arcadian83

"Why?"

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:19:35 GMT

"Why?" is by far the most interesting and meaningful question. It can be used to look backwards at causation "why does a ball fall when it is dropped?", or to look forwards towards ends being achieved by means "why did you drop the ball?". While causation is interesting as well, I find philosophical meaningfulness in the means/ends aspect of "Why?", and so will be talking about that kind of "Why?".

It can be argued that "Why?" may never be properly answered for anything if one chains it by asking "Why?" to the answer of the previous "Why?". The possible results of such a "Why?"-chain include:

a cycle: by repeating a previous answer in the chain, implying that the cycle is an ends unto itself, and thusly meaningless. An example of this is self-perpetuation, like the answer "Humans exist to reproduce".

"I don't know": an admission to not being able to answer "Why?"

"Because X": an end to inquiry based on the idea that X is an ultimate end for all the means mentioned in the chain, and that X is not a means towards any other end. An example of this is an answer like "Human happiness" or "God's will". One could argue that these vague answers are an admission to a lack of knowledge of what end they are a means towards. Why should humans be happy? Why did God will that?

"Just Because": a refusal to continue the chain out of annoyance at the persistent questioning.

Attempting to answer "Why?" often reveals one's philosophical and particularly moral beliefs. It attempts to define "The Good".

For myself, I would lean towards "the happiness of sufficiently sentient beings". Even this comes with a lot of unknowns:

I don't know what purpose that happiness serves, I just know it's nice to have it. This comes down to a grounding idea that "Sentient beings should be happy". More of an opinion than anything. Maybe this revolves around the mysterious unknown called "consciousness"

I don't know what a sufficiently sentient being is, and if sentience is on a sliding scale. A human is obviously sentient, but a virus or bacteria is not. Somewhere in between is a gray area. I also prioritize human happiness over animal happiness, but by how much is unknown.

I prefer long-term happiness over short-term happiness, but by how much is unknown.

I do not prefer involuntary sacrifice of individual happiness for collective happiness, under straightforward circumstances, but under extreme circumstances I might. Again, where to draw the line is unknown.

Happiness is very subjective. How to judge or compare quantities and predict long-term versus short-term is unknown.

So my answer to "Why?" is "'happiness' with a myriad of caveats based on admitted lack of knowledge", and even 'happiness' is based on the unknown of what consciousness is. Paint a great big question mark on my forehead and call me an agnostic.

Put down... the smiley...

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:52:28 GMT

obscenely easy board

So I was terribly unmotivated to do anything, staring at the desktop, when I decided to break out Minesweeper. I mindlessly played a beginner-level game and won on my first try in 16 seconds.

That time sounded pretty good, so I tried to beat it. Dozens of games later, I still couldn't beat it. This was frustrating, because my score when I wasn't trying was consistently better than when I was trying.

Finally I got an obscenely easy board and won in 14 seconds. I'm putting the smilely down now... and posting about it because I'm that exciting of a person.

What makes a panel not suck

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:45:59 GMT

Well chosen overall topic (will be the panel title)
Of general enough interest to get an audience, but specific enough to do what it does well and attract an audience that can participate usefully.

Well chosen subtopics (will be listed in the synopsis)
Specific enough to pique interest, general enough not to alienate interests that could have been piqued.

The promise of something new
This could be coverage of current or upcoming events, a new analysis or interpretation of existing subjects, or even just new humor.

Authority
For crimminy's sake, know what you're talking about. If you don't know something, fess up, because otherwise it will be obvious and quickly gain the contempt of your audience. Ask an unknown back to the audience, maybe someone else in the audience will know. If someone in the audience participates particularly well or seems to be an authority themselves, consider asking them to sit up with the panelists (if there's room), and become an ally.

Staying on topic and keeping up pace
Straying off topic will stray further from the reasons the audience members came. Keep own contribution strictly within advertised topics. If audience question or participation causes straying, entertain it only briefly before corralling it back within the bounds of the topic. Cleverly lead the conversation such that it returns to the bounds of the topic and stays there. Further, don't let the conversation stall in any one subtopic unless the audience really likes it, but rather circulate it around the subtopics (this keeps up the pace).

Don't rant too long
Audiences like to hear rants, so long as they're liberating, funny, and not too long. Knowing when to stop is tricky with a stream of consciousness, but keep an eye on audience reaction (wandering eyes or lack or non-verbal agreement are bad) and don't talk for the sake of talking.

Audience participation
Unless a VIP is talking, they shouldn't remain the center of attention or be allowed to rant for too long. Audiences like to participate and will add insightful or amusing contributions to the panel. Invite them to ask questions as you go along.

Sometimes these may be FAQ-type questions, wanting basic foundation info you may not have provided to understand the advanced thing you're talking about. These questions prevent the audience from getting lost and glazing over when advanced or obscure subjects are discussed. Satisfy the asker with as short of an answer as possible so those who do get it don't get bored.

Sometimes questions may ask for a new topic to be discussed. Beware of these ones, as while they may contribute the most, they may also steer you way off topic. Notice how the rest of the audience reacts to the question (groans are bad), and don't be afraid to reject it if entertaining it bodes ill for the panel. Rejecting it should be as simple as saying its outside the scope of the panel.

Sometimes questions may ask the panelist's opinion on something. If it can make an interesting or informative rant, go for it. If at any time Don't rant too long is violated, finish up answering the question and move on.

Sometimes it may be a good idea to ask the audience a question! This can get them excited and participating. Ask their opinion on something (for them to raise hands and be called on). Ask for a show of hands to poll them. Depending on the topic, asking for anecdotes may be called for. Audience members can provide good rants! If they provide what is turning into a bad/long rant, interrupt and get the conversation circulating again.

Have enough material
Be prepared with a list of specific things to discuss that cover your synopsis. Then open up for audience participation (if you're doing that), with question and answer. Then be prepared with an additional list of less important topics to discuss should the audience run out of bright ideas. Otherwise you run the risk of both the panelists and the audience drawing a blank, resulting in a premature end to the panel. That's bad. The best panels are those that use all their time and wish they had more.

That's what I've got for now. Hope it helps.
Additions? Objections? Comment!

all data deletion

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 03:13:17 GMT

Actually it's just been made private to clean the journal of bad memories.
I hadn't written for the better part of a year.
If anyone really wants it, they can ask, or prove the futility of my actions with the internet's indelible memory.

This has not been my primary journal for some time, and will be used to communicate on LJ instead.

Livejournal Account

Sun, 05 Sep 2004 14:51:50 GMT

So I finally signed up for a Livejournal account. Not sure why I didn't do this sooner. I don't really intend to use it as a journal, but it will be very handy for commenting on my friend's pages, and also for learning how these sorts of systems work.