Immanentize the Empathy
I am putting together my first reading list of the year. The theme, I think, is Social Patterns in the Infosphere. Here is a short list:
Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by Edward O. Wilson
Godel, Escher, Bach by Dougles R. Hofstadter
The Meme Machine by Susan Blackmore
Flesh Machine by the Critical Art Ensemble
Eye to Eye, by Ken Wilber
I am not sure what I am looking for, exactly, but somehow, I think these books point to it. And most likely to other books.
Well, one link is up, and coincidentally, it is the link to the links. More to come. There is always more.
Dinner first, either Ethiopian or Indian, then on to the party. Three days gone of the four day weekend.
I just picked up The Meme Machine. Will post a review when I have had enough of it.
In just under 24 hours the new year will be here, and I will be celebrating with a 16-year Port Ellen (1980-Islay) single-malt scotch. Last year it was a 14-year Clynelish (19??-Highland), which made it from January 1 to the end of May, when someone stole the bottle. And it still had three shots left! It was my first cask-strength scotch, which I only discovered after the fact is usually drunk with water, rather than at the full 120+ proof. Still, it was one of the best I have ever had. My review of the Port Ellen will be up in a few days.
Less than half-way through a four-day weekend — the second in two weeks — and outside is gray and white and quiet. As of this weekend the house next door is completely vacant; the for-rent sign in the first floor window has a twin upstairs
I discovered Kurzweil AI a few days ago. It is a fascinating site, making good use of The Brain for navigating its complex store of information. Quite the site.
Tomorrow is the last day of the year. My new years resolutions have grown progressively more vague or subtle since I left college. “Get a job” changed to “Learn more about Buddhism”, then to “Reduce the amount of mediocrity in my life”. That was last year. I have (I feel) done a good job of being less mediocre; I take better care of myself. I have mad skillz in the web development department. I am much less likely to kill someone for looking at me funny.
Looking back on the personal stresses of last year, I see that I need to do something with the way I use time. I waste a lot of it on unnecessary activities, so the necessary activities get short shrift. Yeah… that’s a suitably vague New Years resolution: make better use of my time. And I bet it never even gets off the ground.
By the by, none of the links are hooked up yet.