ParaSait

Isn't it the case that dinosaurs weren't birds, but birds did evolve from dinosaurs? At least that's what I always thought.

I'm a 22 year old Belgian, and have been a trusty FDR listener since about... 18-19 something? I guess I'll hop in on Skype! akira.kashino, if someone would be so kind to send me an invite.

The earth is a plane, uh, because it, ah... BECAUSE IT FLIES!

The error in your thinking is that you assume there's this fixed amount of people to get all the work done. But the more people there are available in the workforce, the cheaper labor becomes, so the more people can be employed for the same cost (law of supply and demand). Not only the employment evens out, we can also reach a higher standard of living more easily. If we want more people to be able to get a job, we could start by abolishing the minimum wage. All that the minimum wage laws make sure is that people who could otherwise earn a little, now earn nothing (including the valuable experience that would enable them to grow...), because they can't legally negotiate a low wage. Income and corporate tax makes work much more expensive than it need be, too. Any element of disruptive force that's involved hits the weakest among us the hardest, really. Hope that helps!

So, do you mean you're explaining in 5 minutes why communism failed, or are you explaining why communism was only sustainable for 5 minutes?

It depends what the AI is supposed to achieve. But if the AI behaves precisely like a cold sociopath's mind, as in the typical thought that comes to mind when thinking about robots with AI, then I'd say no unless its environment also behaves univerally preferably.

I'd say obviously not. If you do this, you're instilling that unconditional forgiveness is the right thing to do. That you're at fault and deserve to be shamed if you hold someone responsible for undesired behaviour towards you. And I guess we can all imagine what that leads to... But that doesn't mean the situation should be ignored. The parent ought to bring clarity in the situation and guide the children in figuring out how the conflict originated, and make clear who is at fault.

What do you mean exactly, are you talking about lucid dreams? (I know a thing or two about that)

It doesn't really have so much to do with the number of individuals, more like with specialization. The more specialization there is for individuals in a society, the higher the need for money. Of course, if you have more individuals, specializing becomes more viable. But the sheer number of people isn't the direct reason why money is used. (see one of the first chapters in mises' "a theory of money and credit" - he explains how money becomes naturally established)

Same here

If there's a spore of mold on any fruit, the mold will thrive depending on how large the fruit is. So larger fruit creates more and nastier mold. The key is to not have any spores on your fruit at all.

Yeah, it's not a number, it's just a concept to denote that whatever X may be, Y is always bigger (or smaller)

Metaphysics is about axioms. Axioms are the core assumptions that you begin to build your philosophy on. The "ground rules" so to speak. I'll give you a metaphor. When building a sound strategy to play chess, a great place to begin strategizing is your pawn formation. However none of anything you're strategizing about will make any sense if you don't recognize the rules of the game first. If your axioms for strategizing are that pawns are queens, rooks move diagonally, and the goal of the game is to capture the horses, your strategy won't be anything but garbage in, garbage out. Similarly, if you don't agree as a core assumption that reality stands above consciousness, your philosophy will be entirely irrelevant. So the purpose of metaphysics is to establish the axioms, so that you can fall back on them when needing to prove your philosophical theories.

I don't find anything about it on fdrpodcasts.com. Maybe join the call in show?

Yep! I'd even say the very fact that these unfortunate things are happening serves as evidence that bitcoin works just as intended. Something bad happens in the network, no one has the power to magically repair it somehow. But try explaining that to your average joe...

I think the price crashed because of a big panic caused by the bitstamp hack. In my opinion, now's the time to buy. I snatched myself some at $195.

Nail on the head. This is exactly why I sometimes speak from the "you" or "we" person as well.

How about: the left are proud slaves to the state, the right are proud slaves to religion.

Haha! Maybe the very act of visiting that link IS the application process. Thanks for the laugh.

I think it's because he has a very strong, thought through philosophical framework. He also has years of experience doing conversations and debates. So, I think there's no secret trick or anything. It's just that if the brain were a muscle, he has been powertraining it.

Your post seems contradictory, first you're saying that they're unimportant secrets, but then you're asking "So can we take these to the grave and still have a healthy life?". If they're unimportant, then surely it won't affect any kind of health. Can you clarify what you mean?

Okay!

Skype?

Tervetuloa! I just wanted to say that the history of your world view sounds remarkably similar to mine. (except that for me, libertarianism began with Rand...) Also, I haven't read that quote you cited before, but I really like it, it manages to elegantly express in words my love for integrity. Thanks for sharing!

I don't mean to discourage you or scare you away, but you'll have to get used to that! We are very lonely people indeed. I thought I was the only person in all of Belgium who is even aware of the concepts of ancapism/voluntaryism. Then, Stef organized a little meetup in Amsterdam. There I was delighted to see 2 other Belgians who share my beliefs. Yes, only 2... this is why it's so essential to remain close-knit. As for a place to start looking (besides this forum), here's a suggestion off the top of my head: http://liberty.me/. It's a website by Jeffrey Tucker, precisely for the purpose of creating an online community for liberty-minded people. Perhaps you'll find some people of close proximity over there?