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On General Strategies: A Case for Meaning

     As humans, we have the unique capacity among animals to think not only in percepts (sensations, impulses), but in concepts. These are the basis of language, logic, and all levels of abstraction. This feature has secured us our position as apex predator and relative masters of the world. In this age, which people have named the Anthropocene, humans are the single greatest influence on the planet. We have the power and responsibility of shaping our environment to our own design.     All conscious endeavors require a strategy, comprised of an objective and a theory. Some strategies refer only to a particular subset of phenomena or objectives, such as the art of gardening, or of piloting aircraft. These can be called specialized strategies. Others refer to all objectives and phenomena as a whole. We can call these general strategies. General strategies fall under two headings: religion and philosophy. The difference is that religions claim supernatural ori...
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First Principles and Happiness

"When one man has reduced a fact of the imagination to be a fact to his understanding, I foresee that all men will at length establish their lives on that basis." Henry David Thoreau First Principles Conclusions are drawn from premises, whether consciously or not. Premises therefore determine one's theory of life and consequent actions. My own: 1. Reality is non-contradictory. This is to say reality is knowable. The number one is the number one. You have to fool yourself or lie to say that one does not equal one. Or to say that an apple is red, but also not red, in the same sense and at the same time. Contradiction is possible only in the imagination. With definitions applied, a thing must be either true or untrue. This is the first law of logic, the Law of Identity. It is represented by the equation A = A, meaning that a thing is positively itself, which is the root of all logic. 2. Judgements and actions follow from values. Whenever you hear "good," "bad,...
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Early Lessons in Vagabonding

 Our taxi driver is an Indian man from Fiji. He says he lived in Sacramento thirty years before New Zealand. Wife's family lives here. We say we are from the U.S. on a working holiday visa. He eyes us curiously.     "People from the U.S. don't come here on working holiday."     We laugh awkwardly, "We did."     "Well, I'll tell you something."     "Okay."     "You won't make any friends around here. It's a small island. The Kiwis all know each other. They don't bother mingling with outsiders."     "That's good to know. Thank you."     "And don't talk about your political. Like if you are a Republican, you will be the most hated person around." Things I have learned in New Zealand: 1. It is more effective to earn money in countries with higher incomes (such as the U.S.), and spend it in countries with lower costs of living. (Also known as geo arbitrage; maximizes return on labor....
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A North Carolina Yankee in Auckland

    In the airport, there are a lot of people tired from sitting. I was one of them. The high ceilings, beams, and vast balconies suggest perfect order. Everything white gloss and brushed steel. An escalator transports you from Gate 3 to a Starbucks. I am speaking mainly of the mega structure that is the San Francisco airport.     On the flight to Auckland, my brother Tyler and I were provided with a wide selection of movies via the screen on the back of each seat. The flight attendants served us two meals which were very nearly what one might call food. My buns were numb from hours of sitting, and poor circulation gave me a headache. All this could be taken more broadly as a picture of modern life. We landed in Auckland and discovered fresh air once again.     Northern New Zealand is tropical. Birds sing in the canopies above, and the sun shines warm between passing showers. Sprawling oaks and wild palms shade the sidewalks. The breeze blows...
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Reflections on the Death of God

"Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication." Marshall McLuhan    “A new technology does not add or subtract something. It changes everything.”  Neil Postman    The old religion is dead. Technology killed it. Let me explain. Myths are colorful stories that present the values of a people. Oral cultures deliver these by live performances like sermons, songs, and theatre. Local authorities set the narrative. This provides members with a common identity and meaning structure. Writing creates scripture and clergy. Flesh and blood leaders begin to yield to an immortal word. The invention of printing expands literacy, transforming this relay into a quiet, solitary affair. Clergy, the deliverers of the word, become obsolete. Individuals now read, a process relying on concepts and active imagination.  Radio, television, and film turn storytelling from conceptual to perceptual. I...
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A Word on Autobiography

"We commonly do not remember that it is, after all, always the first person that is speaking."  Henry David Thoreau Autobiography is ideal reading for general education. Reasons:   The worth of any written work is dependent on the character of the author. In fiction and philosophy, one puts forth a view of life. In reference books and how-to guides, one proposes principles, methods, and facts. But what are the fruits of those attitudes and ideas? Who is writing them? Autobiography is by nature an answer to these questions.  When a man, having lived and achieved something of significance, in his view, lays the story of his life before the public, he searches in his memory and finds those moments which were pivotal. I n his poetry, a man might describe a sparrow in flight. I n his textbook, he might expose the mysteries of the atom. But in his autobiography, he  includes only the details that defined his life and determined its course.  It is pure case study....
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