Arising out of a discussion with Kerri, I talk about how we pretty much agree on what is happening in the physical world but disagree on what is to be done. On the other hand, Liberal Democracy assumes that some general agreement should exist on what can and should be done , including freedom of choice, association, and speech. I mention the connection between Islam and the European enlightenment. Religion is constantly changing, even though it claims to be somehow continuous and "eternal", which boils down to accepting the culture they were born into as their idea of what should be done. Shouldn't religions agree on a wide range of issues? In theory, shouldn't we agree on what is virtue? Isn't it true that most practical disagreement is based on philosophical differences? How is it that some see skin color as a threat? This would seem to be totally cultural  - a first-class example of how our "enhanced" experience of reality differs. --- I mention the ...

This is an experimental blog post. The idea was to simply talk about a range of issues with the aim of creating a "mind map", then using the map to create traditional posts that are more structured and focused. But along the way, I wondered if I could post the original voice note So, to test this, click on the link below, which will show you a LINK to the audio Store that and play it. Your machine will probably have an app that plays audio. In my case, it's iTunes. This talk can be indexed just like a text essay. In the long run, the plan is to take notes on my own "rant" in mind map form (which can also be shown in the blog). A Random Talk

DOROTHY, THIS IS NOT KANSAS ANYMORE The thinking behind this post started with a discussion about "Virtual Reality" (In Oculus / BigScreen) and widened almost out of control. There are so many issues it's hard to know where to start. As far as I know, the term "Virtual Reality" was coined by Jared Lanier  - a very smart guy who is still very much around. However, once it's out there, the word entered the public domain and tended to change meaning very rapidly, especially when commercial entities get ahold of it. There is now very little similarity between "VR" and what Lanier was thinking about. So, goodbye, for now, Jared. I will surrender to the common usage , more or less co-opted by the makers of "VR" headsets, so, when I talk about "VR" I am regrettably talking about what you experience with a headset, such as Oculus (the one I use). Sadly, this leaves me without a word for whatever is happening in Second Life - a "w...