personal
The following is a completely true story. February 17, 2024: I woke up a little after 10am. I made myself some breakfast and a cup of coffee. I looked out the window as I sat on the couch, and I saw a cloud that looked exactly like a cat. I&
religion
Every generation seems to find a way to predict that the end of the world is near. From Hitler to the Cold War, and barcodes to the internet, there's always something that lines up with prophesies in the book of Revelation. I grew up in a Christian family,
personal
Coincidence clusters happen all the time. If something has a one-in-a-billion chance of happening to any one person in any given year, then it probably happens around 8 times per year. ChatGPT rates my story as a 5.5–6.5 on a rough 0–10 scale of historical coincidences:
philosophy
This topic is too controversial for this blog, so let's move on.
new-zealand
New Zealand needs more doctors, nurses, teachers, and midwives.
philosophy
A metaphysical thought experiment about consciousness, simulation, and the layers of reality.
philosophy
Is this The Matrix? No. But it's certainly something to think about.
philosophy
I no longer think that thermodynamics has anything to say about morality. This blog post was misguided.
philosophy
If human brains are computational machines, then any computer program with a human user is parallel computation.
philosophy
Is the universe a simulation? If so, what does that mean?
AI
"All right," said the computer, and settled into silence again. The two men fidgeted. The tension was unbearable. "You're really not going to like it," observed Deep Thought. "Tell us!" "All right," said Deep Thought. "The Answer to the
Board Games
If you love push-your-luck games but usually play with just two people, here's a variant you might enjoy. I designed a two-player variant for a board game called Incan Gold (also known as Diamant). It's a fun little warmup game I like to introduce to people.