12 DEC 2011 by ideonexus

 Human Behavior is Dictated by Laws of Nature, but Too Com...

While conceding that human behavior is indeed determined by the laws of nature, it also seems reasonable to conclude that the outcome is determined in such a complicated way and with so many variables as to make it impossible in practice to predict. For that one would need a knowledge of the initial state of each of the thousand trillion trillion molecules in the human body and to solve something like that number of equations. That would take a few billion years, which would be a bit late to ...
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So the hypothesis that we have freewill is convenient, and the Economic model that we act in our best interests helpful, but not always correct.

26 DEC 2010 by ideonexus

 Watching Cars Merge on the Freeway as an Example of Civil...

Look on the screen. This is where we are. This is who we are. (points to the Jumbotron screen which show traffic merging into a tunnel). These cars—that’s a schoolteacher who probably thinks his taxes are too high. He’s going to work. There’s another car-a woman with two small kids who can’t really think about anything else right now. There’s another car, swinging, I don’t even know if you can see it—the lady’s in the NRA and she loves O...
Folksonomies: centrism
Folksonomies: centrism
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Jon Stewart uses the example of traffic merging on the freeway as an example of the "we're all in it together" spirit of civilization, and how we all have each other's best interests at heart despite what extreme political pundits may say.