I mentioned some time back a talk I was giving at Duke on Stateless and Semi-Stateless Societies in Fiction and Semi-Fiction. It occurred to me that I should provide a link to my recording of it for readers of this blog, especially ones interested in either science fiction or anarchism.
8 comments:
Actually, you have already sent the link in a previous post here...:
http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.cz/2013/04/my-talk-tomorrow.html
Also on a very unrelated note (I would comment below the "diversity" post of yours earlier, but nobody would probably notice that):
I've recently applied for a PhD position at a university in Goettingen (Germany) and I noticed this at their website:
"Diversity Competence
A two day training by Dr. Silvie Klein-Franke on the cultural differences concerning gender, scientific discipline and country of origin. Practical consequences for cooperations will be drawn with respect to future career. This is an obligatory course for the PhD students."
(from http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/gender-equality/156610.html)
What really struck me as awful was this:
"Practical consequences for cooperations will be drawn with respect to future career."
It seems to me to be a newspeak version of
"if you have different opinions, you won't get work here"
A strange kind of diversity indeed...
Fortunatelly I have never seen anything like that at my current university in Prague. I hope this trend won't move here too.
http://dianeravitch.net/2013/03/26/the-swedish-voucher-system-an-appraisal/
I know I shouldn't post this comment here, since it has nothing to do with this, but I hope Prof. Friedman will forgive me, because it's a study about school vouchers in Sweden, a subject which I'm sure will interest him.
I got a kick out of that guy earnestly exhorting David to think of the 100 million+ American citizens who are, apparently, merely "scrabbling." How was it relevant to the discussion? Why was this (fictitious) poverty laid at David's feet as though he were responsible for it, or wished for more of it?! Baffling.
Ever notice that the wealth comparisons made by these self-appointed moral custodians are usually made with regard to a given country? An American on minimum wage is compared to an American business executive, even though the difference between those two is nothing compared to the massive gulf between both of them and poor people in say, Burundi, who lack clean drinking water, food etc. Not that I want to give the equality brigade any more ammo or anything, but come on! Where does this nationalism come from, all of a sudden?
Old Odd Jobs: I generally agree with you, but unfortunately there's nothing new or sudden about nationalism. Not even in the USA, I suppose.
The exchange with the gentleman making claims about Cuba illustrates how those who are quickest to claim the mantle of "SCIENCE!" are the ones who understand it the least The gentleman accuses DDFr of making insufficiently scientific argument, but his response to a question posed by DDFr makes it clear that he does not know what it means to control for a variable.
There are readers of this blog not interested in science fiction and anarchism?
Thanks for posting! Goes to top of my to watch list.
Wow, the inequality/happiness guy was hard to listen to. I'm amazed at your patience with him.
Maybe these exists elsewhere but I didn't see and I was curious so I made a list of some of the pieces mentioned in this talk. Sorry if I got any wrong.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
Law Enforcement, Malfeasance, and Compensation of Enforcers – Gary S. Becker and George J. Stigler
The Ungoverned - Vernor Vinge
True Names - Vernor Vinge
Oath of Fealty - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
The Syndic - C.M. Kornbluth
The Domination of Draka (series) - S.M. Stirling
Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin
The Probability Broach – L. Neil Smith
The Great Explosion – Eric Frank Russell
The Cassini Division (Fall Revolution Series) - Ken MacLeod (I don’t believe the books by this author are mentioned but I believe this is the one concerning the “Einstein” in the capitalist enclave.
Harald - David D. Friedman
Salamander - David D. Friedman
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