I wan't to stake a claim to my own piece of intellectual frontier.

Dogs in Parys

Street in Parys

Racism, Sexism and Affirmative Action

I know I risk being called a racist or a sexist but hear me out.

It is my opinion that for various reasons men and women are different and races and even people from various countries are different. I am also of the opinion that these difference which can often be stereotyped are learned by the individuals in their respective cultures. These differences are often things to be proud of like German engineering. I'd like to ignore countries for the moment because they all have their own laws and aren't many equality issues, that I know of, between countries.

If scientific studies show that there are differences between gender/races then surely it would show that one is better than the other at certain things. Whether the cause is genetic or cultural doesn't matter because what I'd like to suggest is that we focus on the actual perceived VALUE of these differences and not the actual difference.

I'll explain through an example. If scientific studies show that gender/race A are better at accounting than gender/race B and in turn that B is better at teaching than A. Let's say that the variation is just about equal i.e. A is 10% better at accounting than B, and B is 10% better at teaching than A. The problem that we now have is that accounting jobs generally pay more than teaching. 

Now currently this issue is being addressed through affirmative action by pushing more B's into accounting jobs. Remember that it is based on scientific studies that prove differences so if there is an imbalance in the  field of accounting and studies show no difference in talent then that should still be addressed. For my example though I have a different solution. 

The VALUE of the position should be changed, if the differences are equal the individuals should be paid equal amounts. Simple as that. You end up with a whole bunch of A's doing what they are good at and earning decent money and you have the B's in the other line of work doing what they good at and earning good money.

It is therefore my opinion that these differences should be highlighted and embraced thereby enhancing the different industries instead of forcing them to work with a ball and chain on their ankles. These differences are being ignored and it isn't possible to solve these issues with a theory that is fundamentally flawed like affirmative action is at the moment.

We are all focusing on ignoring something that could easily be turned into an advantage for all. 

House in Parys

"Value" to Society

So starting at the beginning of my notebook, I'd like to think about what it means to add value to society. The way I see it, is that as we are in the middle of the information boom the only way to add lasting value that will actually outlive us is to do something expressive.

Unfortunately everyday jobs that make good money just don't provide a reflection of ones personality. There are the extremes which everyone knows like accounting but even potentially expressive careers are being perverted by the capitalist machine. Architecture is a good example of this. Most architects are in a perfect to immortalize who they are, too bad for them though that the client calls the shots and it's all about what sells. So if they want to be successful they are forced to bend their vision into what suits the market, hence the hideous cluster housing developments infesting the landscape. It's all about cutting costs.

The point is if you want tangible and actually measurable everlasting life it can only be achieved by making new and ground breaking discoveries in information or by creating something uniquely expressive reflecting you and only you.

Right & Wrong, True & False

We all know that statements tend to be either true or false. Statements about things that are wrong are unfortunately often true. Take for example the statement: "Kate was robbed last night" , we all feel that Kate has been wronged somehow and that the statement may be true.

I was gonna ask for an example of something that is right that is also false. Then it dawned on me that my example of Kate isn't "wrong", it's only what happened to Kate that is wrong and not the actual statement.

One step forward, two steps back. I thought I had an example of something being wrong and true.

Can something be wrong and true?

Can something be right and false?

I'll have to think a little more about this one.