Monday, February 23, 2015

Problems of Identity

Let's talk about identity.

By "identity" I don't mean some part of a person which remains ever-constant. I mean "that by which one person identifies another person, or even zemself."

Some people will say that the body is the root of identity. As the body is in a constant state of transition, they will say that continuity is important. Others will say that it is the spirit by which identity is assigned. To go with either of these approaches is to say that identity is based on substance. In practice, however, it appears that most people care about something else.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Notes: "From the Ashes of Angels"

This is commentary. And this is really good. 

Material covered:

An interesting piece of pseudohistory. Lots of good stuff for worldbuilding. Feels like the base for a Lovecraftian paper. 


  • "There is the angel who wrestles all night with Jacob at a place named Penuel, or those which he sees moving up and down a ladder that stretches between heaven and earth. Yet other than these accounts, there are too few examples, and when angels do appear the narrative is often vague and unclear on what exactly is going on. For instance, in the case of both Abraham and Lot the angels in question are described simply as 'men', who sit down to take food like any mortal person." 

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Notes to: "Your Inner Fish"

Material covered: 
"Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5 Billion Year History of the Human Body," by Neil Shuman (ch. 1-3, 5-6, 11)

Monday, February 2, 2015

Some Meditations on the Light Side and the Dark Side

"Liberalism does not conquer by fire and sword. Liberalism conquers by communities of people who agree to play by the rules, slowly growing until eventually an equilibrium is disturbed. Its battle cry is not 'Death to the unbelievers!' but 'If you're nice, you can join our cuddle pile!'" Scott Alexander, In Favor of Niceness, Community, and Civilization

In order to avoid political debates and to, perhaps, extend the idea a little further, let's replace "liberalism" with "the Light Side."

To explain the Light Side by saying what it is not, here is the defining characteristic of the Dark: No matter what its professed goals may be, it is always the Dark Side that seeks to conquer by fire and sword.