Facts can be useful because the truth helps us to navigate the world better than falsehood, but: A fact used to argue does not solve a problem. A fact used to be right does not help anybody. A fact used to offend will not promote the discussion. A fact used to distract will not reach intelligent ears. A fact used to rationalize diminishes one's character. A fact used to excuse weakness kills motivation. Communicating effectively with others and oneself requires more than … [Read more...]

For a useful working concept, we can define reality as that which is qualitatively experienced by an aware mind and quantitatively modeled by science. Accordingly, we can describe reality as a spectrum that spans in two directions: one way into the more abstract, quantitative, and objective; the other way into the more concrete, qualitative, and subjective. At the one extreme, we have pure mathematics and a conceptualization of the world as a mathematical object—perhaps an intricate quantum … [Read more...]

Truth is the reliability of a map of reality, the usefulness of a model of the world. Maps which abstractly represent reality can be created in different languages (natural or technical) and at different levels of description (e.g., pedagogic, cultural, high-level scientific, or low-level scientific). Scientists are the most reliable mapmakers, and their most detailed maps are low-level and math-heavy. Spiritualists are the least reliable mapmakers, creating maps based on crude … [Read more...]

Originally, I wanted this article to be titled Answers to Stupid Questions #2: Do We Have Free Will?, but in contrast to the truly nonsensical concept called 'meaning of life' (Stupid Questions #1), the freedom of will cannot be dismissed a priori. Sure, if we understand 'free will' to mean I could have acted differently had I wanted to act differently, then we can reject it as a mere semantic confusion, because in this case the meaning of 'free will' coincides with that of 'will'. However, … [Read more...]

There are three common types of I want: Egoic desire: I want to be X, whereby X can be any physical, psychological, or social state.Possessive desire: I want to have Y, whereby Y can be any material possession or abstract ownership.Motivational desire: I want to do Z, whereby Z can be any choice or activity. But whatever I want to have I ultimately want because of the state I expect the possession to put me in; e.g., I want to have a fulfilling job in order to be happy, or I want to have a … [Read more...]