Machiavelli

Quentin Skinner on Machiavelli's The Prince (26min) Edmonds and Warburton - Philosophy Bites (USA)



Niccolò Machiavelli wiki

Broadband mechanics

Carl Icahn 2008 Commencement Address at LeBow College of Business

Where the hell is Matt? (2008)

Barack Obama Speech from Berlin, Germany

Slash - Solo GodFather Theme

The potential of the iPhone

It's not about the singularity, it's about the speed-up as we approach it.

Google Knol (update2)

I got the news from Blogger Buzz on my phone in a pub in town a few hours ago. Google Knol is up. Find me here. Let's play.



TechCrunch says
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/23/googles-knol-the-monetizable-wikipedia/

ars technica says
"..The search giant is allowing article owners the option of displaying AdSense ads on knols and, naturally, getting a cut of ad revenue. With Wikipedia articles often dominating Google's results, the world's most popular search engine is dangling a tasty carrot in front of article authors, PhDs and otherwise.."article

A package from Zazzle

I got most of the iPlant items I'd ordered from Zazzle today. The whole process (printing, shipping) took eight days, the quality is great and I'm generally very happy with Zazzle right now. I'll be working on what I hope will be some really interesting ads for some of these items over the next month or so, eventually to be posted on youtube as 1-2 min videos, but in the meantime here's what I ordered and can personally assure the quality of:

Dopamine tank top, $23
http://www.zazzle.com/tank_top_23_shirt-235182722942296076

iPlant tank top, $23
http://www.zazzle.com/tank_top_23_shirt-235224055638590169

White T-shirt, $20
http://www.zazzle.com/t_shirt_20-235910702765130396

Black T-shirt, $25
http://www.zazzle.com/t_shirt_25-235356231606030466

Existentialism on a Saturday morning

Wake to the sound of rain. Lazy sparks of last night keep me in bed with The Wire for another hour. But no matter, it's Saturday. In the lab the iMac won't start and I'm down to my last, barely functional array. Never mind, I write an email to dad instead. We've agreed that science doesn't describe every aspect of human existence. Now he asks how I decide which such non-scientific values, world views and systems of thought are stable, important, lucid and respectable, and which are myth, superstition or wishful thinking. Moreover, is it possible to modify man's biological nature without eliminating her sense of agency and freedom?

I write:

"I don't believe in choosing between materialism and existentialism - we need a world view that combines both; an existentialism that is compatible with the science of today and tomorrow. Our thinking about freedom, agency and responsibility must be compatible with what we know, and expect to know, about the formation of evaluations and decisions within the biological nervous system. It's hard to believe in meaning and morals if flesh and urges permeate every particle of our phenomenology, but the scientific description of mind and brain is real, and we must come to terms with it.

However, I do not think that such a 'scientific existentialism' must entail the elimination of free will. The iPlant, for instance, is designed to INCREASE the sense of agency and freedom in those lacking discipline. It requires, however, that we be comfortable with the realization that our desires, choices and our experience of meaning are intimately linked with the flow of dopamine in our brains.

I believe we need to fully identify with our bodies, brains and genes, and with our fellow human beings. As long as we can do that, we will be able to experience identity, agency, desire, love and meaning, and make use of biotechnology rather than recoil from it."

Self-discipline induces misery in hypofrontal primates

METHODS
Up at 8. Low GI cereal, muesli or sandwich, cup of coffee and a glass of water. Stroll down to the lab. Work for 2-3 hours. Light lunch, preferably low GI sandwich with plenty of green in it, made the night before to save money. More coffee. Finish early, 4-5pm. Stroll back home and go for a run or to the gym. Leave plenty of time for cooking. Dinner before 8, not too much, not always meat, finish with fruit. In bed before 11.

DISCUSSION
If repeated over several days this protocol will convince a low-DA/hypofrontal brain (an ADD brain, an 'impulsive' brain) that its reproductive fitness is rapidly decreasing and that it must re-enter a high-DA state by any means necessary (e.g. bingeing, risk-taking, self-destruction, unrealistic thinking). To maintain the protocol, the low-DA/hypofrontal brain must introduce additional DA supplies (reinforcers) at strategic, well-defined points. The exercise component of the protocol will initially reduce DA, but may eventually become a DA supply in and of itself as stamina builds and endorphin signaling becomes more efficient. Other DA supplies may include novelty, exploration, sociability, intimacy, meditation, relaxation, construction and rewarding brain stimulation.

Ode to the narcotic of intelligent conversation

Looking for a way into the best ongoing technology conversation to date? The July 10 episode of the GillmorGang (58min, mp3) is Steve and Andrew Keen talking about Apple and Twitter and the current evolution of internet technology. Very enjoyable.

Ignite

In the news this morning

Church of England to allow female bishops: schauvenist priests in tears (in English).

New study says men should have children before 40, women before 35 (in English).

Jim Webb is off the Obama VP list. £10 says Hillary will be VP. £10! Anyone?

The upsides of not thinking ahead

Sometimes I pick up ideas at the fringes, in the early to late morning hours of a night extended well beyond sunrise; ideas I normally wouldn't consider devoting energy to. It takes a special kind of mindset to pursue what is often a red herring; a freak spike in attention with no credentials other than it's momentary appeal. Takes a certain kind of cocktail. Takes a tetra pack.




I pick one up, make a cup of coffee and run with it for a while, make it walk on it's own you know. Some blog posts are fringe creations, like the translation of that Hendrik Brors article and the announcement of the iPlant seminar and whatnot. Just impulses at the time, but by the time I wake up the next day I've made enough postings and commitments about the them and and there they are staring me in my sleepy face saying "now what?"




Watch that George Carlin video by the way, you will not regret it.




Anyway. Cory Doctorow says if you wanna be a writer you need to learn to write a lot, not just when you feel inspired; and to not go back and delete paragraphs just because they don't appeal to you on a second reading. Let them stand for a few days at least, give them a third reading at a later date, trust quantity and know that a year from now you won't be able to tell the difference between text that impressed you at the time of writing and text that didn't. Probably applies to blogging too.









Wonder if I can get £2.500 at vcashpoint for distributing iPlant merchandise for free 'in my local community' to 'raise awareness about neuroscience'? Best send off an application quick before I start thinking critically about it.

Genius

Steve Gillmor's NewsGang Live (July 3rd, 2008)

RIP George Carlin

George Carlin - Life is Worth Losing (2006, 74min, Google Video, HBO)