Thought Overflow... (Page 6)

when is an argument logical? and why that requires an intimacy

Not in the sense of correct or incorrect conclusions, but in the sense of when is an argument or discussion between two people actually a logical argument? Only if it takes place in a single axiomatic space. (which is rarely the case!) In order to actually have a logical argument, both people have to agree on a single space, or set of initial assumptions. Given the real world of complex inner spaces, this probably means that one person must enter the other's space to explore it and look for inconsistencies and bring up real world data to explain. Which is why this sort of real argument is necessarily very intimate.

But the type that often occurs, where each person is talking from within their own space, is both illogical and frustrating.

No time to Spare, indeed

I love Ursula LeGuin's 'No Time to Spare' piece, in which among other points she points out the value of time to just have thoughts and feelings, to feel and think. I so agree..yet, when I have such time I often think of things to do and feel why they are so important. And then the doing cuts back the time again for thinking anything.

Raw Comforts

For work, I've been put up in 400/night, fancy hotels with player pianos and gleaming artwork, in suites with jacuzzi tubs with views of Hollywood Hills or right in the middle of Mardi Gras. And I appreciate it. But, for some reason its comforting getting takeout on the street from the Flying Falafel, whose motto is 'your balls are in good hands', hearing the workers off-color joking in Spanish 'CHING-a tu madre'. The way that San Francisco is gentle with its homeless, with the crazy people on the street, is also comforting; maybe because it makes me feel that I could be real too, that if I felt a bit crazy or had something not quite expected to say, that no one would raise an eyebrow.

What I find oppressive is the fast food chains that force every worker to say the same words hundreds of times a day. I'd rather live in a world where people can be themselves, even if its messy and raw.

Dirty Money, Dirty Tricks, Dirty Judges

Wrote this for BlogforArizona: https://blogforarizona.net/dirty-money-dirty-tricks-dirty-judges/

How can we get the story out to enough of Arizona to vote these judges out? If everyone really understood, they would be gone...

advising is fun because

if you give someone ideas, and they put in the work to bring them to life, it's like

Emerson gets me: quote of the day

"It [providence] has shown the heaven and earth to every child, and filled him with a desire of the whole; a desire raging, infinite; a hunger, as of space to be filled with planets; a cry of famine, as of devils for souls. Then for the satisfaction, - to each man is administered a single drop, a bead of dew of vital power, per day, a copy as large as space, and one drop of the water of life in it. ....

In every house...this chasm is found - between the largest promise of ideal power, and the shabby experience"

--Ralph Waldo Emerson, Selected Writings p376

The story is not about the rise of bullies and authoritarians. The story is about how we respond.

The beautiful grimy buzzing streets of San Francisco

Spending a week in SF, first impression is the beautiful buildings, the busy foot traffic, and the grime. It feels like a city where everyone is pushing to the limit all the time, with clean airy offices but streets too busy for planters, despite the friendly climate. And the homeless. SF is kinder to its homeless than many cities, with the result that they are everywhere on the streets.

I kept thinking, I'd like to go around and ask them, how they'd feel about having the opportunity to clean a bit when they liked, for small payments. Like a nonprofit that supplies cleaning materials and goes around donating to those who keep their area clean, and maybe leave a plant or street garden to be cared for too. In Tucson we have public little mini gardens with edible plants, like in front of the main library. The climate in SF should make those much easier to grow.

I love San Francisco, but it also makes me appreciate the breathing room we have in Tucson. Relaxed co-ops and organizations like Bicas, not having to justify so many thousands in rent or property costs, can help people fix bikes for a couple

on meritocracy and the estate tax

Of all the flimsy excuses of why children of the rich and powerful should have privileges from birth, meritocracy is perhaps the most blatantly illogical. Divine right of kings is more rational.

stray bits...