This year we had the Paris Olympics 2024. It will be remember for a scandal around female boxing and for an Australian breakdancer, among other things. What these have in common is excessive and unfair bullying and harassment online of these participants. The Australian breakdancer, going by the name Raygun, was quickly eliminated after a… Continue reading sports controversies
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The Commercialisation of the Pride parade
This weekend I attended Zurich Pride. I first joined decades ago and the event is celebrating its thirtieth year. It used to be called CSD but changed its name to Pride in recent years. In the past it was a protest, a celebration and a party, a place where homosexuals have their annual moment in… Continue reading The Commercialisation of the Pride parade
Never Less Free
In my life I have never felt less free to express my opinions. What have we done to the world? There have always been generational differences and youthful rebellion. What is unusual at the moment is that the older generations are saying that we need more freedom and should welcome different perspectives and ways of… Continue reading Never Less Free
The Philosophy of the Masses
Today church bells are ringing like crazy while people kill other people in the lands where this cult is said to have started. The bells are not in protest at the killing but are rather a reminder of power and authority. Most people used to have religion to tell them what to think; some still… Continue reading The Philosophy of the Masses
Why are Conspiracy Theories so Popular?
I wonder about the popularity of conspiracy theories, like flat earth or that the moon landings were faked. These go against the helpful approach of Occam’s Razor which discourages introducing unnecessary complexity into hypotheses. So why do we do it? Why do we have these intricate and complex conspiracy theories instead of just accepting the… Continue reading Why are Conspiracy Theories so Popular?
Puritanical Hatred
Over the last few days I read news about a guy who was a celebrity comic in the UK some years ago. He has been accused of rape and sexual abuse which allegedly took place when he was at the height of his fame. This news circus went on for several days, with questions about… Continue reading Puritanical Hatred
Inherent Unpredictability
I have written before about ‘unintended consequences’. Another aspect to this is the inherent unpredictability of the future and the (current) unknowability of the future consequences of our actions. For example, might it be that if the Stonewall riots had never happened, that history may have unfolded in a different way where gay rights, and… Continue reading Inherent Unpredictability
Moral Leadership Part 2
In follow up to my earlier note about Moral Leadership, I have some comments about legal jurisdiction. I have been wondering why there are legal cases in Spain around this women’s world cup football kiss when the incident took place in Australia. I managed with some difficulty to track down information on this topic, and… Continue reading Moral Leadership Part 2
Moral Leadership Part 1
I do not normally write about football; however there is a media storm in Spain at the moment which is worth a few comments. Last year was the FIFA men’s world cup in Qatar. As the tournament got started, there were some high-profile footballers taking a stance against the attitude towards homosexuality in the host… Continue reading Moral Leadership Part 1
Unintended Consequences in History
Almost two thousand years ago, Julius Caesar appointed himself as dictator for life and was subsequently assassinated by the Roman Senate whose intention was to save the Roman Republic and its system of democracy. The unintended outcome was the end of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Roman Empire, ruled by an Emperor… Continue reading Unintended Consequences in History
vinyl records and the Hollywood actors strike
Commercially successful popular musicians used to make most of their money out of vinyl sales, albums and singles throughout the 1950s to 1980s. Touring used to be commercially significant for promotion purposes – to increase record sales and consequently to increase overall earnings. Then in the 1990s P2P file sharing came along, then Napster and… Continue reading vinyl records and the Hollywood actors strike
Hang the AI
I read about DJs worried that AI will take their jobs. One of them cited experimental AI DJs as sounding dull and lifeless. Another said that AI companies should be taxed and the taxes used to retrain people who lose their jobs. Another said that music has gone through many disruptions over the years and… Continue reading Hang the AI
live music concerts
I saw some concerts at an outdoor festival recently. With well-known performers, the audience seems to be waiting for one or two familiar hit songs and, in the meantime, they chat or look at their phones while the artists run through the rest of their repertoire. Then they play the familiar hit and suddenly I… Continue reading live music concerts
Degrowth and the Swiss Climate Referendum
There is a national referendum coming up in Switzerland about climate change. Basically the proposal is to become climate neutral by 2050 and one of the main arguments by the federal government in favour of the proposal is to become more energy independent, less dependent on other countries for energy, particularly fossil fuels which all… Continue reading Degrowth and the Swiss Climate Referendum
Is Switzerland Anarchist?
Since I was young I have been drawn to the ideas of anarchism. Sometimes I wonder if that is why I feel so comfortable in Switzerland. Although most visitors to Switzerland would describe it as anything but anarchist, when you think about the political and organisational structure, state control is minimal, decisions and self-government are… Continue reading Is Switzerland Anarchist?
Modern day Socrates
Sometimes I think we need a modern day Socrates to come along and ask questions to people to make them realise how little they know with any certainty. Unfortunately we seem to have quite a few people these days who have been, quite frankly, brainwashed into believing all sorts of nonsense. Today I read something… Continue reading Modern day Socrates
The road to Hell
The culture wars of the last few years seem to have calmed down post-pandemic. Maybe people are more focussed on a return to the new normal than on virtue signalling on social media. Big business like the US movie industry has also realised that woke movies do not make much money. Nonetheless I would like… Continue reading The road to Hell
Artificial Intelligence is dead
Increasingly there is public visibility to discussions on artificial intelligence and whether these are becoming conscious. Honestly I think the focus on ‘consciousness’ is confusing the issue. When we talk about viruses and bacteria, we talk about whether they are alive, not whether they are conscious. As organisms get larger, we then start to talk… Continue reading Artificial Intelligence is dead
Alienation
I have been reading about Karl Marx’s theory of alienation, that workers have little control over their working lives, are alienated from natural social contact during work and neither decide how and what to make nor own the output of their labours. This distance, or alienation, with a more natural way of living, of a… Continue reading Alienation
Cultural Imperialism
The USA is a hegemony. American culture and ways of thinking are spread around the world through entertainment, social media and numerous other ways. Youngsters around the world stare at their smartphones much of the day, developing their worldviews as digital natives largely from what other people write or say. Those who understand English are subjected… Continue reading Cultural Imperialism