss the effectiveness of charity. (To quote one of our Braincravers, "teach a man to fish and he'll stay drunk on a boat.") Benjamin Franklin obser...

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Corporate destruction

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The history of humanity is based on progress. Progress has been the result of individuals coming together to solve problems and to enhance our lives. But history also provides numerous examples of gr...

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Why is there something rather than nothing?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

People study science and natural science (i.e., philosophy) to understand the nature of reality. Presumably, the more accurately we understand reality, the happier we will be. (Similarly, when we ope...

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Could WikiLeaks have prevented 9/11?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

There is enough evidence now to implicate the US government of a massive cover-up of 9/11. At this point, it's ignorant to claim otherwise. Yet, the only ones who suffer from the terrible events of 9...

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• terrorism,
• whistleblower,
• conspiracy,
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Positive vs. accurate thinking

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

It is said that bad habits die hard. How many times have you read in someone's dating profile: "I'm a positive person?" How often have you told someone to "think positive?" Psychology suggests this m...

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Put on your thinking caps

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a process of stimulating the brain with magnetic fields that changes/disrupts the way the neurons work. Is it possible to use TMS to unlock "hidden" cogniti...

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Global warming - no pressure

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

During the Spanish Inquisition, the Catholic Church authorized massive torture and violence against so-called "heretics" (non-conformists/non-believers). Although this history has been mocked by the...

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• environment

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What were you thinking?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Whether you're a moral relativist or absolutist, and based on whatever standards you choose, there are actions that you think are immoral. What is morally contemptible to you now might have been comm...

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• religion,
• philosophy,
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• police state,
• food,
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Teaching robots to lie

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Technology is so grand. With the research from this experiment, we might finally be able to replace the lowest form of humans - politicians - with robots. After all, if you can teach robots to lie, t...

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• philosophy,
• politics,
• military,
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What's worth dying for?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In the movie Braveheart, William Wallace says, "Every man dies, not every man really lives." For thousands of years, people have thought about the values to live for. Aristotle suggest we should live...

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• torture,
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Social contract hypocrisy

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Ayn Rand wrote "Modern collectivists... see society as a super-organism, as some supernatural entity apart from and superior to the sum of its individual members." Those who support freedom are often...

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The dangers of transhumanism

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

What does it mean to be human? Transhumanists want to use technology to enhance the human body. What are the ethical considerations for enhancing human biology with technology? Are we less human with...

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• technology,
• transhumanism,
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To criticize or not to criticize

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In order to avoid offending, is it proper to limit your criticism of someone's beliefs? Which is more respectful: critically examining someone's belief system or ignoring the topic to keep the relati...

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What friends are for

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Historically, friendship was based on shared values. Ayn Rand considered friendship as "the emotional response of one man to the virtues of another, the spiritual payment given in exchange for the pe...

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• friendship,
• social media,
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The definition of integrity

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Can a person strive to be something that he doesn't understand? Take integrity: are you a person of integrity? If so, how do you know? Is integrity always associated with virtue, or is integrity amor...

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The pursuit of happiness

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Ayn Rand said in Atlas Shrugged: "Happiness is the successful state of life, pain is an agent of death. Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one’s values....

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• happiness

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What men are made of - 'ifs'

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Robert LeFevre is said "If men are good, you don't need government; if men are evil or ambivalent, you don't dare have one." What is it that makes a good man? What are the aspirations of a good man?...

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Government charity and welfare

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

H.L. Mencken once wrote "Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under." This is an amazing story about Davy Crockett and how he learned what it means to uphold your principles. Why ar...

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Religion and moral truths

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Can a moral relativist and moral absolutist have an objective debate on morality if you don't share the same core values? In physics, a scientist will say that time is relative, but he will not say t...

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Atlas Shrugged changes lives

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Noam Chomsky said Ayn Rand was "... one of the most evil figures of modern intellectual history." Yet I find Atlas Shrugged an amazing book (and so do many others, like the man who recently drove aro...

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The central tenet of morality

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Let's assume for a moment that morality is a system of values that a group of individuals (i.e., society) must generally follow in order to live. Let's also assume that the closer individuals get to...

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The Beauty of Kindness

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

My last article dealt with the various aspects of romantic love. However, value comes in many forms and so does the emotional payment, love. Acts of kindness are pleasant in many aspects and many of...

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• love,
• kindness,
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The nature of happiness

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

My daughter just came back from camp and, as we were discussing all of her wonderful experiences, she mentioned that she bought a "happy book" at the camp store. You list all the things that make you...

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How to be a good person

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

What does it mean to be a "good" person? Is there an objective way to define good? Is there a specific procedure/method to evaluate something as good? Does defining the good in life even matter? Assu...

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Conformity and your lying eyes

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Mark Twain once said "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." What does it mean to think for ourselves? How often do we base our choices and actions...

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Anti-philosophy

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Philosophy is effectively the study of the fundamental, universal principles of existence. Are we ignoring both reality and philosophy when we claim that universal principals don't exist (e.g., that...

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The broken window fallacy

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

On September 14, 2001, Princeton professor Paul Krugman, who won the Nobel prize in economics, wrote the following in the New York Times: "Ghastly as it may seem to say this, the terror attack -- lik...

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Ethical double-standards

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

What's the difference between being a slave and a serf? When slavery was common hundreds of years ago, your master kept 100% of what you earned. Now they take about 50%. Masters used to keep you in l...

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Living your dreams

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

As I get closer to formally launching the real-life dating website braincrave.com, I've spent a lot of time reading about how to advertise. Not having any real experience, I first turned to the maste...

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Astronomical economic numbers

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The Noble physicist Richard Feynman once said "There are 10^11 stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it's only a hundred billion. It's less than the national deficit! We used to cal...

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Thinking about thinking

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Thomas Jefferson warned that "Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong." A high I.Q. does not necessarily transla...

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What is freedom

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

People always complain that freedom, self-rule, and/or anarchy are unworkable and too extreme. Why are any of those more radical or extreme than going into $14 trillion of debt, being in a permanent...

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Science and morality

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Are human values detached from science? Many, such as moral relativists, argue that morality has little, if anything, to do with reality. Science attempts to prove what reality is through an objectiv...

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Relative vs. absolute morality

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Are there absolutes? If so, does absolute morality exist, or is all morality relative? Why or why not? What makes something an absolute? Do objective standards exist for morality? If not, should they...

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Politics by Aristotle

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Written in 350 BCE. 'nuff said. FTA: "Democracy, for example, arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim t...

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No way not to consent

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Many of you here have often made the claim that you consent to the "social compact" by living where you live, or receiving the benefits from the state that you do. How can you call it consent if ther...

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Options when all else fails

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Can you think of any other or, at this point, are we out of options? How do you convince and/or reason with people who think civility is no longer an option? What other ways do you suggest to people...

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The truth meter

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Is there any circumstance in which the government should be a gate-keeper of information? What are the benefits of holding back information vs. letting information flow freely? FTA: "In a recent c...

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No such thing as society

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

"I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it. 'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.'...

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Love is...

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

My answer is that love is... Contemplation. Many would tell you that love is something beautiful and powerful. They might tell you that it is inexplicable and entirely irrational. They would be...

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Rats and the rat race

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In the future, will you look back, shake your head, and regret that you didn't follow your passions? Feel that you went against who you really wanted to be? Don't wait until another New Year's Eve -...

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Feminism - doomed to fail

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Is feminism doomed to fail? Is there even one accepted definition of feminism? Are there any benefits of feminism? FTA: "Although it is not Susan Pinker's intention in writing it, reading her exce...

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I'm Allowed to Rob You!

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Want to see a piece of paper that gives me the RIGHT to rob you? You don't believe there is such a thing? Are you SURE you don't believe it? From the video: "If you believe this piece of pa...

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Your philosophical premises

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

What are your premises for your life? Have you ever thought of your philosophical base in concrete terms? What principles do you uphold and to which do you just pay lip-service? Were your premises de...

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The Road Not Taken

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The Road Not Taken (by Robert Frost) Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To w...

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End justifies means?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The end does not justify the means; you cannot achieve anything good by evil means. No one's rights can be secured by the violation of the rights of others. - Ayn Rand DISCUSS! Original posting...

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Morals vs. preferences

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Morality is basically the principles/ideals that should direct everyone's conduct. What is it that makes moral fundamentals different than personal preferences (if there is, in fact, any difference a...

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Abortion and rights

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

An embryo has no rights. Rights do not pertain to a potential, only to an actual being. A child cannot acquire any rights until it is born. The living take precedence over the not-yet-living (or the...

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Learned helplessness

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

FTA: "Why do good men do nothing in the face of evil, especially when evil aggressively invades their lives? ...Some people are paralyzed by fear; some by denial. But many others are immobilized by a...

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Magnets manipulate morality

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

FTA: "By stimulating a certain region of the brain, scientists can alter a person's ability to make moral judgments... The study results show that stimulating a specific brain region interfered with...

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Minorities

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. - Ayn Rand DISCUSS! Original posting by Braincrave Second Life sta...

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Socialism or fascism?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

It is true that the welfare-statists are not socialists, that they never advocated or intended the socialization of private property, that they want to 'preserve' private property - with government c...

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Are you a bystander?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander. - Holocaust Museum DISCUSS! Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Mar 21, 20...

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Defending economic morality

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The collectivists assert the socialist moral imperative that the highest good for each individual is to live for the sake of others (e.g., for the good of "society"). Marx summed it up perfectly: "Fr...

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How to solve problems

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

"Always blame yourself. It's the only way your problems get solved." DISCUSS! Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Mar 12, 2010 at http://www.braincrave.com/viewblog.php?id=136...

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Question everything

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

"I believe there are three rules we must teach our children if we have any hope of humanity seeing freedom some day: 1. Question everything. 2. Never accept an answer just because it is presented by...

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Is being a Libertarian hypocritical

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Libertarians and others who don't like government (e.g., anarchists) are always talking about limiting and shutting down government programs. Yet they continue to use the benefits of these programs....

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Rejecting evidence to the contrary

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozl...

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Our biggest regrets

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Forgetting to Live for Myself (http://www.mybiggestregretever.com/) My biggest regret ever is forgetting to live for myself. I've been selling myself out for the people I want to love me. My whole...

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Book club - The Fountainhead

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

BrainCrave.com Book Club starting now. We will attempt to do this in group chat unless there is significant lag. If so, we'll switch to local. Please join us at Within Ten Years http://www.braincr...

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• books,
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What is love

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In honor of upcoming V-day (and maybe to give you something to talk about over dinner with your significant other)... Love is our response to our highest values. Love is self-enjoyment. The nobles...

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Speaking of dogs

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, a...

• No comments
• animals,
• death,
• philosophy,
• children

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Galilei vs. Carlin

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei (aka the founder of the scientific meth...

• No comments
• religion,
• science,
• philosophy

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The unreasonable man

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. - George Bernard Shaw...

• No comments
• philosophy

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The Fountainhead Howard Roark speech

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Men have been taught that the highest virtue is not to achieve, but to give. Yet one cannot give that which has not been created. Creation comes before distribution - or there will be nothing to dist...

• No comments
• ayn rand,
• philosophy,
• objectivism

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Objective truths and abortion

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

There's a new 5-day "morning-after" pill that's been tested for US approval (New 5-Day 'Morning-After' Pill Tested For U.S. Approval). Some people say the choice to abort is moral and use various...

• No comments
• politics,
• abortion,
• religion,
• philosophy

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Why are laws binding on you

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

How can laws be legally binding on me if I haven't explicitly and voluntarily agreed to them? Why is it automatically assumed that I agree to them even though I didn't sign anything agreeing to them?...

• No comments
• politics,
• philosophy

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No victim, no crime: medical marijuana

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Though I personally prefer Henry David Thoreau ("That government is best which governs not at all"), in honor of Martin Luther King, an advocate of non-violent civil disobedience... Here's a moral...

• No comments
• marijuana,
• politics,
• medicine,
• police,
• philosophy

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Economics 101: Moral hazard

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Have you ever heard the term moral hazard? Here's a good 3-minute video called Economics 101: Moral Hazard that discusses one of the biggest issues with ALL government policies which touch on busines...

• No comments
• economics,
• philosophy

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Morality and the trolley problem

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Remember that the socialist/collectivist mantra is that the NEEDS of the many outweigh the RIGHTS of the few? As I think we've established that socialists/collectivists have no problem with stealing,...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• politics

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Political methodologies

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Is there a proper methodology to discuss politics with? DISCUSS! Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Dec 13, 2009 at http://www.braincrave.com/viewblog.php?id=54

• No comments
• politics,
• philosophy

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The lesser of two evils is still wrong

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

I was recently having a conversation with a friend who was getting on my case because I don't vote in political elections. She likes Ron Paul but ultimately decided to vote for Obama because she knew...

• No comments
• politics,
• philosophy

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In the name of the best within you

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the...

• No comments
• ayn rand,
• philosophy

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What is it going to take to get the planet back on course?

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

The problem really is crime, isn't it? It doesn't matter whether it's legal crime, as committed by government agents, or whether it's crimes committed by communal garden scumbags. Before we can enjoy...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• politics,
• crime

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Too Good to Be True

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

For too long, our society has been tainted by this adage... this taboo of good things. Why, oh why, is this? A product of our psyche? A product of shared cultural values? Or, is it really undeniably...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• art,
• socialism

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Our Most Dangerous Pandemic

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Every act of communication - or non-communication - is a choice of influence. The essayist is confronted with a peculiar difficulty: he will have time to consider how he wants to influence others - w...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• george orwell,
• politics,
• intellectualism,
• honesty

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In Defense of Joe Stack

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Which do you consider more delusional: flying a plane into a government building in retaliation of government abuse or believing that the government exists to protect your individual rights? If yo...

• No comments
• politics,
• taxes,
• terrorism,
• philosophy,
• libertarianism

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The Cult of Moral Grayness

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

If I had a nickel for every time someone said to me that I'm too black-or-white, I'd be a rich man. It usually comes up in conversation with anyone that I've known longer than 30 minutes. I even had...

• No comments
• ayn rand,
• objectivism,
• philosophy

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The Fountainhead Book Club

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Who's Ayn Rand?? Only one of the most well-known and life-changing philosophers out there. Her philosophy is unlike any most have ever read. It's philosophy mixed in with drama and lots of great sex....

• 1 comment
• ayn rand,
• objectivism,
• philosophy,
• books

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Adult Education

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

I believe that Adult Education is best described as a continuous learning process through which adults acquire desired knowledge to satisfy their needs at that time. Adult Education is not restricted...

• No comments
• education,
• teaching,
• philosophy

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Ayn Rand: The Wired Interview (1998)

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

I'm a month late on this, for the spotlight of public attention, but I have an Ayn Rand story, too. 11 years ago I blind-pitched Wired magazine an ill-defined article on Rand. In response, they asked...

• No comments
• ayn rand,
• objectivism,
• philosophy,
• humor,
• funny

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Demagoguery

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Administrator's Introduction: The Greek philosopher Epictetus believed that only the educated are free. With that in mind, BrainCrave.com is more than just bringing people together for dating - it's...

• 3 comments
• politics,
• philosophy

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Dating in the Atlasphere... Bringing Love to the Fans of Ayn Rand

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Though I understand that www.braincrave.com and The Atlasphere are technically competitors, at a higher level of abstraction, their goals overlap. This is a brilliant video that discusses some of the...

• No comments
• dating,
• philosophy,
• ayn rand,
• objectivism

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I Stumbled... Upon Fun

editorial posted by braincrave in braincrave

Sigmund Freud famously said that "...we men... find reality generally quite unsatisfactory." Over the years, we have become less polite and more sloppy. Now-a-days, we say reality's a bitch. Regardle...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• self-improvement

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Marijuana Manifesto - A transcript of the Lew Rockwell Show episode 450 with Jesse Ventura

lewrockwell.com link posted by c_prompt in cancer

Listen to the podcast ROCKWELL:  Good morning.  This is the Lew Rockwell Show.  And what an honor it is to have as our guest this morning, the great, Jesse Ventura.  What do we say about Jesse...

• No comments
• marijuana,
• libertarian,
• seizures,
• philosophy,
• alternative medicine,
• legalization,
• prohibition,
• drugs

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Mind sex - intellectual foreplay, chemistry, and the lonely sapiosexual

editorial posted by c_prompt in dating

I was having a discussion with a friend the other day about online dating. She agreed there are some silly rules people have when it comes to initial messages and laughed at how we both break them (e...

• No comments
• sex,
• love,
• philosophy,
• intellectualism,
• music,
• online dating,
• romance

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Socialism: Force or Fantasy? Socialism Is an Endlessly Moving Target

fee.org link posted by c_prompt in socialism

Have you ever tried to nail Jell-O to the wall? It’s easier than getting a socialist to stand pat on what socialism is, which makes socialism an endlessly moving target. Socialists are so intell...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• capitalism,
• communism,
• fascism,
• libertarian,
• private property,
• politics

3

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Lisp: Learning to Think about Thinking | Restless Device

restlessdevice.com link posted by jeffs in programming

Great podcast about the Lisp programming language and why it's special.

• 3 comments
• philosophy,
• children,
• education,
• LISP

4

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The Inevitability of Eugenics: A Race of Self-Designing Tinker Toys

lewrockwell.com link posted by c_prompt in science

Mention of eugenics inevitably results in whoops of horror, gnashing of hair, rending of teeth, and discussion of Hitler. Occasionally, however, matters of importance merit discussion even if they...

• No comments
• transhumanism,
• genetics,
• philosophy,
• eugenics,
• disease,
• intelligence

3

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An Open Letter to Young Muslims Everywhere: The Seed of Triumph in Every Adversity

ramzybaroud.net link posted by c_prompt in politics

• 1 comment
• Islam,
• religion,
• Muslim,
• philosophy,
• war,
• imperialism,
• racism,
• ISIS,
• terrorism

16

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Stephen Colbert Interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson

youtube.com link posted by c_prompt in science

• 1 comment
• education,
• parenting,
• children,
• funny,
• quantum mechanics,
• physics,
• entertainment,
• philosophy,
• politics

4

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Captured, Cuffed, and Jailed: A Personal Story - Jeffrey Tucker

tucker.liberty.me link posted by c_prompt in politics

By day’s end, it was over. Except not really. This one incident is over. But the reality that none of us really control our lives, that none of our property is really our own, that we all stand v...

• No comments
• police state,
• philosophy,
• anarchocapitalism,
• freedom,
• false arrest,
• libertarian

7

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A Treatise on the Nonexistence of Art: Pretty Nearly, Anyway

fredoneverything.org link posted by c_prompt in art

Art is mostly fraud perpetrated by narcissistic academic quacks on a public easily gulled. They should be prosecuted. This is as true of literature as of painting and sculpture. If modern sculpture...

• 1 comment
• funny,
• painting,
• literature,
• sculpture,
• philosophy,
• elitism,
• art critics

3

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Put the “Ph” Back in PhD. We need big thinkers, but the current system teaches students to think small.

magazine.jhsph.edu link posted by c_prompt in science

By re-embracing the relevant branches of philosophy—a central field of the humanities—scientists will see and think more broadly, perhaps rediscovering what drew them to the field in the first pla...

• 1 comment
• philosophy,
• education

4

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Handcuffed and Helpless:There’s a naive idea floating around that an innocent person should never be afraid of cops

fee.org link posted by c_prompt in politics

What you are about to read is not a philosophical argument. It’s a personal testimony. The aim of telling this story is neither to make a political statement, nor to score points for a particular i...

• No comments
• civil liberties,
• coercion,
• liberty,
• rule of law,
• police state,
• libertarian,
• philosophy,
• racism,
• profiling

0

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Why You Should Never Say: ‘Beauty Lies in the Eye of the Beholder’

thebookoflife.org link posted by c_prompt in art

A society that can’t talk sensibly, publicly and perhaps at length, about beauty inadvertently condemns itself to ugliness.

• No comments
• philosophy,
• aesthetics,
• individualism,
• social norms,
• relativism,
• standards

4

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When Prosecutors Lie and Judges Collude: Denise Lunsford, Cheryl V. Higgins, and the Wrongful Conviction of Mark Weiner

lewrockwell.com link posted by c_prompt in politics

On Tuesday, July 14, Mark Weiner exited the regional jail in Charlottesville, Virginia, having been incarcerated there for a crime he never committed. He was facing nearly a decade in prison after be...

• No comments
• conspiracy,
• false accusations,
• ethics,
• philosophy,
• judicial corruption,
• wrongful prosecution,
• rights,
• fraud,
• fabricated evidence,
• prosecutor misconduct,
• justice

10

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2

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An open letter to Steve Huffman, reddit's new CEO, with an offer to exchange values

editorial posted by c_prompt in c_prompt

Steve, I'd post a comment welcoming you back to reddit if I was still a member. I'm not. My account was shadowbanned long ago (an account, by the way, which purchased $50 in ineffective reddit advert...

• 11 comments
• reddit,
• technology,
• philosophy,
• moderation,
• prices,
• costs,
• karma,
• about us,
• honors

5

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1

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1

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1

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Watch What Happens After A 13-Year-Old Boy Leaves “Public Education”

thefreethoughtproject.com link posted by c_prompt in teens

When conformity and rigidity are replaced with free thinking and innovation, the results can be quite stunning. Such was the case with 13-year-old Logan LaPlante, who left the public education system...

• 1 comment
• education,
• hacking,
• ted talks,
• home schooling,
• individualism,
• philosophy

2

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1

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People are scared of guns because they only have 2 outcomes: death & freedom. And freedom scares them more than death.

bravetheworld.com link posted by c_prompt in guns

I understand this quote is a bit of hubris, and I don't agree that these are the only two outcomes. I still like the quote and do agree that many people are terrified of freedom. People's fear of fr...

• No comments
• libertarian,
• freedom,
• philosophy,
• personal responsibility,
• fear,
• psychology

5

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The lovely Corrine is now teaching prostitutes about Bitcoin - "Sexworkers guide to... Paying for advertising with bitcoin"

aboutcorrine.wordpress.com link posted by c_prompt in bitcoin

Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff Tom Dart wrote in letters to Visa and MasterCard that it is “increasingly indefensible for any corporation to continue to willfully play a central role in an...

• 1 comment
• prostitution,
• sex,
• philosophy,
• privacy,
• slave trade,
• adult services,
• advertising

12

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2

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2

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4

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Why is Modern Art so Bad?

youtube.com link posted by Clarisse88 in art

For two millennia, great artists set the standard for beauty. Now those standards are gone. Modern Art is a competition between the ugly and the twisted; the...

• 3 comments
• art,
• bad,
• history,
• standards,
• philosophy

4

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1

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1

cool

0

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In defense of Google

editorial posted by digdug in technology

Never did I expect to write a screed with that as the title. But principles must be defended even when the actors are evil. First things first: however reluctantly, I admit to using Google for som...

• No comments
• google,
• capitalism,
• advertising,
• NSA,
• snowden,
• philosophy,
• conspiracy,
• fascism,
• politics,
• economics,
• privacy,
• spying

4

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From cries to contentedness

editorial posted by c_prompt in c_prompt

As I’m walking on my treadmill while working to the sounds of life passing by my open window, I hear the distant cry in frustration of a neighbor’s daughter (as all parents learn to differenti...

• 1 comment
• children,
• parenting,
• philosophy,
• independence

7

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Rules of Success to Adopt by Age 13

garynorth.com link posted by c_prompt in Note to Self

I don't agree with everything on his list, but included are many great principles. Here is why you should take me seriously. I was born in 1942. I have seen what works and what doesn't. I hav...

• 4 comments
• philosophy,
• self-improvement,
• business,
• culture,
• jobs,
• education,
• parenting,
• personal finances,
• wealth

8

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2

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1

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2

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Laura Schulz: The surprisingly logical minds of babies (TED Talk). Do I admit too much when I tell you I had tears in my eyes as she finished her presentation?

ted.com link posted by c_prompt in science

How do babies learn so much from so little so quickly? In a fun, experiment-filled talk, cognitive scientist Laura Schulz shows how our young ones make decisions with a surprisingly strong sense of l...

• No comments
• neuroscience,
• children,
• philosophy,
• psychology,
• learning,
• education,
• babies,
• reason,
• cognition

1

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Bad Things Don't Happen To Good People, They Create Good People

higherperspectives.com link posted by c_prompt in Note to Self

• 1 comment
• philosophy,
• relationships

2

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1

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Elon Musk: The World's Raddest Man

waitbutwhy.com link posted by c_prompt in technology

Chris Anderson, who runs TED Talks, calls Musk “the world’s most remarkable living entrepreneur.” Others know him as “the real life Iron Man,” and not for no reason—Jon Favreau actually...

• No comments
• automotive,
• aerospace,
• solar energy,
• energy storage,
• satellite,
• high-speed ground transportation,
• transhumanism,
• morality,
• philosophy,
• spacex,
• tesla,
• hyperloop,
• environment,
• artificial intelligence,
• venture capital

5

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0

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2

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God Realizes He Forgot To Put Souls In Humans

theonion.com link posted by digdug in funny

THE HEAVENS—While pacing across His Eternal Kingdom on Friday, the Lord God Almighty, He Who Commanded Light to Shine out of Darkness, suddenly realized He had forgotten to provide human beings with...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• morality,
• religion

3

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How we end up marrying the wrong people

thephilosophersmail.com link posted by c_prompt in relationships

tl/dr: Given that marrying the wrong person is about the single easiest and also costliest mistake any of us can make (and one which places an enormous burden on the state, employers and the nex...

• No comments
• marriage,
• dating,
• love,
• philosophy,
• happiness,
• psychology,
• romance

10

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2

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3

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3

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How America is like a bad boyfriend... and the irony is she's being lectured by a Brit

youtube.com link posted by c_prompt in politics

But... I love America!

• 1 comment
• funny,
• videos,
• NSA,
• privacy,
• libertarian,
• philosophy

3

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1

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0

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I Don’t Believe in Religious Freedom

lewrockwell.com link posted by c_prompt in politics

I don’t believe in religious freedom. Freedom should have nothing to do with one’s religious beliefs or lack thereof. The reason we intuitively have a concept like freedom is because we...

• No comments
• religion,
• libertarian,
• freedom,
• individualism,
• philosophy,
• gay,
• discrimination

1

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To Win Your World, Risk It All - Invest Everything in Your Vision and Be Willing to Lose It All

theundercurrent.org link posted by c_prompt in business

A deeper look at what brought Tony Hsieh, CEO of the online shoe store Zappos.com, billion dollar success.

• No comments
• entrepreneurship,
• inspiration,
• investing,
• shoes,
• leadership,
• philosophy

14

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3

agree

0

funny

3

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3

interesting

5

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"My dad's story": Dream for My Child. Life insurance company MetLife produced a touching video that illustrates the great sacrifices parents make to ensure their child's well-being. Yes, you will cry.

youtube.com link posted by c_prompt in parenting

Have tissues close at hand:

• 1 comment
• fathers,
• education,
• philosophy,
• china,
• hong kong,
• advertising

11

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4

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0

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2

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The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern.

41.media.tumblr.com link posted by c_prompt in Note to Self

• No comments
• inspiration,
• philosophy,
• self-improvement,
• relationships,
• hardship,
• psychology

8

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1

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2

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TIL the correct (original) understanding of Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken. It was intended as a gentle mocking of indecision.

en.wikipedia.org link posted by c_prompt in todayilearned

The final lines "I took the one less traveled by / And that has made all the difference" are often cited as emblematic of America's individualist spirit of adventure, in a reading that assumes the...

• No comments
• poems,
• psychology,
• philosophy

9

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0

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3

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3

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Symphony of Science - Scientists become rock stars

symphonyofscience.com link posted by c_prompt in science

From the About page: Symphony of Science is an online video series created by John D. Boswell, aka melodysheep, which aims to bring scientific knowledge and philosophy to the public, in a novel...

• No comments
• music,
• videos,
• physics,
• philosophy

7

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1

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2

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Sex - A Lifetime of Jam Sessions. Sex as an improvisation like when musicians come together to play music that's not planned.

youtube.com link posted by c_prompt in sex

• 1 comment
• music,
• romance,
• philosophy

1

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Stephen Fry: What I Wish I'd Known When I Was 18. If work isn't more fun than fun, you're doing it wrong.

vimeo.com link posted by c_prompt in Note to Self

• No comments
• philosophy,
• movies,
• comedy,
• inspiration,
• career

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This Is How We Date Now

thoughtcatalog.com link posted by c_prompt in dating

• 1 comment
• philosophy

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9 American habits I lost when I moved to Germany

matadornetwork.com link posted by digdug in travel

• 1 comment
• culture,
• america,
• germany,
• philosophy,
• morality,
• society,
• nudity,
• psychology

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Jim Carrey on how his late father inspired him to follow his dreams... in 1 minute

youtube.com link posted by c_prompt in Note to Self

Funnyman, Jim Carrey, was on hand to give a moving commencement address to Maharishi University of Management's class of 2014 in which he revealed how his late father inspired him to follow his dream...

• No comments
• inspiration,
• comedy,
• philosophy,
• graduation,
• career

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25 Life Changing Lessons to Learn from Rumi

purposefairy.com link posted by c_prompt in Note to Self

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Rumi, he was a Persian poet who lived more than 800 years ago and who wrote some of the most beautiful and most profound words that were ever written. There...

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• philosophy,
• inspiration,
• quotes

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Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else (J.M. Barrie)

ccad.edu link posted by c_prompt in Note to Self

They’ve been popping up on campus all semester: intricately worked chalkboard messages with one signature, #dangerdust. Dangerdust has captured the attention of students and taken social m...

• No comments
• quotes,
• philosophy,
• business,
• art

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Climate And Truth: A Tale Of Immorality?

wattsupwiththat.com link posted by digdug in environment

The most recent aberration of climate science is the apparent cherry picking of ocean temperature data by government scientists, Richard Feely and Christopher Sabine. The objective is not to determ...

• No comments
• science,
• politics,
• philosophy,
• global warming,
• climate,
• conspiracy

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11 amazing quotes from theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking

mentalfloss.com link posted by c_prompt in Note to Self

1. On His Schooling: "At school, I was never more than about halfway up the class. It was a very bright class. My classwork was very untidy, and my handwriting was the despair of my teacher...

• 4 comments
• physics,
• science,
• quotes,
• disabililty,
• philosophy,
• religion,
• celebrities

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Thoughts From Within - a poem by Woody Harrelson (with video)

youtube.com link posted by c_prompt in anarcho-capitalism

I sometimes feel like an alien creature, for which there is no earthly explanation. Sure I have human form, walking erect with opposing digits, but my mind is upside down. I...

• No comments
• poetry,
• anarchism,
• philosophy

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What is love's purpose?

editorial posted by Clarisse88 in relationships

Being young, I don't have as much experience with love as others, yet the ideas around it keep me up at night. Often, I've thought it might be productive to write some of them down. Roma...

• 2 comments
• philosophy,
• love,
• dating,
• psychology,
• romance,
• happiness,
• self-esteem,
• achievement

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How a nerdy kid from nowhere self-published a best-seller and got noticed by Google CEO Larry Page and The Wall Street Journal

federicopistono.org link posted by c_prompt in teens

Last week Larry Page, the CEO of one of the largest corporations in the world, and possibly one of the most powerful people on the planet, released an interview with the Financial Times endorsing m...

• 1 comment
• philosophy,
• education,
• writing,
• self-help,
• technology,
• self-publishing,
• transhumanism,
• robotics,
• science,
• singularity,
• creative commons

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Diane Ackerman on What Working at a Suicide Prevention Hotline Taught Her about the Human Spirit

brainpickings.org link posted by c_prompt in psychology

Choice is a signature of our species. We choose to live, sometimes we choose our own death, but most of the time we make choices just to prove choice is possible. Above all else, we value the right...

• 1 comment
• suicide,
• philosophy,
• psychology,
• depression,
• lonliness,
• counseling

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A Fan Asks Mike Rowe For Career Advice...He Didn't Expect This Response, But It's Brilliant.

news.distractify.com link posted by c_prompt in jobs

After comparing him to a 42-year old woman who can't find the "right man... a soul-mate from her zip code," actor and comedian Mike Rowe (best known as the host of Discovery Channel'...

• 1 comment
• business,
• psychology,
• philosophy,
• education,
• motivation

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Are Passions Serendipitously Discovered or Painstakingly Constructed?

calnewport.com link posted by c_prompt in jobs

What is Passion Common to most peoples’ thoughts about passion are the following three foundational beliefs: To feel passionate about something is to be engaged and fulfilled by work...

• 1 comment
• motivation,
• philosophy,
• psychology,
• business,
• education

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Beyond Passion: The Science of Loving What You Do

calnewport.com link posted by c_prompt in jobs

At a high level, SDT [Self-Determination Theory] makes a simple claim: To be happy, your work must fulfill three universal psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In m...

• 1 comment
• motivation,
• philosophy,
• psychology,
• business,
• education

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Ignorance and Myopia

jasonstotts.com link posted by c_prompt in sex

I think the ignorance that surrounds sex is absolutely astounding. People tend to think that the way we think about and view sex here in our culture and time is the way it’s always been and...

• No comments
• homosexual,
• gay,
• philosophy,
• morality

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On Polysexuality (Revised)

jasonstotts.com link posted by c_prompt in sex

by Jason Stotts Summary: Our language related to sex must be expanded to capture all of the variations that we see in real life. And we need to understand this because sex is good and a valua...

• 1 comment
• ethics,
• philosophy,
• polysexuality,
• relationships,
• sexuality,
• swinging

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Why Art Became Ugly

atlassociety.org link posted by c_prompt in art

Why has the art world of the twentieth-century adopted the ugly and the offensive? When has art in the twentieth century said anything encouraging about human relations, about mankind's potential...

• 1 comment
• philosophy,
• objectivism

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The Ethics of Entrepreneurship and Profit

lewrockwell.com link posted by c_prompt in anarcho-capitalism

By Hans-Hermann Hoppe June 23, 2014 In the most fundamental sense we are all, with each of our actions, always and invariably profit-seeking entrepreneurs. Whenever we act, we employ some...

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• philosophy,
• economics,
• private property,
• mises,
• libertarian,
• freedom,
• austrian economics,
• business,
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Dearest Daughter: My Graduation Card to You

editorial posted by c_prompt in c_prompt

My daughter is graduating from eighth grade today. I bought her a card and gift, both which reflect a few of my fundamental wishes for her. Despite spending $6.00 for the card (why are cards so ex...

• 3 comments
• parenting,
• teenager,
• graduation,
• philosophy

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Teaching Kids the Value of Money

drhurd.com link posted by c_prompt in parenting

The best way to raise financially responsible children is to teach them cause and effect. The idea is simple: Give kids logical consequences and explanations for your decisions. When possible, include...

• No comments
• philosophy

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Why You're My Friend

editorial posted by c_prompt in relationships

I enjoy writing. It helps me think and organize my thoughts. It prompts me to constantly ask why. The other day, I discussed with someone the difficulty I was having selecting a topic to write abou...

• 1 comment
• friendship,
• rationality,
• philosophy,
• feelings,
• emotions,
• psychology

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Freewill: You Never Forget Your First Love

editorial posted by b_independent in objectivism

Her name was Nicky Romashko. Though I'm having a hard time remembering our ages (probably about 10), it was sometime during grade school that I experienced my first love. If you'll allow me the pun,...

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• rush,
• libertarian,
• philosophy,
• music,
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I lack imagination

editorial posted by c_prompt in gaming

So much brouhaha over Facebook acquiring a game manufacturer. It's a great reminder of where the revenues from your ad clicks and no-longer-private data are being spent. More fun and games. Mor...

• 1 comment
• facebook,
• farmville,
• virtual reality,
• philosophy,
• technology,
• oculus rift

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Life is not read-only

lifesnotreadonly.net link posted by peace_on_earth in politics

They say it is piracy. Downright stealing from other people, that’s what downloading is. You’re taking something for sale and not paying for it. Do you shoplift, or break into houses?...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• copyright,
• file sharing,
• piracy

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Integrity and Art

editorial posted by Clarisse88 in art

I assume we have all wondered about the meaning of integrity at one point or another in our lives. This idea has always been in my mind, and that's why I've decided to write a little essay...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• integrity

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Self Reflections in Art

editorial posted by Clarisse88 in Clarisse88

Art is a reflection of what we are. It is the essence of our own existence, the key that leads us to the world outside, and it returns to us a door leading inside ourselves. Creating art is to inve...

• 3 comments
• art,
• philosophy

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Let's teach kids philosophy. You really can't start too soon, I've found.

thetyee.ca link posted by b_independent in teens

Suppose I said "Love is the answer to the question. Now, what is the question?" To consider this requires you to think abstractly. You likely wouldn't ask this question to a child, but why not? Pe...

• No comments
• education,
• philosophy

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What's scientific about political science? Nothing.

lewrockwell.com link posted by b_independent in politics

They call it political science. They study things such as the origins of the state, history, political ideologies, law, war, taxes, regulation, international relations, and free trade. They claim t...

• No comments
• political science,
• philosophy,
• science,
• propoganda,
• conspiracy,
• education,
• taxes

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[NSFW] Sex in The Fountainhead - The Rape of Ayn Rand

editorial posted by b_independent in sex

Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. One of the greatest books of all time. Though Atlas Shrugged is, by far, the better book (considered the second-most influential book after the Bible), it's all...

• 1 comment
• philosophy,
• ayn rand,
• fountainhead

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TIL that TIL is only allowed in TIL

editorial posted by digdug in todayilearned

I enjoyed writing The Cost to Connect - Internet Prices Around the World. (Doing the research? Not so much.) I posted it to /r/technology on reddit with the title "TIL the best Internet va...

• 5 comments
• reddit,
• moderator,
• philosophy

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Intellectual Independence

editorial posted by Clarisse88 in philosophy

Throughout history, humans have repeatedly attempted to understand the nature of their existence. For some, it is a personal quest to understand the roots of human behavior. For others, the motivat...

• No comments
• Independence,
• Critical Thinking,
• philosophy

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My favorite quotes

editorial posted by b_independent in b_independent

I love quotes. The ones to which I most relate become a part of me. They inspire me. They guide me. They strengthen my resolve. They reinforce my values. They comfort me. These are mine (without a...

• 1 comment
• philosophy,
• economics,
• libertarian

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The mainstream of human progress: individual freedom and the principles of cooperation

editorial posted by b_independent in politics

Throughout most of human civilization, centuries of men have starved, died from the elements (for lack of proper housing), suffered terrible health, and barely lived. Even today, starvation kills m...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• economics,
• libertarian

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On the First Day

editorial posted by b_independent in politics

There are those who cannot think of a world without some form of government. I can. I do not expect to ever see such a paradise in my lifetime. But one can dream... What if, with your magic wand...

• No comments
• philosophy,
• libertarian,
• anarchism

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The Morality of Bitcoin (Or Why One Libertarian Has It All Wrong)

editorial posted by digdug in bitcoin

Introduction I've a bone to pick with a libertarian. Possibly more than one, but not everyone. At the moment, my focus is this one (who also penned this and this and this). Surely, Gary Nort...

• 2 comments
• philosophy,
• politics,
• economics,
• austrian economics,
• libertarian,
• government,
• mises