Diary

Because I've been writing on this blog for twelve years, some of my current views are slightly different from what I wrote originally. I don't want to take the time to do complete updates, and, in any case my views aren't all that different now. I did, however, update my thoughts on randomness and determinism in 2024. I am still interested in how to think about determinism, and have been finding some of the writings on that, which I've discussed, to be a little incomplete. Sabine Hossenfelder thinks primarily as a physicist and sometimes becomes a little overwhelmed by the enormity of understanding that we live in a deterministic universe. Robert Sapolsky seems to think of it biologically and emphasizes sympathy for those who are unable to control their negative behaviors. Kathryn Paige Harden's view seems to be similar to Sapolsky's, but is slightly more positive and looks at the situation in terms of the luck of having good genes. Robert Plomin's view is similar to Harden's, and in his case he emphasizes the luck of being, say, a good student. These views are probably fine, but I find it confusing to discuss determinism using language that seems to imply that things might have been otherwise. It seems likely that nothing could have been at all different. Though E.O. Wilson also seemed to be a determinist, I don't think that he was interested in it the same way as the others and was more concerned about saving the biosphere. What I have been thinking for several years now is how we might use our improved biological knowledge to redesign some of our systems. As I've said, and I apologize for bringing it up again, Donald Trump is such a defective person, and we've known this for ten years, that you have to question why he was reelected when it was known that his second term was likely to be chaotic and destructive. It is more than a little obvious now that he has a markedly poor understanding of many of the complex issues that he is supposed to be addressing. There is currently enough knowledge in the field of psychiatry that it would have been a simple matter to bar Trump from office if the appropriate rules and laws had been in place. This is why I think that the views of Vinod Goel could be useful in a legislative context. Technically, Goel may not be a complete determinist, but, through his emphasis on reason, he provides a method for dealing with some intractable social and political problems through the use of reason.

There has been a shockingly swift change to early spring here. A few days ago, there was over a foot of snow on the ground. Then it became quite warm, and now most of it has melted; there are currently flood warnings in the region. I'm looking forward to hiking again. I moved the bird feeders up into trees in case the bears come out – that could happen very soon. There are still spilled seeds on the ground, and a raven and a turkey came over to eat them. The woodpeckers, goldfinches, chickadees, etc. are eating seeds and suet at the new locations.

I've been reading The Oldest Rocks on Earth, by Simon Lamb. It is very well-written and describes his geological research over the course of his career. It is amazing to me that some very significant ideas, such as plate tectonics, were not discovered until the 1960's. I don't think I'll write about the book, because it is somewhat technical and would not appeal to all readers. There is a newer biography of Vivian Maier out now, which is said to describe her life in greater detail than the one I read earlier, and I plan to write about that at some point.