occasional reflections on culture & politics
I: 1989 In the summer of 1989, an article by famous political theorist Francis Fukuyama seemed to capture the spirit of the times and reflected on “The End of History?”, followed by his 1992 book “The End of History and the Last Man.” Frequently, and maybe with some justification, it was and continues to be… Continue reading #219: Some Reflections on Fukuyama and the End of History
In the recent months, we have seen a race to implement artificial intelligence systems seemingly everywhere. Suddenly, AI is everywhere, and so is the concern about its safety. Things are developing quickly, and even my own recent interaction with a previous version of ChatGPT may now already be outdated. This development has created a backlash… Continue reading #209: We Need to Control Artificial Intelligence
We all have probably heard people say things like the following: “I don’t know anyone who got sick / died from this.” “As far as I can tell, summers have always been warm.” “I can get anywhere with a bike, I don’t know why people need cars.” “I cannot imagine anyone voting for x.” “I… Continue reading #184: Anecdotal Thinking, Science, Religion, and Policy
My phone’s front camera is probably very confused. It has been severely underused. The back camera is not very happy either, but it gets used occasionally when I have forgotten to take my regular camera with me and need to take a picture. Very rarely does the front camera get to make a video call,… Continue reading #93: Don’t Picture This: The Trouble With Selfies
Plato already talked about the difference between logos and mythos. Put very simply, the first, λόγος, stands for truth, reason, and science, whereas the second, μῦθος, stands for story, narrative, and mythology. Both can describe approaches to learning and truth, but they differ critically in how they function and of use they can be to… Continue reading #74: On the Difference Between Scientific and Mythological Thinking
I. Introduction, because this is a Longer Text and it Needs Headings There appears to be a sense among many people that there is a problem with “the media.” Trust in media seems low, and there is a societal division with regards to which media is seen as reliable, which as misleading or fake. These… Continue reading #72: Can We Trust The Media?
Erratic Attempts 