THE JAY KESSLER BLOG

"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,...

 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....

    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...