There are many ideologies I am willing to die for. There are very few ideologies that I am willing to kill or harm someone else for. A not very surprising circumstance where I would be willing to intentionally hurt someone is if they broke into my home while I was there. That would just be really inconsiderate. Still I would only kill them to neutralize the threat they pose and would absolutely exhaust any other options prior to doing so. I feel death would be too good for someone who breaks into peoples’ occupied houses. A true punishment would be seriously injuring them and condemning them to a long life of disability and interaction with the “legal” system. Unfortunately, in either scenario, I too would be stuck having to interact with the legal system, which is pretty much the worst thing imaginable to me. Yeah, let’s make a system where a bunch of thugs can make money off problems that they themselves can create without consequence. Seems real smart. #thinkdangerously #grownostr

It’s interesting to me that humans generally seek “meaning” in their lives once their basic needs are met. And we do all kinds of crazy shit to that end like believe in fairytales and force life upon others. Why do we even need meaning though? It’s just so arbitrary when you think about it. Just as reasonable in my opinion is to abandon the quest for meaning and instead just try to enjoy life for what it is: a largely random series of experiences that can be either pleasant or unpleasant based solely upon our perception of them. I think the latter approach requires a lot more agency and effort. Since we are fundamentally lazy though, it’s just easier for many to rely upon reptile brain instincts like reproduction or alternatives to thinking for oneself like religion to check the “but my life has meaning!” box. A meaningless life can be pretty awesome though. And you won’t have live with the guilt and mental gymnastics required for having kids or believing in some silly God to enjoy it. #grownostr #thinkdangerously

Serious question for anyone willing to answer. If you believe in God, how do you chose which ones you do or don’t believe in? How do you view people who believe in different Gods? At what point do you say, no that God clearly doesn’t exist, but mine does for sure? Genuinely curious. #grownostr #thinkdangerously

Today I’m contemplating my routines. Routines are very useful shortcuts or mental heuristics that allow us to function more efficiently. Routines are rigid by nature, and classically associated with adult thinking. Non routine behavior or thinking is more typical of children and is more plastic/fluid. Given the inherent advantages and disadvantages of routine behavior then, it is useful to sometimes stop and think about their relative merits as we will inevitably develop a few nonproductive or unhealthy ones along the way. The one that most recently has given me reason to pause is posting to #nostr. In addition to taking the occasional break from posting here, I also regularly ask myself why I bother to do so at all. I fortunately don’t have any other social media and never will. As for why I bother, I’m really not sure. I recognize the typical social media behaviors in myself, such as enjoying a reply or occasional zap. I also tend to post far more controversial content than most, so there is the possibility that I enjoy the opportunity to say things anonymously that would get me punched in the face in real life. So therein lies the partial truth of it anyhow, the beauty of social media and #nostr for me lies in its anonymity and the fact that I’m not generating yield for some corporate monster like Facebook or Twitter with my thoughts. I also genuinely need the catharsis that comes with screaming into the void. What’s your reason? #thinkdangerously #grownostr

There is a quote I like that says something like “the butterfly only remembers its days as a butterfly, never as the caterpillar”. Point is, as we mature and inevitably change (with most becoming “normal” over time), we forget the people we once were and the beliefs we once had and view these as completely alien. So try to be forgiving or at least understanding of people who are or think differently from you. You can still think they’re nuts, and not want to have anything to do with them, but maybe they’re just still caterpillars like you once were. And remember, maybe it’s you who is still the caterpillar. #grownostr #thinkdangerously

I have a good friend who is extremely smart and talented. He also happens to be a devout Mormon. The natural inclination that we, as humans, have when we encounter such a paradox is to say “huh, he might not be as smart as I thought” (since I think Mormonism is mind-bogglingly ridiculous). The more interesting way to approach this though, since we all think we are so above such paradoxes in ourselves, is to consider what beliefs we ourselves hold that others might see as ridiculous. For instance, I personally think that every religion is absurd and that people who have kids are awful and selfish human beings (and possibly worse than murderers). Even though these are some of my most core beliefs, I maintain some measure of uncertainty and distance from these thoughts as a necessary exercise. That way, I can remain at least somewhat open to valid arguments against my beliefs. Beyond simply patting myself on the back for my “advanced thinking” though, I’m curious if anyone has any other helpful tricks for avoiding so called “siloed thinking”. It’s really hard to believe anything once you learn about all the ways in which we truly suck at reasoning. #thinkdangerously #grownostr