Looking Inward

I use this blog as a type of escapism so its always great when I can post with a meaningful input. My biggest struggle over the last few weeks is my ongoing attempt to crystallize a better understanding of the world. I have tried to qualify this in purely scientific terms based on the cold steel of reason but the inner tug of spiritualism (and a belief in a higher power) clouds such an approach, at least from a broader philosophical perspective.

Its not that this ultimately bothers me - but I can't help but wonder how this struggle would be simplified, if one of these two variables were more easily reducible. That they are not could be a blessing, in that it forces me to contemplate with greater intensity, and through this mechanism I am forced to grow.

But I still stare over hills and past valleys, wondering if the ark of truth lies over the horizon. It is both frustrating and motivating...but if I had the answer I doubt whether I would appreciate the apparent nirvana. So maybe I should just let it go, scuttle the inquiry. Yeah right...who am I trying to kid?... I know for myself that this is impossible.

Ingredients for Success

As civilizations progress positively they become more likely to encapsulate these characteristics.

Democratic Institutions
Freedom of Press
Freedom of Action
Freedom of Religion
Appreciation for the Vital role of Science and Technology
Rule of Law
Private Ownership of Property
Personal Responsibility – Recognizable Free Will
Accountability of Political Office
Social Service Institutions
Prison Reform
Necessary Dissent
High Levels of Education
Low levels of bribery and corruption


If a state fails it is normally missing several of these ingredients.

Key Players in US Foreign Politics

The factors influencing US foreign policy are more complicated than any single purely ideological analysis takes into account. These are ten that I have personally identified:

Money Men - Those who see US Foreign policy as a way of extending their individual business interests throughout the globe.

Children of Democracy - Those who feel that that the US has an ideological mission to spread democracy.

Gamers - Those who see US Foreign Politics as a game of good against evil that must be won at all costs by the forces of good.

Stabilizers - Those who feel that US foreign policy should work at all cost to stabilize the world and ensure 'peace'.

Christian Elite - Group that argues that US politics must act to prevent the spread of such anti-Christian ideologies as Islam and Communism.

Single Power Proliferaters - Those who believe that the US has no allies at all and should operate covertly or in any way possible to prevent the emergence of a legitimate competitor to American hegemony.

Single Enemies of Choice - Group that are obsessed in stopping the actions of one power in particular. This power could be: China, Russia, the Moslem World etc.

Namesakers - Individuals who see foreign policy as a stage for making a name for themselves. They are motivated by nothing else.

Cold Warriors - Those who are still nostalgic for the Cold War and wish to recreate the period in some form or another again in the near future.

Competitor groups - opposing factions in the US, who are not necessarily ideologically driven, but see Foreign Policy as a vehicle or stage to ensure their individual group influence and strike a blow against their competitor faction.

Top Ten Charles Dicken's Novels of All Time

Just my Opinion...........

1. David Copperfield
2. Oliver Twist
3. A Tale of Two Cities
4. Great Expectations
5. Pickwick Papers
6. Nicholas Nickelby
7. The Mystery of Edwin Drood
8. A Christmas Carol
9. The Old Curiosity Shop
10. Bleak House

Jordan Peterson

(Originally written March 2017)

Canadian Psychology Professor Jordan Peterson is an unusual superhero. He can’t jump single buildings in a bound, has no special skills that would qualify him for membership in any DC or Marvel collective yet provides a service that may indeed save many a great institution from the rot that it is in. Peterson is warrior number one in the fight for Free Speech on Campus and indeed within the broader academic framework.

Initially that campus was my alma mater, the University of Toronto, but now it appears that the Peterson effect seems to be spreading with the good professor making appearances on several other campuses.

Peterson (who used to be a member of Canada’s social democratic NDP) first came to the fore publicly when he released a series of videos around free speech in the political correct context. His specific objection was Bill C-16 that was introduced in the Canadian Parliament by the Trudeau government. The bill seeks to amend the Criminal Code by adding gender identity or expression to an extended definition of ‘identifiable groups’. This would make it an offence to spread hate propaganda based on these two facets. Peterson objected (not to the LBGT element) but to the Freedom of speech aspects and took aim at Ontario’s Human Rights Code along similar lines. He went further by saying that he would not use ‘non-binary’ pronouns such as zhe and zir ordinarily but would consider it if asked in the right way.

The backlash against Peterson has been severe. Mass protests have targeted his lectures and he has been the focus of an outrage campaign to silence him on campus. While many would be compelled to flee from such actions Peterson has stood his ground. He has taken to the media and appeared on a number of talk shows in Canada and the US. Stefan Molyneux, Joe Rogan, Steve Crowder, Gavin McInnes, Dave Rubin and Dennis Prager have all hosted him on their respective programs. His Twitter account and you tube channel is very active and he has received many endorsements including those of trans woman personality Theryn Mayer. Peterson openly meets with students across the campus to hear them out and regularly engages in the Socratic even with those who will not hesitate to attack him with the thinnest of ad hominems.

However Peterson is so much more than a crusader for free speech. His Mind Map lectures (posted on you tube) provide a tremendous insight into Nietzsche, Jung, Solzhenitsyn and Piaget and he is by all accounts an extremely informed and rigorous thinker when it comes to understanding the development of personality. I was particularly taken by his understanding of the way mythology is incorporated into our intellectual mega structure. Also worth looking at for those who are interested is his discussion with Sam Harris on the Nature of Truth.

In a way he embodies the Classic liberal idea of open debate. He has his well developed positions and offers much evidence for his stance. Complexity doesn’t overwhelm him and understands that no single theory can explain the intricacies of the human condition. Above all else he stresses the point of listening to the other. This has been a central theme in his mission against campus lunacy all along.

Peterson is a throwback to the type of social scientist that spoke freely for Western values a time before the toxicity of post-modernism and the stain of relativism espoused by the likes of Foucault, Marcuse and Derrida made its presence felt across the university backdrop.

In campuses across North America where speech codes dominate and conservative speakers regularly rely on a security detail (look no further than Charles Murray at Middlebury) Peterson’s effort to challenge this neo-orthodoxy is most welcome. He provides a necessary voice in an era that has succumbed to what Allan Bloom described as the ‘Closing of the American Mind’. Peterson is not a man of either the right or the left but a brave figure fighting a critical battle for the integrity of our academic heritage which once again is being threatened by ideological group think. One can only hope that his example will inspire other academics to act accordingly. The intellectual process certainly needs this infusion of passion that seeks only to further enlightenment values in a way that will benefit us all.

On Teaching...

 I answered this on Quora...Why do teachers become teachers when the pay is so low?

Teacher salaries here in Ontario are pretty decent if you work for the public board. At the highest level you earn about 97 K and this figure can be boosted if you are head of department or choose to teach summer (which I often do) or night school (which I will never do). Vice Principals can earn about 110 K and Principals regularly hit the 120 K+ level. Some private schools match these levels. In addition as others have noted, you have summers off, strong union protection and a great pension plan.

However this is not why I chose to go into teaching. I worked in industry as an engineer for eight years before entering the education field. While I involved myself largely in design (which can be challenging) I personally never found the work to be that satisfying. What I did enjoy was explaining to the new recruits the ins and outs of the telecommunication network (my area of specialty at the time). The human interaction was refreshing and that started me thinking about changing my profession.

When the Dotcom crash occurred in the early 2000s I was laid off like so many others. Fortunately I had a decent severance package and I used this as an opportunity to refocus my career and in the grander scheme of things my life as well. I landed a job at a private high school and taught a smorgasbord of courses that included all the sciences with side orders of history and philosophy (the latter two being passions of mine). I then went back to uni obtained my education degree, was hired by the public board and have been teaching science (largely physics) for the last ten years or so. I also had two kids during the early stages which further impacted the transition, positively of course.

I haven’t as the cliche goes ‘looked back’. Teaching works for me. In Toronto High School teachers have much freedom in their classroom. You have a standard curriculum but there is considerable latitude in interpretation. I have taught at various high schools each with their unique strengths and weaknesses, working with students who have a rudimentary understanding of the key concepts to those that regularly win academic competitions at the highest level.

To be an effective teacher though is not easy. You need to be persistent, creative in applying varying methodologies to reach a broader audience, patient and focused. Even a technique like the Socratic requires much practice and refinement. I never rest and am always contemplating how I can improve on my strategy.

However teaching gives back so much more. I have had wonderful discussions with my students on the nature of spacetime, science and religion, Grand Unified Theories and subjective vs objective knowledge. Not a day goes by without a student asking me a question that really forces me to dig deeper to truly tackle the issues. I value their enthusiasm but what I most seek to cultivate is their love of knowledge.

In short I feel blessed and when students return years later telling me how the time that they spent having me as a teacher really benefited them later on in their studies, that is all the thanks I need. How many other professions can offer that?

Key Events in the Lead up to World War One

1870 - Franco-Prussian War. Unification of Germany. Embarrassment of France. German Empire grows. Animosity between Germany and France over annexation by Germany of Alsace-Lorraine. Birth of French Third Republic.

1879 - Germany and Austria-Hungary sign the Dual Alliance.

1882 - Italy joins the Alliance in 1882. Becomes Triple Alliance.

1884-1885 - Berlin Conference. Africa divided amongst various colonial powers.

1887 - German-Russian cooperation through Reinsurance Treaty.
1888- Aggressive Kaiser Wilhelm II ascends to German throne. Drops Otto van Bismarck as chancellor in 1890.
1894- Franco-Russian Alliance. French policy driven by Revanchism. Treaty designed to protect both Russia and France from German attack.

1898 - Beginning of Anglo-German Naval Race. HMS Dreadnought will enter service in 1906.

1902- Britain ends Splendid Isolation by signing Anglo-Japanese Alliance Britain needs Allies after overreach in Anglo-Boer War.

1904 - Britain and France sign the Entente Cordiale.

1904-05 - Russo-Japanese War. Japanese are victorious. Russia forced to turn attention westward.

1905-06 -  First Moroccan Crisis  (Tangier crisis) increases tension between France and Germany. Dispute settled at Algeciras Conference.

1907 - Britain and Russia sign the Anglo-Russian Entente.

Russia-France-Britain joined in Triple Entente. Germany-Austro-Hungary- Italy form Triple Alliance. The latter is more of a military alliance than the former.

1911 - Second Moroccan Crisis (Agadir Crisis) . Further hostility between Germany and Britain/France.

1911-12 - Italian-Turkish War. Ottoman Empire isolated. Italy truimphs in Libya. Treaty of Lausanne ends war.
1912-13 - Balkan Wars - In First War - Balkan League (Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro) defeat Ottoman Empire thanks to Russian support. In Second War former League members defeat Bulgaria. War was fought over the division of Macedonia. Ottoman presence in Eastern Europe all but over (except for Thrace). Wars end with London Treaty. 
1912 - Young Turks nationalist movement seize power in Turkish core of Ottoman Empire.

1914, June 28th - Assasination of Austria-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Bosnian Serb Nationalist Gavrilo Princip. in Sarajevo. Princip (a member of the Black Hand group) insists that he acted independently of the Serbian government in Belgrade. Austrians refuse to believe him.

1914. July 6th - Start of July Crisis. Austria-Hungary ends "policy of patience" and is granted a "Blank Cheque" by Germany to take a hardline against the Serbs even in the face of Russian opposition. Start of July Crisis.

1914, July 23rd - Austria Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia with stringent demands. Policy is coordinated with Germany foreign office.

1914, July 24th - Russia cautions Serbia not to accept the ultimatum. Partial mobilization of Russian forces begin the day after.

1914, July 25th - Austria-Hungary breaks off relations with Serbia.

1914, July 28th - Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.

1914, July 29th - British appeal for peace (by Sir Edward Grey) fails. Britain still tending toward neutrality. Russians  mobilize.

1914, July 31st - Austria-Hungarian mobilization. Germany asks Russia to back down.  Britain urges France and Germany to respect neutrality of Belgium.

1914, August 1st - French mobilize. Germany mobilizes and declares war on Russia.

1914, August 2nd - Secret Treaty signed between Germany and the Ottoman Empire forming German-Ottoman Alliance. Germany had already since 1913 helped in the development and modernization of the Ottoman army.

1914, August 3rd - Germany declares war on France after French reject neutrality. Germany insists that Belgium allow German troops to pass over her soil.

1914, August 4th - German rejection of Belgium neutrality prompts Britain to declare war on Germany. Schlieffen Plan implemented by Germany.

1914, August 6th - Russia Declares on Austria-Hungary. Japan will declare war on both Germany and Austria-Hungary by month end. Italy although part of the Triple Alliance will declare itself neutral.

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria  and the Ottoman Empire will be known as the Central Powers. Britain (her Empire), France, Russia, Serbia,  Belgium plus others will be known as the Allies.

The Lamps were finally out.