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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, 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 […]
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 […]

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Aug 06

The Evolutionary Reason for Not Having Telepathy

by Chris Billows in Mental Mischief 0 comments tags: Human Condition, Human Mystery
Do you remember those superheroes or futuristic adventurers who could read minds and would possess an advantage that always allowed them to defeat the villain? I do, and I always thought it would be so cool to have Telepathy. If we could understand what everyone else was thinking, would that not make life easier? There would be no more guessing what your partner, family, coworkers thought. You just would know. It would improve understanding and make communication easier. Sounds like a good thing. But, now I think there are a couple of really good, solid, and practical reasons we did not evolve to have telepathy: Self-preservation and our need for solitude. Our self-preservation would be compromised If we knew exactly what other people were thinking. We would probably go insane if we had no way of shutting out another’s thoughts. Our own minds are crazy enough, so I would not also want to know everyone else’s thoughts. We would hear every stupid, hostile, and inane thought which would have us ending up in mortal strife with everyone. Look how poor communication creates problems already. Solitude allows us to keep secrets, plan in private, mull things over, and ultimately find some […]

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Jul 09

The Components of Talent

by Chris Billows in Mental Mischief 0 comments tags: Change of Mind, Defining Life, Human Condition
I had a discussion with a friend about musical talent. We both love music and discussed why we never ended up playing it. We arrived at different conclusions about why this happened. For me, I remember making a conscious decision when I was about 17 years old to give up on playing music. I loved it but not enough to want to play it. Playing music did not resonate with me the way it would resonate with somebody who needed to play it. I can play music and believe I would have been a competent musician if I put in hours into it. Its just that I have other interests. My friend says that he desperately wanted to play music but just could not. He said that people would show him how to play the guitar but he could not get his fingers to move the right way. It is was such a struggle that he decided that if it is not going to come easy, then its simply was not meant to be. He said that this proves that we both lacked talent. I disagreed with him. Part of the reason for that disagreement is that we lacked a […]

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Dec 09

Psychology Cagematch – Maslow vs Frankl

by Chris Billows in Mental Mischief 1 comments tags: Comprehensive Analysis, Human Condition
I was talking with a colleague who is a trained psychologist about different views concerning the human condition. The two views we contrasted were Abaraham Maslow and Victor Frankl, both Jewish, both European, and both having similar philosophies about human purpose, yet really having fundamentally different conclusions about what drives that purpose. Abaraham Maslow believed that humans are only ready to act upon their growth needs if and only if the deficiency needs are met. Once met, the person then moves onto the next stage of need to be met. The theory has eight stages where we progressively move from physical, bodily needs to more metaphysical and spiritual needs. There were 8 stages: 1 ) Physiological: hunger, thirst, bodily comforts, etc.; 2 ) Safety/security: out of danger; 3 ) Belonginess and Love: affiliate with others, be accepted; and 4 ) Esteem: to achieve, be competent, gain approval and recognition. 5 ) Cognitive: to know, to understand, and exlore; 6 ) Aesthetic: symmetry, order, and beauty; 7 ) Self-actualization: to find self-fulfillment and realize one’s potential; and 8 ) Self-transcendence: to connect to something beyond the ego or to help others find self-fulfillment and realize their potential. Courtesy of https://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow.html The […]
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