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On meaning (Part 3): communities
This is the last part of a series of posts on meaning, like the meaning we could give to things or which we aim to find in life. Part 1 discussed absolute limits to meaning. Part 2 considered individualistic philosophical views, and Part 3 looks at the role communities can play. Among the three, it…
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Huxley’s words
This post consists of quotations from Aldous Huxley‘s 1954 book “The Doors of Perception” which elaborates on his psychedelic experience the previous year under the influence of mescaline, a substance originally derived from the Peyote cactus among other natural sources. A short comment is given at the end. “””That humanity at large will ever be able to dispense…
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Life in a Petri dish
On January 20, 2025, shortly after his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States a second time from the 2015 Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. This is another high-level example of how we humans are incapable to act in the face of overwhelming…
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My body, my choice: birth, sex, drugs, death.
Content warning: this post mentions rape and suicide. Also note the atheist premise of the blog. Please leave any comments below or send them to input@ponderer.io. The first and maybe the only uncontested thing anyone can claim ownership of is their body. Absent the viable option to upload your consciousness to some form of a…
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On meaning (Part 2): the hedonistic altruist
This is the second part of a series of three posts on meaning, like the meaning we could give to things or which we aim to find in life. Part 1 discussed absolute limits to meaning. Here we consider philosophical views, and Part 3 looks at the role communities can play, and how these can…
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On meaning (Part 1): nothing really matters
This is the first part of a series of three posts on meaning, like the meaning we could give to things or which we aim to find in life. It discusses absolute limits to meaning. Part 2 considers philosophical views. Part 3 looks at the role communuties can play, and how these can reconcile the…
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Understanding modern AI intuitively
Mysterious stuff When talking to people about machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (AI), I often have the impression that those are perceived as either something mythical or at least very abstract for my counterpart. Such feelings can be justified because ML&AI often are not clearly defined in the given context and, more importantly in…
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The survival problems of homo economicus
All humans today are homo sapiens, the wise man – I know, unbelievable. Archaeology tells us that there have been multiple human species in the last two million plus years. Our last cohabitating cousin was homo neanderthalensis – a couple of tens of thousands years back. This is not that long ago in archaeological terms.…
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Live local
I thought I would never say so, and actually feel somewhat bad about it, but I benefited personally from the 2016 Brexit referendum in two ways – materially and intellectually. Materially because house prices stopped their steep pre-referendum growth making buying and staying in the UK easier – ironically for a sworn European! The intellectual…
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The Venn diagram of life
We live in a competitive society. Young people are told about the importance of education and hard work, and how this will enable them to have the career, or even the life they want to have. Such advice is arguably quite vague and certainly does not capture all which is important. I grappled – and…
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Welcome, wanderer!
This space aims to provide food for thought and a realm for discussions of timeless topics, some potentially contentious. This hopefully is helpful for our joint progress, and a peaceful and sustainable cohabitation in society. Please see the About section for detailed information about this space and the be aware of its atheist premise. There is only one rule if you would like to contribute or give feedback – be civil.