Copyright notice
All text and original images in this blog © 1990-2010 by William P. Coleman. Some rights reserved. You may reuse only as specified in the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License or by written permission.About me
If you'd like to know more about me, please see the About page. My qualifications for the scientific entries are in my CV.
I see no reason to segregate scientific and technical posts from humanistic ones. In my life, scientific concerns mix with ethical ones, and they shade into a philosophical interest in the nature of cognition and the nature of people. Doing science is as creative as writing fiction, and I get inspiration for both from the same gods.
You will find little here on current politics. I'm an activist, but not in symptoms. Experience in martial arts shows me that the sure way to lose is reactivity; but if you stay cool and remember your training and what you're there for then you achieve goals and, when conflict is unavoidable, you fight and win. The idea of the liberal arts I was brought up in is that broad understanding of cultures and ideas gives you deeper, better goals -- making success more likely and more satisfying. Negatively, the hysteria since 9/11 shows how a country frightened and reactive can destroy itself more than an enemy can. I'm trying to contribute by changing the terms of discourse. . . . As Allen Ginsberg wrote, "America, I'm putting my queer shoulder to the wheel."
One fact shouldn't require special mention, but it sometimes does: namely that I'm gay. This blog is not primarily about being gay, but the topic sometimes comes up. I'm proud of being gay and do not hide. Muse
Category Archives: Politics
Punishing politicians
Note: this was posted in 1997 to an early internet experiment. For more, please see my page The Hyperforum on Sustainability. The ideas in the paper you link to are certainly interesting and deserve thought. A note, though. You say, “Similarly, … Continue reading
(Unhealthy) capitalists and slugs
Note: this was posted in 1997 to an early internet experiment. For more, please see my page The Hyperforum on Sustainability. Beautifully put! I think of these insatiable capitalists in the same way I do about the slugs that infest … Continue reading
Remembering Lawrence King
On the national annual Day of Silence, students observe a vow of silence to bring attention to bullying and harassment of LGBT students. This year’s Day of Silence — 25 April, 2008 — will be dedicated to the memory of … Continue reading
Well said
Note: this was posted in 1997 to an early internet experiment. For more, please see my page The Hyperforum on Sustainability. Great comments! “It is time for someone to step forward and point out that the two views that Bruce … Continue reading
Friedrich Engels — “Suppose I want to change things? Then what?”
One day when he was just six years old, Friedrich Engels, the son of a prosperous textile manufacturer, was given a tour of his father’s factory. The young Engels was profoundly disturbed by the awful working conditions with which the … Continue reading
Local viability and long-term self destruction
Note: this was posted in 1997 to an early internet experiment. For more, please see my page The Hyperforum on Sustainability. When you say that “Unrestrained competitive markets in laissez-faire political system are good at efficiency and innovation, but bad … Continue reading
Democracy is not just a town meeting but a structured artifact
Note: this was posted in 1997 to an early internet experiment. For more, please see my page The Hyperforum on Sustainability. Thanks for the examples and amplification. Another example, classic in its ambiguity, is the seniority system that used to … Continue reading
