From: "Anders Sandberg" <asa@nada.kth.se>
> The big question is, can you live in the same society as relativists, or
> do you have to fight them?
Oh, come on Anders, you can come up with a bigger question than that. τΏτ
I'm a lover, not a fighter, so I get along (relatively) fine with societal
relativists.
> I take the classical liberal stance that even
> when plenty of ethical systems and views are erroneous, it would be
> morally wrong to repress them - even if you believe in an objective
> morality you better admit to yourself that you might be mistaken about
> things, and if you force your views on others you might be perpetuating
> an ethical outrage.
That we might be mistaken about things is part of our genetically driven
biological morality. That others may be equally or more mistaken makes this
easier. Permutation City isn't built in a day though, so rather than waste
time and resources repressing luddite memes, it seems more useful to promote
and encourage greater health, prosperity, freedom, practicality, and
excellence, than to dwell on coercive memes.
> The same of course goes for everybody else, and
> hence a policy of tolerance is the best option. This doesn't mean you
> have to stop questioning things, testing whether ethical systems hold up
> or asking uncomfortable questions to people. Political correctness is
> not really tolerant of this.
Right. That's what my (tolerant) comments intend to convey (without getting
into the ethics quagmire).
> As for diversity, at least Stockholm is rapidly approaching the
> diversity I have seen in my visits to the states. In fact, Stockholm is
> almost becoming a different country from Sweden - which might actually
> be a return to its old status as a foreign city :-)
Let me know when (or if) it's possible for English speaking only expatriates
to succeed in Stockholm. I like blondes. (See news item below.)
τΏτ
Stay hungry,
--J. R.
Useless hypotheses:
consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism
Everything that can happen has already happened, not just once,
but an infinite number of times, and will continue to do so forever.
(Everything that can happen = more than anyone can imagine.)
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010212/od/blondes_dc_1.html
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Taller people with light brown hair earn higher salaries
than shorter co-workers with other hair colors and blondes receive the
smallest pay checks of all, an Icelandic study shows.
The Reykjavik Commercial Workers Union surveyed its members in October and the
findings, based on 3,400 answers, were released on Friday.
Blonde employees earned 10 percent less than their light brown haired
colleagues, whose monthly pay averaged 232,000 Icelandic crowns ($2,700).
People with very dark hair came second, followed by red- and grey-haired
individuals. All these were ahead of blondes, whose salaries averaged 208,000
crowns.
Women earned on average 18 percent less than men.
Men above the height of 179 cm were paid on average 260,000 crowns a month,
16.5 percent more than men 10-15 cm shorter.
Women taller than 179 cm took home 213,000 crowns compared with 195,000 crowns
for females below 165 cm.
The study also suggested that salaries were not influenced by whether
employees smiled on the job or not.
``Stop dyeing your hair (blonde) and be satisfied with the mousy color, as it
seems to be working. Buy shoes with higher heels, and above all, start
frowning on the job,'' Icelandic investment bank Kaupthing said in a comment
on the study.
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