The response was to the point and remarkably accurate.
Writings on History, Science, Reason, Classical Liberalism, the Alternative Future and the Philosophy of Life. Enjoy!! Most of the posts here will largely focus on my Quora Answers as well as the Western History posts that I am working through in sequential fashion. Please feel free to comment.
Sunday, May 11, 2025
I asked Grok who I am.
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Cipolla's five fundamental laws of stupidity:
1. Always and inevitably, everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
2.The probability that a certain person (will) be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.
4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. In particular, non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places, and under any circumstances, to deal and/or associate with stupid people always turns out to be a costly mistake.
5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.
Sunday, April 27, 2025
My thoughts on Joe Rogan
For those who unaware of Joe Rogan, he is a former
reality tv host, MMA color commentator and comedian who is the principal
figure behind the very successful - Joe Rogan Experience podcast. He is well
known for engaging in extended discussions with guests that average around two
and a half hours. Much of his material has been well received and he now boasts
a viewership that routinely dwarfs that of the mainstream media.
I have for the most part had a favourable disposition to Rogan. Most admirably he served as a pertient avenue for freedom of speech during the Covid lockdowns, when various state actors were using the pandemic as an excuse to suppress necessary discussion on health policy. Rogan took issue with this stance providing a forum for both dissenting and established opinion.Elucidating the truth was his raison d'etre. Something I could only respect.
Rogan also helped boost the profile of Jordan Peterson and Gad Saad especially when the former was attacked by the opinion police here in Canada. Rogan's opposition to Wokeism has been relentless. The way I see it, is that he likely peaked in 2022 (at the time of the Trucker protest in Canada) when the excesses of the global political landscape had reached peak stupidity (or so it seemed).
However soon afterward I started to notice that
Rogan was shifting in focus. He was becoming more conspiratorial in nature. Sub
plots around complex phenomena were highlighted with greater regularity and
more time was being allotted to those voices who emphasized opaque double play
invisible to us regular mortals..
While he still was far from the loony world of
Alex Jones, Rogan seemed far less discerning with maintaining intellectual
balance on his show. Outlier voices were granted more air time as Rogan pushed
forward with what appeared to be his personal fight with the
establishment.
Rogan clearly relished the opportunity of taking
down accepted views with hostile unsubstantiated narratives an observation that
was highlighted recently during his interview with historical podcaster and WWII
revisionist Darryl Cooper.
Just as he did on the Tucker Carlson, Cooper
reiterated his extreme view, based on selective fact mining and a loose interpretation of events. His central point is Winston
Churchill was the war’s baddie and that Hitler has been misunderstood (a common
far right position). The research and finely reviewed studies that have filled
academia to the contrary be damned. Cooper had it figured out and Rogan was giving him the chance to shine.
Lacking in topic knowledge Rogan was limited in his push
back, nor did he appear to want to do so. There was no need to counterbalance the
Cooper take with that of a mainstream historian such Victor Davis Hanson or an
Andrew Roberts. Why bother?
What mattered to Rogan and I have noticed this in his stance since then is that Cooper had stuck his finger in the eye of the MAN and that is what really mattered. For him it was good enough.
This is where Rogan is as a person right now and Cooper had delivered. As
for the truth it can take a back seat. The medium had delivered the message.
Monday, April 21, 2025
Thoughts on History
Monday, April 14, 2025
Ten concerns that I have with the overly slick Mark Carney
1. He has very little political experience and appears to have been vaunted into his prime minister role by a great deal of non-transparent back dealing.
2. He is very well connected to the WEF and the Davos crowd which means that he will likely continue Trudeau’s globalist outlook. He appears to be cut from the same cloth as Macron, Starmer and Merkel.
3. He has surrounded himself with the same incompetent politicians Joly, Friedland etc that characterized the Trudeau administration.
4. He has a personal vision, as outlined in his book ,that is strongly rooted in with the Net Zero Environmental philosophy. When actioned such policies have been disastrous in Germany and other parts of Europe.
5. He seems as based on his rhetoric so far that he does not personally have solid grasp of the nuances of the Arab-Israel crisis.
6. He says almost nothing about his plans for dealing with the broken judicial and criminal enforcement system in the country.
7. He will likely not do away with the DEI encroachment in federal government.
8. His new found nationalism is not believable. The Liberal party mishandled immigration and lampooned Canadian essentialism under Justin Trudeau. Fast forward to now and Carney now wants us accept that his anti-Trump stance is grounded in an intrinsic pro-Canadian mantra.
9. His supporters make him out to be an economic whiz kid even though his record at the Bank of England was sketchy at best.
10 The backtrack on the Carbon tax seems to be an election ploy. Expect this lost revenue to surface elsewhere in a tax as Carney prioritizes his Net zero vision.
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Two Months in - The pros and Cons of Trump 2.0
These are the Positives of Trump 2.0:
- Taking a broad stroke to DEI by removing these programs from the federal government and related institution. People should not be judged, promoted or hired on any other category than individual merit.
- Securing the border, stamping down on illegal immigration and deporting violent aliens.
- Ending student visas for external political troublemakers and rabble rousers on University campuses.
- Forcing universities through the withholding on funds to deal actively with anti-Semitism on campus. Next stop anti-White racism.
- Auditing of Federal government budgeting (through DOGE) to reduce gross waste and the mismanagement of funds. Closing down of inefficient federal branches.
- Issuing a federal ban for men competing in women’s sports
- Changing the leadership in the FBI to enhance a global cleanup of that organization.
- Setting in motion a process for ending the ineffective Department of Education.
- Pushing Europe to increase their individual nation funding of their own defence.
- Using pressure on Panama to end their deal with Chinese related groups regarding control of both ends of the canal.
- Dealing a blow to the Houthis for their attack on shipping in the Red Sea.
- Forcing Hamas to release hostages taken on October 7th. Trump has shown strong support for Israel.
- Removing aid to the South African government for their racist policies.
- Restabilising a necessary cooperation between Space X and NASA as seen by the rescue of the stranded astronauts.
- Beginning the process for the recognition of the Lumbee tribe in North Carolina.
- Replacing Steve Bannon with Elon Musk as a key advisor. Bannon is a walking media disaster and a fraud.
- Raising Tariffs – While it is likely part of the ‘art of the deal’ this is a terrible way to negotiate with countries especially if they are traditional allies as Canada is with the US. Flip flopping with respect to tariff start dates is also adding much uncertainty to the global and US economy.
- Focusing on Trade deficits as economic polic.One cannot look at trade deficits with another country and necessarily see it as a bad idea without looking at the sum total of trade with all nations. The United States runs a trade deficit with Canada as it is heavily reliant on Canada’s natural resources to drive its industrial machine. Trump is veering into the Mercantilist trap if he sees this as an ongoing economic policy.
- Childish name calling – While Justin Trudeau was a poor Canadian prime minister and should never have mocked Trump behind his back (as he foolishly did) – Trump needs to do better than his 51st state or Governor Trudeau jibe. Two wrongs don’t make a right. He has also re-energized the moribund Canadian Liberal Party in a way that could well salvage election victory, from a once likely defeat.
- Threatening to annex Greenland is another ill-timed approach that is damaging relations with another ally (this time Denmark)
- Removing security clearances from Mike Pompeo and John Bolton indicates a pettiness that further augments the notion that Trump doesn’t tolerate dissent or difference of opinion. Not only is the optics terrible but both men (who are well established American patriots) don’t deserve such treatment.
- Some of Trump’s selections for top positions in government are somewhat dubious. Both Tulsi Gabbard (a far leftist who was somewhat of a Bernie bro) and RFK Jr (who has a tendency to sink into conspiracy theory) spring to mind. Steve Witkoff, the Middle East, who has controiversial close ties with terror supporting Qatar still has the jury open on him.
- Trump should never have allowed his differences with the Ukrainian leader Volodymr Zelenskyy to spill out on stage as they did in the White House Meeting. The meeting should have been held behind close doors. The events that unfolded painted a picture of the POTUS as not being an honest broker between Russia and the Ukraine. If anything it appeared to greatly embolden Vladimir Putin who is the actual aggressor in this war.
- Trump needs to tone down his uncontrolled deference to exaggerating numbers and statistics. Superlatives are useful for salesmen not as an instrumernt for winning the public trust as leader of the free world.
Quick Questions I have answered on Quora
The two world wars greatly weakened Europe. It also fostered a mindset that encouraged self flagellation and a national drop off in the will to power. Add to that a declining birth rate, the adoption of cradle-to-grave socialism and a reluctance to spend on its own defense and the reasons for the decline become obvious. In many ways the individual European countries have lost their identity. Poorly crafted immigration policies have not helped. For the record, until recently (although the jury is still out) the US was not far behind.
Yes. Erdogan’s shift toward a type of Islamic nationalism runs contrary to NATO’s western liberal ideals. Turkey’s presence in NATO is equivalent to having a fox in the hen house. It needs to restore Ataturk type secularism in its national outlook or leave.
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Stoicism
I have been reading considerably on the philosophy of Stoicism, whose central tenet is the concept of virtue. In its essence Stoicism isn't so much a philosophy but a way of life. It is rooted in a pragmatism that can be applied to our experiential existence.
Here are some key points about Stoicism:
1. Its origin goes back to the time of Ancient Greece and the thinking of Zeno of Citium who agued that 'The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.'
2. However it was the Romans especially Seneca the Younger (and his notion of time management), Epictetus (on Resilience) and the philosopher Emperor Marcus Aurelius (most famous for the wisdom outlined in his work Meditations) that developed the framework for Stoicism.
3. Stoicism divides the realm that personally impacts an individual into aspects that one can control (internals) and those that are beyond our control (externals). It is the former that it focuses on. In this regard it asks us as an individual to harness our perceptions, decisions and attitudes towards a 'Call to Action'.
4. One's work, fitness and personal relationships are aspects we can manage as well as the challenge of facing our death.
5. Virtue is key to Stoicism . It through virtue that we can navigate the struggles and turbulence of life. Four factors define virtue viz. wisdom, courage, justice and temperance.
6. Wisdom extends beyond knowledge. It urges us to understand the world and seek out truths. Courage requires that we use rationality and strength to face adversity and avoid choosing paths of ease that do not permit us the opportunity to grow.
7. Justice requires that we balance kindness and fairness in making decisions and finally temperance challenges us to control our emotions and desires.
8. It is through a focus on virtue that we cultivate character. and gravitate towards Eudaimonia which is the stoic goal of happiness and flourishing.
9. Virtue requires perspective and an understanding of the impression
(initial perceptions) and assent (processing of said perceptions) to regulate
our beliefs. A view from above is necessary to transcend our material
existence. This will allow us to motion towards tranquility and an embrace of
Amor Fati (loving one's fate).
Sunday, March 9, 2025
Reflections XXII - It needs to be said
Wisdom is rarely achieved by rapidly mastering a task with speed. It is process that combines failure, questioning and then smaller increments of success.
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Reflections XXI - Racing through my mind
Every society requires a reboot. This is especially true if its fundamentals have been eroded beyond recognition. The United States in 2025 was primed for such energy. Contemporary Europe was still debating whether it had any life to reboot at all.
There are givers and takers in geopolitics and no taker has grasped the opportunity so well as did the Chinese with its much favoured nation status. The US was completely outmaneuvered.
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Reflections XX - Making sense of observation
Intelligent people can be closed minded as intelligence is no guarantor of wisdom.
Saturday, February 1, 2025
Reflections XIX - Obsevational Realities
The United States would be better served if it stopped viewing politics as a team sport that requires consistent and unnecessary nourishment and over stimulation.
The tragedy of the liberation movement in South Africa is that it sacrificed its long term future for gains in the present by promoting liberation before education.
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
In the News - January 2025
DeepSeek shatters AI market. The US needs to wake up. AI is turning into a battleground. My prediction is that they will however until then one can expect more short term jitter (and itchy bums) for investors. Great boost though for high tech STEM jobs in the West. Also gives another significant direction indication of the importance of the H1-B visa argument. I am with Elon Musk over Steve Bannon on this one.India is a natural ally of the West and their technical expertise cannot hurt.
War in the Congo DR- Access to Mineral resources (including many used in the computing industry) is the big factor here. Rwanda is a key ally of the West and the small nation is backing the M-23 rebels in the East (who have likely taken the city of Goma). However there is strong poterntial that the conflict will spill over into the rest of the country and indeed the continent. Expect the war here to dominate news cycle for the next few months. Once again the United Nations looks ineffective. US and China (possibly) will have to act before this becomes another proxy front in a war between these powers.
Land Expropriation in South Africa without compensation - I saw this happening as early as 1994. It wasn't difficult. This is straight out of the Marxist playbook. A concerted effort by the West is needed to force South Africa to reverse such a policy. It still astounds me as to how the ANC has managed to outplay the free market DA in South Africa. If the latter represents the voice of reason in the country then the nation is in a worse state than I could have imagined.
Good News for Trump - The cabinet nominees are falling into place. Trump has promised a lot and looks to be delivering in the immediate. Most important is that his administration stays the course with respect to the deportation of illegal aliens.
Relections XVIII - Historical Observations
There is no more profound characteristic of the Russian people than to internalize its own misery. It is so prevalent that one can think of it as a survival technique.
No institution can remain in workable equilibrium forever as the urge to make bad decisions is so great.
Quick Answers to Quora Questions
My answers on Quora
How did Nazi Germany react to Japan's attack on Southeast Asia instead of the USSR?
It was not what Nazi Germany wanted. However from Japan’s perspective it made complete sense as the country is resource poor. South East Asian was too great a target. The Germans did declare war on the US very soon after Pearl Harbor with the hope (it is believed) of encouraging Japan to assist them in the USSR. However after Japanese setbacks in the fight against the Soviets at Khalkhin Gol (1939) and further struggles against China on the mainland such an approach was unlikely to come to fruition.
Why do wealthy individuals fund far left revolutionary causes?
I suspect that many of said individuals are either motivated by guilt and/or more importantly see themselves as buying dominance in the new ruling vanguard that will hold power should the revolution succeed.
Should Trump go after those lying sycophants in the press who oppose him?
No. They are doing well destroying their credibility on their own. Trump should focus rather on the issues that matter - border control, the economy and fixing the broken state apparatus that is urgent need of repair.
Sunday, January 19, 2025
From the Archives V - Camping
Written in 2015.
Every year Dina , the kids and myself embark on our long weekend camping venture. This past weekend represented this year’s instalment. Not being the greatest outdoorsman camping challenges me on many different levels. It is not so much the pure vacation aspect but the feat of moving outside my zone of comfort that I most appreciate. Watching the kids have fun (and they always do) is even more of a reward. Our site this year was the Bon Echo Park (located off Highway Seven going east from Toronto toward Kingston). Like most provincial parks in Southern Ontario it is well delineated, clean and densely populated with humid continental deciduous forest-like vegetation.
We arrived on Saturday afternoon (a bit later than expected courtesy of the traffic exiting the city) and set up shop as soon as possible. Our friends had reached the destination beforehand and assisted us with the tent assembly and site preparation.
Despite the user-friendly nature of the modern tent there are still one or two rods that are remarkably similar and have the tendency to torpedo a well thought out assembly strategy. Ever the theorist the lesson in practicality drawn from this experience is most humbling.
That night we barbecued the required Hamburgers (which I like) and Hot Dogs (which I don’t) as the kids took off with their respective friends – riding bikes, playing on the grounds and taking full advantage of what can only be described as leisure heaven (for them anyway).
Sunday was the day at the beach and boy did we enjoy ourselves. Seven hours or so in the water – canoeing, paddle boating, building sand castles and swimming. Armed with water pistols, the kids sprayed one another (and their father) during a frenzy period of activity uninterrupted by time’s stingy hand. I loved it and so did they. It reminded me of my fortunate childhood vacationing in Durban, Umhlanga Rocks, Cape Town, Muisenberg and George with not a care in the world. We celebrated the air, the water and the blissful feeling of freedom - a life with no worries. This is what I wanted for my own kids and right here on an isolated beach somewhere on Turtle Island they were enjoying the same experience.
The evening events took a bit of a turn for the worse as the storm that was threatening unleashed its torrent of rain that continued throughout the night. Out came the rain ponchos as we huddled under tarps hoping for an end to the onslaught that only came in the wee hours of the morning. However its moments like this that build strength (at least this is what I kept telling myself) and our team of campers held firm against an onslaught of lightning and thunder that at times seemed relentless. The tent leaked a bit but we managed to contain it and although our sleep was not restful we emerged the next morning bedraggled, unkempt and tired but with our spirits still up.
Onward to Monday and of course the clean-up. The kids enjoyed their last moments at the site and I pattered myself on the back knowing that I had once again overcome my own personal OCD demons around dirt and chaos. Despite the weather we had a great time and would do it again in a second for at the end we were together as a family. This is what matters. Dina and I couldn’t have asked for more.
Physics Reading List
Books I recommend
1. The Elegant Universe – Brian Greene - excellent introduction into the fundamentals of Modern Physics.
2. Hyperspace – Michio Kaku - wonderful take on extra-dimensions by a strong narrator.3. The Ideas of Physics – Ernest Hutten - an oldie but a goldie – discusses key ideas that shaped the discipline.
4. Fearful Symmetry – A. Zee - Looks at the Beauty in Physics.
5. Physics of Immortality – Frank Tipler - a bit over the top but highly entertaining nevertheless.
6. Theories of Everything – John Barrow - Low key but well written.
7. Feynman Lecture Series – Richard Feynman - A struggle for the lay person but if you can get through a third of it your effort will be rewarded.
8. The Trouble with Physics – Lee Smolin - an important critique of the group think that has encroached on the discipline.
9. Physics – Douglas Giancoli - Doesn’t matter what the edition is its treatment of classical physics is praiseworthy.
10. The Flying circus of Physics – Jearl Walker – Challenging problems that force one to really think deep.
11. Relativity Simply Explained – Martin Gardiner – Its title says it all.
12. The First Three Minutes – Steven Weinberg- Still one of the best treatments of the Big Bang.
13. The Constants of Nature – John Barrow – Delves into the details of these definitive constants that so encapsulate our universe.
14. Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory – Gamow is a great storyteller and he didn’t disappoint with this useful read.
15. 50 Physics Ideas – Joanne Baker – Lots of fun and really easy to read.
The Problem with Quora
I generally like the question and answer website Quora but I do find that it has a number of irritations
- Many Writers are condescending and rude when there is no reason to be so. I suspect that a great deal of those asking questions are kids who may be ignorant of certain facts. Responding politely with a well thought out answer is a far better option.
- Top Writers dominate key questions despite supplying answers that very often don’t live up to the hype associated with these writers.
- Obvious liberal bias. While Quora itself has no bias as an organization (as far as I can tell) the Quora community appears to be somewhat of a liberal echo chamber. Even conservative related topics are routinely dominated by liberals who regularly skew Conservative opinions to the applause of a Hurrah chorus.
- Too many questions are answered with anecdotal evidence only. While these are often great to read they don’t do justice to the broader question being asked.
- Questions on more nebulous topics are regularly answered with the language of certainty indicating that the author is reluctant to reflect on the strength of their argument.
- The Trump obsession - enough is enough…let’s move on here.
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Reflections XVII - Some Silver Nuggets
The danger of a growing empire is that with its growing hubris it often outsources its security to those that don’t have at its best interests at heart. Rome and Britain both felt prey to such a mentality.
Sunday, January 5, 2025
Remember what you stand for
It is my experience that if you wish to live a life of meaning that you also have beliefs that are well thought out, clear, non-intentionally hurtful and are based as best as possible on sound reasoning and logic. Now I can’t say that you should divorce emotion from your beliefs, as we are human after all, but this emotion should not override the judgement that is formed along rational lines.
In the day-to-day chaos of life, we often sideline our conscious realization of these beliefs, even if we act sub-consciously with the same ideals in mind. This promotes somewhat of a sleepwalking approach to life that we should eschew.
To escape such a pathology (and on one level it is such a phenomenon) I would suggest a daily cataloguing and listing of both one’s primary and secondary beliefs. This does not have to span volumes, but should be both succinct and encompassing in such a manner that it brings to mind the core of what we are as agents of free will (one of my key beliefs). I have followed such a course of action for sometime now and find it to be both refreshing and re-affirming of my role as an active player in life.
Reflections XVI - MIxed Passage of Thought
Lies survive as they provide comfort for people.
The easiest pathway for a civilization to take is regression for it requires so little effort.
One should learn from one’s successes just as much our failures for many a success was delivered on the back of a fortuitous turn of events that may never repeat themselves.
No society will ever advance if its primary objective is the destruction of another as opposed to the growth of itself. This is the Palestinian tragedy.
The problem with politics is that as much as one tries to ignore it, you are immediately stung by the reality that it is etched into all aspects of the life struggle.