Nicholas Johnson

[Podcast] The Key to Trump's Appeal

2021-01-07 589 words 3 minutes podcasts philosophy society

About 40% of the US population is wondering how the hell someone like Donald J. Trump ever became president. The other half of the country offers a range of different answers, none quite convincing. Sam Harris suggests an underlying psychological factor that is a counterbalance to the left’s political correctness.

[Podcast] Why Trump is Unfit For Office

2021-01-07 154 words 1 minute podcasts philosophy society

In his Making Sense podcast Sam Harris talks about why Donald Trump is unfit for public office. For reference, these clips come from Making Sense episodes #38 and #45. They were recorded before the 2016 presidential election but the past 4 years have only shown how right Harris was in his judgement of Trump.

On Blockchain

2021-01-06 3309 words 16 minutes computing

Can blockchain live up to the hype? Can its problems be fixed? What is its future? What about DAGs? What is the future of cryptocurrency? I have several predictions.

[Book] Lying

2020-12-30 39 words 1 minute books philosophy society

Sam Harris talks about how lying is more harmful than most people imagine. From white lies, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy to more serious political deception, Sam makes the case for not lying in any situation.

[Essay] The Simulation Argument

2020-12-30 40 words 1 minute essays philosophy

Nick Bostrom proposes that we are living inside a computer simulation with a 1 in 3 probability.

[Video] Vengeance

2020-12-29 22 words 1 minute videos philosophy society

Darkmatter2525 explains punitive prison systems

The Privacy Paradox

2020-12-28 886 words 5 minutes privacy society

The more steps you take to enhance your privacy, the more interesting you become to 3 letter agencies and the more likely that more targeted surveillance methods will be used on you. So should you just give up your privacy or should you go all out? What’s the optimal strategy?