Category Archives: Ideas

Why is an ideal free distribution of a species rarely (if ever) observed in nature?

Posted on May 8, 2021 by Ted Howard NZ

Why is an ideal free distribution of a species rarely (if ever) observed in nature? [ 23/April/21 ] How would one ever define a thing like “ideal free distribution”? The idea is predicated on a fixed fitness landscape. The whole … Continue reading →

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Would it be unethical to say that there are too many people on Earth?

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Ted Howard NZ

Would it be unethical to say that there are too many people on Earth? [ 22/April/21 ] At present – yes. That would imply one valued some other metric higher than individual life and security, and the long term probability … Continue reading →

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Are there too many people in the world for it to survive without radical social change?

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Ted Howard NZ

Are there too many people in the world for it to survive without radical social change? [ 22/April/21 ] The number of people present is not yet the major driver for social change, and it is rapidly growing in importance. … Continue reading →

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Response to Elon’s – maximize freedom – comment

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Ted Howard NZ

Comment to Elon Musk – My Final Warning [ 21/April/21 ] Maximizing freedom is self terminating. What is needed is to maximize freedom with minimal risk to life. Every level of structure has necessary constraints required to support that level … Continue reading →

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Not knowing

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Ted Howard NZ

[Foundations of Logic – Feynmann quote – Its ok to say I don’t know!] [ 21/April/21 Its ok to say “I don’t know!” There is no shame in that! The only shame is to pretend that we know everything.] We … Continue reading →

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What is the central theme that makes up the moral law that governs the earth and the earth itself and inhabitants?

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Ted Howard NZ

What is the central theme that makes up the moral law that governs the earth and the earth itself and inhabitants? [ 20/April/21 ] The survival of complexity over deep time and across a wide variety of dynamic contexts. If … Continue reading →

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Will humanity’s extinction be abrupt, or will it slow after a long decadence?

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Ted Howard NZ

Will humanity’s extinction be abrupt, or will it slow after a long decadence? [ 19/April/21 ] It seems to me that there are finite probabilities associated with various sorts of extinctions (some rapid, some slower) that together sum to about … Continue reading →

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Time

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Ted Howard NZ

Foundations of Logic Walter Kant asked [ 16/April/21 Time:What is the nature of your definition of time:realabstractillusory?] Time is a necessary pre condition for the existence of complexity. Time is that aspect of a system that delivers some probability of … Continue reading →

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Is human extinction as imminent as this article claims or is the writer trying to scare people?

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Ted Howard NZ

[The comment was – Is human extinction as imminent as this article claims or is the writer trying to scare people? – but I didn’t record where I wrote it, and can’t now (2 weeks later) find it again or … Continue reading →

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Quora Why can’t we just eliminate poverty through sheer will

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Ted Howard NZ

Why can’t we just eliminate poverty through sheer will? [ 15/April/21 ] Sheer will by itself does nothing. Will power applied to systems over time can achieve outcomes. Eliminating poverty depends very much on how one defines it. If one … Continue reading →

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