February 27, 2010
Pascal's Paradox
A few days ago, a funny Seventh Day Adventist showed up on my door. He was a friendly enough fellow, and asked about my faith. "Atheist," I said, "and anyone that tries to tell me otherwise is probably trying to sell something."
Yeah, I like the Princess Bride. He scribbled this down in his notebook. Great, I'm probably on some kind of "prayer list" or something.
"Really?", he asked. "How can all of this subjective experience be just nothing?"
"Simple," I said, "I live my life, and then I die, and then there is nothing left to experience."
"What do you think Jesus was: son of god, historical figure, or work of fiction?"
"Probably a historical figure, but fiction seems more plausible at times."
"Well what about the objective reality?"
Obviously my time in government service left me entirely too...sober. I was growing impatient. "Look," I said, "I go through life and question every piece of information that gets thrown in front me. I don't win a lot of friends, but I do make a difference."
"You're familiar with Pascal's Wager?" he asked
Yeah, Pascal's Wager. I could use the official church jargon to explain why it is a retarded bet, akin to playing Russian Roulette (it's also a lot less exciting than Russian Roulette, I imagine). Instead, I argued with reason. "Religious people waste their entire lives praying and bowing and hoping things will happen. I make things happen, because I know that only people can make things happen. That is the fallacy of Pascal. Hope."
So today, I put my money where my mouth is. One of Laura's co-workers, Pablo, is from Chilé. His brother lives in a small town outside of Concepcion, as close to the epicenter of today's quake as possible. Pablo can't reach anyone in his family (most of his family lives near Santiago). I decided to donate my last paycheck to the Red Cross. Yeah, I probably can't afford it right now. I'm no saint, either. But money, more than prayers (or even yoga mats), is what folks in Haiti and Chile need right now.
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Further back...
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Previous Trips...
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Hiking Mount Whitney, 2007 
Spring Break in West Virginia, 2005
New Year's in Paris, 2003-2004
Coming to America, 2003
Protesting in Berlin, 2003
Prague Bier-Tour, 2002
Dresden, 2002
Recent Reading
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Close to the Machine
Ellen Ullman is one of those authors that somehow avoided my radar. Until now...
Close to the Machine is less a book than a collection of loosely related personal anecdotes from Ellen's time as a very rare thing -- a successful female bisexual independent computer programming consultant.
In the course of her work and relationship life, she learns hard lessons about programming, running a business, being lonely, and loving the wrong people. I found it particularly poignant being a crypto-nerd with difficult times in relationships and a more-or-less NDA'd, secret work life.
This book is a must-read for anyone into running their own business, programming, or anyone dating a person that is a business-a-holic or programmer.
Rated 
by reid
on November 23, 2009
by reid
on November 23, 2009
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The Long Trip Home
I had the joy of dining with the author in Florida. We went to a little Brazilian BBQ where he spoke with our waitstaff in (what I can only assume was) flawless Portugese.
Brian Wyllie spent 1969-1971 living in Brazil working for the Peace Corps. His recent book outlines his trip back to the United States via Bolivia, Peru, and the Carribean chain, by way of bus, train, and sailboat. The format comes spattered with observations from the modern day, and makes me think, "this must be what John McPhee's journal looks like."
The trip sounded like a fantastic one, but I was left wanting more detail...where did the gun (being snuck through customs in a variety of places, no doubt) come from? And how did Geneve's hair smell? Alas, we'll have to wait for another book to find the answers.
Rated 
by reid
on April 16, 2009
by reid
on April 16, 2009
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The Curve of Binding Energy
John McPhee follows famous physicist Ted Taylor in this piece that was -- and probably still -- ahead of its time.
Originally published in 1973, McPhee outlined the coming security and environmental issues surrounding the plutonium enrichment processes. For the most part, though, McPhee invites the reader to draw his or her own conclusions, although he does point out the ease with which any number of people could obtain the material (though not necessarily the manufacturing prowess) to make an atomic weapon.
The question still sits in my mind after reading -- are we being too paranoid, or not paranoid enough?
Rated by reid
on October 01, 2007
by reid
on October 01, 2007