Warning!

Warning. The following publications may induce intense reasoning.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

You Don't Know Me


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I don't care for what you say,
My life is lived in my own way.

I bathe in your hatred and ignorance,
My beautiful mind a shining lance.

In dark filthy noisy places,
Where you live without an essence,

My actions follow reason,
glory, future, hope,

With none of which you can cope.
A partial zombie without dreams,

It has no meaning,
As you scream, scream, and scream.


Boss as fuck.

Friday, May 29, 2015

Can We Be Reasonable?


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Many people, not practiced in Logic, fear that a logical society would function like a bunch of merciless machines, not hesitating to sacrifice kindness and lives both, for the sake of the group. They see Logic as the antithesis to sympathy.

But they do so wrongly. Sympathy is actually a logical ability; to imagine yourself in the position of another person, even to the extent of having similar limitations, and to recognize the validity of their misery; that you could be suffering equally so, if misfortune struck for you.

Click the pic to read more inspiring quotes from dear ol' Henry!

So, stands before us the question of whether a society can be logical. Can the average person, and thus the majority of people, act in a consistently logical manner?

The evidence against such a society is clear. Philosophy and Logic have been around for thousands of years, yet even now in the age of Computers & Internet, most people are entirely oblivious to logical fallacies and how to compose a falsifiable argument. Rhetoric and politics are more powerful than ever, in the global arena.

The evidence for a logical society may be less distinct, albeit still encouraging. The Internet is very new, and already showing great influences over large chunks of the public, in many countries. Lies and rhetoric are better marked & avoided, and exposure to Logic is increasing.

Also, the contradiction between technologically possible lifestyles - which are evident in well-off populations, and the actual daily lives of most people, make it impossible for people to not see the injustice - and stupidity, systematically inherent to their society.

Do you see a near future, even for the next generation, where it is common practice for societies to be logical and just?


Thursday, May 14, 2015

My New Domain Name

After about a year of using the name James as my online alias in chat-rooms, I have realized that it works much better than my Hebrew name. I never liked my previous name, but I could never figure out what to replace it with.

Now, James happened by chance. Any random name would do, and it was simple and accessible, and just uncommon enough in the chat.

I use their domain services, which are working fine.

So, with a more western name in tow, I have moved to this new domain!   JamesKoss.com

All previous links should still work. Everything should work the same, really. And all pages should redirect to the new domain. Eventually, the old domain will die-off, so make sure you bookmark the new domain, instead!


Monday, May 11, 2015

Logical Action


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Philosophy is the art of wisdom. Differentiating between true and false. Finding out the realities of life and nature, to any evident degree.

It is also a way of life. Logical thinking, as devised by ancient philosophers and improved throughout the generations, is a method of filtering out the useful ways of thinking, and avoiding the useless ones. Useful thinking, in the sense that such mind-effort will lead to true conclusions, rather than false fantasies.

Without acting on it - being logical and using those methods of thinking, there is no philosophy. Just opinions and rambling.

Click pic to learn more from RelativelyInteresting.com!

But then comes the question of whether being logical, and acting on evidence, is actually useful, in practice.

Logic represents likelihoods and impossibilities. Good arguments or fallacies. Looking back at history, those people who aligned themselves with evidence, are those that develop the most, both socially and technologically. The excitement around the Scientific method in recent centuries is plenty of evidence, to the benefit of logic.

It is common for people to seek the advice of wiser men and women. Tribes have their Shamans, Kings and Emperors have their Council - their citizens have Witches, and modern Politicians have their Scientists - their citizens have Psychologists.

And while science and psychology are founded on philosophy, their practice is far from logical. Logic had been replaced with experimentation; rather than reach the source of problems, symptoms are badly managed by gadgets and drugs.

I have rarely talked with a person who is aware of logical fallacies. Even more rare was talking with a person who practiced avoiding logical fallacies! Even those who studied philosophy seem to treat it as entertainment, abstract thoughts, rather than a practice.

Arguably, psychology helps emotional issues, but it does not show people how to be logical. Logic has a method and rules. Specifics that need be understood, and then practiced. Then applied to every choice you make.


Click pic to check Sidney Dekker's book...

The Question of AI


As a side note, I can also mention AI, or rather computerized machines. After all, if being logical is useful to us, then logical machines will continue making choices that benefit us, without the well-known "human error" factor. No wonder computers have become the highlight of the new millennium.


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