On the Current Nature of Technology

http://www.price.com.hk/news.php?id=5944

Today, I have been reminded that there is no "catching up" with technology.

There are $5 Android devices and excellent $999 devices running Android 6. That's awesome.

The reality is that technology has and will move at speed far exceeding our ability to totally catch up with it. Trying to catch up with all the latest tech is like chasing trains while on foot.

We can only do what we truly need, want and enjoy, and make our peace with it. That's it.

On a related note, I also feel that all happiness is like this.

Thought of the Day #52: Bible and Psychology

And I heard some very wise words last night about the nature of hell:

Hell is filled with people who want what they cannot have and feel suffering as a result.

One of the things that really draws me to the Bible, is just how relatable it is to just about anything related to society and human nature.

Because in Jungian psychology, it is said that...

The foundation of all mental illness is the avoidance of legitimate suffering. 

Notice how similar they are. And I tend to agree. Because it has been true from my observations. 

Of course, it doesn't tell you why people avoid reality, but this is how it is.

On the Slowness Pattern

Anyone who has known me for a long time knows that I seem to have a relatively slow natural pace.

The reason for this is simple. I try very hard to be with people who are better than me. Whether it's math, programming, software architecture, I like being with the best people in the field.

But that's far from being the whole story. As I recently realized, there is insecurity involved.

1. Feeling slow is a part of it. Telling myself I am slow or worse at something is self-sabotage. A part of me is scared of being good.

2. I very much dislike competition and people comparing themselves to each other.

Many people are like that. Evolutionary psychologists say that we are hardwired to do this.
But that's not all of it. Most people only feel negative when they are losing or feel inferior. They like it when they feel superior.

I'd just not play. In fact, I look past the players and shun the game any way I can. Because I see the players and game for what it is - the game is an emergent phenomenon, just like out of quantum physics come the regularities of chemistry, and from chemistry comes organic chemistry, and biology and so on.

Emergent phenomenon has many examples. Groupthink. "The Free Market". Collectivism. Mobs. But the common thing is that its members are altered in ways they do not choose.

I love freedom first and foremost. Nothing else really matters.

And here I face a dilemma. Because speed is associated with efficiency, which in turn means being slow can mean being less free.

So since speed is ultimately the way to go, I have learned to adapt to this.

But adapting is kind of like compromise, in that no party is truly happy about it. And so I had to find a new way to do things.

And find one I did. I would start off slow, totally accepting that I would be a bit slow. And then slowly move up to being good in it, and then finally become fast.

This seems to work well, but it remains an issue.

And I know the ultimate answer to this, but it's not one I feel like accepting. And ironically, it is just this one word - accepting. Accepting reality for what it is and moving on.

The Male Sex Drive: What is the fundamental nature of the male sex drive?

Sex is fun to write about.

Male sexuality is generally characterised as moving towards a goal.
Female sexuality is generally characterised as attracting something.

Mainstream culture would have us believe that male sexuality and rules of physical attraction consists mostly of the female form and its various dishonest enhancements.

My question is, suppose we strip these away. What's left? What are men really attracted by?

The next layer is actually already well-known. Males are attracted to loyalty. And the reason for this is simple. If our man mate with female, and the female then mates with other males, our man will never be sure if he has passed down his genes or not.

All work and no biological immortality makes Jack a dull boy.

It is for this same reason that most men have a preconceived notion of an ideal female, and just as strong a tendency to idealize a female.

But suppose we peel this layer off too. Suppose our man is stranded on a desert island with no female in sight. What does the male sex drive do here? What triggers the male sex drive here?

The gathering of resources, gaining competence and social dominance.

Since the dawn of man, gathering resources has been what man is all about. Our brains associate a surplus of resources with sex. Food, breeding and families are tightly interconnected.

So that's clear. What's next?

Suppose our man is now old and stranded on an island he will never get off. What then?
Well, he'd have either no sex drive or it would be meaningless. Incidentally, while meaninglessness may make it seem totally weird, otherworldly and even perverse, he is also free to direct it at anything.

Or consider a monk who has learned to fully control every aspect of his urges and is able to channel his energy to whatever he pleases? Well, in this case, it is clear that the sex drive is just pure energy that can be used towards whatever he wishes.

And so, we come to the purest form of male sexuality -

The desire to accomplish whatever things he directs his attention to.

But still, what if there was nothing to accomplish? What then?

Then the males generally become non-masculine and care only for whatever they fancy. Of course, men are naturally good at finding interests too, for we are built to seek, regardless of whether it's the truth or resources.

Next up: Female sexuality.

Truth about Human Mating

I'm not saying I am great at the game, but I do have a thing for truths.

During the mate selection phase, people always try to settle for the best they can get. 

If it isn't the best, they may leave. If they think they can do better, they may leave too.

Sounds obvious, doesn't it?

But this is a fact that can be rather difficult to deal with.

Why is office comfort important to productivity?

Comfort reduces the amount of willpower needed to do things. If you have to go to the pantry to get water, make tea or coffee that reduces energy you have to tackle work.

Truly good work is difficult and takes effort. This requires willpower.

The less willpower squandered, the more willpower available for challenges.

Truths about Software Engineering

Most code will not exist after a decade.

All code is temporary.

When all is said and done, the only valuable thing left for the developers involved is the knowledge,  experience and joyful memories of having worked through the process.

And of course, the eternal truths,  non existent entities like math, algorithms and data remain.

It is not unlike monks that meditate and draw beautiful art in the sand, only to wipe it all out.

So always do what satisfies you and is most enjoyable,  because that's all that matters. The product releases, deadlines... are just momentary waves in the ocean.

Tell that to the project managers.

I sure will ask 'what do you think about deadlines? What do you really feel about deadlines?'.

What is the meaning of life?

You know what the meaning of life feels like? Satisfaction.  That's all anyone who questions the meaning of life is looking for.

Or rather,  the right kind of satisfaction.

Like if at this very moment, I want the bus to come,  I would be satisfied if the bus came.

Or like when I am playing golf in an indoor driving range. I am looking for that perfectly arching trajectory,  hearing that perfectly crisp sound of the ball being hit and the feeling of effortless flight on my grip as the club sails into the ball and away into the green.

Every animal lives,  eats, has sex,  sleeps and hopes to die for and with satisfaction.

Fulfillment of the criterion of life is precisely the definition of the meaning of life. The irony is that in satisfaction of the requirements of life,  one becomes happy with life itself, which also includes death.
So satisfaction makes one happy with death too.

That is all.

The intelligence of a Bee

This morning, I saw one of those incredible sights of nature: the sight of a bee flying around.

I watched as the bee flew through the window. And then through my cabinet handle, through my curtains, 

And then it went back out.

Which made me think: Is the bee systematically searching? Does it know where it is relative to, say, the exit?

Or was it just luck?

The John Galt Oath

I will never have anyone live for my sake,  nor live for the sake of another.

Corollaries:

When you seek to control others, you lose power over yourself.

When you live for others, you lose power over yourself.

If there has ever been a sentence of wisdom that encapsulates the meaning of individualism, this is it.

What will a world where everyone had free time look like?

Suppose all adults always had enough wealth to only work a day a year.

What would humans do?

I think people will still "work", but only on the things they really liked to do.

What would I do?

1. Travel and live as a digital nomad. Go camping everywhere in a camper truck.

2. Innovate.

3. Write novels.

4. Research "Immortality"

5. Fuck.

Sex will become really interesting, if taken out of its original function and context. Mate selection, even for recreational sex, would essentially become  meaningless and unnecessary. It would be seen as a game, as it actually is.

6.  Make comedy and laugh

If the ultimate goal of life is to be happy, laughing is the easiest way to be happy.

7. Help the less privileged get what they want.

8. Create games and alternative realities.

Ongoing list...

Abortion is Absolutely Horrendous.

Abortion is a difficult problem with morality.

The Emotive Argument

But what I can say, is that it is distasteful and I don't think anyone who does it even after witnessing an abortion is one I want to be associated with.

http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/while-you-were-crying-over-a-dead-ape-125-thousand-babies-were-just-murdered/

Moral Argument

The thing is, as horrendous as late-term abortions are, we will always have trouble making a definitive case for its immorality. It depends on what we call morality.
If we define immorality is defined as violence against a conscious being capable of grasping and obeying a moral code, then no, it is not immoral.
But if we define it as anything capable of consciousness, feeling pain and its death, abortion is immoral.

How morality is defined is affected by languages, concepts, utilitarianism and based on consequences, and the simple fact that only living human beings make the rules and determine what is moral and immoral. Since abortions don't directly affect society negatively, it will likely stand in a technocratic society. As will human embryo testing. And cloning. And all the other things possible.

Complexity

Eventually, the only complexity left would be computational complexity.

Would it make you feel any safer if the mass murderer said sorry?

All government is based on violence and coercion.

Peter Principle

Peter Principle

People rise to the level of their incompetence.

Revised Principle

People rise to what other people will pay them to do, rightly or wrongly.
Competence is only part of it.
People do as much as they can get away with.
People are usually operating at the edge of their competence and constantly trying to push it further.

How to win at life

Adopt the Bender attitude.

When everyone cares about something, it makes good sense to care.

The moment people start to break ranks and squabble,  dont give a f*ck. Consider options and do what you want.

Of course,  do try to do what is good for yourself and others.

How did "What if Tinder show your IQ" get so many views?

I don't get it. Why?

Any ideas?