Chewing The Cud

So many government-sponsored social welfare programs are touted as helping the poorer and more disadvantaged in society. While noble in intent, history shows that these programs are at best inefficient. With so much bureaucracy inherent in government doings, these programs are at a disadvantage from the start. So why do they persist?

I think mostly because politicians refuse to take a stand on issues. Who wants to vote against welfare? You are immediately pegged as “elitist”, uncaring, out of touch with most of Americans. The fact is, the government cannot effectively deal with this social issues, and should not for that very reason. Some would even argue that most of the social welfare programs are un-Constitutional. Indeed, these programs are paid for by forcibly taking money from hard-working citizens and redistributing it according to what the government deems appropriate.

A problem with this approach is that a disproportionate amount of the funds go to a small segment of society. Why is my labor paying for a family in another state to live on welfare for years at a time? Why am I forced to make this payment? Who doesn’t resent being told to do something, especially if they don’t agree with it? And yet, we must comply, otherwise the IRS thugs will take your money by force. How is it moral to force someone to pay for something they don’t support, and if they refuse, to take drastic actions to ensure they pay? Indeed, it is an encroachment on personal liberty.

How much more fulfilling is it to help out of the goodness of your heart? My volunteer experiences have all been positive and encourage me to continue my efforts. What if it was compulsory? I would probably not expend the effort I do when it’s my choice. When it comes to what to do with my money, I’m even more bothered by forced support. That is why reading stories about private businesses and people reaching out into their communities, where they can see a direct effect, are so important to know about and support. That should be government’s roll in welfare. Make it easy for people to support their local communities. Incentive it. Don’t force it.

I firmly believe we have a responsibility to help our fellow man. I do not believe we should be forced by any authority other than our own to do so.

First, to catch some up, a definition:

epigram: n.

1. A short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation.
2. A concise, clever, often paradoxical statement.

From a list of programming epigrams, I liked these two a lot:
35. Everyone can be taught to sculpt: Michelangelo would have had to be taught not to. So it is with great programmers.

116. You think you know when you can learn, are more sure when you can write, even more when you can teach, but certain when you can program.

Perhaps a case can be made for the existence of artistic talent in me…read on for why writing code is awesome!

One of my football buddies always used to say, “Don’t let school get in the way of college.” Most laughed and knew he meant slacking off was the cool thing to do. I took it as meaning there is more to college than simply doing homework and papers. While this does not mean to neglect your studies, it does mean to not neglect the other facets of the college experience. Developing the whole man is more important than getting a 4.0 GPA. What does spending an extra hour reading an english book more thoroughly do for you ten years from now? Not much. How about starting your own company from school? Man, that would be sweet. So your GPA won’t rest at 4.0; perhaps is lowers even to a 3.0.

Who would be the more valuable hire after graduation, the reader or the founder? Paul Graham asked just this question to some fairly important people:

I asked managers at Yahoo, Google, Amazon, Cisco and Microsoft how they’d feel about two candidates, both 24, with equal ability, one who’d tried to start a startup that tanked, and another who’d spent the two years since college working as a developer at a big company. Every one responded that they’d prefer the guy who’d tried to start his own company. Zod Nazem, who’s in charge of engineering at Yahoo, said:

I actually put more value on the guy with the failed startup. And you can quote me!

So there you have it. Want to get hired by Yahoo? Start your own company.

College is much more than high school 2.0. It’s about discovering yourself, who you are, what you stand for, where you want to go, and not to take ’safe’ classes that will look good when you apply for your first job. Here’s the kicker: after your first job, no one really cares about your grades - they care about your production, what you’ve done. So do well in school, because smart people don’t get 2.0 GPAs, but don’t lose sight of the fact that a 4.0 won’t get you a better job in 5 years. Having tangibles will…

Fascinating article I’ve been reading for the last hour or so over at edge.org. The goal of the article was to ask many influential intelligent people what their most dangerous idea is today. The results are…interesting. One in particular that I want to mention here is by Donald Hoffman, a cognitive scientist at UC, Irvine and author of the book ‘Visual Intelligence’.

Once one abandons public physical objects, one must reformulate many current open problems in science. One example is the mind-brain relation. There are no public brains, only my brain experiences and your brain experiences. These brain experiences are just the simplified visual experiences of homo sapiens, shaped for survival in certain niches. The chances that our brain experiences resemble some mind-independent truth are remote at best, and those who would claim otherwise must surely explain the miracle. Failing a clever explanation of this miracle, there is no reason to believe brains cause anything, including minds. And here the wolf unzips the sheep skin, and darts out into the open.

Scandolous! And yet interesting. Anyhoot, b-ball restarts tomorrow - go Panthers, huh?!?

From the awesome mind of Anonymous:

O Lord, grant that we may always be right, for Thou knowest we will never change our minds.

Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods. — Socrates

A combination of relaxing music and dream-like navigation, Fly Guy has some real merit to it. Travel around a fairly small world, encountering many different kinds of entities that elicit different responses all against the backdrop of soothing music (though some entities do break out into song and dance). Matrix-like in the ‘free your mind’ category…

Do you have a secret no one knows? Skeletons in the closet? Done or thought something you think no one else would understand? Is it killing you holding the secret in? Perhaps you need to share it, even if it is in an anonymous fashion.

PostSecret is a collection of secrets that have been created on postcards and sent to the site. No real commentary on the submissions, just presenting them in their original and unaltered format. Quite a flashlight into the deeper, darker elements of humanity. Word of caution: This site may evoke a host of emotions - be prepared mentally.