Hansen's MagNET » Archive
So many books, so little time
“How do I choose which books to read?” This question has haunted me since I, at the age of seven, stepped into the library in my smalltown hometown. The library had a little more than one hundred thousand books. Now I live near UMass, and the twenty-something story library – in the W.E.B. Du Bois building – holds more than three million books, and the issue is even more pressing. It takes time to read a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ode to Comte de Lautréamont
The expert problem
Imagine a debate on TV. It could be between someone proposing a more even distribution of wealth on one side, and someone speaking on behalf of a free market economy. It could also be something else, like a debate between an atheists and a believer in God. Or anything else. It doesn’t really matter. Now imagine the debate has been going on for an hour or so, with each participant arguing fiercely for their position. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ramblings and reflections
The axioms of life
There are many ways to look at life, and many ways to look at the world. Here I will look at life from a rather superficial point of view, from what could be called a commonsense perspective. By that I mean that I will – for now – assume the world to be as we generally perceive it. This actually conflicts with my hunch that the world might be very different from how we normally … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ode to Comte de Lautréamont, Ramblings and reflections
Searching for the truth might be dumb
I used to think that the truth had intrinsic value, that searching for the truth was a worthwhile pursuit, needing no arguments. Now, I’m not so sure anymore. I’m not saying truth is not worth searching for, I’m only saying it isn’t by default worth searching for. It might be, at times. It might not be, at other times. If I’m right about this – that truth isn’t necessarily worth pursuing – then a question … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ode to Comte de Lautréamont
I refuse to change
Why talk to someone who begins a discussion with the words “I refuse to change”, or “I’m curious to hear what you have to say, but nothing can change my mind”, or “if the point of this discussion is you trying to convince me to do something differently than the way I do now, then let’s stop now”? At this point, a discussion is pointless. And often this is the case, even if people do … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ode to Comte de Lautréamont
Shattering me
I have a book in front of me, as always. But this one is different. I want to read it, I really want to read it, but somehow I’m afraid, I’m afraid it will shatter me. It’s Paul Feyerabend’s “Against Method”, an anarchistic approach to philosophy of knowledge and philosophy of science. I’m already inclined to agree with him, I think, but actually going through some hundred pages, most likely filled with arguments for having … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ode to Comte de Lautréamont
Thinking
Thinking is what I do, most of the time. I do little else. I read, I write – and in between these two activities I think. I don’t write as much as I read. I don’t know why. It might boil down to insecurity in my own abilities as a writer. It might be something else. It’s hard to say, really. But I do write, and I do read. When I read, I read this, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ode to Comte de Lautréamont
European gay imprisoned for hitting on 7-Eleven-girl
For a little more than three months a man from Europe have been stirring the waters in Sunderland, an otherwise pleasant and liberal (in the American sense of the word) small-town in western Massachusetts. For still unknown reasons the man, his name not yet officially released – but it’s a most common name in his native Denmark – arrived in the US in early November 2010. When questioned, he seemed reluctant to admit his intent, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fiction and pseudo-fiction, Ode to Comte de Lautréamont
The opposite of a believer is a believer
Does God exist? It’s a hefty question, much debated, for no good reason – except entertainment. The debate has theists on one side and atheist on the other side. The theist are often presented as believers, the atheists – mistakenly – as non-believers. How come? Well, theists believe God exist, atheists believe God does not exist. Did you notice the word “believe” appeared two times in that sentence? To believe something is not the same … Read entire article »
Filed under: Oh God - religion and the like
Why a commons-based society might be impossible
[DRAFT] Yesterday I went to a screening of David Bollier’s 46-minute film “This Land Is Our Land”. It’s a great film, being more objective than the usual propagandist activist flickers. It made me think. Being a hyper-skeptic I found myself tumbling with problems with a commons-based society, although I fancy the idea. But before I begin my raid, let me first quote On the Commons, so you will know what a commons-based society is: “A commons-based society refers … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ramblings and reflections