Beth

Thanks Reg!!

“Most of my friends are so well educated they can scarcely believe God exists.”

Theologian Lelio Sozzini in a letter to John Calvin on 14 May 1549 from Switzerland, commenting on the unusually high level of skepticism about God’s existence among educated men in Italy. It was an early encounter with what later historians see as the rise of s…[Read more]

Have a great week!!

“I must respect your beliefs?? Some chance of me doing that when I don’t even respect my own. I don’t believe things to feel safe. You don’t want your beliefs respected. You want them immunized for criticism. Once they are protected from scrutiny, beliefs will metastasize into ideology and when ideology remains unchall…[Read more]

The link works. I have a full NYT sub so can share 10 stories per month. I was on the phone with a friend in Zaporizhzhia a few nights ago. We had drones and gunfire for almost all of the call.

From AI Welfare to AI Warfare. This is a great read.                                 .

Thanks, Reg!!

Have a great week everyone!

@Simon – Understanding is true belief. False beliefs are either redundant or harmful because delusion is always unsatisfactory.

That’s incorrect in modern epistemology. The old school of thought was that “Knowledge is justified true belief”. It is difficult to shake that idea because it is ‘folk epistemology’ and it has been around for centuries…[Read more]

Once moral judgment is externalized, violence becomes procedural. Killing is no longer an act of violence. It becomes a duty to the cause. The killer experiences righteousness, not guilt. I remember the phone call by the Hamas terrorist to his father and both were rejoicing in the murders. Religion claims absolute moral authority by an…[Read more]

Understanding is voluntary.
Belief is optional.

Thanks, Reg!  Happy New Year to you and  I hope all your Machiavellian plans for 2026 achieve outstanding success!

Have a great week everyone and Happy New Year!!

Last week I checked my crypto wallet on my cellphone. It said I had a balance of $28,151,000. I closed the app, re-opened it and I had the same balance. I immediately tried to transfer funds, thinking there must have been a “bitcoin moment”. When I got to the transfer window, the last 3 zeros were gone and I was actually down about $200. I could…[Read more]