08 OCT 2025 by ideonexus
Race in Tolkien is Reality Rather Than Socially Constructed
In Middle Earth, unlike reality, race is objectively real rather than socially constructed. There are species (elves, men, dwarves, etc.), but within those species there are races that conform to 19th-century race theory, in that their physical attributes (hair color, etc.) are associated with non-physical attributes that are both personal and cultural. There is also an explicit racial hierarchy which is, again, real in the world of the story. Middle Earth is literally a racist’s fantasy la...08 OCT 2025 by ideonexus
How to Prevent Others from Making You Angry
Peace doesn't come by stiffening against
life, but by realizing there's no one to
stiffen. The waves rise and fall and the
ocean never minds. In the same way,
anger, irritation, frustration, they
come and go, but they are not you. To be
unbothered is not to build a wall around
yourself, but to see that there was
never a separate self to defend in the
first place. You see, when something
happens,
a disrespecting word, a sudden
disappointment, a rude interruption,
there's a tiny instant before ...07 OCT 2025 by ideonexus
Locke's Philosophical Criticism Destroyed the Institution...
We must note two aspects of Locke’s method of analysis. One is that it was primarily a method of criticism, a method which by means of analysis subjected to critical scrutiny the many complex ideas which prevail in a society, and which because of their abstruse nature, cause confusion and misunderstanding. Locke proposed that all such ideas be analyzed into their simple components and examined critically so that the degree of their validity might be determined. The other aspect for us to no...02 OCT 2025 by ideonexus
Chess VS Go
The philosophy behind chess is to win decisively. For the winner, victory is absolute, as is defeat for the loser. In chess, both players have the same clear and overriding objective―capturing the opposing king―and accomplish this objective by decimating whatever opposing forces are standing in the way. In go, total victory usually happens between two mismatched players. That kind of victory, as Sun Tzu puts it, is not the pinnacle of excellence. In a go game between two well-matched play...25 SEP 2025 by ideonexus
The Three Crises in Western Education
America is, in fact, the leading case in point of what may be thought of as the third great crisis in Western education. The first occurred in the fifth century H.C., when Athens underwent a change from an oral culture to an alphabet-writing culture. To understand what this meant, we must read Plato. The second occurred in the sixteenth century, when Europe underwent a radical transformation as a result of the printing press. To understand what this meant, we must read John Locke. The third i...Folksonomies: todo further reading
Folksonomies: todo further reading
25 SEP 2025 by ideonexus
The Flood of Trivial Information is More Deleterious Than...
...in the Age of Television, our information environment is completely different from what it was in 1783; that we have less to fear from government restraints than from television glut; that, in fact, we have no way of protecting ourselves from information disseminated by corporate America; and that, therefore, the battles for liberty must be fought on different terrains from where they once were.
For example, I would venture the opinion that the traditional civil libertarian opposition to ...25 SEP 2025 by ideonexus
Huxley and Orwell's Portrayed Very Different Dystopias
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What ...20 SEP 2025 by ideonexus
Post-Literate Society
The big tech companies like to see themselves as invested in spreading knowledge and curiosity. In fact in order to survive they must promote stupidity. The tech oligarchs have just as much of a stake in the ignorance of the population as the most reactionary feudal autocrat. Dumb rage and partisan thinking keep us glued to our phones.
And where the old European monarchies had to (often ineptly) try to censor dangerously critical material, the big tech companies ensure our ignorance much mor...20 SEP 2025 by ideonexus