The Litany of Tarski

If the box contains a diamond,
I desire to believe that the box contains a diamond;
If the box does not contain a diamond,
I desire to believe that the box does not contain a diamond;
Let me not become attached to beliefs I may not want.

What’s the big idea? What value is there is rehearsing a tautology like the one above?

The idea is that, I value truth above comfort or pleasure. I would rather believe the truth, even if it hurts temporarily. Even if it’s inconvenient, even if it causes me to be ostracized from my social circle, even if it means I have to change my whole way of life, it’s worth it (in the long term).

Sometimes, us humans become emotionally attached to ideas, even if they don’t benefit us. Like a child who won’t let go of a blankie they grew up with. Part of growing up as a human is letting go of false ideas.

Sometimes, us humans use wishful thinking instead of rigorous intellectual scrutiny and fundamental understanding.

Not everyone is ready or willing to know the truth. That’s ok. We’re all on a journey. I would never force someone to acknowledge the truth.

Me, personally? I declare, that I am willing and ready. If it’s the truth, even if it’s painful, I want to know.

 

I’ve been running low and sleep which causes me to run low on self-esteem. I needed a temporary fix and I found one when talking with a fellow Praxis participant: intentional breathing.

When I breath on purpose, not on automatic, I become re-focused on why I’m here. When I become aware of my breathing, I become aware of everything. It’s like a fish realizing that it’s swimming in water.

When I have low self-esteem. I have this thought that goes on repeat in my head: Everything’s f*cked. Over and over. I don’t think about how f*ed everything is. Usually I don’t even notice that I’m thinking it. I just notice this thought in the back of my head once I focus on my breathing. And not just this thought, many dangerous ones that float around.

My thoughts before and after being aware of my breathing:

• Everything’s f*cked
  • Breath in
  • Breath out
• Everything is fine
• Everything is falling apart
  • Breath in
  • Breath out
• Everything is falling into place
• This is impossible
  • Breath in
  • Breath out
• This is difficult
• I’m going to fail
  • Breath in
  • Breath out
• It’s going to take more than one try to get this right

Life is hard. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And don’t forget to breathe

 

I’m going to pop some bubbles with this blog post. The only thing worse than no hope; is false hope. You’re better off not chasing a carrot and running from a stick. It’s best to just go after whomever is holing the carrot and stick. Don’t get me wrong. Chasing is good. Running is good. Doing anything is good. This blog post isn’t for those that are sitting on their couch. This blog post is for those that keep running and yet stand still.

Don’t plan on assassinating a dictator.

There’s a very easy mistake that baby-anarchists make, and that’s to just get rid of the head honcho. Sometimes the easy answer is the right one, but not in this case. Most likely, removing the head will only create a power vacuum. In the end, the position will be filled with a different shadow puppet. “New look, same great taste.”

Don’t plan on assassinating the dictator and installing a puppet.

How much experience do you have managing people? You have to keep this puppet of yours in-check. If they get too much freedom, they might decide to not be a puppet. If they’re a puppet for you, they might decide to be a puppet for someone with bigger pockets instead. If they do a bad job, are you going to fire them? Good luck with that.

How much experience do you have running a country? Probably not much. The main problem that all centralized forms of government have, is that they can’t possibly know everything necessary to run such a huge operation. They have to make assumptions which often turn out wrong. If you ran it, or if some guy off the street ran it, that problem would persist. No one person, could know that much.

Don’t buy politicians.

Politicians are expensive. You’d drain your pocket book in a hurry. This is a very, very short term solution.

Don’t try to change politics from the inside out.

Some people think that they can “infiltrate” the government and exact change from the inside out. They just need a good person to go and shake things up. I can assure you that, good intentions are the least of your concern. I had similar aspirations for a humble organization such as Chrysler. No amount of high spirits and gung ho attitude could possibly pull the malaise out of those poor lumps. Those people were already defeated. Now imagine taking on all of the United States! The reality is that humans are herd animals. If the herd is lazy, there is a high probability that you will become lazy, and a slim probability that you will transform them to being industrious.

Don’t start a revolution.

This has to be the worst idea for social change. At best, one issue gets changed. If you hate war, you should also hate civil war. Revolution is no different.

Don’t vote.

Unfortunately there are no good candidates. Anyone who wants power, must be suspect of abusing that power. Saying “I don’t want to abuse power” is exactly the thing you would say if you wanted to abuse power. If you don’t want someone to abuse power, don’t worry about who has that power. Just worry about getting power away from anyone. Remove the incentive.

Now for the good part…

Talk to people.

Talk to everyone and anyone who will listen. Bring it up in every conversation until people get sick of it. Challenge people on their wrong beliefs. Have some facts ready. Ask people what they want out of government, and show them that; not only can government not deliver, the free market can.

Don’t stop until you’ve talked to literally everyone. Talk to people at work. Talk to people at the grocery store. Talk to people at the bank. Everyone is a potential convert.

Meet up.

Hang out with like minded people. Especially people who are “on the border” of converting. They just need a nudge. Your best bet for converts are people on the border, not boot-licking-statists.

This will also help for the sake of sanity. People are herd animals, so it’s inevitable that you’ll feel like an outcast among government-sympathizers. Your mental health will improve if you hang out with people who can empathize appropriately.

Write like the wind.

You need to get the message out there. You can talk to people 1-on-1. I encourage this. It’s highly effective. However, you should also do broadcast. You could reach 100 people at a time! Your converts per time will go up. At the very least it will prime your victims subjects to think about key topics. For me, the key topics were: central banking, war, and imminent domain.

Art all over the place.

For better or for worse, people are not convinced based on logic. They are convinced based on emotions. If you can make them feel a particular way about a particular topic, then you can convince them. Effectively, you’re short cutting the epic facebook wars and 10 page long emails back and forth explaining the nuances of neighbors hording nuclear material.

Start a business.

There’s nothing like first hand experience that can teach you about the government and the free market. There is no economics class that can elucidate the concepts of “supply and demand” better than offering a service and competing against others.

The government feeds off of passive people. Couch potatoes are the batteries that fuel government. The first thing that people do is nothing. Starting a business is it’s own act of defiance.

Fall madly in love.

Anarchy is for lovers. There’s nothing like letting your partner leave at any time, that keeps you on your toes. Love is personal and nearly impossible to understand or communicate. This makes it nearly impossible for government to squash it, unlike the many other things they squash.

 

Ultimately, the things that matter most, are the things that make us most human. Participating in the human experience is what being human is all about. Now go out there and do what you do best.

I know it’s tempting to shoulder your burden by yourself. I know that admitting you need help can be seen as a weakness. But the reality is that 1 out of 5 people suffer needlessly. Not everything goes right all the time.

It says in the bible Matthew 6:16-18: ¹⁶ “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

I think the intention is that you shouldn’t brag about your suffering. It shouldn’t be something you’re proud of. I don’t think what he meant was that you should literally suffer silently.

I have met multiple people who said that they couldn’t sleep because they have high anxiety. I have met multiple people who said that they were abused as kids. None of these people have met each other. they can’t exchange stories. They just assume that they are unique in their suffering. But since I have heard these stories, I can urge them to be vocal. What I have learned is that everyone believes that they are unique in their suffering and common in their pleasures. I have also learned that the opposite is mostly true: People are common in their suffering and unique in their pleasures. This is something I have learned only because others were not silent.

I can’t comment on all relationships everywhere, or all men and women everywhere, but I have observed this one phenomenon which I find hilarious and depressing. I can speak from experience.

The girl will be upset with the guy. But instead of bringing it up, she will keep quiet and wait for the guy to mention it. But the guy will miss it. It’s inevitable that he won’t pick up on the signals.

She will tell herself it’s because he’s oblivious or that he doesn’t care. This is not the case. In this instance she’s playing the game Chicken with the relationship.

If you want to co-ordinate, you need full knowledge with the other player. You cannot co-ordinate with someone who is intentionally sending mixed signals.

The whole point of being in a relationship is co-ordination. The whole point of co-ordination is that you have mutual knowledge. Mutual knowledge is where you know something, and the other person knows that you know it, and that you know- that they know you know. Etc. The earlier up in this chain that this knowledge breaks down, the less coordination there is and the more hilarity and depressing it is.

If you want something, with the consent and cooperation of your partner, you need to let them know. If something is bothering you, don’t be afraid to speak up. Don’t be surprised when it isn’t fixed. If you want to wait for someone else to fix your problems, don’t be upset when they take their time. If you want someone to understand you pain, don’t be afraid to show it. I guarantee that you will be misunderstood if you purposefully withhold information, and you will not get what you want.

Communication is a full contact sport. It’s a positive sum game. Both people can be better off if they want. Or one person can be better and one person can be worse. Or they can both be worse off. If you are purposefully not speaking up, you increase your chances of winning at the expense of another, and of losing at the gain of the person you are mad at.

My advice is to be vocal, early and often. It might be painful in the short term, but it’s worth it.

When it comes to utilitarianism vs deontology, one example that gets brought up time and time again is the case of someone in the desert who is thirsty and needs to steal water from a water vendor in order to live. That violates common rules among men, but the cost benefit analysis says that this is justified.

I don’t know the right answer to this problem, but I can say that a market would solve this problem. Markets incentivize some people to save for others who are reckless. It’s a beautiful yin and yang that forms. Some people are old and don’t need money at the moment, so they let others who are still growing, borrow the money temporarily. that’s teamwork.

When it comes to the strangers in the desert, the person with the water intends to sell it to thirsty people. The fact that there are thirsty people int he desert shows that there is a market to bring water there. If water keeps getting stolen, that reduces the insentive to “save” water.

It’s common knowledge that you shouldn’t sign any important documents while drunk. It’s understood that you while on medication, that you shouldn’t make any legally binding agreements.

That’s because you are not in a reliable state of mind.

The same should be said of getting out of bed while tired. Don’t decide to sleep in because you’re tired. Decide what time to get up when you are going to sleep, when you are in the right state of mind. If you make the decision when you are in the moment, it’s inevitable that you will make bad decisions.

Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo
Did it catch you off guard? Did you count the throws, or did you notice the gorilla?

If this is the first time you’ve seen this video, I’m guessing you didn’t notice the gorilla. I know I didn’t when I first watched it. I rewound the video because I thought maybe they inserted the gorilla afterwards. I was that convinced that I was right and that I wasn’t tricked. Convinced! Convicted! I had no doubt what so ever.

But I was wrong. And so was everyone else who watched that video for the first time.
People see what they want to see. They don’t notice anything else.

My problem with the Gospels, is that even though they were “eye witnesses”, they could still be wrong. Even if they were really careful. It’s just a bug in the human mind to focus on a limited number of things.

Philosophy is about understanding “X” on a fundamental level. X can be anything from how to live a good life, to the mundane pleasure of of hot sauce. Fundamentally, how do these things work and interact, and fundamentally what should we do about it. If I say, “we should be kind”. That’s pretty poetic. To be philosophical, I should say “In every interaction in day to day life, we should do acts which others will recognize as kind. That would be the philosophy of how to live a good life.
Science is similar in it’s understanding of the fundamental. What most people call science, I would call philosophy of things that were discovered using the scientific method. It’s possible to discover truth through other methods, but the scientific one is one of the best.

One hallmark of philosophy is that it’s actionable. If you understand how bacteria work fundamentally, you know that you can make a soap and use it before each meal. This will help you live a longer healthier life.

The philosophy of cars says “if you don’t put oil in the engine, it will size and you will have to buy a new car”. That’s great on the surface. You can always go deeper. If you understand how oil works and how engines work, you can choose which oil to put in your car.

There’s this clip from a show that I love to to watch called “Rick and Morty.” In this episode, Rick has just dropped a chemical bomb on his town in order to save everyone. Long story short, his scientific invention didn’t go as planned. To dodge responsibility for his shoddy work, he says “Science is more art than science“.
This doesn’t make any sense. I would assume that anybody who said this doesn’t know what science is.
Science is understanding the inner workings and often unseen interactions between different objects. Art is coming up with abstract connections between different objects. If I say, this hamburger is the best thing thats ever happened to me, I don’t mean that literally. I mean that this is experience is comparable to this other experience I’ve had. That is art.
When Jon Snow discovered bacteria, he didn’t say, I guess poor people are meant to die. He said that unsanitary conditions lead to unsafe water, which is what causes people to die. That is science.

Art and science need to be kept separate.

People always think of hedonism as this awful practice of sex, drugs, rock & roll, fortune, and fame. That might be what the word means now. Certainly the people who came up with the idea would actually detest that type of life style. See, back in the day, around 400 BCE, there lived a man named, Epicurus. Epicurus heard about Socrates and his alternative life style, and decided to do something similar.

All of the philosophers of the time were “selling” their philosophy. Followers would adopt a certain philosophy because they were all looking a certain “invincibility”. They called it “Ataraxia” which might be translated as “fulfillment”.

Epicurus would be more closely described as an ascetic than a Rock ‘n’ Rolla. His fundamental belief, in regards to ethics, is that we should live as simply as possible and enjoy the small things. People had two groups of desires: basic desires such as as food, water, and shelter, and luxury desires such as fancy food…

Epicurus believed that desiring luxury items was a weakness! And desiring only the basics was a strength. After all, who could tempt you to betray your integrity if they had nothing that you wanted.

To clarify, Epicurus wasn’t a total aesthetic. He would find it permissible to have luxury foods, as long as you didn’t get used to it. Once you’re used to it, once you need pampering, then you have a weakness. You can be controlled by others who threaten to remove these goods in your life.

I personally have found this philosophy to be immensely helpful in my life. It helps me focus on my goals. Whenever I think, “You know, it’s been a tough week, I should buy a nice greasy pizza.”, I remind myself that I am trying to be fit. I remember that I’m a total badass and I have control over what I want. I don’t “need” pizza. that would be a weakness. If I have it, it’s only a temporary treat.

(A side not, Epicurus believed in atoms, and Aristotle didn’t. Who’s laughing now?)

http://feldmancreative.com/2013/10/copywriting-tips-effective-landing-page/

I’m now going to

1. Perform a delicate dissection of a blog post that I admire, and develop my own formula
2. Plug in my own content

Step 1.

Fundamental attributes of a good blog post:

Headline “Copywriting Tips for a More Effective Landing Page”

• implies a benefit that the reader is interested in (the pay off)
  • More effective landing pages
• is specific
  • It’s not “The Essence of Landing Pages”
• Identifies and audience
  • Copywriters

Intro

• Title
  • Does your landing page get the job done?
• General statement
  • To be an effective online marketer, every page of your website needs to be well written, elegantly designed, purposeful and part of the big picture plan.
• Thesis
  • Your landing page is all about conversion.
• Examples

Body

• Title
  • Landing pages have special requirements.
• General statement
  • While many of the smart, but general, copywriting tactics will apply, a landing page is a different beast.
• Thesis
  • Your landing page is essentially direct marketing as applied online.
• Examples
• Call to action
  • Subscribe to our newsletter, “Get Magnetic” for future editions on copywriting tips for more effective online marketing.

 

Step 2.

Headline “Tips for getting valuable feedback on your magnificent invention”

• implies a benefit that the reader is interested in (the pay off)
  • Getting valuable feedback
• is specific
  • It’s not “The Essence of Feedback” -check
• Identifies and audience
  • Inventors

Intro

• Title
  • Is your idea good enough to take to market?
• General statement
  • Hundreds of new businesses fail. Not because the Founder and CEO wasn’t passionate enough, but because the idea wasn’t appealing enough to the target audience.
• Thesis
  • You need 100 pieces of feedback to know if you have a decent idea.
• Examples
  • You need to ask everyone who would interact with the product:
  • The buyer, the recipient, the influencer, the salesmen, the warehouser

Body

• Title
  • Feedback is essential to having confidence in your own product
• General statement
  • It’s easy to assume you have a good idea, simply because you thought of it. The reality is that there might be a glaring flaw that you don’t see, simply because you thought of it.
• Thesis
  • Feedback is the lifeblood of entrepreneurs.
• Examples
  • Imagine you’re trying to get from room to room with the lights turned off. It’s inevitable that you will stub your toe.
  • In business, there are no metaphorical “lights” The best that budding entrepreneurs can do, is to ask for help from other people in the metaphorical room.
• Call to Action
  • If you want to get feedback for your idea, schedule a call with us at Brainchild Engineering. We’ll give you constructive criticism and helpful suggestions.

Tips for getting valuable feedback on your magnificent invention

Is your idea good enough to take to market?

Hundreds of new businesses fail. Not because the Founder and CEO wasn’t passionate enough, but because the idea wasn’t appealing enough to the target audience.

You could “Just Do It.” Trial and Error is one approach. Unfortunately, it’s incredibly wasteful. Most people don’t have the time or money to start and fail and several businesses in a row. If you want insight before you get started, make sure you have feedback from 100 people. You need to ask everyone who would interact with the product: a buyer, a recipient, an influencer, a salesmen, a manufacturer, etc.

Here are some suggestions on where to get started:

• Ask the buyer how much they would be willing to spend.
• Ask the influencer if it has all of the features it needs (and none of the ones it doesn’t need)
• Ask the the buyer or influencer’s kids if this product is simple enough for them to use

Feedback is essential to having confidence in your own product

It’s easy to assume you have a good idea, simply because you thought of it. The reality is that there might be a glaring flaw that you don’t see, simply because you thought of it. Feedback is the lifeblood of entrepreneurs. Imagine you’re trying to get from room to room with the lights turned off. It’s inevitable that you will stub your toe. In business, there are no metaphorical “lights” The best that budding entrepreneurs can do, is to ask for help from other people in the metaphorical room. If you want to get feedback for your idea, schedule a call with us at Brainchild Engineering. We’ll give you constructive criticism and helpful suggestions.

I will never forget one of my worst memories in Europe. I was in Switzerland, in the gorgeous land of Zürich. I loved all of Switzerland, which might be why this memory sticks out so much.

It was the first night I was spending in the town. The first thing I do in every city is walk the whole place by day, and then walk the Old Town by night. That night I walked all the way to the end, and got to a plaza with a church and a candy store that was still open for some reason. I was a little hungry, I thought I wanted candy, so I went in the store to browse. Then realizing the prices were way above my budget, instead of leaving, I asked how much some rainbow candy gummy strips were.

Now I was wearing this giant green jacket. It’s way over sized for me, but it love it, so I wear it everywhere.

This is painful for me to write about…

They looked at me, and I assume they felt bad for me. I probably looked homeless. They then gave me a bag of rainbow candy gummy strips for free. I tried to turn them down, but I guess I wasn’t firm enough, and I wound up walking away with the bag.
I sat in the plaza, bitterly enjoying these rainbow candy gummy strips. I did NOT want charity. I definitely did not need it. I felt so bad for accepting this gift.

I spent a long time there feeling bad for myself. I didn’t want to deceive anyone. I didn’t want to look homeless. I just wanted to know how much that candy was.

Today, I look sharp. I still wear that giant green jacket, but I also wear a woolen sweater with buttons. I wear creased khakis. I wear brown leather dress shoes. I have made sure that I will never make that mistake again.

A long time ago a friend of a friend, was confused. He made a logical error. It happens.

He was trying to convince us that for every instance where there is two options, there is a 50/50 chance of either one happening. “In particular, soccer games are a toss up. Both teams have an equal chance at winning.” was his thoughts.

*Sigh*. I’m not sighing because I’m frustrated. I’m sighing because I have so much to say.
There are two crimes people commit.

1. Not thinking
2. Not admitting they were wrong in the face of overwhelming evidence

This friend did neither. Those are real sins. Though shalt not – not think. Thou shalt admit when they are wrong.

Too often I see one person scoff at another because they didn’t know something. “Ugh, you didn’t know that sweatshops are wrong?”
“Uhh no, but not for a lack of occurring to me.” “Well it’s obvious, duh”. Grrr. Smug jerks be damned. The curious will inherit the earth.

For this friend of ours, we asked a couple of questions to highlight where that knowledge might be fallacious. Then they came to the same conclusion that we did. The number of possibilities does not guarantee an even distribution of probability. On a spinner, or die, or picking marbles out of a bag, those probabilities are evenly distributed. They had the general idea, but they were over zealous with the application. This is the natural state of humans: somewhat rational.

Do not fault them, for they know not what they are talking about. Don’t scoff. Enlighten.

There once was a great and glorious king, named Alexander the Great. His enemies feared him and his people revered him. He wore the most expensive clothes and made love to the most beautiful women. He need only snap his fingers and one of his many servants would do his bidding. It was indeed, good to be king.

One day the mighty king was strolling through town, making an appearance. He shook hands and kissed babies. He asked his people what they wanted in order to gain favor. Many replied “We want clean water to drink!” That was easy enough to arrange. Others said “We want to have the splendid riches of our enemies!” That was a tall order, but still it was on the list of things to do. Then there were the crazy requests such as those who asked for the Moon to be a little closer. Alexander scratched his head and wondered at that one. he wasn’t sure how that was possible or how that would benefit anyone. But he agreed to do it. After all, he was Alexander the Great. They didn’t call him great for nothing.

Finally he chanced upon a beggar. Ha! A beggar. There was nothing he couldn’t do for this man, it would be easy to gain his favor. He walked up to the beggar and said “Worthless beggar, what can I, the king of this great land, do for you”.

The beggar squinted and looked up at Alexander the Great. “You can get out of my sunshine, thank you very much”

Alexander thought maybe he misheard him, “Excuse me? You want me to make the sun bigger?”

“Oh no, you misheard me. I said please step to the side you giant nit”

Alexander staggered. He had never been more insulted in his whole life! Who was this scum, this dirt of the dirt to insult him, the highest and most powerful man in all the land? Certainly he could crush the puny man with impunity. Alexander scoffed, “How dare you. I could have you killed for that. Now, since I am such a benevolent king, do tell me what it is I can do for you.”

“I don’t know how I can make this any more clear… MOVE.”

Alexander still flabbergasted did not move. He only uttered one word. “Beg.”

Diogenes the Cynic sighed heavily. “I know how confusing this all is, you think that because you’re rich and powerful that you can help people. That’s great, but I’m not a beggar. I am just a man of the earth, I have no desires except those that nature provides. As of now, all of my needs are met except one, and that is sunshine. I do not bow to any king. I am whole, and you are the rotten one.”

“What if I offered you my rings?”

“No”

“What if I offered you my robes?”

“No”

“What if I offered you my servants?”

“No”

“What if I offered you my women?”

“No”

“Really? What value can I provide you?”

“I told you, you can get out of my light.”

Alexander took one step to the right.

“Ahhhh,” said Diogenes

Alexander said to the man, “Your negotiating skills are phenomenal. I insist, you must come with me on my next military exploit as one of my top ambassadors.”

“No.”

“Dammit man! You get your way again. You are the powerful and rich one if there is nothing I can offer you. You win at life, sir. You win.”

I have a lot of trouble with what most people call “miracles”. My instinct tells me that everything is explainable. There are no inherent mysteries of the universe. The whole universe operates by a set of rules without exceptions.

When I did physics problems in high school, we ignored friction. Our results mostly matched what we predicted. When I did physics problems in college, we took friction into account and our results matched our predictions a little better. It’s not that friction didn’t exist in one instance and it did in the other. It’s that the more complex the equation, the better we were able to match the results to the predictions. In the 1950s, we discovered a secret nugget of truth in quantum physics. It’s like the friction that I was ignoring in high school. It’s been around this whole time, but we’ve been neglecting it. Now it’s just a matter of integrating it with the existing equations.
Even though quantum physics befuddles us, it’s not magic. It’s not a miracle.
The hydraulic cylinders are broken in my car. If my car was suddenly fixed tomorrow morning, would you assume that it was a miracle or that it was explainable with science? I personally would assume it was explainable with science. Our first hypothesis is often wrong, so it’s important to think of several hypotheses. One hypothesis is that it was a miracle. That’s an option that I can’t deny. But I can’t help but notice these other hypotheses. Such as, could it be, that cold makes the seals rigid in the cylinders and makes a better seal? Could it be, that someone broke into my car, and replaced the hydraulic cylinders? There are probably others, but of these, which is the most likely? I would assume that it’s not a miracle.

“Hello dear, take a seat.” Said Auntie Barbara

The man stiffly sat down. His movements were rigid and unnatural.

“What is the matter, dear? Why do you grunt when you sit down?”

“Oh my knees. I messed them up while I was on duty.” said Charles.

“Oh lord! What happened? What befell you that caused you such distress?”

“I… I can’t really talk about it.” said Charles

“Ah, yes of course. I understand. War does things to people. Physically and mentally. Well, Charles, as you know, you are my favorite nephew, so I got you something special this year.”

Oh? This got his attention. He was just expecting another tea time, awkward silence, and ending with an side hug. He only saw his aunt once a year before Christmas and it was only because his Dad told him to. His Dad had been dead for 10 years now, but since he wasn’t around to tell Charles otherwise, Charles would have to keep going. The tea tasted bitter in his mouth. It was better if he didn’t think about it. The gifts were never good to begin with, but he loved his dad.

“Here dear, this is for you.” she said handing it over.

It was a brand new Cannon DSLR.

Charles couldn’t believe his eyes.

She continued, “Oh yes, I had to fight quite the war myself, on Black Friday. Can you imagine, me? A 74 year old woman fighting in the trenches of Best Buy. Oh yes. I wrenched this from a spry man around your age.”

Charles watched as his Aunt Barbara froze and her eyes went glassy. This, he recognized, was a flashback. He knew because his friends from war did it too, from time to time. There was a long drawn out silence as Charles politely waited for his Aunt to return.

“Oh yes, Black Friday was brutal.” she said distantly.

Charles could barely believe it. In the past, he received socks and books. This was the first time he had ever been given something decent. Charles was one of the biggest dispisers of Black Friday. How desperate did you have to be? Who in their right mind would physically wrestle with another human being just to get a piece of machinery. It was inhumane! The deals weren’t even that good! Fighting over physical goods? How petty. Why don’t these people care about family? Everybody is someone’s somebody else. The man that Aunt Barbara grabbed the camera from, could have been me. What’s going on here?

“Auntie, why?” pleaded Charles.

“Because Charles, I love you dearly. More than anything. Oh I know I haven’t been that good of an Auntie through your childhood, but that’s all going to change. For a long time, I didn’t give anyone a proper gift because I was afraid that my recipients would learn to expect something grand each year. I didn’t want to just be the “Rich Auntie” I wanted to be “The most loved Auntie”. Ever since we lost Uncle Billy, I’ve been doing some thinking. I recognized that the love he gave me was unconditional. He didn’t care what I, or anyone else, thought of him. All of his actions are authentic. That’s the kind of love I want to give you, Charles. Oh I know that money and objects aren’t everything, but I know how you’ve always wanted to get into photography. And I want you to know that I will do anything to help you, because I love you very dearly Charles.

Tears started springing from Charles’ face. No more tea. No more awkward conversations and side hugs. Charles’ burst from his chair and wrapped his arms around his Auntie as tight as he could.

“I love you too, Auntie” he whispered.

I have a friend who went to a coffee shop and asked if their dark roast was really bitter and if he should try it. The barista hummed and hawed because she didn’t want to mislead him.

The reason the barista didn’t want to advise my friend, is because she didn’t want to be wrong and she didn’t know what the guy liked. She didn’t want to be held accountable in case the guy didn’t like it. She wanted to play it safe.

I get that. It’s scary to be wrong. We fear being judged and outcasted. However, you never know who will take your advice and how. You just never know.

I wrote an article about how we’re all doomed and we should persevere. I wrote it because I was having a bad day at work. But a friend read it, and took it as a call to action to join an Anti-Trump campaign. That wasn’t what I meant, but I am really happy that he read it and that he is now taking action. In the same way that a product can be used for different things, advice can be taken any way the audience wants.

The whole concept of subjective value is that the value is in the eye of the beholder. Not the maker, not the seller, the buyer. Sometimes if all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail. One thing can be useful to different people. There are basically infinite uses for each object in the world depending on how creative you are. It would be impossible to predict every single use.

That’s why it makes sense to give advice freely. You won’t, can’t, know how your advice will be used. But someone will find it helpful.

I read this book called “The War of Art” by this guy. He’s a failed writer trying to give writing advice. I say skip it.

Ultimately, the #1 reason why people don’t write, is because they are afraid of the context. The book “The War of Art” makes up all this woo-woo mysticism about angles and energy and muses. It’s all bunk.

The context that we exist in consists of writing giants: Shakespere, Hemingway, Dickens etc. Who are we to question them? Who are we to even try? Why bother when surely someone else will write it better for us?

Well those people weren’t born giants. They had to work for it too. These people wrote countless novels before they got published. That’s how it works.

Another source of “resistence” is actually just a fear of being judged. Yes that’s a risk you have to take. That’s a risk everyone has to take. Risks are unavoidable though. You can’t live in a bubble. You have to take calculated risks. Don’t just operate as if they don’t exist. Operate as though they are small risks, which they are.

If you do it, you are a do-er. There was a tune when you needed permission to do things. You needed to get signed to a label in order to

be a professional singer. Those were the good ol’ days. Back when it was more important who you knew than what you knew.

It’s not the case anymore. Now, anyone can be a singer/songwriter/movie star/producer/actor.
Now it’s easy to get public attention. Anyone can do it. The flood gates are open.

If you do it, you are a do-er. If you engineer, you are an engineer. If you plumb, you are a plumber, if you sing, you are a singer, if you write, you are a writer.

Don’t sell yourself short! Don’t say “Oh, well, I do write, but not professionally, so it doesn’t count.” The line between hobbyist and professional is getting blurrier and blurrier. It’s only a matter of time before it disappears at all.

What you do, you are.

In the gym, there are two kinds of people. The first kind of person is the one who is serious about getting stronger. They have done the research and are now putting it into practice. It’s all about self-improvement, and with self-improvement, there are no shortcuts. The other kind of person is the one that just wants to look like they’re working out. They don’t want to put in the work that gets results. They just want everyone to see them as a buff guy.

When doing squats, it’s popular to only go down a couple of inches, and then bring the bar back to the starting position. It requires minimal work, but it does make for a display of working out. That final extension is called “lock out”.

When the first type of person sees the second type of person doing this, they get to make the joke “practicing your lockouts?” as if they were doing this faux exercise in order to get stronger. It’s to let the second type of person know that they’ve been spotted as a fake.

I heard one person asking for advice once about the concept of “shipping it”. His problem, he confessed, was that he was a perfectionist. He had all of these great ideas. He’d get about 50% done executing them, and then put them on the shelf forever. I wanted to call him out and ask if he was practicing lockouts.

Perfectionism is what people do when they’re afraid of being judged. They don’t want to know if it’s a good idea or not. These people have written manuscripts, but haven’t shown them to publishers. It looks like they are writers, because they are physically writing. But until they “ship it”, they are just hobbyists. They’re not serious. They haven’t done the research and are now trying to put it into practice.

Practicing lockouts is actually dangerous, believe it or not. It seems harmless, but it’s sinister. Generally the last few inches of an exercise are the easiest. Each week you do the exercise, you’re supposed to move up in weight. As you move up, This creates a false sense of confidence, and unbalanced muscles. The danger arises when you want to do a full extension. Once you do, you will be stuck. You weight will have increased faster than the muscles that actually do the heavy lifting can handle. If you are doing a squat, this will leave you at the bottom of the squat position and you can’t get back up.

In life, there is no fundamental difference between practice and execution. Doing it, is the practice. The body doesn’t know it’s in a gym, it just knows it has to exert force. However, if you spend all day in the coffee shop trying to write, but getting nothing done, then you’re just kidding yourself. You’re going through the motions.

If you spend all day coming up with ideas but not executing, you’ll develop a habit of doing it. Your practice becomes practice, and never execution. Then when it comes time to execution, you’ll choke and fail.

The test:
Find facts that will help you accomplish your goals.

The test has now begun.

Heres the rules of the test:
The truth is out there. There exists a set of facts that will allow you to lead the life you’ve always wanted. They are not secrets. They hide in plain sight. Although they look just like fallacies , they will give you the results that you desire. Fallacies, on the other hand, will continue to thwart and surprise you.

You will need special tools to discover, filter, and apply these facts. Those tools also need to be discovered, filtered, and applied.

As I have stated at the beginning, the test has already begun. What are you waiting for? What truth have you found?

I love my friends and family. I am forever grateful for everything you’ve done to get me to where I am. Thank you. You know who you are.

At work, I’m making a presentation on how to think of new ideas. While doing research, I came across this junk article:

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-ways-to-find-out-if-your-idea-is-actually-brilliant-2011-3

It’s very conventional wisdom. If you want to be your idea to be conventional, then I guess this is ok. But who wants to settle for ok? Be phenomenal!

There’s a saying in the invention field: “invent a better mousetrap and you’ll have a million friends.” This phrase illustrates how desperately we seek a better way of doing things and how we reward those that put in the effort. However, I have, not once in my entire life, met someone who was interested in mousetraps.

If you want a good idea, it can’t just be something you deeply desire. And it can’t be just something other people deeply desire. It has to be both. That’s the only way. You could make a better mouse trap, but your life will remain mediocre. You could design the “Next Gen USB and Bluetooth enabled Hamster Wheel 2.0” if you’re passionate about hamsters. But if no one else wants it, then it won’t make you wildly successful, only slightly happier with a new toy.

If you want phenomenal results, you have to think phenomenally.

My car was recently totaled and taken to the junk yard. I had to drive down there and pick up my personal belongings that were still in it. Among the missing things were: my beanie, the suction cup mount for my GPS (the GPS was still there), some important papers in the glove box, my deluxe $20 over-ear headphones, and my thumb drive. My other stuff was there, including valuable items.
Why? I don’t know, and I don’t know if I’ll ever know.
But it’s ok. I don’t need luxury. If I can live without them, then i guess I didn’t need them after all.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what we need. It’s too easy to buy things and then find out if we need it. We may think we need it in the moment, but over time, we find out that we don’t. I feel like I’m better off without those things.

At the very worst, I have to buy replacements. On the bright side, this gives me the opportunity of a life time to reinvent myself. I can ask “Is this the kind of thing that I guy like me would have?” My identity is ever evolving, how cool would it be if my items reflected that? In the same way that I need new clothes as I physically grow, I need new items as I mentally grow.

 

The first distinction to make is: do you mean that everything is currently effed? Or that things are going to be effed?
Assuming you mean that everything is currently effed, that’s great news. I don’t mean to belittle tragedy. Bad things are bad. But, as much as it is a crime to ignore the costs of bad situations, it’s equally criminal to ignore the benefits.
The benefit of things sucking is that you’re now there to make it better. It would be boring to walk into an already successful company and contribute only a little. Honestly, what looks better: bringing sales from $10,000 to $100,000? Or from $90,000? What a waste it would be to inherit success. What a gift it would be to walk into a sh*t storm! That’s the opportunity of a life time. If you can prove your mettle, by trial by fire, well shucks you’re bonefide unstoppable.

If you meant that things are going to be effed coming up in the near future, well so be it. It was bound to be effed eventually, it might as well be effed while we’re around. After all, we’re the best thing that happened to this earth. It’s better to bear the brunt of the suffering for those that can’t bear it so well.

I don’t always think of the bright side, but when I do, It’s because I’m awesome. Stay positive my friends.

There is a podcast called Serial, which is about the 1999 conviction of this 17 year old boy, Adnan, to murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae. It was an incredible podcast that kept me riveted to the end. The original investigation was botched, both the prosecution and the defense lawyers were shoddy, there was never any DNA testing done on the supposed weapon. Lots of information is revealed throughout the podcast that would indicate this boy was guilty and not guilty.

At the very least, I recommend listening to the first 10 minutes of the first episode. The host starts by asking her nephews what they did last Friday. They give an answer, then they think about it some more and change it. Then they are prompted by the host, and they change their answer again to what seems more accurate.

This is the nature of memory.

1. You only remember something if something significant happens.
2. If someone prompts you, you are more likely to remember in reference to what they were talking about.
3. Your memory changes every time you use it.

What does this have to do with the existence of Jesus? The most commonly used evidence that would support his existence (the Gospels) was written 30-60 years after Jesus’s ascension. At the very least, it casts doubt.

The reason that those gospels are so trusted is because both, people who support his downfall, and people who are neutral towards him, can vouch for his deeds. Those people would have a disincentive to tell the truth. They risked being called crazy in order to speak out.

In “Serial”, a guy calls the cops 6 months after the conviction, and tells them that his daughter was talking with the neighbor boy, who said that this darker middle eastern looking person just told him that he killed his ex-girlfriend and was boasting. This guy who called the cops had no idea that the investigation happened, or that Adnan was convicted. He had no incentive to report what his daughter told him. He didn’t know Adnan. The daughter went to another school and didn’t know Adnan. The neighbor boy supposedly was friends with the Adnan. When the podcast host asked for an interview with the neighbor boy (15 years later at the time of recording) , the neighbor boy denies it, and denies ever hearing about it. He says it would be something he would remember. On top of that, the podcast host interviews other people, and they say that the neighbor boy couldn’t hold a secret, and that no one in their right mind would tell him anything meant to be kept as a secret.
What is going on? None of these people have an incentive to lie, but their stories conflict. This is the nature of memory. It’s wrong often. It’s not always about incentive.
The prosecutor’s case against Adnan amounts to a witness who was with Adnan through the day, and their cell phone records. The witness says what they did that day including when they went to bury the body. The only problem is that the cell records (location and time) don’t match 90% of the witness’ story. But why would the witness lie? Why would he confess? The witness was a drug dealer by profession, his cooperation with the cops puts himself at risk.

This is the problem with witnesses. Even when it doesn’t involve miracles, even when it’s something mundane like “we drove to the mall, then I brought him to track practice, then we drove around some more” is still liable to be wrong. If I can’t trust someone, who was in the car with the suspect, who supposedly knew the guy for over a year, who had a disincentive to cooperate with the cops, is lying… what hope do I have of believing someone who “witnessed” miracles?

Ah! But as long as there is corroboration from multiple sources, that should be sufficient, right? I don’t think so any more. There was a friend of Adnan who said she saw him in the library at the time that the witness said they were in the car with a dead body. Again, this friend had no reason to lie.

It would be one thing if we had the full story of Jesus, but there are other gospels that conflict.
The main arguments for the existence of Jesus: People witnessed he was there, and they recounted his acts for generations until it was written down.

That isn’t a persuasive argument for me since listening to Serial. But the investigation isn’t over. There are more and more details surfacing all the time. I don’t have faith, but I’m confident that we will find the truth, both about Adnan and Jesus.

I’m troubled that I don’t know which is more important: effect or intention. I used to think that intention is what counts. After all, “it’s the thought that counts” they say. But then I witnessed the brutal barbarism of socialism in Russia and China. It’s repulsive. Their defense is that they had good intentions. Well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So now I’m conflicted.
To add to the mix, I read this book: HPMOR. It made the case that they way to understand someone’s intentions is to look at their actions (and effects). It’s very easy to lie and have things work out in your favor. And if this happens over and over, it might not just be luck.
Now I just don’t know.

The first thing you should know is that I’m ok with a certain level of failure. Ideally I only make the same mistake once, and then I make new mistakes. Failure is a package deal with growth.
The second thing you should know is that I’m fairly open about my failures. I find it refreshing to know that people that I look up to or closely relate to are fallible. We’re human. It’s important to remind ourselves and others of our short comings.

What happened is that my boss trusted me to get some work done on the 3 axis mill at work.

What I thought I was supposed to do is make sure that the part was firmly and tightly held in the clamps, and especially flat against the bottom surface.
For the life of me I couldn’t get it. I tried setting up the dial indicator (a gauage to look at relative height) in different positions. The first problem was that I couldn’t get repeatable results. The indicator would be high in one spot, then I would move it away anbd then back, and then it would indicate a low spot. I think the needle was getting stuck, but maybe there was another issue.

The next problem is that I couldn’t adjust the flatness it was sitting on. In most cases, I can bang the part with a rubber mallet, and it will scoot over ever so slightly. However, my right wrist is broken and I can’t hold the rubber mallet with it. I tried banging the part with the mallet in my left hand, but I just couldn’t muster the force.

After an hour and a half of fiddling with it, my boss comes to check on me. That wasn’t what he wanted at all. He wasn’t really concerned that the part was flat, because it would be machined again anyways. I was so embarassed that I had just wasted so much time.

Failure report:
I’ve decided to count this as the first time I’ve made this mistake. At previous jobs, I know that my boss is a poor communicator, so I know to write everything down. I’ve worked at this job for 5 months and never had a problem, so I didn’t think I needed to compensate. At this job, my boss is a great communicator, so it was entirely my own fault. Next time I’m going to write down the instructions, and then repeat what I wrote down.

In the book Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, Harry Potter is a boy genius akin to Ender Wiggen. Draco Malfo is similarly genius, but also an open racist against wizards who didn’t have wizard parents. This is a big distinguishing factor for many wizards in the same way that white supremacists are racists against people who don’t have white parents. When the two geniuses meet, they both identify each other as highly valuable individuals if they can convince the other to join their side. Harry would love to have the son of the most out spoken racist and owner of the print media. Draco would love to have the boy who lived, the one who was a victim of Voldemort, to become a supporter. It would devastate everyone who attempted to protect him.
Both Harry and Draco are highly confident in what they believe. Throughout the book they engage in a delicate dance of friendship and betrayal to win the other. Not only is this highly entertaining to read about, it’s also fascinating to watch one person “lose” as they switch sides.

My question for you is:

1. What idea are you confident about?
2. Who can you try to convince?

This is a fun challenge! You might even have to change what you believe in the process.

Nothing is more rewarding than 1 on 1 tutoring. I’ve been tutoring for 3 months now, yet still every week is different. It really keeps me on my toes. I have to research and learn. It also humbles me since this young kid is now correcting me about chemistry. The other benefit is that most of what I learned in high school is forgotten. It just wasn’t relevant in my life back then. Everything was so much more important. But now that I’m older and (a little) wiser, I have the context to put it all in place. For instance, I learned that the 1950s was the Modern Period where everything was about Utopia and making the world the best place possible. I find that really inspiring. It also hits a deeper root, because I’ve always loved the modern Period but didn’t know why. Now I know it’s because we share many of the same ideals.

Hello, My name is David Richelson. I started this website to showcase my talents and give life advice. There are two functions of this blog, although they overlap heavily. The first purpose is to give life advice. The second is to show you what my philosophy looks like. I want to show you how embracing freedom will lead to a fuller life and a freer world. Feel free to start at my About page, and as always, feel free to reach out (richelson.david@gmail.com).