Coronavirus and the Limits of Utilitarianism

The public debate around American society’s response to the novel coronavirus is beginning to reach an incomprehensible crescendo. As the number of cases in the US spikes to record-highs and daily deaths begin to creep back up toward levels not…

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They Showed Us Our Past

When we found them, we were not thinking of our history, even while we were watching theirs. We were thinking of visitation, of proof of life, of how similar or different they were from us. We were thinking of little…

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It’s Not Fermi

The other day, I was talking online to someone with whom I disagree about everything about the Fermi Paradox. “Talking online” here, as used, is a euphemism for “commenting on each other’s Facebook posts”. The Fermi Paradox wrestles with the…

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Zero Sum Games and Conservativism

I’m working on the budding theory that, if you can afford to quit your job, it may be at least a little immoral to keep it. Unless, I guess, you’re much better at it than someone else would be and…

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Children of the Future

They will grow up. And they will log in. The ages will vary and often be the result of a fair amount of debate. For the more liberal parents, it may be five or six, or eight at the latest.…

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Elegy for AC

The first month I lived in New Jersey, Fish and I went to see Counting Crows play at the Borgata and then stayed up most all of the night playing poker. I wrote about it here, at the time. The…

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The Irrationality of Atheism

Atheism is the prevailing theory of the universe among most intellectuals below a certain age in this country. Many people are ardent atheists, while others acknowledge at least a passing uncertainty, but the avowed belief in God is increasingly becoming…

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The Limits of Surveillance

The videos taken of apparent/alleged/possible/probable chemical-weapons attacks in Syria got me thinking. No one, at least as of this morning (I haven’t heard updates later in the day) seemed to know what to think of them. Are they trumped up…

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