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As Aware As I Possibly Can February 20, 2007

Posted by Resident Egoist in : Philosophy and Objectivism , add a comment

I was stumbling around on the web when I came upon this most interesting YouTube video about con men (”Psychic” Uri Geller and “Faith Healer” Pastor Peter Popoff) and the man who handles them best: James Randi.

Randi’s exposition of pseudoscience, deception and dishonesty are simply masterful, but it is something he says that hit it most with me … so I transcribed it below:

Why People are so drawn to the irrational is something that has always puzzled me. I want to be, if I can, as sure of the world, the real world around me, as is possible. Now, you can only attain that to a certain degree, but I want the greatest degree of control.

I don’t — never — involve myself in narcotics of any kind; I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can.

That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I’m willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world … as close as I can get to it.

Unfortunately, the Kantian in Randi shows up in there, but the essence of what he says — “I want to be as aware as I possibly can” — is one of those healthier attitudes many of us could use. It reminds me of a passage from OPAR (p. 56):

The primary choice, according to Objectivism, the one that makes concpetual activity possible, is the choice to focus one’s consciousness.

[...]

“Focus” (in the conceptual realm) names a quality of purposeful alertness in a man’s mental state. “Focus” is the state of a goal-directed mind committed to attaining full awareness of reality.

Make sure you watch the whole video — and this one, too. They’re both hilarious, among other things.

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Rampant Idiocy in New York February 14, 2007

Posted by Resident Egoist in : Cultural Criticism, Law and Government , add a comment

New York really seems to be outdoing itself lately: first, it was a statewide smoking ban, then it was a ban of trans fats in all New York City restaurants. Then there was something more ridiculous: The New York City Board of Health decided that it would not only let people “pick” their gender, regardless of what it actually is — but that it would also enforce that decision on others!

Now, State Senator Carl Kruger, seeing that New Yorkers will take just about anything, wants to basically stop us from using any electronic devices while walking outside. Via WNBC:

A state senator from Brooklyn said on Tuesday he plans to introduce legislation that would ban people from using an MP3 player, cell phone, Blackberry or any other electronic device while crossing the street in New York City and Buffalo.

NewsChannel 4 reported that Sen. Carl Kruger is proposing the ban in response to two recent pedestrian deaths in his district, including a 23-year-old man who was struck and killed last month while listening to his iPod on Avenue T and East 71st Street In Bergen Beach.

“While people are tuning into their iPods and cell phones, they’re tuning out the world around them,” Kruger said…

Yep, you’ve got to leave it to politicians to manufacture the crime of WWLM — Walking While Listening to Music. It is impossible to walk for more than 30-45 seconds in New York City without having to cross a street! Now imagine having to interrupt your phone conversation, or having to pause your iPod, every 30 seconds, just so you can cross a street! Why does Mr. Senator think that, for some reason, I can’t use my eyes and ears at the same time? Your guess is as good as mine.

Politicians really are awkward creatures: they think of every little thing as a big problem that needs to be solved by legislation. Not to sound too insensitive, but if a grown man doesn’t know how to properly cross a street, he really may be out of “tune” with the world, but an iPod is the least of his problems. Maybe Mr. Senator ought to consider legislation that would ban people from listening to music or the radio while driving their cars.

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P.S: Holy sh*t! I think I’m blogging!

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