Asymmetries

 Asymmetries create insecurities.

What is a Government?

A government is a service provider to its constituents.  The services that it provides generally serve one or both of two objectives...

• Facilitating security - the state of being free from danger or threat.
• Facilitating prosperity - the condition of being successful or thriving.

A Matter of the Heart

In February of 2020 I had heart surgery.  It was fairly significant, a double bypass, but it went well. For me, as far as I know, there was no heart attack or other traumatic event preceding it.  It was detected by medical professionals noticing that my heart rate was a bit on the high side (tachycardia).  Tests led to an angiogram.  The angiogram discovered significant blockages in a couple of the arteries that feed my heart. I hadn't had any traumatic events, but I was definitely primed to have one if I waited around to address the issue.  Physical recovery has been good, but there have been other complications.

Value Based Pricing Limits

Value based pricing, setting the price of a product based on the perceived value to your customer, is a complex topic given the array of factors that can go into a customer's perception of value.  This is often contrasted with cost plus pricing, which is based on how much it costs to produce a product plus some producer defined "margin".  Value based pricing might be considered something of an ideal for both the producer and the consumer, but there are some interesting edge cases that are aggravated by our accounting systems.

Forgiveness

 Forgiveness is a gift. It's not something that can be justified in any transactional sense.

What is Happiness?

 I had a very interesting and to me a very profound insight yesterday.  

Happiness is the perceived reinforcing rate-of-change of the quantity of something that value has been attached to.

The Optimistic Engineer and the Journey

I'm afflicted with a condition known as the engineering mindset.  It can be painful and embarrassing, but it can be useful as well. If you tell me what outcome, future state, you want then I'll design a pattern of technologies, a solution, that will more or less achieve that state.  I tend to be optimistic about the possibility of a solution if only enough technologies are considered.  Technology, in this case, is any repeatable pattern of mechanisms that causes change, that is activation of potential forces.  Note that there are technologies in all domains, from electronics to politics and anything around and in between.

The Value of a Human Life

In the never ending battle against taking things for granted it's useful to better understand why humans have value.  Why do we care if anyone lives or dies? Why do we care if anyone is more or less successful? Why do we care if anyone is distracted by misery?  I acknowledge that we do, but only sometimes, sort of, and selectively.  That will be an interesting post in itself, but this post is an attempt to explore why we as humans may value other humans.  

Entitlement

Imagine that success in human life is defined by, is a function of, survival and happiness.  The relationship between the two is complex.  Shelter is necessary for survival.  A nice house is a combination of shelter with a contribution to happiness.  From the moment of birth and with each subsequent moment until death we each have some quantity of success.  This is always a positive value until you die, but at times that value can seem to be very low.  Fortunately, in most people's lives, but not all, there are also times when that value seems less low. [This suggests an interesting possibility of a regression to a mean, but that would be fodder for a different post.]

Structure

It's interesting that structure is a coping mechanism for dealing with the chaos that the universe throws at us.

Facts

 

The universe consists of space, particles in that space, and forces, enabled by energy, that control the relationships and positions of particles in space.  That’s it.  That’s all there is. There’s nothing more.  It seems to be sufficient.

Accomplishment

Two things I would have liked to have learned sooner and better...

1. If I don't do it, it won't get done.
2. If I don't do it, it won't get done.

Scenario 511

I engage with a few members of a group out of Scotland known as the International Futures Forum (IFF).  Among other things we discuss what the future of humanity might, could, and perhaps should look like. 

Collapse, Purpose, Well-Being, Love and Joy

Here's an excerpt from my personal journal from a few days ago...

Impermanence

Today I completed the Headspace series on Navigating Change.  It's basically an examination of impermanence and, of course, how to deal with it.  Today the relationship between impermanence and being present in the moment finally clicked.

The Dust of Memories by Ian Page

Shared with permission.

Move away from GoDaddy

I've been a GoDaddy customer for years.  Their service was reasonably good.  Recently while adjusting some of my services they blew away my blog.