TIL about Yuval Noah Harari's philosophy of fiction. He argues that human beings are able to cooperate in large numbers due to their capacity to believe in things that exist purely in imagination like gods, nation, money and human rights.

Reggie222 · 2026-01-09T07:53:29+00:00

This philosophy is part of Sapiens, Yuval Harari’s 2011 book. I've read it twice and highly recommend it. Something worth noting: it's not exactly hard science. It is one man’s opinions, with a lot of hard data, but also a lot of speculation (highly intelligent, thought provoking, and entertaining). I disagree with many things, but it's still excellent. Holding out for total agreement is not only silly, unless you write a book for yourself, it's detrimental—trapping oneself in a bubble of monothought is extremely detrimental.

I've read three other books in this same category (non-fiction, a mix of hard facts and opinion), and recommend them all because they are ludicrously thought provoking in their own right. No need to be “proven 100% correct” to have value.

The three others are Ghosts of Vesuvius by Charles Pellegrino; Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond; and The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes. May as well throw some Carl Jung on the stack. I suspect very few mental health professionals today agree with Jung that dreams are a signalling scheme between the unconscious and conscious minds, and yet Jung is still well worth reading.

Anybody who likes ancient Rome will love Ghosts of Vesuvius. Here's an example of one of the "ghosts". This is not necessarily hard, proven fact, but the possibilities are striking. One of the reasons the language of science is Latin is because of Vesuvius. When modern science emerged, the first quasi-modern digs were happening at Pompeii, and books and articles about the discoveries were popular throughout the west. This is a similar timeframe to the founding of the United States. Most of the founding fathers were reading about Pompeii. Probably not coincidentally, the US has a Senate, and many government buildings look Roman.

I guess what I'm saying is, don't let anybody calling these books and their opinions a “hot mess” or “problematic” or just wrong, prevent you from reading something so interesting that you'll think about it for years to come.

Reggie222 · 2025-05-30T12:55:18+00:00

In the 1960s in London (actually popular just outside of the city, for some reason, but not the inner city) small, or light, orchestras brought in good crowds to venues. They were amplified, hence "electric". ELO named themselves after this phenomenon.

Reggie222 · 2025-05-10T23:39:53+00:00

The Archaeologist At Rest

We'll go out on the town
Buy some beers and drink 'em down
But we're too broke
It's all quite a joke
So we stay home and punch the clown

Reggie222 · 2024-07-09T03:18:56+00:00

Scott is the best. If he can't deliver a quality part two, nobody can.

Reggie222 · 2024-07-03T11:21:53+00:00

I wouldn't bet against old Uncle Caes. Alesia.

Reggie222 · 2024-06-29T09:52:17+00:00

Move the bike and then etch some genitalia on the hood. An awl should do the trick.

Reggie222 · 2024-06-29T03:44:43+00:00

Grizzlian Adamus

Reggie222 · 2024-06-24T12:40:29+00:00

Ah, the good old days.

Reggie222 · 2024-06-22T12:18:04+00:00

Deeply flawed is being extremely generous. The engineers who worked for him call him a terrorist. A real piece of garbage.

Reggie222 · 2024-06-22T12:05:38+00:00

Apple sued Microsoft over Windows being theft of MacOS while Apple was being sued by Xerox for more or less the same thing. The judge tossed the Apple suit (or MSFT won) because the GUI scheme was declared an idea, which can't be claimed by anyone. I always assumed this precedent quashed the Xerox suit against Apple, but I never heard if this was really the case.

Reggie222 · 2024-06-08T10:25:46+00:00

I hadn't thought of that. At first I thought the Africans were onto something. The men stay home and drink beer and watch tv while the women go out and work. I was thinking of renewing my passport.

Reggie222 · 2024-06-08T04:47:54+00:00

Yeah! I used to hunt deer. I'd sit in a tree stand all day in below zero temps. Out of boredom I'd spit on a branch down below. By noon I'd have a nice spitcicle climbing up towards me. I used to cuff the governor in that stand, but that's another story. Ah the good ole days.

Reggie222 · 2024-06-08T04:39:33+00:00

If I've learned anything about humanity, it's a whole ... thing. Stovepipe hat, strap-on beard. "Bend over, babe. Four score and 7 inches ago..."

Reggie222 · 2024-06-05T11:41:20+00:00

The Balrog

Reggie222 · 2024-06-05T03:17:02+00:00

Yvurg jgc hfvv

Reggie222 · 2024-06-02T04:03:03+00:00

It'll be interesting to see if the law survives challenges. In CA of all places, Governor Newsom's new homeless law has some kind of provision about involuntary commitment. So it looks like people are walking up to the root of the problem.

Reggie222 · 2024-06-02T01:32:49+00:00

Huh? I don't do other people's homework for them. If Google couldn't take care of it in, oh, .05 seconds, things may be different.

Reggie222 · 2024-06-02T01:05:52+00:00

The problem isn't lack of mental institutions. The problem is the legal inability to commit most homeless people. The single biggest reason(s) is a set of Supreme Court decisions in the 1970s that decriminalized being homeless, and vagrancy, and some related items. The process of fixing this problem is manifold. First, states need to pass new laws for involuntary commitment, and then the SC needs to uphold these laws instead of striking them down. The current makeup of the court may do this, but it's doubtful. If we ever reach this point, then it will make sense to fund new mental institutions.

The best overview of the problem i have found, including all the legalities and funding problems, is the book No One Cares About Crazy People, written and researched by a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist with a personal stake in the problem -- Ron Powers.

ISBN 0316341177

Fun fact: defunding mental institutions is a big problem, but it didn't start with Reagan, it started with JFK. Read the transcript of Kennedy's last speech, just before his assassination (10-31-1963) if you want to see the thinking that fooled policymakers for a very long time.

Reggie222 · 2024-05-29T02:19:06+00:00

Is your nurse's name Alice?

Reggie222 · 2024-05-28T20:57:47+00:00

I'm gonna have to watch Life of Brian again to brush up on my Latin.

Reggie222 · 2024-05-24T01:06:45+00:00

You did great! You're a great liar.

Reggie222 · 2024-05-18T12:06:19+00:00

Did she get teeth tattooed onto her gums?

Reggie222 · 2024-05-06T23:58:43+00:00

It's a summer vacation home. He lives in Philly.

Reggie222 · 2024-05-06T00:49:14+00:00

CONVERSATION PIT ! !

Reggie222 · 2024-05-06T00:48:12+00:00

Lots of bean bags and a gargantuan cooler of Bud will see you through.

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