"If I am opposed to abortion for religious reasons and seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or invoke God’s will and expect that argument to carry the day. If I want others to listen to me, then I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all."
--Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, 2006
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
cover of The Mongols
"What other army in history has marched on Russia in the winter and survived, let alone won victories?"
Monday, April 09, 2007
labels
I put labels on the old posts for searching.
Some interesting ones:
art
Baron Ungern
horseskulls
humor
philosophy
poetry
quotations
technology
Ulaanbaatar
war
Some interesting ones:
art
Baron Ungern
horseskulls
humor
philosophy
poetry
quotations
technology
Ulaanbaatar
war
Friday, April 06, 2007
Inevitable Human-Machine Merger
“By the close of the next century, nonbiological intelligence will be ubiquitous. There will be few humans without some form of artificial intelligence, which is growing at a double exponential rate, whereas biological intelligence is basically at a standstill. Nonbiological thinking will be trillions of trillions of times more powerful than that of its biological progenitors, although it will be still of human origin.
“Ultimately, however, the earth’s technology-creating species will merge with its own computational technology. After all, what is the difference between a human brain enhanced a trillion-fold by nanobot-based implants, and a computer whose design is based on high-resolution scans of the human brain, and then extended a trillion-fold?
“This may be the ominous, existential question that our own children, certainly our grandchildren, will face. But at this point, there’s no turning back. And there’s no slowing down.”
--Ray Kurzweil, “Live Forever,” first published in Psychology Today, 2000 January, collected in Doing Philosophy: An Introduction through Thought Experiments, Second Edition, 2003
“Ultimately, however, the earth’s technology-creating species will merge with its own computational technology. After all, what is the difference between a human brain enhanced a trillion-fold by nanobot-based implants, and a computer whose design is based on high-resolution scans of the human brain, and then extended a trillion-fold?
“This may be the ominous, existential question that our own children, certainly our grandchildren, will face. But at this point, there’s no turning back. And there’s no slowing down.”
--Ray Kurzweil, “Live Forever,” first published in Psychology Today, 2000 January, collected in Doing Philosophy: An Introduction through Thought Experiments, Second Edition, 2003
Bundle Theory of Personhood
“It was the split-brain cases which drew me into philosophy... We control each of our arms, and see what is in each half of our visual fields, with only one of our hemispheres. When someone’s hemispheres have been disconnected, psychologists can thus present to this person two different written questions in the two halves of his visual field, and can receive two different answers written by this person’s two hands...
“One of these people looks fixedly at the centre of a wide screen, whose left half is red and right half is blue. On each half in a darker shade are the words, ‘How many colours can you see?’ With both hands the person writes, ‘Only one’. The words are now changed to read, ‘Which is the only colour that you can see?’ With one of his hands the person writes ‘Red’, with the other he writes ‘Blue’...
“[A] view is that, in these cases, there are two persons involved, sharing the same body. Like Professor MacKay, I believe that we should reject this view. My reason for believing this is, however, different. Professor MacKay denies that there are two persons involved because he believes that there is only one person involved. I believe that, in a sense, the number of persons involved is none...
“According to the Bundle Theory, we can’t explain either the unity of consciousness at any time, or the unity of a whole life, by referring to a person. Instead we must claim that there are long series of different mental states and events—each series being what we call one life... Each series is like a bundle tied up with string...
“The first Bundle Theorist was Buddha, who taught ‘anatta’, or the No Self view... Here are some quotations from Buddhist texts:
“‘A sentient being does exist, you think, O Mara? You are misled by a false conception. This bundle of elements is void of Self, In it there is no sentient being. Just as a set of wooden parts Receives the name of carriage, So do we give to elements The name of fancied being.’
“‘Buddha has spoken thus: “O Brethren, actions do exist, and also their consequences, but the person that acts does not. There is no one to cast away this set of elements, and no one to assume a new set of them. There exists no Individual, it is only a conventional name given to a set of elements.”’
“Buddha’s claims are strikingly similar to the claims advanced by several Western writers. Since these writers knew nothing of Buddha, the similarity of these claims suggests that they are not merely part of one cultural tradition, in one period. They may be, as I believe they are, true.”
--Derek Parfit, “Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons,” first published in Mindwaves, 1987, collected in Doing Philosophy: An Introduction through Thought Experiments, Second Edition, 2003
“One of these people looks fixedly at the centre of a wide screen, whose left half is red and right half is blue. On each half in a darker shade are the words, ‘How many colours can you see?’ With both hands the person writes, ‘Only one’. The words are now changed to read, ‘Which is the only colour that you can see?’ With one of his hands the person writes ‘Red’, with the other he writes ‘Blue’...
“[A] view is that, in these cases, there are two persons involved, sharing the same body. Like Professor MacKay, I believe that we should reject this view. My reason for believing this is, however, different. Professor MacKay denies that there are two persons involved because he believes that there is only one person involved. I believe that, in a sense, the number of persons involved is none...
“According to the Bundle Theory, we can’t explain either the unity of consciousness at any time, or the unity of a whole life, by referring to a person. Instead we must claim that there are long series of different mental states and events—each series being what we call one life... Each series is like a bundle tied up with string...
“The first Bundle Theorist was Buddha, who taught ‘anatta’, or the No Self view... Here are some quotations from Buddhist texts:
“‘A sentient being does exist, you think, O Mara? You are misled by a false conception. This bundle of elements is void of Self, In it there is no sentient being. Just as a set of wooden parts Receives the name of carriage, So do we give to elements The name of fancied being.’
“‘Buddha has spoken thus: “O Brethren, actions do exist, and also their consequences, but the person that acts does not. There is no one to cast away this set of elements, and no one to assume a new set of them. There exists no Individual, it is only a conventional name given to a set of elements.”’
“Buddha’s claims are strikingly similar to the claims advanced by several Western writers. Since these writers knew nothing of Buddha, the similarity of these claims suggests that they are not merely part of one cultural tradition, in one period. They may be, as I believe they are, true.”
--Derek Parfit, “Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons,” first published in Mindwaves, 1987, collected in Doing Philosophy: An Introduction through Thought Experiments, Second Edition, 2003
Friday, March 30, 2007
Brazilian Institute for Oriental Studies
Apparently, the Institute for Oriental Studies at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil is a real organization and this was their real logo. After the logo proliferated across the Net and won awards, the institute's website went offline.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Order of Letters in a Word
"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer is in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe."
This was a popular email forward a few years back. However, this anonymous software engineer believes the notion to be false, and wrote a program to prove it:
Rgaadin Nfheuealn's Web Log
This was a popular email forward a few years back. However, this anonymous software engineer believes the notion to be false, and wrote a program to prove it:
Rgaadin Nfheuealn's Web Log
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Wild Nights
Wild Nights--Wild Nights!
Were I with thee
Wild Nights should be
Our luxury!
Futile--the Winds--
To a Heart in port--
Done with the Compass--
Done with the Chart!
Rowing in Eden--
Ah, the Sea!
Might I but moor--Tonight--
In Thee!
--Emily Dickinson
This is an illuminating piece on one of the most memorable of American poems:
"Dickinson's 'Wild Nights'" by James L. Dean in Explicator
"A third possibility is that 'Thee' refers only to the sea, and it is this latter that I would like briefly to discuss.
"If we take 'Sea' to mean something like 'high seas'... and assume that at sea passionate nature unleashes itself--then we have an interesting paradox to deal with. The speaker desires something at once impossible and possible. Ships do not moor at sea, unless, of course, they are under command of an extravagant adventurer who delights in the paradox of mooring where it is impossible to do so. Such an extravagant statement is typical of Dickinson, as, for example, in the well-known line, 'I taste a liquor never brewed.'"
Were I with thee
Wild Nights should be
Our luxury!
Futile--the Winds--
To a Heart in port--
Done with the Compass--
Done with the Chart!
Rowing in Eden--
Ah, the Sea!
Might I but moor--Tonight--
In Thee!
--Emily Dickinson
This is an illuminating piece on one of the most memorable of American poems:
"Dickinson's 'Wild Nights'" by James L. Dean in Explicator
"A third possibility is that 'Thee' refers only to the sea, and it is this latter that I would like briefly to discuss.
"If we take 'Sea' to mean something like 'high seas'... and assume that at sea passionate nature unleashes itself--then we have an interesting paradox to deal with. The speaker desires something at once impossible and possible. Ships do not moor at sea, unless, of course, they are under command of an extravagant adventurer who delights in the paradox of mooring where it is impossible to do so. Such an extravagant statement is typical of Dickinson, as, for example, in the well-known line, 'I taste a liquor never brewed.'"
Monday, March 26, 2007
Mongolia Mining Less Attractive
Unfortunately, this was the perfectly predictable result of last year's "Windfall Tax" on mining companies:
"TORONTO, March 5 /PRNewswire/ - The attractiveness of Mongolia for mineral exploration has dropped significantly in the eyes of mining executives, according to the Survey of Mining Companies 2006/2007, released today by independent research organization The Fraser Institute. Mongolia's ranking fell significantly, dropping to 62nd from 33rd last year, reflective of the regulatory difficulties and lack of openness experienced by mineral exploration companies operating in Mongolia in the past year.
"'Our experience with the survey has shown that above all, mineral exploration companies value stability and certainty when it comes to government policy,' said Fred McMahon, co-ordinator of the survey and the institute's Director of Trade and Globalization Studies."
-Mongolia Web
"TORONTO, March 5 /PRNewswire/ - The attractiveness of Mongolia for mineral exploration has dropped significantly in the eyes of mining executives, according to the Survey of Mining Companies 2006/2007, released today by independent research organization The Fraser Institute. Mongolia's ranking fell significantly, dropping to 62nd from 33rd last year, reflective of the regulatory difficulties and lack of openness experienced by mineral exploration companies operating in Mongolia in the past year.
"'Our experience with the survey has shown that above all, mineral exploration companies value stability and certainty when it comes to government policy,' said Fred McMahon, co-ordinator of the survey and the institute's Director of Trade and Globalization Studies."
-Mongolia Web
Konchog, Floki
I can't believe I've never mentioned Konchog. He's this big American Buddhist monk. He cuts one of the most distinctive figures in UB, running around the city in his orange and red robes. I caught him last year in the Turkish restaurant across the street. Turns out he is living pretty much next door to me, on the other side of Centrepoint. Very nice guy. I see him every once in a while. Last December, we chatted near the State Department Store amidst the Santa Claus decorations, and I couldn't resist tossing him a cheeky "Merry Christmas." His response was "Yeah, thanks," which is nearly how I respond to the phrase. Anyway, he's looking for a home for his young St. Bernard, Floki, so if you know anyone in the Mongolian countryside who could take care of a big dog, let him know: Dreaming of Danzan Ravjaa - Konchog is a formidable blogger.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Nairamdal
“Where is your son serving in the army?” we asked.
“My son Ulzii is an officer in Baishint. You may perhaps know him,” replied Damba and showed us a photograph taken from the wooden box. The photo had the image of a Russian and a Mongolian soldier.
“Which of them is your son?” we asked jokingly.
“They are both my sons,” Doulma said, “the Russian and the Mongolian alike. This Russian fought alongside my son at Khalkhiin Gol* and he carried my son when he was wounded on the battlefield. Now my son Ulzii constantly corresponds with this Russian boy.”
The old man kept silent as if thinking, and looking at the photograph he exclaimed sadly: “These photos are a wonder! The image remains forever. It was a sad pity that photographs were not taken when we were on the battlefield.”
The old man’s face shone with joy when we asked him, “Did you ever go to war?”
“A Russian officer gave me this sword,” said he, showing a sword. “He was one of those brave comrades who was fighting for the freedom and happiness of our Mongolians. I think he is now fighting the German fascists...
“After hunting marmots for my family, I joined the people’s partisans with the only horse I had then.
“Since then the Mongolian nation has been changing before my eyes. Our life is improving as the nation is moving forward. Now I own about twenty horses, thirty cows and a hundred sheep...”
*Khalkhiin Gol – in 1939, imperialist Japan waged a war against Mongolia and was defeated
--Ts.Damdinsuren, “They Are Both My Sons,” 1943, translated by Ch.Burenbayar
“My son Ulzii is an officer in Baishint. You may perhaps know him,” replied Damba and showed us a photograph taken from the wooden box. The photo had the image of a Russian and a Mongolian soldier.
“Which of them is your son?” we asked jokingly.
“They are both my sons,” Doulma said, “the Russian and the Mongolian alike. This Russian fought alongside my son at Khalkhiin Gol* and he carried my son when he was wounded on the battlefield. Now my son Ulzii constantly corresponds with this Russian boy.”
The old man kept silent as if thinking, and looking at the photograph he exclaimed sadly: “These photos are a wonder! The image remains forever. It was a sad pity that photographs were not taken when we were on the battlefield.”
The old man’s face shone with joy when we asked him, “Did you ever go to war?”
“A Russian officer gave me this sword,” said he, showing a sword. “He was one of those brave comrades who was fighting for the freedom and happiness of our Mongolians. I think he is now fighting the German fascists...
“After hunting marmots for my family, I joined the people’s partisans with the only horse I had then.
“Since then the Mongolian nation has been changing before my eyes. Our life is improving as the nation is moving forward. Now I own about twenty horses, thirty cows and a hundred sheep...”
*Khalkhiin Gol – in 1939, imperialist Japan waged a war against Mongolia and was defeated
--Ts.Damdinsuren, “They Are Both My Sons,” 1943, translated by Ch.Burenbayar
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Jon loaned me this book and it's pretty good
“He visited my class, we set some poetry readings up for him, and we set up his Free University meeting room and place. I think the title of the class we said he would teach was Tantric Yoga—no it was Telepathic Communication. His class was a tremendous success, though not because of his lecturing on telepathy. The first night he was supposed to teach it, we walked with him to the student union building. The room was on the first floor and was packed with people sitting quietly, intently, as though waiting for Jim Jones to pass the Kool-Aid. Either it was that or something else, something false, levy picked up on, and he simply walked on by the door and out the side. I thought for a moment of going in and telling them it was another no-show, but what the hell. We all walked over to the 602 Club and then thought no more about it, until Ann Krooth told me that levy’s class was one of the most successful in all the Free University. People there assumed he was trying to reach them telepathically, and many of them heard him, as they sat there, meditating in the classroom. That class went on for several months after levy had returned to Cleveland—months after levy was no longer alive.”
--Morris Edelson in “Portrait of a Young Man Trying to Eat the Sun (the life, legend, & mysterious death of d. a. levy)” by Mike Golden, first published in BEET magazine in 1994, collected in The Outlaw Bible of American Essays
--Morris Edelson in “Portrait of a Young Man Trying to Eat the Sun (the life, legend, & mysterious death of d. a. levy)” by Mike Golden, first published in BEET magazine in 1994, collected in The Outlaw Bible of American Essays
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Happy Valentines Two Days Ago!
Tell me, dearest, what is love?
'Tis a lightning from above;
'Tis an arrow, 'tis a fire,
'Tis a boy they call Desire.
'Tis a grave
Gapes to have
Those poor fools that long to prove.
Tell me more, are women true?
Yes, some are, and some as you.
Some are willing, some are strange,
Since you men first taught to change.
And till troth
Be in both,
All shall love, to love anew.
Tell me more yet, can they grieve?
Yes, and sicken sore, but live:
And be wise, and delay,
When you men are as wise as they.
Then I see,
Faith will be,
Never till they both believe.
--John Fletcher, 1613?
'Tis a lightning from above;
'Tis an arrow, 'tis a fire,
'Tis a boy they call Desire.
'Tis a grave
Gapes to have
Those poor fools that long to prove.
Tell me more, are women true?
Yes, some are, and some as you.
Some are willing, some are strange,
Since you men first taught to change.
And till troth
Be in both,
All shall love, to love anew.
Tell me more yet, can they grieve?
Yes, and sicken sore, but live:
And be wise, and delay,
When you men are as wise as they.
Then I see,
Faith will be,
Never till they both believe.
--John Fletcher, 1613?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Ungern
A post on Baron Ungern at Way To Russia:
"But gone are the days when you could take a capital city with a ragtag army of soldiers and mercenaries. In 1921, however, Baron Roman Ungern von Sternberg, known as the Bloody Baron, did just that when he captured Ulan Bataar in one of the strangest incidents of the Russian Civil War...
"By surrounding the city and burning a huge number of camp fires he created the illusion of commanding a large army. The Chinese withdrew and the Bloody Baron entered the city and installed himself as dictator...
"Then, after some similar, short-lived shenanigans in Buryatia, he was finally captured and executed in Novisibirsk.
"In spite of his atrocities von Sternberg is often seen as a liberator by Mongolians and was declared a Mahakala incarnation by the 13th Dalai Lama. His incredible story has for some reason mostly gone untold. However, producer Alexander Proshkin did announce plans to make a film about the Bloody Baron in the near future."
It might be noted that much of the Baron's bloody reputation might have been attributable to his underlings.
It might also be noted that the shrewd Bogd Khan invited Ungern to Mongolia to help him get rid of the Chinese, and the Khan was successful. And that later, the Bogd Khan invited the Reds to Mongolia to help him get rid of Ungern, and the Khan was again successful.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
On a Darkling Plain
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
excerpt from "Dover Beach," 1867
by Matthew Arnold, 1822-1888, English
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
excerpt from "Dover Beach," 1867
by Matthew Arnold, 1822-1888, English
Friday, January 19, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
"Sumo falls to a Mongol invasion"
"Thirty-four Mongolians compete regularly in Japan's national, indigenous sport. One of them, Asashoryu, has dominated the ring since being promoted in 2003 to the highest rank of Grand Champion. Currently the only wrestler at that level, he could soon be joined by a Bulgarian, the strongest of the 14 or so East Europeans who have also broken into the sport.
"Since the 1960s there have always been a few foreigners in Sumo. Several Hawaiians made it to the top, an achievement that means adopting Japanese nationality, dress and behaviour...
"But conservative Japanese are dismayed at the recent involvement of so many outsiders. More than a sport, Sumo, with its ancient history, is steeped in the rituals of the Shinto religion that the Japanese believe only they can fully comprehend...
"And foreigners do not always behave with the necessary decorum. The Mongolian Grand Champion has been disqualified for hair-pulling and has refused to take Japanese nationality.
"The Sumo authorities, however, appreciate the excitement and ticket sales that foreign wrestlers generate."
-The First Post
Friday, January 12, 2007
Chinese Elves, Dwarves, and Wizards Conquering the World
There are as many World of Warcraft accounts in China alone – 3.5 million – as there are in all the countries of Europe, the U.S., and Canada combined.
Playfuls.com: World of Warcraft - 8 Million and Counting
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
You Are Going To Die Needlessly
More from the profound Nick Bostrom:
The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant
"Searching for a cure for aging is not just a nice thing that we should perhaps one day get around to. It is an urgent, screaming moral imperative... If we get the cure in 25 years rather than in 24 years, a population greater than that of Canada will die as a result. In this matter, time equals life, at a rate of approximately 70 lives per minute."
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Thursday, January 04, 2007
The Epicurean Paradox
"God either wants to eliminate bad things and cannot, or can but does not want to, or neither wishes to nor can, or both wants to and can. If he wants to and cannot, he is weak -- and this does not apply to god. If he can but does not want to, then he is spiteful -- which is equally foreign to god's nature. If he neither wants to nor can, he is both weak and spiteful and so not a god. If he wants to and can, which is the only thing fitting for a god, where then do bad things come from? Or why does he not eliminate them?"
--Epicurus, 341-270 BCE, Greek, in The Epicurus Reader, translated and edited by Brad Inwood and Lloyd P. Gerson
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Inner Mongolia - Han vs. Mongol
review by Celia Lowe of Beyond Great Walls: Environment, Identity, and Development on the Chinese Grasslands of Inner Mongolia by Dee Mack Williams:
"Although Williams does not dispute the degraded state of the land, he does contest both Chinese and Western authoritative interpretations of its meanings and causes. The author brings together culture, politics, history, and nature at international, national, and local scales to compare Mongol herders' sensibilities with those of Han and Western scientists...
"Mongol marginalization is at the heart of grassland disputes...
"Discourses of science help mask Han-Mongol antagonisms, and Williams demonstrates that Mongol notions are often accurate where scientists' theories fail...
"Whereas the research station praises its Han scientists, saying 'heart blood has become sweet dew, the desert has become an oasis,' herders restate this verse as 'an oasis has become a desert under the management of the research station'...
"One great joy in this book is Williams's ability to narrate the life stories of Mongol herders. Beyond Great Walls is a pleasure to read..."
-American Ethnologist
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Monday, January 01, 2007
Get a loan on your ger
"Many banks prefer clients who can pledge rock-solid 'immovables' -- brick-and-mortar homes, for example -- as collateral which the bank can claim when borrowers do not repay their loans. But what if the immovable is, in fact, move-able? What if it is made of wool and wood, and could be picked up and carted off in the middle of the night by a debtor on the run?
"XacBank’s experience is proof of the micro-finance credo that poor people make the most reliable borrowers..."
-European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
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