Feb 09

Mid-Century Contemplation

by Chris Billows in Spirit Speculations 0 comments tags: Components of Human Nature, Human Condition
Today is my 50th Birthday. I now have a half-century of living that brings forth a contemplation of what is this life for. I am definitely on the other side of living. No longer am I building for a future as that future is now. My wife and I have accomplished the material and parental goals we set out for. Our children have launched themselves into their own lives and I am in the early stages of thinking of retirement from my career of almost 25 years. Yet the future does not look bright and how can it? While it is possible we have many healthy years to live, there is nothing more to attain for even if attained, the Lord of Death will take it. It is time to think more about what life means in the context of inevitable death. What I am witnessing is the the birth of death. From the middle of life, only he who is willing to die with life remains living. Since what takes place in the secret hour of life’s midday is the reversal of the parabola, the birth of death … ~Carl Jung; Soul and death, CW 8, §800. The things […]
Feb 08

My Self-Organizing Breakthrough

by Chris Billows in Business Beller 0 comments tags: Business Development, Human Condition, Tools
I’m blessed and burdened with an active and creative imagination. I regularly have new exciting thoughts penetrating into my concentration becoming a distraction from the task I’m on. The burden I experience is how to handle these thoughts. I can’t stop them from arriving and I dismissing them undermines my creativity. I’ve learned that these thoughts are important and have provided solutions to longstanding problems. I needed a method to store these thoughts so that they’re shown respect but don’t seriously interrupt my flow of concentration. I took to writing them down in paper journals and eventually moved on to writing them in emails sent to myself. It was not long before this method became quite cumbersome and limited in usefulness. Writing down thoughts in a linear note-taking method makes it hugely difficult to retrieve the information. Even using an electronic record in email or a word-processing document, there is no efficient method to find thoughts. Transferring these thoughts to a task-management tool was another new process. Thoughts written down in a string of entries does not lend itself to prioritization or sorting. When I came across an online Kaban system I was intrigued about what it could offer but […]
Sep 09

Nostalgia – The Chemicals Between Us

by Chris Billows in Republic of Bloggers 0 comments tags: Defining Life, Human Condition, Republic of Bloggers, Virtuous Discourse
Thank you Chris for inviting others to suggest a topic for your Virtuous Cyborg project and thank you for your treatment of my suggestion on nostalgia.   Your post elicited my own nostalgic experience. It is as if you mentioning Micronauts acted as a chemical trail to other memories such other action figures, comics, Choose Your Own Adventure, D&D, and Fighting Fantasy. I remember vividly being at home during the summer break in 1982, lying on a bed, watching music videos on a small box television, and playing Final Fantasy/Sorcery books. It was one of those moments in time that is seared in my mind and brings a smile. Thinking about the past in this way initiates a sub-routine program in myself. This is not simply a bunch of electrons firing off, there is an actual change in my mood which has been documented in people who are exposed to nostalgia. There is no doubt that computers are chemical creations (drawing a circuit board alters the state of it) and I would propose that establishing nostalgia is like the etching of a circuit board in our nervous system. We know that nostalgia makes us emotionally settled but what is it […]
Jun 30

Top Links from Paul Graham

by Chris Billows in Business Beller, Mental Mischief 0 comments tags: Business Development, Comprehensive Analysis, Human Condition, Summarizing a Business Organization
Paul Graham is not only a successful entrepreneur he is a analytical master who has written extensively on business, economics, and culture. I greatly appreciate how he deconstructs complex topics and makes it accessible. Below is some of my favorite articles by him: Nerd Culture http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html Hacker Culture http://www.paulgraham.com/gba.html Wealth and Inequality http://www.paulgraham.com/gap.html Wealth, Technology, and Startups http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html American Culture, Craftsmanship, and Design http://www.paulgraham.com/usa.html Graduating from High School http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html Finding What You Love To Do http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html Building a Startup http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html Startup Lessons http://www.paulgraham.com/startuplessons.html Startup Mistakes http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html About What Good Art Is http://www.paulgraham.com/goodart.html Intelligence vs Wisdom http://www.paulgraham.com/wisdom.html Thinking about Equity Valuations http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html About Philosophy http://www.paulgraham.com/philosophy.html Principles to a New Product Launch http://www.paulgraham.com/newthings.html Types of Disagreement http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html 5 Regrets to Avoid http://www.paulgraham.com/todo.html The Counter Intuition of Startup Investing http://www.paulgraham.com/swan.html How Startups are Different from other Businesses http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html How to Find Ideas for Startups http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html Convincing Investors http://www.paulgraham.com/convince.html  
Apr 23

Cyberg Applications

by Chris Billows in Mental Mischief, Republic of Bloggers 0 comments tags: Blogging, Human Condition, Republic of Bloggers, Virtuous Discourse
An open letter to Chris Bateman responding to his blog-letter Top Ten Cybergs at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments!   Dear Chris, What an great concept. It makes so much sense to link human networks with its inherent technology. The term Cyberg emphasizes the linked aspect of humanity, technology, and networks. It got me thinking about some additional Cyberg applications that were not included in your list, but I’m not sure where would these fit in your hierarchy of top Cybergs. I think that a few of them may warrant some attention.   1) Literacy Literacy is a tool and technology to symbol understanding. I think it might be the very first connection system, being one of the fundamental pillars that supports civilization. While this technology is not cyber based it is definitely a network that communicates ideas and thoughts.   2) Toys Toys, like Literacy appears to be older than any of the other cybergs as it is so fundamental to human and animal development. While it is not a  network, I think the the fact that it is shared cross-species, it is as if […]
Jan 11

Understanding Socialism in Games

by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory, Political Ponderings, Republic of Bloggers 2 comments tags: Blogging, Human Condition, Political Opinion, Republic of Bloggers, Virtuous Discourse
Brian Green wrote on his Psychochild blog an interesting post about how MMO games are a means to understanding Socialism. First of all, its an interesting post to just think about games in terms of political economics. Second of all, I think Brian makes a typical mistake of associating positive qualities with something he favors, known as the Halo Effect.   Games as Socialism… I’ve run into an interesting situation with some people in FFXIV. Many times people have needed items which I have gladly been able to provide (or acquire easily), but people feel bad taking the items from me. They insist on paying for the items somehow, or they want to trade. One friend said she felt bad always asking me for stuff, even if I offer on a regular basis. I wanted to take a look at this, and look at why it really didn’t bother me to offer these items or services to others. Why I’m a big-hearted socialist in MMOs. Okay, I used “the scary S-word” in the title. Intentionally. 😉 Since many Americans have a terrible understanding of what socialism is, let me give a basic definition here. This delves into some economic theory, […]
Dec 18

In A Matter of Aesthetic Preference

by Chris Billows in Republic of Bloggers 0 comments tags: Blogging, Change of Mind, Comprehensive Analysis, Human Condition, Republic of Bloggers, Virtuous Discourse
An open letter to Chris Bateman responding to his blog-letter Wherefore Philosophy? Whence Emotions? at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments!   Dear Chris, Thank you for your letter as it was written with such care and attention I could really see your passion for your discipline of Philosophy and your commitment to virtuous discourse. It was heart-warming and welcome. I do feel that you have interpreted my articulated disinterest in the discipline of Philosophy as some kind of failure on my part. There are many topics in the world that we can readily admit to having little interest in knowing more about it, or in actively engaging with it. My interest in this discussion was to see if I could articulate my disinterest to a spectrum of Philosophy. Yet, as I think about it I’m not really disinterested in Philosophy. Disinterest is actually the bane of an engaged person. What I did was think deeply about why when I think of Philosophy (the Discipline) it holds little appeal to me. Most people would just accept their apathy and not even engage with it. I chose to […]
Aug 31

The Magic of Space Science

by Chris Billows in Mental Mischief 0 comments tags: Human Condition, Quotations
Fascinating news this week. We have intercepted an alien signal and the speculation is that it is so strong and intentional it is thought to come from a civilization that is more advanced than our own. Not a Drill: SETI Is Investigating a Possible Extraterrestrial Signal From Deep Space “The signal’s strength indicates that if it in fact came from a isotropic beacon, the power source would have to be built by a Kardashev Type II civilization. (The Kardashev scale is used to determine the progress of a civilization’s technological development by measuring how much energy was used to transmit an interstellar message.) An ‘Isotropic’ beacon means a communication source emitting a signal with equal power in all directions while promoting signal strength throughout travel.” The news is remarkable, but just as remarkable is that somebody has created a civilization scale that borders on the absolute fantastic. The Kardashev Scale says that we are possibly receiving the signal from a civilization that has encased its sun with some kind of material so that no energy escapes the solar system! That is so amazing it sounds like magic, but what is just as astounding is that this level of civilization is […]
May 04

Depths, Mirrors, and Mine Detectors

by Chris Billows in Republic of Bloggers 0 comments tags: Human Condition, Republic of Bloggers, Virtuous Discourse
An open letter to Chris Bateman responding to his blog-letter Wisdom in Practice at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments! Dear Chris, Thank you for your response on December 8, 2015. My apologies for the tardiness of my reply. It is an undertaking to write a response that captures something I feel convinced off but struggled to articulate, especially something that I find to be complex. These letters have offered an opportunity to validate my biases and convictions so many thanks for engaging with me on this matter. We both agree that Modern Philosophy does have practices where smartness is placed above wisdom (the tone of your response in places is *smart*, but that’s fair given you’re a Philosopher practicing in Modern times – Ha!). It is at these times I would argue that Modern Philosophy could be ‘missing the boat’ despite claiming to be a vehicle of transport. Modern Philosophy is a cognitive exercise, which you consider to be a virtue as it provides a playground for nerds, intellectuals, and thinkers. This is the rub for me. While I value the cognitive intellect, I do […]
Nov 15

Modern Philosophy and Its Loss of Wisdom

by Chris Billows in Republic of Bloggers 0 comments tags: Blogging, Components of Human Nature, Contrarian, Human Condition, Human Misery, Republic of Bloggers, Self Analysis, Virtuous Discourse
Some Background This blog-post is an indirect response to a blog-letter discourse that Chris Bateman and myself recently concluded that was about knowledge and how we know that we know. You can read it if you are so inclined at https://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/2015/09/knowing-that-we-know.html In reading Chris’ response, I was struck by the examples he used, particularly how he refers to John Haidt’s bias against philosophy. This got me thinking… I too have a bias against philosophy. It is apparent that Chris Bateman and I have different approaches about this question of knowledge. His focus on knowledge is cognitively and philosophically (epistemology) based, mine was emotional. This difference is likely from divergent backgrounds: Chris is a game designer, author, philosopher, and professor, while I am a social worker, ex-politcal party activist, and a wanna-be game designer. It was my game design interest that led me to Chris Bateman’s blog, where he taught me the value and practice of Virtuous Discourse. Enough background; the intrigue for me and the focus of this post is about my bias against philosophy. The Folly of Modern Philosophy As a part of my university coursework, I took Introduction to Philosophy which I enjoyed and did well in, but […]
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