freedomordie-blog

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Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C. S. Lewis

Do you agree?

(via learnliberty)

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To Understand Is To Perceive Patterns

Patterns are everywhere. In thought, in nature, in science, in design . . . we continuously strive to apply order to our information experiences. Or are they there waiting for us?

It could be as simple as counting or arranging shapes. It could be as complex as flocks of birds and neuronal projections. But it applies to everything, from our ability to read words on a page to the study of neuroaesthetics.

But we are left with a question: Is the order innate, defined by biological process and evolutionary selection, or is it a construction of our neural network, and its tendencies toward pattern creation?

What do you think?

(via Vimeo)

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Life’s too short to be unhappy.

(via oliverhart)

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Marines raising the flag atop Mount Suribachi during the battle for Iwo Jima, February 23, 1945.

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Our problems as a society can't all be reduced to pure economics. 

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Cop Says Drug War Makes People Distrust Police

Peter Moskos, a former Baltimore cop, joins a panel discussion on about the ways the “war on drugs” harms relationships between police and the communities they are charged with serving and protecting.

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The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. -Isaac Asimov

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happy darwin day!

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When you’re scientifically literate, the world looks different to you. It’s a particular way of questioning what you see and hear. When empowered by this state of mind, objective realities matter. These are the truths of the world that exist outside of whatever your belief system tells you. One objective reality is that our government doesn’t work, not because we have dysfunctional politicians, but because we have dysfunctional voters. As a scientist and educator, my goal, then, is not to become President and lead a dysfunctional electorate, but to enlighten the electorate so they might choose the right leaders in the first place.

If I Were President… - Neil deGrasse Tyson (via jtotheizzoe)

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