Monthly Archive for November, 2005

Firefox 1.5

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on November 30, 2005
in computers
. 7 Comments

This one is a bit offtopic on this site, but… Firefox 1.5 is out.

Since this isn’t a technical blog, I’ll explain: Firefox is a web browser, much like Internet Explorer (IE), which comes with Windows systems… only it’s much better, faster, more stable and more secure. When you get used to it (including features such as tabbed browsing, a decent popup blocker, and others), you’ll discover that browsing the web can really be a pleasure - and you’ll feel crippled when you have to use a friend’s computer and he or she only has IE. Of course, in such a case, Firefox is always a (small) download away…

Try it out, it’s free… just get it from here.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming. :)

The only debate on Intelligent Design that is worthy of its subject

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on November 29, 2005
in atheism, intelligent design, religion and science
. 5 Comments

“The only debate on Intelligent Design that is worthy of its subject” is a hilarious “debate” between a scientist and a crea… I mean, “Intelligent Design advocate”. It begins like this…

Moderator: We’re here today to debate the hot new topic, evolution versus Intelligent Des—

(Scientist pulls out baseball bat.)

Moderator: Hey, what are you doing?

(Scientist breaks Intelligent Design advocate’s kneecap.)

Intelligent Design advocate: YEAAARRRRGGGHHHH! YOU BROKE MY KNEECAP!

Scientist: Perhaps it only appears that I broke your kneecap. Certainly, all the evidence points to the hypothesis I broke your kneecap. For example, your kneecap is broken; it appears to be a fresh wound; and I am holding a baseball bat, which is spattered with your blood. However, a mere preponderance of evidence doesn’t mean anything. Perhaps your kneecap was designed that way. Certainly, there are some features of the current situation that are inexplicable according to the “naturalistic” explanation you have just advanced, such as the exact contours of the excruciating pain that you are experiencing right now.

Intelligent Design advocate: AAAAH! THE PAIN!

Go read it. :)
(seen on The Martian Anthropologist)

Article: "What it feels to be an atheist"

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on November 24, 2005
in atheism
. 3 Comments

I can’t tell you in a few words (and I don’t want to write several paragraphs saying it) how much I was impressed when reading this article: What it feels to be an atheist.

Most believers will stop at the first paragraph, or enter their “ignore everything” mode when they start reading, so it certainly won’t “unconvert” anyone - only cold, brutal, “admitting that you were wrong” honesty can ever do it. But it’s still a brilliant piece of writing.

Why collectivism doesn’t work

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on November 22, 2005
in collectivism and objectivism
. 14 Comments

When I was younger, I used to believe that communism and socialism were, in general, good ideas that had simply been poorly implemented, or abused, or used as excuses for atrocities such as those in the Soviet Union. After all, who could argue with the idea of “brotherly love”? It seemed even “logical” that everything would be better if people just stopped being so “selfish”, and cooperated, everyone working for “the group”.

Many factors changed my way of thinking as I grew older, but the one thing that made me understand what communism really was - not what implementations of it were, but what it really was, and could never be anything else, despite all the seeminly good intentions - was Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”.

Especially one of my favorite sections, the one where Jeff Allen tells Dagny Taggart the sad story of the Twentieth Century Motor Company.

That story made such an impression on me that, even after I had only read the book once, I was able to tell it to people - it’s simply impossible to forget, as every part follows naturally, logically, from the one before.

Continue reading ‘Why collectivism doesn’t work’

Logical fallacies

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on November 17, 2005
in thinking
. 3 Comments

If you want to spend some time reading about common logical fallacies, there’s a list of articles in Wikipedia: Logical Fallacies.

It’s impossible to read those and not learn a lot. And if you like to think, you’ll love it. Besides, it’ll make you much more suspicious of politicians. :)

Misguided consumer “patriotism”

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on November 16, 2005
in collectivism and individualism
. 6 Comments

A co-worker sent me, a while ago, an email with a link to a page, in Portuguese, telling people about our “duty” to our country to buy Portuguese products, in order to “support national production”, because “by buying foreign products, it forces national producers to raise their prices”. The co-worker seemed, herself, to support that point of view, and I’m sure that if I talked about it in the office, most people would agree that it was a “noble” thing to do, even if they didn’t want to inconvenience themselves by paying more than they were forced to.

And yet, I could only think about an article I read a few years ago in the Ayn Rand Institute web site, called “Buy American is UN-American“. It applies, of course, whatever your country is.

Without wanting to repeat the article’s content here, the following is a translation of my reply to my co-worker, which I wrote before re-reading the article linked above:

The consumer should always choose the best product, that with the best quality/price ratio. That’s it. If we begin to choose national products, even though they’re WORSE, we’re doing 2 things:

  1. admitting that we’re some poor incompetent slobs who can’t do anything well;
  2. telling national companies that they don’t need to create or manufacture quality products, because even if they’re trash we’ll still buy them out of “patriotism”.

The result of that is:

  1. as consumers, we get worse and worse products, and worse and worse deals;
  2. internationally, our products will come to be known as shoddy, low-quality garbage, which will mean increasingly fewer exports - if any at all.

On the other hand, if we simply buy what is best and has the best relationship between quality and price, we are “encouraging” our companies to do better, and making sure they are competitive - both nationally and internationally. Besides, we’ll have better quality at lower prices.

Believe me: if you’re buying national products even though you know they are worse and more expensive than the foreign competition, you’re not “supporting your country,” you’re harming it.

“Eat, Sleep, Work, Consume, Die”

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on November 11, 2005
in choices, computers and work
. 6 Comments

Great post on The Martian Anthropologist, which links to a Wired article. Both are excellent - I especially like the Martian’s comments at the end:

He’s right — we should not replace actual physical contact with various electronic messaging. But — and I hate to sound harsh — I live in a place where there are a lot of close-minded people that perhaps pick up a book once a year. And my next-door neighbor is an asshole. I don’t want to talk to him over the back fence about anything.

I feel exactly the same way :) and have tried, mostly without success, to explain it to friends: human contact is good and all that, but when most people around you don’t have anything in common with you (they don’t read books, they like the “music” that’s on the radio, and they think computer games are a childish waste of time - unlike soccer, which to them is the most important thing in the world), thank the heavens for the Internet and its “inhuman, unfeeling” methods of communication. Without it, I’d almost never be able to have a decent conversation.

This isn’t the main point of the article, however. The rest is something I also agree with - indeed, I’ve linked to a post from the Martian about the same, some time ago. Just because you can produce 10 times as much as someone 50 years ago, it doesn’t mean that it becomes our duty to do so, nor does it mean that we’re “lazy” if we don’t. We’re not in this world in order to work, produce and consume, but to live, and to enjoy life.

“Betraying the Son of Man”

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on November 10, 2005
in christianity and religion
. 1 Comment

Just found and read a fascinating article, “Betraying the Son of Man”.

Excerpt:

The most essential core of Jesus’ teaching was to reject all forms of earthly authority and live free. In order to “sell” Christianity, Paul makes the message how important it is to be a respectable member of society and do as you’re told. It’s significant that Paul emphasizes Jesus’ divinity, but never makes reference to Jesus’ own teachings. He uses the name of Christ like a weapon to bludgeon those who oppose him; he turns Jesus into a sterile godhead to be invoked, rather than heeded. By emphasizing Christ himself, Paul succeeded in pushing his teachings to the side–and thus, betraying everything Jesus ever stood for.

The sayings gospel, Q, shows that this was not always the case. It shows that Jesus’ teachings once held primacy, before Paul discarded those teachings and instead invoked Jesus as a mythic figure. With Paul, the Jesus Movement became the religion, Christianity. Christianity as we know it has nothing to do with Christ, and everything to do with Christ’s betrayer–Paul. In short, Christianity is the ultimate betrayal of everything Jesus ever stood for.

Friends and their laziness

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on November 10, 2005
in relationships
. 4 Comments

Since I’ve been the “computer guy” in my family and circle(s) of friends since, well, ever, I’ve always done a resonable amount of “tech support” to them, whenever they have problems, or simply questions (”how do I do this?” “is that video card a good choice?”). That’s natural, of course.

I think it’s perfectly reasonable that when someone asks you a question and you already know the answer, or can find it in 30 seconds, you simply give that person the answer.

What I don’t think is reasonable is when you, yourself don’t know the answer, and can’t get it much more easily than the other person, yet he or she expects - almost demands, sometimes - that you go seek the answer so you can tell him/her.

Sounds absurd, doesn’t it? “Hey, go learn about that subject so you can tell me about it.” But it’s what a lot of people do.

These days, I try to overcome my natural tendency, which is to always say “yes”, and think about whether it’s as easy for that other person to look for answers as it is for me. If so, I politely say so. Of course, if I already have the knowledge and, therefore, the answer, I give it.

The really weird thing is that some people still get offended when I refuse to do their work. Do they think that only their time is valuable?

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Portugal
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Portugal