It's a Brave New World...

Don't cry for the end of Western Civilization 2.0.

Western Civilization 3.0 is going to be so much better that it will resemble Western Civilization 1.0:

Perhaps we can simplify by dividing folks into Eloi and Morlocks: 

The buzzword among cognoscenti is “post-person,” defined in a much-cited 2009 Philosophy and Public Affairs paper by tenured Duke professor Allen Buchanan, as those “who would have a higher moral status than that possessed by normal human beings” (emphasis original). Buchanan admits crafting chromosomal übermenschen “might be profoundly troubling from the perspective of the unenhanced (the mere persons) who would no longer enjoy the highest moral status, as they did when there were only persons and nonpersons (‘lower animals’).” 

Oh, those whacky cognoscenti....

The Limits of Pure Science.

Lawyer-turned-science fiction author, Michael Flynn, turns his talents on those who would worship reason rather than use it.

"Easter is coming."

I love this whimsical account of Michael Flynn's recent battle with with death, all the more so because my father passed away last month in circumstances all-too reminiscent of parts of Flynn's description, but really because of his ending, a reminder that death is only postponed before it finally prevails, and, yet, finally death is itself defeated:

TOF went to sleep.

In the morning, he awoke and KIDNEY-MAN entered the room. "The kidney has begun working!" Preparations were already underway to move TOF to normal care facilities.

The struggle is still underway, and it is still uphill; though yesterday it was announced that "the kidney has turned a corner," a good thing if you turn with it. Today, TOF felt well enough to essay this account, whimsical as it is.

"I am not defeated," said Death, where he lay supine on the floor. "You may have defeated me with the heart attack, and now with the septic shock. But in the end, I always win."

And I learned over and whispered maliciously in his horny ear. "Easter is coming."

"Easter is coming."

Climbing the Ladder of Inference.

Michael Flynn explains how we move from facts to conclusions and back to facts again.