Everyday Junglist
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About me. You know how everyone says to be a successful writer you should focus in one or two areas. I continue to prove them correct.
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8 Lessons from a 3-Figure Writer
It’s already tomorrow somewhere in the world. Maybe that’s why the future feels like it is already here. Do you have questions about the future? Who doesn’t, right? The future is big and scary and always seemingly just out of reach. Then suddenly before you know it you are there, and it’s the present and then not a shortest measurable moment of time later it’s the past already. WTF? That sure was fast. But the future is still out there staring you in the face, laughing at you, calling you a big baby and asking you what’s taking so long. F-you future is what I always say.
By Everyday Junglist4 years ago in Journal
The Case Against Pets
Why keeping a pet is fundamentally unethical As the current guardian of seven cats and two dogs whom I treasure more than words can express I was taken off guard to say the least by the strength of the case made in the piece. I have no problem accepting the ethical arguments that show conclusively in my view that the mistreatment of non human animals is morally wrong. Yet I still eat and use products derived from animals, including products that almost certainly were derived from animals whose treatment I would equate with torture. That said my intention here is not to address my obvious lack of ethical principles in this regard.
By Everyday Junglist4 years ago in Petlife
For a Non Genius Brain, Focus On Anything Other Than Thinking
As a genius myself it always pleases me to see the non genius types among us trying to be just a little bit more like me. That said I was unhappy with the lack of balance in the article (linked below - note: link removed by author. It was a classic believe me. Hopefully you can get the gist of just what an ass the dude was that wrote it by reading this. Imagine this article but in reverse and taken totally seriously. You'll get my point.) and felt it could have highlighted the differences between us geniuses (aka genuii) and the common folk more strongly. After all if everyone were a genius there would be no genuii and we would all be common folk and we would all….wait a minute. Damn…that does suck to think about. In any case I rewrote the article in an attempt to do just that, plus make it shorter, and not so stupid, or boring. Enjoy.
By Everyday Junglist4 years ago in Humans
Blockchains Won’t Fix the Problems with Human Genomics Because the Problems with Human Genomics Can't Be Fixed
If you’ve been waiting to get your genome sequenced, will a virtual token really make you change your mind? Yet another article bemoaning the lack of progress gene sequencing has made in improving the human condition (linked above). In this particular example the author suggest this “problem” is largely the result of a lack of available genomics data (whole genome sequence) data from people. It seems that not enough people are willing to get their genomes sequenced and then hand the data over to either government or private industry no matter the promises of anonymity made or sweeteners offered. I can’t imagine why anyone would have any problem trusting those two paragons of trustworthiness (government and biotech industry), but it turns out that a few enterprising technology companies have come up with a brilliant solution to this (non)vexing (non)problem, my favorite new(ish) kid on the techno-block, cryptocurrency aka bitcoin! And just like Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch foretold in the opening lines to their classic hit Good Vibrations.
By Everyday Junglist4 years ago in The Chain
Brain imaging, Consciousness, Jaynes and Wittgenstein
Author's preface: The first part of this piece relies very heavily on direct quotations from the piece referenced. Thank you author Colin Klein for a wonderful review and author/researcher Robert Shulman for one hell of a book.
By Everyday Junglist4 years ago in Psyche
Why People Pay Me to Not Bother Them While They Drink Coffee
Why I Charge People to Get Coffee With Me Recently, a startup founder punched me in the face and asked if I wouldn’t mind backing the fuck up and not talking to him while he was trying to enjoy his morning coffee in peace? I was a dickhead in his personal space he explained, and he’d love to continue using my face for punching bag if I kept bothering him.
By Everyday Junglist4 years ago in Confessions
Introduction to Decision Intelligence
The end of intelligence Curious to know what the psychology of avoiding lions on the savannah has in common with fooling people into thinking something which is not intelligence actually is, and the challenges associated with figuring out new words for things which implies they are something they are actually not. Also, ever wonder what would happen if you crammed a bunch of things which aren’t really science into a whole new field wrapped under the rubric of another thing which is not science (data “science”). Welcome to decision intelligence! A rapidly evolving field of “science” where nothing is what it seems and everything is what it isn’t. Confused yet? Come along on an exciting adventure into this brave new world of made up pseudoterms and important sounding but ultimately empty techno-jargon. Are you ready to begin? Uh-oh time for you to make a decision. Better bust out that intelligence I have heard so much about, and start deciding. If you don’t do it some artificial intelligence is gonna do it for you, so what are you waiting for? Let’s dive right in.
By Everyday Junglist4 years ago in Futurism
Top 6 Listicle Gimmicks According to Science
According to science According to a recent study published in a scientific journal the use of “according to science” in listicle titles has never been higher. The article found that many authors believed the use of the phrase “according to science” would add an air of credibility to their work that would otherwise be totally devoid of even the faintest shred of reliability or trustworthiness. According to a scientist this is terribly misguided and wrong. Instead it only serves to highlight the scientific naivety of the author and woefully misrepresents what science is and can do to the non technical/scientific public.
By Everyday Junglist4 years ago in Filthy
Dear Women, Men Owe You an Apology Once Again
Dear Men, Feminism Needs You - Stop waiting for us to explain everything, and start doing the work I was lounging around watching football and drinking beer this week when my pal Tim asked a question I’ve been asked a hundred times before: How can men do a better job of helping feminists? It’s a strange query, and for years I’ve answered it by pointing out all the ways men can listen to women as they explain feminism to us and how we can help. But this time, I’d run out of patience.
By Everyday Junglist4 years ago in Viva
Analogy Does Not Recapitulate Reality
The Possibility of Analogy Does Not Necessarily Correlate with the Probability of Reality I take a hard line against the currently (and formerly) in vogue position of equating human beings, particularly their brains, with computers. To me it is obvious that no such equivalence exists despite decades of suggestions otherwise. The number of analogies between various structures/functions of the human brain and those of a computer/computer system are as large as the number of neurons estimated to comprise said brain. The prevalence of these analogies often makes us forget that they are only that, analogies. They are not based in scientific fact, but instead are based in the imaginative capacities of the organ which is the topic of these comparisons. The possibility of analogy is however often confused with the probability of reality. Those things for which we can analogize more are thought to be more accurate representations of the real relationships of the things being compared. Therefore, because there are so many analogies possible between how (we hypothesize) a human brain works and how a computer works, it must be true that a human brain is very similar to, or exactly like, a computer. The point of analogies is (or should be) to help clarify/deepen our understanding of a thing through a comparison of that thing and/or it’s attributes with another (usually similar but not always) thing. We suggest that the first thing is like the other because of x, y, and z and the comparison allows us to see the thing we are trying to clarify our understanding of in a different way. To ‘see’ it anew. In no way however is the analogy an argument (it is not an argument and should not be viewed as such) as to the actual similarity (in point of fact/reality) of the two things. It is for illustrative purposes only and carries no truth value or “reality bestowing” power. Analogies are powerful, but they are not all powerful. They can clarify but they can also mislead. We must not confuse our ability to create analogies with our ability to clearly see, study, and understand reality.
By Everyday Junglist4 years ago in Futurism
