“The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of past centuries.” — René Descartes
I think it is very possible to see humans create a synthetic man over time. It frightens me but mainly due to pop cultures predictions of how those artificial intelligent beings will develop and respond to us that is driven out of fear obviously. It excites me to see the possibilities that could play out while seeing the experiment in work.
What is meaning to humans? Truly, it is hard to even pose the question without utilizing the word itself – i/e What does meaning mean? The most infuriation tautology to elucidate, meaning seems to be absolutely pivotal to humanity. Looking at the conundrum from a philosophy of language perspective, meaning becomes one of the most... Continue Reading →
He exposes unchecked romanticism about adventure for what it truly is – a fool’s game, that costs lives. For anyone with wild dreams of grand outdoor adventure, myself notwithstanding, take a detour through Krakauer’s book and count the cost, before you succumb to illusions of grandeur.
Since reading Soren Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling, the philosophical school of existentialism has had a growing influence on my thinking. While my understanding of existentialism is far from adequate to speak on it broadly, I can humbly attempt to convince the casual reader why this masterpiece of Kierkegaard’s is worth a week of your time... Continue Reading →
As most of you know from my brief and flattering bio post by Cal Wilkerson, I am an avid listener of podcasts. Podcasts are a much needed break from music and at times far more satisfying than silence in the car and a complement to physical training. They offer insight to an endless range of... Continue Reading →
I was familiar with Sebastian Junger's documentary Restrepo and I saw that he was speaking about his book Tribe at a university near where I live. I made arrangements to attend and I read the book in one sitting, granted it was only 167 pages. The talk was just as insightful as the book and being able to... Continue Reading →
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a book I keep coming back to ever since I first read it. This book contains the private reflections of fascinating emperor. Stoic philosophy is like black coffee for the soul or at least to me it is. There are a lot of myths that surround Marcus Aurelius but this book... Continue Reading →
"The Wild Man's qualities, among them love of spontaneity, association with wilderness, honoring of grief, and respect for riskiness, frightens many people."
Alfred Lansing's "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage", is a fascinating true story of adventure, failure, friendship, determination and triumph against the odds. Antarctica the cold remote continent was a forge that refined the 28 man Trans-Antarctic Expedition in the early 1900s that faced almost no chance of survival as they watched their ship crushed by sheet... Continue Reading →
"Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy is the American epic in its' truest form. McCarthy's prose style has been called biblical by many critics. He is an author that must be read by young men, especially his book Blood Meridian. No words are wasted in this powerful yet poignant novel about mankind. I find McCarthy's direct... Continue Reading →
Brains and Brawn 