- No Recommendations yet - go add some!
- I was stunned to hear that the request for Turing's pardon was turned down. What a shallow, doctrinaire dismissal! "He knew it was illegal," in no way sets matters right.
One day, one day ... Turing will get that pardon. Well, probably. If the Pope could admit they were wrong about Galileo, the British government can admit they were wrong about Turing.
- When the question of “fate” comes up, I ask questions like these:
(1) Would Bill Gates have been so successful if he'd been born to poor farmers in rural Kansas?
(2) Would Van Gogh have been so famous if a gene change or two had made him a happy-go-lucky guy?
(3) Would Sir Isaac Newton have revolutionized humanity's grasp of reality if his father hadn't died three months after his birth?
You can probably think of other examples.
Some people see “fate;” some people see happenstance. Yes, there's “talent” (with genetic and nurture factors), but there's also innate robust health, opportunity, and pure dumb luck.
You can probably think of other factors.
- As humans, we do have a strong desire to “make sense” of things — that's how we ended up with neat technology like Radio Lab. In some cases, though, the only “sense” we can properly make is “insufficient data.” Given that almost nothing is known of the shooter, then unless new data comes to light that must be the final conclusion.
Nonetheless, we still have that urge to make sense of things.
My apartment was broken into back in the 80's and I composed a story in my head about a drug addict who needed some quick cash. A friend of mine told me that I had no right to assume that the guy was a drug addict, and he was right. Interestingly, though, the story DID quiet my mind. It was credible, and so it stopped my mind spinning with “Why!?”
In the year 2006 I lived in a different apartment and was attacked by two hooligans, one of whom sprayed a chemical fire extinguisher in my face in an effort to blind me. I managed to repel the attack and then called the police officer.
Now here's the odd bit: I decided that the only explanation was “insufficient data.” I didn't want to concoct a story that would merely entertain my mind rather than illuminate reality. The crisis had passed and I was sweeping up the mess when the police arrived to take my report.
The main police officer was acting very strangely toward me. He seemed to be expecting something. Eventually I realized that he was troubled that I wasn't more upset. As soon as I saw this I said, "Well, officer, I hope you catch those little @#$%ers!" He smiled, relaxed, and then they left.
Apparently “insufficient data” isn't considered a good enough answer for some people. But hey, it was the truth! What more did I need? Revenge?
- I was pleased to hear about somebody working in sound design (as in, the design of sounds). I used to create software on the old MS-DOS platform where the only sound capability was the on-board speaker. Nonetheless, I'd sometimes spend an hour or two designing an audible feedback sound for a product.
Imagine how unamused I am by just about every microwave oven I've ever owned. Beep Beep Beep. That's the best they can do!?
