All Entries in the "Timothy McGettigan" Category
Ayn Rand: The Blinkered Visionary
Ah ideology. Whether it is left or right, pink or blue, it is ideology non the less. Ayn Rand was clearly an ideologue and people liked her because she provided justification for all sorts of greedy, selfish, and inconsiderate behaviors under the banner of some sort of naturally sanctioned individualism. But swing the pendulum the other way and we trod on our fellow peeps in the name of the collective good. My question? Are left and right really that different when the result (oppression, suppression, and concentrated wealth) are the same?
To Infinity and Beyond: New Frontiers in the Science Wars
(An Excerpt from Good Science) It’s easy to beat up on postmodernists these days. Ever since the Sokal Hoax, the postmodernists’ Waterloo, the science wars have been a rout. Once it became clear that postmodernism was incapable of distinguishing between valid scientific perspectives and gibberish, postmodernists have bolted from the battlefield. This was a remarkable [...]
Living the Dream: Transcending the Boundary between Sci-Fi and Reality
Visualization and imagination create the world. Or, as Dr. Tim says, reality starts with fantasy. Or, as I like to say, as above in consciousness, so below in matter. No where is this more clear than in the area of science fiction where reality consistently lags behind fantasy only by a half century or so.
The Graveyard of Empires: The Debacle that is the US Mission in Afghanistan
Way back in my undergraduate years I read a book by Dr. Edward S. Herman called The Real Terror Network. The book really opened my eyes to the true nature and purpose of war. It was written in 1982 but 30 years hasn’t changed a single thing, except the victims involved. I gotta say, if you want to understand what war is really about, and you want to disabuse yourself of the delusions and illusions of international state-craft, you should read this book.
If Obama’s Not an American, Then Neither Are You
In the days since Osama bin Laden’s execution much of the hullabaloo surrounding Barack Obama’s citizenship has quieted. Out of gratitude for dispatching the world’s most annoying terrorist, the majority of Americans have joyfully re-embraced President Obama as a favorite son. Putting a bullet through Osama’s brain did more to convince the public that Barack [...]
Airlines to Charge Passengers by the Pound
On the heels of Allegiant Airline’s plan to charge up to $35 per carry-on bag, other major airlines have begun considering plans to charge passengers by weight.”It’s simple math,” stated Howard Fine, a spokesperson for Universal Airlines. “Heavier passengers cost more to ship from point A to point B.” In response to questions about consumer backlash over [...]
The New World Order: Rush Limbaugh vs. Empowered Women in the 21st Century
Freedom of speech? Its a thorny topic. Do people have the right to be hateful, misinformed, even misogynist? Does free speech include allowing emotional and psychologies bullies, like Rush Limbaugh, to use the airwaves for name calling? In the United States it is free speech uber alles, but other countries have different perspectives. In Canada you can’t engage in hate speech, just like you can’t punch people in the face. Whatever your position, however you think about it, Rush certainly is a magnet for controversy.
The Sacred and the Profane: Religion, Military Occupation, and Intolerance in the Age of Reason
War. Hmm. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again. Ya, right. Actually, war is good for something. It is good for our western, resource hungry, consumer system. War allows us to control the resources in other countries, and allows to take those resources as we see fit. We were friends to the Afghan people when the Soviets controlled the oil (and we didn’t like that), and now we’re enemies because we want the oil just as bad as the Soviets, with predictable consequences of growing hatred, violence, and social disintegration.
Good Science Trailer
Here’s a little advertising video for the book Good Science. It’s a great little book if you ask me and its message, that scientist always look to find out the truth of things, timely and important, especially considering the collapse of POMO theory. But it’s also a challenge. As Tim points out, accessing the truth of things is not always so straightforward. What’s more, in order to get to the truth, scientists often have to be revolutionaries. We never take the world “as it is” but always challenge ourselves, and others, to work towards the truth. Some might call it a calling, I just call it bloody hard work.
Redefining Reality: Seeing is Disbelieving
Epistemology = How do we know the world that we know? Ontology = What is the nature of the world that we know? In this short article Dr. Tim argues not only that the world is a materialist presence that exists independent of our observation (his ontological statement), but that this materialist presence can be known basically through a process of empirical trial and error. The empirical trial and error is necessary because the human is fallible, given to delusion, and open to manipulation and contrivance. That much is true, we are too easy to fool it seems. But is that in our nature, or is it a function of our flawed socialization process? That’s the rub. Personally, I think socialization but then hey, this a Sociology journal and I’m a sociologist, so maybe I’m biased (or maybe, it is the Truth).
What to know about the nature of money, the value of money, and money's role in our modern economies of exchange, then download The Rocket Scientists' Guide to Money and the Economy and let the truth set you free. [
Sociology for the revolutionary in you. 