The Power of Witchcraft 8 November 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in anthropology, media, philosophy, psychology, religion, sociology, witchcraft.Tags: witchcraft
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John Stossel, a reporter for the show 20/20, did a great 1 hour documentary on the power of belief. Essentially, his point was that people’s desire to believe in things, even if they are not real, had incredible power. This is essentially circular reasoning with a conscious avoidance of critical thinking. I would like to take it one step further, specifically in the areas of witchcraft and satanism. Even if these are not real forces (I am not suggesting they are or are not), the belief alone is sufficient for these tradecrafts to have some effect. As a great example, see this video. This video is also a great example of another current trend – media sensationalism. The show makes a big build up claiming that something incredible happened to this scientist that changed his mind, when nothing REAL happened at all.
It Can’t Take A Village 30 September 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in anthropology, economy, law, sociology.Tags: babysitting, stop babysitting
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I love the idea of neighborhood friends taking turns watching each others’ children. Instead of paying high price for low quality day care, everyone who has children and lives near people they know and trust (which is not always the case) simply exchange time with each other in a manner that allows their children to play with their neighbors. That’s how I grew up. In such an environment, the concept of, It takes a village to raise a child, can actually be implemented – people watching over each others’ children, and the children benefiting from multiple adult and peer influences.
However, a recent news item discusses how our degrading level of common sense in this society has finally impacted this ancient concept described above. A woman in MI who watches other neighborhood children for a few hours each morning has been asked to cease citing that she is in violation of day care laws.
I guess if she charged money, no one would have said anything.
Common Errors in English 20 August 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in sociology.Tags: improper english, improper grammar
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I have noticed that the torture of the English language is becoming quite acceptable lately – beyond the typical use of slang, jargon, and colloquialisms. However, allow me to digress and address a few errors that I have seen lately that are minor, but rampant – increasingly so in just the last five years.
Lack of final comma in a series
If you provide a series of items in a sentence, then there must be a comma before the conjunction and the last item in order for the meaning of the sentence to be unambiguous.
For example,
There was a red, orange, green and blue car.
is incorrect. It should be
There was a red, orange, green, and blue car.
The same applies to the use of or.
Why is this important. Here’s another example.
There were three dresses of two colors each – a red and white, a blue and white, and a green and white.
Leaving out the final comma in the first example implies that there are three cars, not four.
One space between period and next sentence
This is incorrect. There should be two (2) spaces between a period (that indicates the end of a sentence) and the first letter of the next sentence. This rule has been around since there were typewriters, and it allows the different sentences to be noticeable at a glance. A potential reason for the change is that HTML text will always insert only a single space, no matter how many spaces you code.
Use of singular verbs for non-truths
When stating a case that is not true, the plural form of the verb should be used, even for a singular subject. For example:
If I was President, …
is incorrect. It should be
If I were President, …
Any other common errors to share?
On John Hughes 8 August 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in arts, entertainment, evolution, media, movies, philosophy, sociology.Tags: john hughes, maslot hierarchy of needs, maslot's pyramid, the breakfast club
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Courtesy MSN Online
The movie writer, director, producer John Hughes passed away recently (06 Aug 2009). For those that don’t know, Mr. Hughes did not only make movies about culture in the 1980s, the culture of the 1980s were built around his movies. His movies helped make the 80s what they were – deep, happy, and highly artistic. His movies demonstrated how Maslot’s pyramid can be applied to an entire society, not just a single individual. We were at a point, partly thanks to the cold war, where we were not in a real war, the economy was positive, and as a whole, this country had little concerns (except the threat of total global nuclear war) – allowing, I feel, for this country to self-actualize. It appears that DEVO might have been right, and we were at a point where we could only devolve from there.
His most recent movie is Drillbit Taylor. If you have not seen, “The Breakfast Club”, I cannot recommend it highly enough – one of my top 10 movies of all time. It is a timeless summary of life in high school at a depth not accomplished in other attempts. We won’t forget about you.
Is College a Worthwhile Investment 28 June 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in business, economy, sociology, technology.add a comment
As I predicted, soon, in the US, college would end up being a bad investment from a business perspective. There is now a recent article echoing these concerns. Of course, the real value of education depends on the individual and what they do with it, but the economic value must be evaluated from the resulting salary (multiplied by the probability of getting such as job and the years in service), vs. the full cost of acquiring the education needed for the position (including all living expenses and missed opportunity income and years of service). Hence, there will be a point, if it has not been realized already, where a good paying job that does not require a degree (and there are still some out there), will be a better investment (ecomomically) than a low paying 4 year degree.
There are many examples or individuals acquiring wealthy salaries without a college education (some actors, athletes, musicians, etc.). A common joke when fellow engineers make a brilliant accomplishment is, “Now if I could just hit a ball with a stick, I would be a millionaire.” However, this phenomenon is tempered by the low probability of scoring such an opportunity, based on the assumption that these positions are destined for the creme de la creme – which may or may not always be the case, but it is a safe assumption.
On the flip side, a weekend with a Java book will give someone all the necessary skills for a high tech position that would otherwise be reserved for someone with a 4 year degree.
Michael Jackson’s Legacy 28 June 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in arts, entertainment, media, music, sociology.Tags: michael jackson
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If you are my age, or older, you are familiar with the many phases of Michael Jackson’s career. And although he was a bit eccentric at times, he was an icon that had great influence on music and pop culture. Although I am not a fan of pop music, I cannot deny his impact. To watch any of his early performances (e.g., the Ed Sullivan show), one can easily see how amazing this person was.
As for the child molestation accusations, it’s common sense. If someone molests your child, you don’t ask for money – and you definitely don’t forgive for money. If the police were smarter, either case would not have gotten as far as it did. The press made MJ a star, and made him a pedophile. His talent not withstanding, the media built him up, and tore him down. And it was not until his death that any media spoke of these accusations as weak. Truly a shame. I hope he is remembered for his positive accomplishments.
The Bailout 2.0 (Why it Won’t Work) 11 February 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in economy, politics, psychology, sociology.Tags: bailout
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Let’s see, it didn’t work the first time (for the reasons I mentioned), so let’s do it a second time. Hmmm, what a strategy… Oh yeah, and the majority of the population was against it the first time, they have not yet benefitted from it, so what are the chances that the majority will be behind it the second time? Oh, and did we forget that the huge sum of $700 Billion did not fix anything – we are still declining!
OK, here are some reason why these bailouts will not fix the economy:
- You are putting money into the wrong end of the pump. Giving money to banks is supposed to unfreeze credit. People don’t need credit to get new homes, they need to pay for the mortgage that increased so they can keep their homes. If you lost your job, no one is going to give you credit. Not to mention, our economic system is not designed to run this way.
- Psychology is not being considered. The executives running the banks are in this business for one reason, they like money, and they use these institutions as their personal investment projects. They have absolutely no desire or even incentive to spend this money in the manner that congress would prefer.
- There is no accountability or enforcement. To simply state that the behaviour (described above) is unethical soungds good, but the situation is actually worse than that. It should be illegal. The Government has given these commercial institutions tax money, and they should be able to enforce how that is used.
There is a much simpler solution that will fix the economy immediately, but no one is talking about it. I will save it for another post.
Credit Score Abuse 16 December 2008
Posted by Lao Tzu in business, customer service, economy, law, psychology, sociology.Tags: credit, credit score, insurance
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For at least 10 years now, businesses have been using credit scores for more than just a determination on whether to lend someone money. They have been used as a metric of “character” for everything from car insurance rates to job qualifications. A Geico agent actually told me that they would pull my credit report to determine my insurance rates because they believed there was a correlation, specifically that individuals with low credit scores are more likely to have an accident. I was able to find an article discussing theories for such a relationship,but the cause and effect relationship has not been established. There are clearly many factors here that could be related at some point.
My point is that this is not what a credit scores measures or was intended to measure. Organizations are using this because it is a conveniently available metric, not because there is any validity to expanding its application beyond granting a loan. In fact, it’s not even good at that. The credit bureau databases are poorly designed and proned to errors in relating information from other people with you (e.g., people with same first and last name). Finally, others are talking about this. See this MSN news article.
Ban on Spanking 26 September 2008
Posted by Lao Tzu in anthropology, child abuse, law, psychology, religion, sociology.Tags: Proverbs 13:24, spank, spanking, spanking ban, spare the rod
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Finally, there was an article today on Slate entitled Spare the Rod -Why you shouldn’t hit your kids. Yes, we are including spanking here. This was a great article, partly because seldom is the science behind this topic discussed. There was also an apsect left unanswered in this article that I would like to address. The article points out that the US is still reluctant to ban spanking in the home since many feel, “…it would undermine American parents’ authority as well as U.S. sovereignty…”. In other words, do we have the right to tell parents that they cannot spank their own children in their home? I have heard this argument before. Well, there is an obvious analogy – does an adult have the right to hit their own spouse in the home? The answer is clearly no. So why don’t children have the same rights?
I also like the fact that the article adressed another argument for spanking I here often. Many believe that spanking is not hitting and so it is OK. I have yet to figure out the difference, but it is apparent that sometimes such behavior escalates, not only in intensity of punishment, but also frequency as the parent uses it for more and more (and less severe) situations. In this case, it is similar to a gateway drug. If spanking is OK, then a little slap on the face is not much different, etc., etc., etc. This progression does not happens with everyone, and that is the reason why if I know someone who believes in spanking there children, I don’t feel the need to argue, unless it turns out that their definition of spanking is quite broad.
The third argument I often hear regarding hitting children is a quote from the Christian Holy Bible that supposedly states, “Spare the rod and spoil the child”. Well, the actual quote is from Proverbs 13:24 (NIV) that states, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him”. I find it interesting that the “careful to discipline” phrase was conveniently removed from the slang saying. The first clause could be interpreted many ways and is quite ambiguous. I would also like to point out that the Rod was a symbol of rulership around this time, so it did not necessarily mean a stick with which to beat someone. It is more likely it meant that you rule your children with authority, which can be done without hitting them.
Finally, one more analogy. If I walked up to a strong, full grown adult and lightly slapped them on the face, I could be arrested and charged with assault. If some hillbilly spanks their tiny, defenseless 2 year old repeatedly until they are red, blistered, and cannot sit down, then that is OK. Hmmm!?
The concept is really pretty simple. Without spanking, you are building a relationship of learning what is right and wrong behavior through a trusting friendship, albeit this can be quite difficult in the early stages of language development. When you spank, the parent can sometimes be seen as an “enemy” due to self-preservation. Therefore, it will only cause the to perform the negative behavior when they are not being observed to avoid being spanked.
Also, it was interesting to read in this article that we are at the same level of social evolution in this regard as Somalia.
