Computer time dilation, or a lifetime of Moore’s law
Demands for Rigidly Defined Areas of Doubt and Uncertainty
have answers to moral questions remind me of the line from
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy where representatives of the
Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and Other
Thinking Persons demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and
uncertainty. (http://hitch14.tripod.com/chapter_25.htm) What
philosophers (and the religious) often resist is not scientific
advancement, but encroachment. (Scientists, by and large, either
object based on their training or because they don’t want the
responsibility inherent in moral statements.) Philosophy may suffer from the same “reality problem” (my term) that
Massimo Pigliucci asserts mathematics, that its statements may be
“objectively true” without constituting “empirical facts.” The problem with this isn’t that philosophy can’t make statements
about the real world because of its place relative to this divide, but
the assertion of its privilege to bridge the gap in one direction
while denying science the ability to do it in reverse. This strikes me
as very similar to the common refrain of the religious that science
can’t make statements about the truth or falsehood of religious
assertions while making statements about the truth or falsehood of
scientific statements. Of course, we should all be very, very used to
religion allowing itself special privileges; that its close cousin
philosophy might do the same is unsurprising. All that aside, one has to wonder if some of scientists’ reluctance to
admit moral influence comes from its history and the unfortunate
results of some practitioners’ (and proto-practitioners’) hubris, not
to mention the misuse of science by some as justification for terrible
injustices. The rise of science didn’t (and still hasn’t, sadly) mean
the end of hate, irrationality, injustice or want, though you can
hardly fault enthusiasts’ extrapolation from the increase in knowledge
to a bright and shining future. Nor can you really fault skeptics’ and
deniers’ (and those are very different groups) extrapolation in the
other direction. Both are very human acts, if unrealistic. As is this reaction to Harris’s contention that there might be
scientific answers to moral questions. I find the assertion that science (or empirical fact) can’t answer
moral questions just as ludicrous as an assertion that science can
answer all moral questions (which I don’t see Harris making). That
there will be insoluble problems and that there will be conditional
answers should be taken for granted, as their absence would be
unprecedented; that it could either have widespread or little
applicability are certainly possibilities to be entertained. Pigliucci’s question of whether Harris would accept a scientific
answer in favor of corporal punishment (or female subjugation) is moot
and a mirror of his misrepresentation of Harris’s contention that
moral relativism is the default position of many a Western
intellectual. On the first, Harris’s acceptance or denial of such a
result would not impact its scientific basis at all, nor would anyone
else’s; if the United Nations tomorrow adopted a resolution stating
that the sun revolves around the earth wouldn’t make it so, and one
man’s rejection of an answer produced by a method he endorses says
nothing about that method. And it says nothing about the applicability
of the method; it merely accuses the proponent of being a potential
hypocrite. On the second, we have to realize that there is a significant
difference between personal reactions and intellectual stances. To
condemn human sacrifice as inherently immoral in an anthropology
thesis would probably be a pretty good way to postpone your doctorate
indefinitely, whether or not your adviser was personally repulsed by
such activities, unless you followed the dictates of academia and
removed that line; to assert that the universe was created in six days
six-thousand-and-change years ago ought to be a good way to fail any
cosmology test in existence. The main difference between the two is
that the second is a “scientific” question, while the first is
“moral”. Finally, the implicit (and sometimes explicit) fear that society will
mindlessly follow whatever science or its proponents dictate is
possibly one of the most unjustified things I’ve ever seen. It’s
similar to the “rational actor” fiction that has made so many theories
of human thoughts and actions so laughably incorrect. We act
rationally right up to the point where the forces that produce
irrational behavior become stronger than the reason-promoting ones.
That much of our actions are rational or irrational but not survival
limiting is merely a reflection of the evolutionary fitness of these
actions for enough people that our species can survive, and we should
not lose sight of the fact that those same behaviors could spell our
doom if conditions change and they become deleterious. As they may
very well already be.
On bigotry, writ innocent and unintentional
In the comments section of my post last Friday on women in science, a couple people were confused by the idea that bigotry and discrimination could be something done, for lack of a better word, accidentally … even subconsciously. I can understand why that's confusing. Most of us were raised understanding that discrimination was a bad thing, done by bad people who thought that they were superior to the people they discriminated against. It's logical to look at the way we learn about discrimination and say, "That doesn't describe me, so I'm OK."
The truth, sadly, is a bit more complicated.
Good people—people who aren't supremacists of any sort—can and do act in ways that support systemic discrimination. We do this, not because we're full of hate, but because we're full of other lessons we learned as kids … things like, "Girl stuff isn't as cool" or "people of that race aren't like me, and that's bad." We might not cosign those ideas if they were expressed directly, but they can still quietly influence the way we act. And, if we happen to have been born into a non-minority category, we have the privilege of not even noticing when those old lessons direct us to do things that discriminate—because, from our point of view, the world still looks fair.
Case in point: That post on women in science, itself. Several hours after I hit "publish", I realized that I'd managed to put together a panel on diversity made up of nothing but white people.
I didn't set out to do that. But it happened, nonetheless. And it still furthered discrimination, by making it appear as if there aren't women of color scientists worth talking to, and by implying that their perspective on the issue wouldn't be any different from a white woman scientist's. Neither of which is true. Without intending to, I left out the people who didn't look like me. And because I have the privilege of seeing myself reflected in the media often enough, I didn't notice the point of view that was missing until after I'd already published the story.
I'm writing about this now with the hope that it makes it more clear how discrimination happens, even in situations without big, evil villains. Sometimes, people with the privilege to not think about diversity don't, and they make decisions that leave out people not like them. When that same situation happens over and over and over, the people who don't look like the privileged end upmarginalized. It's simple. And, frankly, it's a lot scarier than big, evil villains, because it's harder to change. In the future, I'm going to try harder to think past my own privilege. And, whether your privilege is based on gender, race, wealth, sexuality, or culture … I hope this post will remind you to do the same.
Image courtesy Flickr user fireflythegreat, via CC
—–end boing boing post—–
Three: the moral. We can all easily recognize and publicly abhor overt bigotry when it's Trent Lott's post hoc endorsement of Strom Thurmond's segregationist campaign or even Don Imus's blisteringly unthinking "nappy headed hos" comment about the Rutgers University women's basketball team (and, boy, is there ever a metric crapload of examples for just about any minority you care to recognize; these two just came to mind first). People even do a pretty good job of it when they're in the majority but think about the statement or situation a little.
But when you're going through life and thinking "I'm going to put together some scientists' statements about this idiocy" or even "I'm going to invite kids to my child's birthday party" it is a hell of a lot harder without someone pointing it out. And the reason is easy to see: most people who do this aren't bigots, by any useful definition of the term. There is no intent and it would be unlikely that a thoughtful, mindful action would produce such a result.
Hopefully most of us have stood on the minority side and felt (or tried to feel) what it's like to look at some grouping and realize there's nobody there outside the majority, at least as an intellectual exercise if not in reality, or to hear someone casually dismiss a minority as unimportant or nonexistent.
Too often the reaction to pointing out this sort of unintentional bigotry is some version of "they didn't mean it that way" (usually with a helping of "get over it" or "toughen up"). It's often entirely true and almost always beside the point. That people mindlessly make decisions or say things or act in ways that perpetuate bigotry is bad enough; it may be worse when they try to rationalize or minimize it. Far better to react like this, and say "Yes, I did wrong without meaning to." The call to learn from the mistake has the potential to turn it into a net positive, and we should all aim for that.
(Before anybody gets the pitchforks to "encourage" me to get off my high horse: I'm guilty of this, maybe moreso than most people. I am, after all, judgmental and critical and obstinate and blunt, plus probably more traits that make my stated goal of mindfulness so damned hard to achieve even briefly. I can round people up into a pen and brand them with the best cowboys that ever strapped on spurs, and I can give you chapter and verse to justify the corraling and the singeing. I can only hope that when I am called out on it, I can recognize my error and make half as good an explanation as Maggie did here.)
This week’s tweets (2010-06-14)
- Pierced: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-06-06 http://goo.gl/fb/XO2ou #
- Photo: Japanese Tea Garden, San Antonio, Texas. http://tumblr.com/xxgb47n5t #
- This is why, even if you're a pure as driven snow Catholic magazine, you have one dirty-minded pervert look at your pub. http://ow.ly/i/1Xrm #
- RT @TexasTribune: Guess how many forrmer state officeholders are registered to lobby in Austin? Coming tomorrow… // Me: All of them? #
- Why no obvious destination for news about the Gulf oil spill, @nytimes? @washingtonpost has 1 (tho wapo has error in spill size headline). #
- Someone needs to explain to me… – how in the hell my cheap-ass clock runs fast by about a minute a day until… http://tumblr.com/xxgbcm5yk #
- Photo: imadirrtygirl: http://tumblr.com/xxgbcnxxp #
- We have moved to http://www.piercepresley.com/famblog/ http://wp.me/pF4iG-u #
- I have moved to http://www.piercepresley.com http://wp.me/pvMmx-j #
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-06-06
- Pierced: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-30 http://goo.gl/fb/NuX4Z #
- Geeks and Nerds – This still doesn’t answer the question of whether I’m a geeky nerd or a nerdy geek. http://tumblr.com/xxgaq9iaz #
- Finally got around to some photo-tourism of San Antonio after living here 3 years. http://ow.ly/1SjIW and http://ow.ly/1SjJf #
- Apparently posting my photos and sermon video killed my air conditioner. There's no other conclusion you can draw. #
- RT @BoraZ: Did fornicating Farm Girls boost the rise of atheism in Britain? http://bit.ly/aEAIrp I wonder if the US stats would be similar. #
- Photo: Double-arch stone bridge at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Antonio, Texas. http://tumblr.com/xxgavi841 #
- I could take 31 Justin Biebers in a fight! http://theoatmeal.com/quiz/justin_bieber RT @oatmeal #
- Severe storm just passed. Luckily no outage here, 100k+ out around SA. Glad I don't live south of town. @wxprobrian doing yeoman's work. #
- Photo: sarahmay: http://tumblr.com/xxgax8tw8 #
- RT @mediatwit @Yelvington If you'd rather take yr fear o tech & yr magazine j'lism degree 2 the food court, go 4 it http://to.pbs.org/cPqyMI #
- Photo: (via brettkelly) Unlike, say, the sucky parts? http://tumblr.com/xxgb08f1x #
- Would it kill @sprint to have decent call blocking? I get calls from unknown, caller ID blocked, numbers too long for US system. Bullshit. #
- Photo: San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio, Texas at night. Handheld shot sans breathing. http://tumblr.com/xxgb21w3z #
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Beer me!Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-30
- Pierced: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-23 http://goo.gl/fb/NXZsH #
- Data Underload #21 Exit Strategy – There is nothing that man won’t classify and quantify or qualify, and… http://tumblr.com/xxgadjcgn #
- Today's near-miss tech blunder – About to download metric shitload of files from Mozy.com1, I got as far as… http://tumblr.com/xxgadzvec #
- Maybe I misnamed the tumblog – Judging by the directory, “Fuck Yeah, Pierce Presley” would be in the… http://tumblr.com/xxgafh897 #
- Via @BoraZ—SMBOs: You cannot make your opportunities concur with the opportunities of people whose incomes are 10X > yours. Ed. S. Martin #
- Bad-ass panorama creator, sans download – Make a panorama in your browser. Truly, we live in amazing times. http://tumblr.com/xxgafl75t #
- The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia – Boing Boing – sarahmay: West Virginia sometimes seems like… http://tumblr.com/xxgahf90t #
- Save PDF Files in Google Docs: Shared by Pierce
Every time I get a little worried about Google's hegemony, they… http://bit.ly/c8Djbw #
- Video: This could seriously be a time-saver for me and maybe millions, perhaps even a greater achievement… http://tumblr.com/xxgahkppp #
- People vs. Corporate Lobbyists. That's where it's at. Check it out: http://bit.ly/98LdUL #
- Natural resource exploitation and poverty: not just for W.Va. anymore – › “[West Virginia] has something in… http://tumblr.com/xxgaj2ywy #
- Take action: 74 House Dems sold us out to AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. #netneutrality http://ow.ly/1Rfqm #
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Beer me!Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-23
- "Universal-desk copy editor to others: “News is just Features with blood." – #4409 | Overheard in the… http://tumblr.com/xxg9z6yff #
- Pierce-odus Preceded Facebook Quit Day by More Than a Fortnight – Yet again, I’m ahead of the game: Quit… http://tumblr.com/xxg9z7si0 #
- It Takes Only SEVEN Steps to Partially Protect Oneself From Facebook Idiocy – From… http://tumblr.com/xxg9z9m1p #
- RT @yelvington: How much news can fit in 140 characters? More than in the average cable TV report. // Twitter needs a rinse & repeat button. #
- And I'm off to bed. #newbettervampirehours #
- Pierced: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-16 http://goo.gl/fb/30fgX #
- If you've done nothing wrong, of course the government won't imprison you – This is astounding, and not in a… http://tumblr.com/xxga0ilpq #
- If you've done nothing wrong, of course the government won't imprison you: http://wp.me/pvMmx-g #
- Pierced: If you’ve done nothing wrong, of course the government won’t imprison you http://goo.gl/fb/50npm #
- Pearls Before Swine – May 18, 2010 – This may go into the “sorta inappropriate lines to whip out on… http://tumblr.com/xxga34cp9 #
- Photo: This may have to go into the “great lines to whip out on unsuspecting people” file. http://tumblr.com/xxga34lb7 #
- Photo: El Vética: luchero meets typographer from the town of San Serif. Jeez. http://tumblr.com/xxga4ja04 #
- Democrats queasy about deficit spending – Bullshit. The Democrats are queasy about all the mean things… http://tumblr.com/xxga4t6uk #
- "We are dealing with people who think they should rebel until they get their little kingdom like Satan…" http://tumblr.com/xxga53r8j #
- RT @gapingvoid: The 5 pillars of social media: Audience, Network, Customers, Content, Product. All 5 need to be sound to smite enemies etc. #
- Howdy, fail whale! It's been a while! #
- TribBlog: History Paige | The Texas Tribune – Ah, Don McLeroy, the gift that keeps on giving, thinks that 10… http://tumblr.com/xxga59dph #
- "Ads by Google Do You Have ADHD? Find out about an ADHD medication available for adults. Get the facts…" http://tumblr.com/xxga5bmzo #
- "As I’ve said before, we’re seeing the lines between web apps and desktop apps quickly blurring and we…" http://tumblr.com/xxga69nap #
- C'mon @Hootsuite, give us a owl pooping on the fail whale if Twitter's not playing nice. Easy-to-understand messages aren't cool enough. #
- Sanchez on Epistemic Bias and the Right : Dispatches from the Culture Wars – So damned delusional we needed a… http://tumblr.com/xxga6x6rg #
- "New Social Networking Site Changing The Way Oh, Christ, Forget It Let Someone Else Report On This…" http://tumblr.com/xxga8djwv #
- Photo: Space Shuttle and International Space Station silhouetted by sun http://tumblr.com/xxga93pxm #
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Beer me!If you’ve done nothing wrong, of course the government won’t imprison you
This is astounding, and not in a remotely good way. I know we
occasionally get crap like this from some of the fringes of Congress
(usually the House), but when two powerful and senior senators propose
absolutely gutting the protections from tyrannical government that we
have, we have reached a sad state. So much for Obama’s election and the
Democratic (so-called) majorities in both houses pulling us back from
the road to fascism.
Please spread this far and wide. No one, whether conservative, liberal,
libertarian—hell, anything but authoritarian, fascist and Nazi—should
allow this the least chance to pass. Call, write, e-mail, send carrier
pigeons to and otherwise let your congressmen know where you stand on
this.
Sent to you by Pierce via Google Reader: Aww, who needs those pesky
principles of justice anyway? via Pharyngula on 5/16/10
Have you heard about the Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention and
Prosecution Act?
Meanwhile, the bill recently introduced by Joe Lieberman and John
McCain — the so-called “Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention and
Prosecution Act” — now has 9 co-sponsors, including the newly elected
Scott Brown. It’s probably the single most extremist, tyrannical and
dangerous bill introduced in the Senate in the last several decades,
far beyond the horrific, habeas-abolishing Military Commissions Act. It
literally empowers the President to imprison anyone he wants in his
sole discretion by simply decreeing them a Terrorist suspect –
including American citizens arrested on U.S. soil. The bill requires
that all such individuals be placed in military custody, and explicitly
says that they “may be detained without criminal charges and without
trial for the duration of hostilities against the United States or its
coalition partners,” which everyone expects to last decades, at least.
It’s basically a bill designed to formally authorize what the Bush
administration did to American citizen Jose Padilla — arrest him on
U.S. soil and imprison him for years in military custody with no
charges.
If this bill passes, may I suggest that, since it does undermine the
rule of law and does great damage to the republic, that the first
persons charged under its provisions be the despicable McCain and
Lieberman? Won’t they be surprised!
Of course, since we do respect the rule of law, I suggest that everyone
write to their congresspeople and tell them that you oppose this bill.
Save McCain and Lieberman from the fate of Danton and Robespierre!
Read the comments on this post…
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-16
- Check it Out! I'm starring in a Star Wars movie by JibJab: http://starwars.jibjab.com/view/N99gqBRJR5VQEzJT #
- Help protect our democracy #fixcongressfirst Find out how http://fixcongressfirst.org #
- I favorited a YouTube video — Dan Barker on FOX News http://youtu.be/rXVZsAMupos?a #
- Dan Barker on FOX News: I favorited a YouTube video: May 8, 2010 – http://FFRF.org –
- WikiHow: How to Delete a Facebook account http://ow.ly/1Ln2a //Surprise, surprise, it's not as easy as you think, and there's no guarantee. #
- RT @PaulRieckhoff RT @anamariecox "My g/f says I need to get out of the house… so I've decided to save the world." @craignewmark at #dc10 #
- It's probably un-Christian of me to enjoy this, but I'm not Christian so I'm allowed. http://ow.ly/1LBD4 #
- In a gesture of probably no effect at all, I just deleted my Facebook account. Now to see what replaces it (hopefully a lot of good work) #
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Beer me!Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-09
- #4224 Copy editor reading a column: “Pure genius and Dane Cook should never appear in the same fucking sentence.” http://bit.ly/cqbkdR #
- #OHNewsroom Copy editor: “Pure genius and Dane Cook should never appear in the same fucking sentence.”// Hallelujah! Preach it! #
- It worries the hell out of me when a job ad starts with "The contractor will …" It's nice to know how they're going to view you, but damn. #
- Why I'm quitting Facebook on 5/15: http://ow.ly/1I1pt // As E.E. Cummings wrote: There is some shit I will not eat. #
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