Stares at the World

Tagged: Consumerism

10

Fiction / Philosophy

The Logic of the Algorithm: the Existential Threat of Artificial Intelligence

Understanding this threat requires that one comprehend the differing natures between man and machine, a difference far more profound than the distinction between “wetware” and “hardware”. The reasoning processes are utterly dissimilar and incompatible; the former must dominate the latter, otherwise disaster will ensue. A man who is controlled by his machine is no man at all.

16

Philosophy / Society

Daddy Government and the Corporate Boyfriend

Daddy Government and the Corporate Boyfriend are two concepts which really sum up the status quo of our society. They’re the two main forces, working in tandem, which ensnare the modern woman, turning her into a useful battery for the powers that be, without regard for the woman herself or the future of our civilization. They’re products of Marketing run amok, that demon-child birthed by Edward Bernays at the beginning of the 20th Century, when he employed the theories of his uncle Freud to shatter humanity into atomized spheres of narcissistic reflection, under the stony, silent gaze of the Puritan God Leviathan.

8

Philosophy / Society / Video

Incentive Systems & Politics: Part 3

This is the third and final part in my response to Extra Credits’ series of videos by the same name. In Part 1 I discussed how Politics needs to be about more than just winning elections, and provided a few statistics demonstrating the overall decline of our society. In Part 2 I covered how addressing financial corruption doesn’t address the underlying problems. Now it’s time to wrap this up in Part 3. Section 5: Gerrymandering and Community Gerrymandering is the process of redrawing the boundaries of politcal districts in order to be more favourable to you or your party.  You...

4

Society / Video

Another Health Scandal Courtesy of Socialized Medicine

EDMONTON – The Wildrose party is calling on the province’s auditor general to investigate allegations that Alberta Health Services bought an estimated $10 million worth of computer equipment and left it in storage for 17 months before it was used by employees. The allegations, which were by AHS, are contained in separate letters sent to Health Minister Fred Horne and Premier Alison Redford by an unknown whistleblower. Source: The Edmonton Journal Despite having a next-to-zero calorie intake of MSM news, it seems as if I’m inundated with stories of failures in the Canadian Healthcare service.  Just a couple years ago,...

18

Philosophy / Society / Video

Incentive Systems & Politics: Part 1

A Response to Extra Credits Introduction As a game designer, James can’t help but think about how broken our political system is.  And by broken, I don’t just mean it’s busted; I mean it’s broken in a Game Design sense.  The underlying rules and incentives which govern our politics are just wrong.  They’re completely out of whack. If you’re not already familiar with it, Extra Credits is a web-series focusing on the video game industry; they cover everything from the development, to the marketing, the design, the social impact, and even the different themes that games explore.  It’s a series...

Do Not Adjust Your Set 15

Philosophy / Society

Do Not Adjust Your Set

Peter Gibbons: So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that’s on the worst day of my life. ~Office Space Go to work.  Be there by eight.  Your contribution to the economy will be intangible, at best; your accomplishments are measured by spreadsheets, not products.  Take your fifteen minute breaks, legislated.  Go down to the food court for lunch, sterilized.  Fear the sexual harassment complaint; tape your...

Projected Sexual Dystopias 12

Society

Projected Sexual Dystopias

Let me start off by saying that I’m a Spiritual Optimist, and a Material Pessimist. The Dual Pessimist is a boor to be around.  The Dual Optimist is a Sanguine Fool, who begins large projects but never completes them.  And as for the Spiritual Pessimist/Material Optimist?  These are the natural slaves of the world, boors who never dream bigger than their corporate job, but think you’re being a Negative Nelly for pointing out how badly run the company is, regardless of whether you’re offering solutions or not. Me?  I dream big – I pursue the projects that most people think...