Sort of about music

I've been away from the blog for so long that firefox deleted its URL
from my history. In order to ease back slowly, here's something content-free.

When I was in middle school my dad decided to make things easy on
himself, and at a pre-appointed hour, would enter my room, turn on my stereo, and leave. At that point in my life, I was embarrassed by making my preferences publicly known and only listened to music using headphones and a portable player. So it was three months of Greenday's Insomniac. This was a very bad time. Nevertheless, my dad had the right idea. Waking up is the most unpleasant part of my day, and to compound that by involving an alarm clock would be too dreadful to contemplate. In contrast, my computer is very considerate about the entire process, gradually increasing the volume over the course of five minutes (alarm clock plug). So here are a few songs I've used in the past.

• Radiohead - Everything in Its Right Place
• Xploding Plastix - Treat Me Mean I Need the Respect
• Ratatat - Seventeen Years
• Nirvana - ??

I listened to these four in sequence.

• Radiohead - Everything in Its Right Place
• Gorillaz - Last Living Souls
• Mogwai - Golden Porsche
• The Orb - Earth Orbit One - Little Fluffy Clouds
• Tortoise - TNT

Of these, I recommend any of the standalone songs, though don't try Gorillaz for the first time when you have anything important to do--I always slept
through it. After being woken up by a song for long enough, it
will tend to wear on you: to some extent, that's what happened to me
with the Radiohead and Mogwai, so the Orb and Tortoise are new
additions: hopefully I can find a few more to put into a rotation. Any
suggestions?

Incidentally, you're going to want to get the Xploding Plastix album and listen to it constantly.

The Best Dumplings Ever

In learning to play go, one of the most elusive concepts has been good shape. Bad shape, on the other hand..well, just look at this game I played today. If the groups with the triangle and the square make you feel uneasy or even nauseated, you understand bad shape.

Incidentally, I'm white, and it's my turn.

Why does the world refuse to arrange itself to my wishes in every detail?

My continually growing affection for the Pittsburgh department notwithstanding, I graduated college a year too early.

Kenan Seminar: Empirical Moral Psychology (Phil 805) (305) - Joshua Knobe & Jesse Prinz

Recent philosophical work on moral psychology has taken an interdisciplinary turn. Philosophers have been calling on empirical findings to assess traditional theories, and psychologists have been exploring questions that emerged within philosophy. What role do emotions play in moral judgment? Is morality an evolved capacity? Could there be a faculty of moral intuition? What is the empirical viability of Aristotelian virtue ethics? How do notions of freedom and responsibility hold up in light of recent research on mind and brain? In this seminar, we will read articles addressing such questions, and, through the generous support of the Kenan foundation, we will also have the opportunity to engage in intensive discussion with some of the leading authors in the field. Visitors will include (at least) philosophers John Doris, Shaun Nichols, and Walter Sinnott- Armstrong, as well as psychologists Daniel Gilbert, Liane Young and Fiery Cushman.

This course will meet on Wednesday from 4:00-6:30. (Chapel Hill graduate seminars)

I should also note that I don't have class on Wednesdays this coming semester...

No one told me I was moving to a cold place!

I've already resolved not to go out of my apartment tomorrow.

Update: Well shit! This policy only made sense when the forecast said Friday would be warmer than Monday.

Ratio of Lifehacker Visits to Ideas Implemented ~30 : 1

So, I finally broke down and installed Invisibility Cloak which blocks time-wasting websites. More precisely, you list the worst offenders and it prevents them from loading prior to a certain time of day. I had previously resisted the software based on the important principle that I really enjoy wasting time.

The script exhibited a sad lack of professionalism: it has a built in variable specifying the time of day after which the cloaking stops taking effect, but no opposite variable. Perhaps they assumed that anyone who is awake after midnight is just too degenerate to embrace this sort of productivity enhancing tool. As a result, I was forced to alter the code so that I won't be stripped of my diversions after midnight. Since I've never even previously looked at javascript, the chances of this failing are approximately 100%.

A more insightful post than this would have noted how this hack is really just another instance of applying a high-powered technical solution to avoid applying any concept of personal responsibility, but I'm too lazy for that.

This is relevant to 11% of my visitors

There has been some chatter about a security flaw in Safari, though as of yet there's no malware in the wild. You can fix the most serious issue by going to preferences and stop having Safari automatically open “safe” files. Even to my uninformed eyes, this looks like an atrociously bad feature, but it's the default setting. Given that Gruber was writing about this feature back in 2004, and again in 2006 it seems time to start entertaining the thesis that all the (extra) protection Apple has going for it is security through obscurity.

Update: it may be that the dmg problem doesn't actually pose a threat beyond forcing you to restart. That's reassuring, but doesn't change the badness of Safari's presets.

My apologies to Chekhov

If there is a database of driver's license data in the first act, it will be hacked in the second.

Please to not exercise your creativity

I went to a go tournament in D.C. this weekend, but I'll reserve comment until later, as it only sets the stage. While driving back to Pittsburgh on I-76, I was behind a pickup with a bumper sticker reading Gun Control Is Racist. Several hours later, I still don't get it.

Ding, dong, the witch is dead

Vernon Robinson is no more. Brad Miller beat him 96,842–55,308 or 64 to 36 percent. Both Vernon's political hopes and half of my traffic have now gone the way of the dodo.

Related News:
GOP FEARS ELECTION “NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO THROW”

A schedule

It's almost exactly a year since I last posted a harrowing schedule of my activities for the upcoming several weeks, so for tradition's sake, I might as well let you know what's happening.

• November 6th: Presentation of Projectivism about laws of nature
• November 8th: Presentation on Michael Dummett's article “Realism”
• November 9th: Philosophy of Science paper on something somehow connected to causation or reduction
• November 13th: Paper for metaphysics, which will probably be on projectivism
• November 16th: Presentation on Kuhn's “Revolutions as Changes of World View” and probable paper on lack of theoretical unity in science (how did this happen?!)
• November 23nd: Probable paper on the topic of scientific change
• December 11th: Final short paper in metaphysics
• December 13th: Short paper for M&E core
• December 13th: 4000–7000 word paper for Philosophy of Cognitive Science

The two saving graces are that the philosophy of science papers are usually just 1000 words, and I have a topic for cognitive science that is quite exciting. I'm writing on Stich's argument that the simulation theory blocks arguments for eliminativism. For that paper, I'm looking at his books From Folk Psychology to Cognitive Science and Mindreading (with Sean Nichols), the latter of which is an all-time favorite. Nevertheless, this hurts.

My Internets Fame

I give in. I really want to know why are people doing google searches for poll data on Vernon Robinson all of a sudden? And would any of them mind telling me how things stand in that race? I'm still left choosing between the principles "the American people would never elect someone so obviously insane" and "the American people would elect only someone that insane."

From Daily Kos, I get that Vernon Robinson is inching up against Miller, implying that he is behind. I also find out that his ads random substituted a picture of a Palestinian man for a Mexican man. Another advertisement (SFW) reads “Brad Miller even spent your tax dollars to pay teenage girls to watch pornographic movies with probes connected to their genitalia,” but I think we're all better off if I don't joke about that.

It's news because we're talking about it

If you are the BBC and someone produces a report for the Bravo television channel claiming that the human race will split in two, much as in H.G. Wells' The Time Traveler, you should:

• Ignore the matter
• Post it in your sadly nonexistent satire section because it is quite droll
• Post it with the title Human species may ‘split in two’

Cynicism bleg

Everytime I find myself getting optimistic about the elections, I have to remind myself that while voters seem ready to elect Democrats, the factor which goes unmentioned is that the other side is going to be cheating. A lot. If things go well enough, it won't matter, because elections in this country are still more or less democratic—you don't win them without a hell of a lot of people voting for you. Once that requirement is met, however, we have very little to do with the matter.

Combatting Plagiarism

One university professor writes that he suspects as many as 25–30% of the graduating seniors at his university were guilty of some form of cheating. I'm a bit put off by his emphasis on Wikipedia as a source of cheating—though I don't doubt that it's often the source of plagiarized material, that's just because of its prominence as a source of information. The tone just strikes me as typical “blame Wikipedia!” style hysteria. The comments are also excellent in an entirely different fashion: somehow the cheating problem is the professor's fault, because they are either failing to engage the students, assigning too much work, or the assignments fail to require student creativity, facilitating plagiarism. Also, fantasy-land is an excellent place which you should visit! The only serious complaint is that many students get in trouble because no one has done a good job explaining citations to them, meaning that they are merely dense instead of scum.

In any case, he raises the point that sites such as Student of Fortune, which offer answers to questions on an as needed basis, and provide all original content thereby make it much harder for professors to catch cheaters.* I'm tempted by the idea of a legal mandate to give universities access to these sorts of sites, so that the written content would be searchable just like what's on wikipedia. Obviously, there is both a demarcation problem in terms of identifying the sites which would be subject to the law, and a matter of the political impossibility of passing such legislation, but I suspect this is a decent idea in principle.

(*)(I think it's irrelevant that one has to question Student of Fortune's impact, given that its top earner has made $43.50 so far. There are other sites that offer original content and do greater business.)

More than 4 million possible configurations!

Apple has begun stealing marketing strategies from my favorite late night food which can be purchased from a restaurant chain. If you are one of Tim, Ed or Dan, you should instantly know what I'm referring to.

Reapparation

Did I say I'd write about Pittsburgh? That was silly of me—I have nothing to say. Nevertheless, a promise is a thing which you halfheartedly fulfill the day after you said that you would. If you're smart, you realize that your promise lead to an unutterably

Since arriving, I have lived a hermit-like life, in hopes that the absence of human company would motivate me to seek friendship among the various cleaning supplies and use them to clean things just as God intended it to be. You all know just how much that happened.

Apartment roundup. The bad:

• Most electrical outlets are controlled by the light switches, which makes it an unsafe environment for computers and alarm clocks.


• Limited kitchen counter-space, poor outlet placement.


• I can't get the handle of the gas stove, even though I know gas is preferred by like, anyone who knows how to cook. That doesn't help me if I can't get the temperature anywhere in between off and inferno.


• The shower has the same deal. Tiny tiny range in between cold and scalding.

The ambiguous:

• Things aren't dilapidated, but they do have interesting geometrical properties. (If you're wondering, that was taken with the built in camera on my MacBook, which gives things a slight sepia-tinge even with three lights and three open windows, unless they are less than three inches from the screen. Also I suck with taking pictures.)

The good:

• I guess I like it here. It's relaxed, and spacious, and the roommate seems cool.

Disapparation

I move saturday, and this will completely destroy my ability to concentrate or exercise my willpower for the time being. So don't come here looking for posts. If I catch you checking for new posts, I will give you a stern talking-to. Sometime between saturday the 19th and monday the 21st, I will post something about Pittsburgh. Then and only then can you look at this blog. Got it?

Modern man defined

Guy on cell: I'm only calling because I have to walk ten blocks, and I can't stand to be alone with my own thoughts. overheardinnewyork

Japan and Kitsch meet, Kitsch “overwhelmed”

It sounds a bit like Busch Gardens.

Note: I am not that guy. I do not have a retarded fascination with Japan which centers around anime and guffawing over inventions such as shoes with umbrellas on them. These recent posts are just coincidences based on cute overload and gmail presenting me with links.

I endorse metaphysical realism about stupidity!

The Washington State Supreme Court case concerning gay marriage is not an unmitigated disaster if this bit from the Times is accurate:

The decision seemed to invite targeted constitutional challenges to the denial of equal treatment to homosexual couples.

Also intriguing is the Times's choice of quotations

“Limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples,” Justice Barbara A. Madsen wrote in that opinion, “furthers procreation, essential to the survival of the human race, and furthers the well-being of children by encouraging families where children are reared in homes headed by the children’s biological parents.”

While it's true that reading that probably won't embarass the people that it should, it's pretty embarassing, and all that really needs to be said is “do you really believe that?” I was couldn't decide whether the writer included that quote partially in order to make Madsen look stupid, but the article also relays that the dissenting judges described the majority opinion as relying “on speculation and circular reasoning to endorse discrimination.” No defense is given. Though that could be an accidental feature of the article, I'm inclined to read it as reflecting the opinion of the author that no credible defense to the charge has been offered.

If that's so, it's an interesting demonstration of what can be done within the limitations of journalistic objectivity—it doesn't even break the “he said, she said” mold that everyone sensible complains about. The difficulty is that I really don't know how to find out whether it's accidental or not. I suspect that my own opinions render me an unreliable reader when it comes to questions about intent such as this one.

Enlighten me?