Archive for April, 2007
Aspects of magic
After reading the Iliad last week I needed a break and picked up a fluff book – The Prestige by Christopher Priest. It’s entertaining. One part I found somewhat educational is where Priest breaks down the stages of an illusion and the categories of an illusion. I love it when someone can dissect something that [...]
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The value of the US dollar
A summary of how money works in the US:
Congress needs money.
The money it collects from taxes does not cover the money it needs so it borrows money.
Much of the money congress borrows is from a private bank called the Federal Reserve.
Congress is then in debt to the Federal Reserve for the amount borrowed, plus interest.
The [...]
Filed under: Knowledge, Research | 3 Comments
US Energy Usage Trends
In 22 years, the US GDP has gone from about 20,000 to 35,000 per capita while energy use per capita has remained almost the same. Apparently it is possible for a country to increase the GDP without increasing energy use. It’s also interesting that the US and the UK are the only two countries who [...]
Filed under: Economics, Environment, Knowledge, Research | Leave a Comment
There is plenty of oil left
I found this graph (pdf) from an interesting lecture from a UC Berkeley physics professor who had some good data on the availability of oil and the feasibility of several types of ‘alternate’ energy sources, mostly in the context of automobiles.
Basically this shows that we’re not going to “run out of oil” as is so [...]
Filed under: Literature, Research | 1 Comment
Notes on Plato’s Crito
I know very, very little about philosophy. I’m trying to fix this by going back and reading some. Tonight I read Plato’s Crito, in which Crito tries to persuade Socrates to escape from prison and avoid death by fleeing to another city.
If Socrates was so content upon obeying the law and doing what was just, [...]
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A case for staying in Iraq
Today I heard a congresswoman from California refer to the “ending American occupation of Iraq.” I take issue with that terminology. An to occupy a country is to “take control of by military conquest or settlement”. To liberate is to “set (someone) free from a situation, esp. imprisonment or slavery, in which their liberty is [...]
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Why I will never be a politician
Ok, that title will seem pretentious after reading the rest of the post but there you have it. Today I read The Apology, by Plato, in which Socrates defends himself on trial for corrupting the youth of Athens. Here are a few quotes from his self-defense that I noted:
I will never fear or avoid a [...]
Filed under: History, Literature, Philosophy, Politics | Leave a Comment
