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<\/a><\/p>\nI\u2019ve almost made it to Spring Break (also known as lock-myself-in-a-room-and-write-my-senior-thesis-for-two-weeks-so-why-the-heck-is-it-called-break?<\/em>), so I\u2019ll be able to catch up on neglected posts and comments soon. \u00a0Today I\u2019ll have a roundup of your comments and my responses to my plea for suggestions for Lenten sacrifices<\/a>. \u00a0If you\u2019ve been waiting to add your two cents, jump in this morning! \u00a0After that, I\u2019ll finally be able to jump back into the discussion Alex Knapp, Eli of Rust Belt, and I are having about necessary evil<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oh, and in case you\u2019ve been wondering what I\u2019ve been up to instead of blogging, my midterms have included discussing why researchers should have used a statistical test instead of eyeballing<\/em>\u00a0trend lines, furiously debugging SAS code only to realize I\u2019d just misspelled a variable name, and answering the following question:<\/p>\n Why is the logic of a speech its most moving element?<\/p>\n (Answer in 1-2 sentences)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Gevalt.<\/p>\n While I\u2019ve been neglecting my posts, Christian of The Thinking Grounds<\/a> is making good on his promises. \u00a0This week he posted the introduction to his series on the boundaries of the self<\/a>, which was sparked by a discussion about transhumanism here<\/a>. \u00a0Here\u2019s his goal:<\/p>\n \u201cI do not intend to map out the markers between me and not-me. This is not only because I don\u2019t claim to be an expert but also because I don\u2019t think there are definitive boundaries. My intention is not to offer a comprehensive theory of self. It is instead my goal to destabilize existing theories. If, by the end of this series, you (my reader) think of the self as having fuzzier edges than you\u2019d previously imagined, I will consider myself successful. I will not be doing theology here. What I will be doing is offering a number of examples, mostly real-world, which challenge our preconceived notions of the boundaries of self. Over the course of the posts you will, if all goes well, be able to see the everyday and systemic applications of this question, but in the meantime I hope you will be able to enjoy it as an intellectual exercise. If you are interested in doing some prior reading, I would suggest Alice Domurat Dreger\u2019s One of Us: Conjoined Twins and the Future of Normal and Judith Butler\u2019s Precarious Life, in particular the chapter entitled, \u201cViolence, Mourning, Politics.\u201d My ideas will also be indebted to Donna Haraway\u2019s Cyborg Manifesto, which I have lots of big problems with.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I recommend you bookmark his index<\/a>, which will be updated with live links every time he adds an installment. \u00a0Though, to be honest, since self\/non-self and transhumanism are tremendously compelling linkbait for me, I\u2019ll probably be posting about his series over here and I promise to keep you in the loop.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Oh, and speaking of transhumanist linkbait\u2026 Brian Christian\u2019s story in The Atlantic<\/em>\u00a0about being a human control<\/a> in a yearly Turing Test<\/a> competition is one of my favorite bits of reporting this year. \u00a0Brian\u2019s goal is to win the \u2018Most Human Human\u2019 award by successfully convincing as many judges as possible that he is human. \u00a0To do that, he has to research the ways the computers are best at impersonating humans and where they are weakest.<\/p>\n For me, the most interesting question is how humans should react when computers match us at a particular trait or skill. \u00a0Should we think of the computer as becoming more human or should we regard that aspect of ourselves as less essentially human, since it can be imitated?<\/p>\n A really fabulous read. \u00a0(h\/t to my roommate).<\/p>\n This is only related to what has gone before in that it is also fabulous.<\/p>\n There\u2019s too much text for this resolution, plus you\u2019re missing out on alt-text, so click to Dinosaur Comics to read it in situ. \u00a0<\/em>(And if you read it and are confused, check out this wikipedia article<\/a>. \u00a0Or possibly this one<\/a>.)<\/p>\n And while I\u2019m on a webcomics kick, I want to\u00a0recommend Indistinguishable from Magic<\/a>, the behind the scenes blog of Aaron Diaz \u2013 creator of Dresden Codak<\/a>. \u00a0I love reading his posts, which make me pay a lot more attention to graphic design and art. \u00a0Try his \u201cCostumes: the Wearable Dialog\u201d<\/a>\u00a0for starters.<\/p>\n And for one last piece of brilliant graphic design, check out this ad for a German career search site. \u00a0The text reads \u201cLife\u2019s too short for the wrong job.\u201d \u00a0You can see all the ads in this series here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finally, in other writing\/blogging news, I have new articles for the Huffington Post <\/em>and The Yale Daily News <\/em>up this week.<\/p>\n [HuffPo]: \u201cTo Save the Times<\/em>, Abandon Timeliness\u201d<\/a> [YDN]: \u201cThe Offence of Disengagement\u201d\u00a0<\/a> If you want to follow my non-religious writing, I\u2019ve started a bare-bones tumblr<\/a>\u00a0to keep it all in one place.<\/p>\n \n<\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/-sMATVplunN8\/TXCGCh7to_I\/AAAAAAAABTI\/lGXXe-fmUwc\/s320\/dc+man+does+p+%253D+np.png\")
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\nAdvice for my favorite old media dinosaur<\/p>\n
\nTranslating the philosophy of the martial art Krav Maga into foreign policy. \u00a0Sorry for the wretched title, I didn\u2019t pick it!<\/p>\n
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