Is Cognition Inherently Dangerous?
Much of our predicament can be blamed on human cognitive capacity (and incapacity!). But is cognition fated to fail? A pool-table framing helps appreciate appropriate cognition. Continue reading
Do the Math
Using physics and estimation to assess energy, growth, options—by Tom Murphy
Latest posts
Academic Prison
Academic pursuit is not as free as it's made out to be. This post attempts to locate the bars to the cage. Continue reading
Feynman's Sentence
As broad a thinker as Feynman was, his proposal relating to collapse of civilization betrays a rigid confinement to the prison of modernity. Continue reading
Big Picture Questions
I respond to questions posed in the comments as to what hope I have for the future, what I find inspiring about humans, and what (if anything) I like about modernity. Continue reading
The Smartphone Hypothesis
Some compelling data suggest smartphones as a significant factor in fertility downturn. What might it spell for the future? Continue reading
Accepting Loss as Fair
If elimination of infant mortality comes hitched to a sixth mass extinction, is it a valid goal? Why not accept some level of loss--however heartbreaking--if it means millions of species also get to live? Continue reading
Galactic Time
This short post offers temporal perspectives that help ground assessment of our shenanigans. Continue reading
A Lawful Anarchist
Laying Down the Law: as in setting it aside. Laws work for modernity, and thus are not well suited to the Community of Life. Continue reading
Cerebral Disconnect
I attempt to expose the root of many disconnects. But really, who cares what goes on in my brain or anyone else's? It doesn't amount to much. Continue reading
Two Murphys, Part 5
The final installment: pre-analytic biases and contextual reality-checks. Alas, no convergence obtained. Continue reading