There is a marble quarry about twenty minutes north of here. About fifty years ago the island was strip-mined, which has left a massive pit where a large hill once sat. The pit is filled about fifteen feet deep or even more with water, and the rocks are sharply, steeply cut, making ridiculous, double flip dives a breeze.
There are a lot of quarries around here like the one I went to today. Some have stagnant water that have become disgusting mosquito mating grounds. Others look okay but swallowing the water will get you Hepatitis. Nearly all of the quarries have the gigantic mining trucks, cranes, cars and barrels in the middle of these pools, yet the water is so deep they are barely visible. New England miners discovered it was cheaper to simply leave the equipment in the pit when the waters came rather than haul it out.
One pit is exceptional in that it lacks any of that. Half a century ago, a miner decided to get the equipment out of the pit before it flooded fully and opened a junk yard about 300 meters away. The junkyard is still owned and operated to this day, now by the man's grandson - a man in his late twenties who enjoys smoking a small bowl of marijuana on the cliffs and admiring the sunsets.
Ugh, whenever I'm writing an article I ALWAYS GET INTERRUPTED! Okay, I gotta go. DANG IT!!!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Feel free to comment on this...
Is Aquinan scholarship dualist or strangely materialist? Alvin Plantinga, now 30 years famous at Notre Dame University, asks the question,
~Alvin Plantinga's article Materialism and Christianity in Persons: Human and Divine, 2007
...there is also the important but obscure view of Thomas Aquinas and his followers. Is this a form of dualism? The question is vexed. According to Aquinas, a human person is a material substance with an immaterial part, the soul. Aquinas says, of this immaterial part, that it itself is a substance. Furthermore the soul, this immaterial part, has the property of possibly thinking (believing, desiring, hoping, deciding, etc.), and after death, does think. But Aquinas also says that the soul is the form of the body. A form, however, at least as far as I can see is or is like a property; and a property, presumably, can't think. If the soul is a form, therefore, how can it be capable of thinking?
~Alvin Plantinga's article Materialism and Christianity in Persons: Human and Divine, 2007
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Quotables with Jerry Fodor, Heraclitus
Two years ago, in an interview conducted by Anglican-priest-turned-agnostic Mark Vernon, Rutgers philosopher of mind Jerry Fodor had this to say,
I rather doubt that life has a meaning. If I thought perhaps it did, and I wanted to find out what its meaning is, I don't imagine I'd ask someone whose credentials consist of a Ph. d. in philosophy.Frenchman Pierre Hadot recently published a new translation of Heraclitus' aphorism which I believe bears consideration; the Greeks always had the most poetic philosophies,
What is born tends to disappear.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Questions in the Imperative, or A Recent Return to Borges
I was about a year back and twenty miles north of Boston when I realized my final paper for a class needed some extra citations and I took to the college's library in order to add a few sources. After an hour I found myself off track, merely flipping through books for pleasure rather than task. It was during this idleness that I discovered a particularly interesting book titled The Heretical Imperative. The book itself would be difficult to find even by reference; in the library's basement, fallen behind a small stack of fictions. I would not have cared to open the book had I not remembered that a professor of mine then abroad in Italy had once before given me an excerpt of it.
The Heretical Imperative was written by a certain Peter L. Berger, and most printings range around 200 pages in length. The particular book I held in my hands happened to be the tool of a sleight of tongue. Beside the front flap is a brief note,
The Heretical Imperative was written by a certain Peter L. Berger, and most printings range around 200 pages in length. The particular book I held in my hands happened to be the tool of a sleight of tongue. Beside the front flap is a brief note,
Gift of Mary Frances Nagley
Dec. 16, 1979
on the occasion of the
Ordination to the Priesthood
of
Mary Jane Nestler
Dec. 16, 1979
on the occasion of the
Ordination to the Priesthood
of
Mary Jane Nestler
The sense of humor of this Mary Nagley intrigued me, and I copied her dedication onto a piece of paper and read the rest of the book that day. The theme of the book, if I understood Berger correctly, was this: As our culture increasingly becomes more and more scientific, more cutting, more splicing, a belief in God will continue to become less normative and more arabesque - fanciful but ridiculous. Any belief in God (or any rejection of modernity), therefore, is heretical; a definition of heresy as any choice away from the standard. In other words, heresy is the only route left.
I rather enjoyed the book. The prose was tight and connected, and Berger drew upon a wealth of sources from many cultures, languages, and histories. Subsequent searches for Berger revealed him to be a sociologist from Boston University, still employed, living about thirty minutes south of me. Publisher records and third party informations on The Heretical Imperative are conflicting. A first edition copy from Doubleday can still be acquired at a reasonable price, and information from them says the earliest date of publication was 1980. But curiously, the dedicatory note by Ms Nagley was dated exactly 24 days prior to this. Other sources confirm Nagley's date, including an open letter I found written by Berger dated April 1980, to the journal Theology Today, which mentioned the book's publication year as 1979.
The two in the dedicatory note proved more difficult to track down. I found nothing about Mary Frances Nagley, the writer of the note, though a deeper investigation could prove more telling given more time and energy. Research on her friend, priestess Mary Jane Nestler, was turning dour as well until I uncovered a press release from the Episcopalian news archives dated August 5, 2003. The release addressed Nestler as Deputy Mary Jane Nestler and not as a priest, the title of deputy in certain circles - including Anglican - indicates the status of laity and not cleric. A strange twist indeed, if Deputy Nestler was once a priestess but now is not. The press release itself was uninteresting, Nestler and other deputies wrote to encourage priests to study foreign cultures and languages in an effort of cross-anthropological appeal. At this point I decided to end the search to learn more about the curious note; further investigation would be unnecessary and probably uninteresting. Even as I write this I yawn with anticipating a long and restful sleep.
I rather enjoyed the book. The prose was tight and connected, and Berger drew upon a wealth of sources from many cultures, languages, and histories. Subsequent searches for Berger revealed him to be a sociologist from Boston University, still employed, living about thirty minutes south of me. Publisher records and third party informations on The Heretical Imperative are conflicting. A first edition copy from Doubleday can still be acquired at a reasonable price, and information from them says the earliest date of publication was 1980. But curiously, the dedicatory note by Ms Nagley was dated exactly 24 days prior to this. Other sources confirm Nagley's date, including an open letter I found written by Berger dated April 1980, to the journal Theology Today, which mentioned the book's publication year as 1979.
The two in the dedicatory note proved more difficult to track down. I found nothing about Mary Frances Nagley, the writer of the note, though a deeper investigation could prove more telling given more time and energy. Research on her friend, priestess Mary Jane Nestler, was turning dour as well until I uncovered a press release from the Episcopalian news archives dated August 5, 2003. The release addressed Nestler as Deputy Mary Jane Nestler and not as a priest, the title of deputy in certain circles - including Anglican - indicates the status of laity and not cleric. A strange twist indeed, if Deputy Nestler was once a priestess but now is not. The press release itself was uninteresting, Nestler and other deputies wrote to encourage priests to study foreign cultures and languages in an effort of cross-anthropological appeal. At this point I decided to end the search to learn more about the curious note; further investigation would be unnecessary and probably uninteresting. Even as I write this I yawn with anticipating a long and restful sleep.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Intention (not Intentionality)
Before this blog became the face of my venture into Chile, this was a philosophical blog. To a handful of people's delight (and to the overwhelming majority's boredom) this blog is returning to that purpose.
Anyways, here is my reading list for the rest of the summer.
The reading list for the rest of the Summer!:
Mind, by Searle 50% done (I think it's boring and that I wish Searle mentioned more cognitive studies)
The Veil of Isis: an Essay on the Idea of Nature, by Hadot 15% done (So far, second best book of the summer)
Memory, History, Forgiveness, by Ricoeur 1% done (I have rarely felt so stupid, except when reading Deleuze or Derrida)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Kundera 2%done (So far, this book is AWESOME.)
Why is There Something Rather Than Nothing?, by Kolakowski 90% done (It's a pretty-good treatment of philosophy's fundamental question(s). Read it for its summary of Parmenides.)
God and the Philosophers, edited by Norris 95% done (Great talk by 10 philosophers over the subject of God, religion and reality.)
The Best in Science and Nature Writing 2003, edited by Richard Dawkins 15% done
The Best in Science and Nature Writing 2004, edited by Stephen Pinker 100% done
Anyways, here is my reading list for the rest of the summer.
The reading list for the rest of the Summer!:
Mind, by Searle 50% done (I think it's boring and that I wish Searle mentioned more cognitive studies)
The Veil of Isis: an Essay on the Idea of Nature, by Hadot 15% done (So far, second best book of the summer)
Memory, History, Forgiveness, by Ricoeur 1% done (I have rarely felt so stupid, except when reading Deleuze or Derrida)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Kundera 2%done (So far, this book is AWESOME.)
Why is There Something Rather Than Nothing?, by Kolakowski 90% done (It's a pretty-good treatment of philosophy's fundamental question(s). Read it for its summary of Parmenides.)
God and the Philosophers, edited by Norris 95% done (Great talk by 10 philosophers over the subject of God, religion and reality.)
The Best in Science and Nature Writing 2003, edited by Richard Dawkins 15% done
The Best in Science and Nature Writing 2004, edited by Stephen Pinker 100% done
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
One bus, one plane and two cars later...
For the last two days I have been residing blissfully in the United States. The weather is gorgeous: Santiago taught me that if there is at least warm weather, cloudy days aren't so bad. Even as soon as stepping into the Dallas airport on layover I have been scouring magazines, interrogating friends and devouring the Web to see what great music I have missed. In the span of two American, Summer months I have missed quite a bit.
Here are some of the goods. The boldface goes band then song title.
Wild Sweet Orange - Ten Dead Dogs
Mates of State - My Only Offer
Goldfrapp - Satin Chic
Cansei de Ser Sexy - Music is My Hot, Hot Sex
Here are some of the goods. The boldface goes band then song title.
Wild Sweet Orange - Ten Dead Dogs
Mates of State - My Only Offer
Goldfrapp - Satin Chic
Cansei de Ser Sexy - Music is My Hot, Hot Sex
Friday, August 8, 2008
Chile as an island.
Granted, I haven't been here for very long. A whole life in a country can barely be enough to attest to its qualities, much less two months; although what I have experienced attests to the idea that Chile is an island. Though on a map its borders speak otherwise, Chile is quite removed from its neighbors.
Seperated by vast desert, enveloped by the Andes, and host to one of the most inhospitable sailing waters, Chile is an island alone.
Seperated by vast desert, enveloped by the Andes, and host to one of the most inhospitable sailing waters, Chile is an island alone.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The difference between houses and homes...
There are a number of different ways to spend a night in Chile.
The first two are Hotels and Hospedajes. The difference between an average hotel and an average hospedaje is negligible, though hotels might actually be very high quality (and high cost) but a hospedaje is always average.
Next is a Residencial. A residencial has the amount of rooms like a hotel, but the price of a hostel. You get your own room instead of sharing in a hostel, and even a TV, but the quality is generally the lowest of all of these here. A residencial's atomosphere is generally decided by the atitude of the owner.
Fourth is the Hostería. I have never been to a hostería, so, as Wittgenstein once put it, where our world ends there we must be silent. I cannot comment.
Fifth is the Hostel. Like a hostel anywhere else in the world, it is a large commune with a bunch of travelers from around the world. This is a prefered way to travel if you are going solo, with friends, or on a budget.
Things I miss about home:
1. Music. That means picking out the music I want to listen to. Besides, I bought a CD here of Los Bunkers (a great band, by the way, so check them out) and I have nothing to play it on!
2. More travel companions. Traveling solo means I have no one to enjoy this place with. Friends don't let friends travel alone.
Things I don't miss about home:
1. Liquor law.
2.
The first two are Hotels and Hospedajes. The difference between an average hotel and an average hospedaje is negligible, though hotels might actually be very high quality (and high cost) but a hospedaje is always average.
Next is a Residencial. A residencial has the amount of rooms like a hotel, but the price of a hostel. You get your own room instead of sharing in a hostel, and even a TV, but the quality is generally the lowest of all of these here. A residencial's atomosphere is generally decided by the atitude of the owner.
Fourth is the Hostería. I have never been to a hostería, so, as Wittgenstein once put it, where our world ends there we must be silent. I cannot comment.
Fifth is the Hostel. Like a hostel anywhere else in the world, it is a large commune with a bunch of travelers from around the world. This is a prefered way to travel if you are going solo, with friends, or on a budget.
Things I miss about home:
1. Music. That means picking out the music I want to listen to. Besides, I bought a CD here of Los Bunkers (a great band, by the way, so check them out) and I have nothing to play it on!
2. More travel companions. Traveling solo means I have no one to enjoy this place with. Friends don't let friends travel alone.
Things I don't miss about home:
1. Liquor law.
2.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The second day of Copiapó
Yesterday I arrived by bus into Copiapó, a dusty, boring desert town built in the same layout as Santiago but without the people or the glitz to make it interesting. There is one dominant color here, brown, which starts from the coffee-colored dirt roads (they're actually paved, but have about an inch of dirt above them), to the brown buildings, to the peaks of giant mountains made of sand. Like many deserts, the days art hot but the nights are very cold.
To the east lies Salar de Maricunga (Salt Lake of Maricunga), a place I very badly wish to see but budget constraints are saying otherwise. I have $100 in US cash and $30,000 in pesos. I really want that $100 to be for emergencies, meaning the pesos are going to have to go towards my last meals and a busride back to Santiago.
To the west is Bahia Inglésa (English Bay), which I visted today. I took to the coastal town, more like a village - its population is probably around 300. The streets are quiet, maybe one othere tourist was there, and the people are leisurely seated on their doorsteps or can be heard inside their homes. The beach is fantastic - pearl white sand, warm, azure waters, fishing boats docked lazily, not another person in sight. Actually, it got kinda lonely, haha. And it was so remote that I had to ask a guy leaving his driveway to drop me off in Caldera to the north cause no taxi or bus would go out there to pick me up.
In Caldera there is a giant, wooden cathedral. Its large pillars, skyward steeple and tan walls were entirely of wood, except for its tin roof. Caldera is certainly more populated than Bahia Inglésa, but much less than Copiapó. At least in Caldera there was a bus service back to Copiapó, which was late by 2 hours. Other than the wooden cathedral, Caldera does not boast very much. My way back home I played Chess with some Frenchmen going to Santiago from Peru. They weren't very good, I beat all of them by the time I reached the terminal of Copiapó. And now here I am, in an internet terminal.
Alright, even though it's 7.45 I am tired. Goodnight.
To the east lies Salar de Maricunga (Salt Lake of Maricunga), a place I very badly wish to see but budget constraints are saying otherwise. I have $100 in US cash and $30,000 in pesos. I really want that $100 to be for emergencies, meaning the pesos are going to have to go towards my last meals and a busride back to Santiago.
To the west is Bahia Inglésa (English Bay), which I visted today. I took to the coastal town, more like a village - its population is probably around 300. The streets are quiet, maybe one othere tourist was there, and the people are leisurely seated on their doorsteps or can be heard inside their homes. The beach is fantastic - pearl white sand, warm, azure waters, fishing boats docked lazily, not another person in sight. Actually, it got kinda lonely, haha. And it was so remote that I had to ask a guy leaving his driveway to drop me off in Caldera to the north cause no taxi or bus would go out there to pick me up.
In Caldera there is a giant, wooden cathedral. Its large pillars, skyward steeple and tan walls were entirely of wood, except for its tin roof. Caldera is certainly more populated than Bahia Inglésa, but much less than Copiapó. At least in Caldera there was a bus service back to Copiapó, which was late by 2 hours. Other than the wooden cathedral, Caldera does not boast very much. My way back home I played Chess with some Frenchmen going to Santiago from Peru. They weren't very good, I beat all of them by the time I reached the terminal of Copiapó. And now here I am, in an internet terminal.
Alright, even though it's 7.45 I am tired. Goodnight.
Monday, August 4, 2008
La Serena, day 3
La Serena is a little boring, I won't lie. But I would love living here - it's quiet and beautiful and the weather is perfect year round. It's kind of like an American suburb had been plopped down and became its own city.
Today I awoke and planned on going to Valle de Elqui, but had last minute second thoughts and decided against it. Not because of money, but because of time and transportation. I worried that with the few hours I would have there, I wouldn't be able to see very much on foot. Perhaps if I had a car.
The reason my friends are staying in La Serena is that they are apartment shopping. That's right, they are moving to La Serena. So today I decided to go apartment shopping with them instead of Valle de Elqui. It was an interesting experience - and they found what I think is a nice place, and very affordable.
To close this post, I will give another update on Chilean slang (swearing this time):
Fome - Boring
Besadora - Asshole
Wea - Shit
Gringolandia - United States of America
Ropa vieja - lit. old cloths, it means leftovers
Dando Jugo - lit. giving juice, it means someone who talks a lot but says nothing
Me carga... - I hate...
Chatear - To chat
Poncear - To make out
Lancear - To steal
Carretear - To party, comes from the word for highway
Cacho (caxo) - I understand
Bacán - Cool
No caxo esa wea - I don't get this shit
Palolo(a) - Boyfriend, girlfriend
Bruja - Wife
Today I awoke and planned on going to Valle de Elqui, but had last minute second thoughts and decided against it. Not because of money, but because of time and transportation. I worried that with the few hours I would have there, I wouldn't be able to see very much on foot. Perhaps if I had a car.
The reason my friends are staying in La Serena is that they are apartment shopping. That's right, they are moving to La Serena. So today I decided to go apartment shopping with them instead of Valle de Elqui. It was an interesting experience - and they found what I think is a nice place, and very affordable.
To close this post, I will give another update on Chilean slang (swearing this time):
Fome - Boring
Besadora - Asshole
Wea - Shit
Gringolandia - United States of America
Ropa vieja - lit. old cloths, it means leftovers
Dando Jugo - lit. giving juice, it means someone who talks a lot but says nothing
Me carga... - I hate...
Chatear - To chat
Poncear - To make out
Lancear - To steal
Carretear - To party, comes from the word for highway
Cacho (caxo) - I understand
Bacán - Cool
No caxo esa wea - I don't get this shit
Palolo(a) - Boyfriend, girlfriend
Bruja - Wife
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Quick change of plans...
After a good talk with the family who runs the hostel, I am changing my plans. Here is the updated syllabus... Also, I have severly trimmed my plans because my friends, for various reasons, are staying in La Serena. I decided to stay here another day, venture to San Pedro solo. Fortunatley I have friends in San Pedro. Also, to keep dad's heart problems at bay, I have included the hostel phone numbers and addresses that I am staying at in case of emergency or what have you. I chose these two hostels as they are the highest rated in the areas.
Tomorrow (Monday): Visit Valle de Elqui (what I was supposed to go to today)
Tomorrow night: Overnight bus to San Pedro de Atacama
Tuesday: The city of San Pedro
Wednesday: Valle de la Luna, Salar de Atacama, Laguna Verde
Thursday: The geysers of El Tatia, as well as many other things.
Thursday night: Overnight back to Santiago where I return to the family
Monday: the hostel Maria's Casa
Las Rojas 18
La Serena, Chile
Phone: (56)(51) 229282
Website: www.hostalmariacasa.cl
Tuesday through Thursday: Sumaj Jallpa
Volcan el tatio 703
Licanabur, San Pedro de Atacam, Chile
Phone: (56) (55) 851416
Tomorrow (Monday): Visit Valle de Elqui (what I was supposed to go to today)
Tomorrow night: Overnight bus to San Pedro de Atacama
Tuesday: The city of San Pedro
Wednesday: Valle de la Luna, Salar de Atacama, Laguna Verde
Thursday: The geysers of El Tatia, as well as many other things.
Thursday night: Overnight back to Santiago where I return to the family
Monday: the hostel Maria's Casa
Las Rojas 18
La Serena, Chile
Phone: (56)(51) 229282
Website: www.hostalmariacasa.cl
Tuesday through Thursday: Sumaj Jallpa
Volcan el tatio 703
Licanabur, San Pedro de Atacam, Chile
Phone: (56) (55) 851416
Still in La Serena
I made plans to visit the pisco and wine vineyards in the Valle de Elqui today but the batteries in my alarm decided to die in the middle of the night and I missed the bus. Instead me and mis amigos took to caminando the streets of La Serena. In the Summer, supposedly the city is all hustle and bustle, but during Winter, especially on fomingo, the town is... serene? The town is, as described by one of my teachers, extremely boring. There are a few cool buildings, and I bought a bottle and food and picniced the sunset on the beach. That was fun too. I just returned from there.
Also, my English skills have dropped to disastrously low levels. I have to keep checking my grammar and vocabulary. For instance, today I wanted to say 'I don't care' in English. The way to say that in Spanish is 'No me importa', or in it's lengthier way, 'A mi no me importa'. When directly translated that means 'To me it is not important', which is exactly what I said.
I am planning out my busride now to Copiapo - a city not worth noting except is where I am staying to visit Bahia Inglesa. Here's to pleasant travels. Chau.
Also, my English skills have dropped to disastrously low levels. I have to keep checking my grammar and vocabulary. For instance, today I wanted to say 'I don't care' in English. The way to say that in Spanish is 'No me importa', or in it's lengthier way, 'A mi no me importa'. When directly translated that means 'To me it is not important', which is exactly what I said.
I am planning out my busride now to Copiapo - a city not worth noting except is where I am staying to visit Bahia Inglesa. Here's to pleasant travels. Chau.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
In La Serena...
Well, the bus I took took longer to arrive here than I expected. La Serena is wonderful - I can choose to wear a sweater at night! It feels so long since then. I also wished I hadn't packed my camera on the busride up because there were some crazy geographical sights.
Anyways, I have a choice for tomorrow - visit a tiny rainforest in the middle of the desert, visit the beach and hopefully see penguins, or go to Parque National Fray Jorge. We'll see what I choose when you read tomorrow's post.
Right now I am at a hostel owned by a very nice family. My room is a quaint double that I share with a guy from somewhere in South America.
Anyways, I have a choice for tomorrow - visit a tiny rainforest in the middle of the desert, visit the beach and hopefully see penguins, or go to Parque National Fray Jorge. We'll see what I choose when you read tomorrow's post.
Right now I am at a hostel owned by a very nice family. My room is a quaint double that I share with a guy from somewhere in South America.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Game Plan
Money: $470 (290 in the bank, 100 in US, 80 in Chilean pesos)
Start day: Saturday, 1 in the morning
End day: Saturday morning at the latest
Saturday: La Serena and Parque Nacional Fray Jorge
Sunday: Las Ramadas, Tongoy and a Pisco production plant that the travel book said was worth visiting and there are free walk-in tours
Monday: Bus to Copaipo
Tuesday: Visit Bahia Inglesa, supposedly the best Southamerican beach on the Pacific side.
Tuesday night: Bus to San Pedro de Atacama
Wednesday: San Pedro and Salar de Atacama and Valle de la Luna
Thursday at 4 AM: Visit El Tatio to see 100 geysers go off at once
Thursday midday: Catch a bus back home, should be back in Santiago by midday Friday. The Inostrozas said I could reside with them.
Start day: Saturday, 1 in the morning
End day: Saturday morning at the latest
Saturday: La Serena and Parque Nacional Fray Jorge
Sunday: Las Ramadas, Tongoy and a Pisco production plant that the travel book said was worth visiting and there are free walk-in tours
Monday: Bus to Copaipo
Tuesday: Visit Bahia Inglesa, supposedly the best Southamerican beach on the Pacific side.
Tuesday night: Bus to San Pedro de Atacama
Wednesday: San Pedro and Salar de Atacama and Valle de la Luna
Thursday at 4 AM: Visit El Tatio to see 100 geysers go off at once
Thursday midday: Catch a bus back home, should be back in Santiago by midday Friday. The Inostrozas said I could reside with them.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Another translated article...
Well, for lack of anything better, I will translate another article recently published. It's quite boring, actually. I don't know why I'm doing this other than for practice. Tomorrow I will post my game plan for visiting the northern half of Chile. The reason for the extensive delay is that I cannot decide on visiting La Serena in northern Chile or Mendoza in Argentina first.
Chile is a Leader in Informational Technologies, but...
...That's not saying much. In terms of information within society, Chile is the respected leader within the Latino American countries.
Just after Mexico, we are the nation that has most extensively incorporated essential technologies, such as the net, computer networks and cell phones. Mostly in businesses, academic establishments, health centers and State departments, to mention a few.
According to results obtained from the Societal Informations Indicator, or Indicador de la Sociedad de la Información (ISI), and backed up by DMR Consulting and the Postgraduate University for Business Administration of Navarra (IESE-CELA):
Between October and December of 2005, ISI gave an average of 4.86 points to the sum of all Latino American countries - the highest average obtained to date - with an annual growth rate of 2.6%.
Chile (6.28) and Mexico (5) scored as the only two countries with a grade Superior within Latin America.
ISI compared the statistics of Latin American countries with some of the best, those countries that recieved the rank of Optimum; like the US or northwestern European nations - those countries averaged 9.5. And ISI also compared themselves with countries marked Sub-Optimum, for example South Korea, Portugal and Greece, which recieved an average 6.77.
Even though our country continues to stay as the leader in the region, the gap between well developed countries of Europe or the US and semi-developed countries like Chile is far wider than the chasm between Chile and third-world countries,^ said DMR Counsulting representative, Juan Francisco Yáñez.
¨Analysis has permited us at ISI to conclude that there exists a infrastructural hole in basic technologies (TI), that is pertinent to sustain Chilean markets. In part, this is due to medium and small businesses unwilling to make the switch to the internet,¨ said Yàñez.
¨We don't do the first point and leave without finishing the second point (NOTE: This is hard to translate, basically he's saying that Chile can't be satisfied with large businness going digital). There is an arduous job to do. We need to penetrate the markets with newer technology,¨ continued Yáñez.
Chile is a Leader in Informational Technologies, but...
...That's not saying much. In terms of information within society, Chile is the respected leader within the Latino American countries.
Just after Mexico, we are the nation that has most extensively incorporated essential technologies, such as the net, computer networks and cell phones. Mostly in businesses, academic establishments, health centers and State departments, to mention a few.
According to results obtained from the Societal Informations Indicator, or Indicador de la Sociedad de la Información (ISI), and backed up by DMR Consulting and the Postgraduate University for Business Administration of Navarra (IESE-CELA):
Between October and December of 2005, ISI gave an average of 4.86 points to the sum of all Latino American countries - the highest average obtained to date - with an annual growth rate of 2.6%.
Chile (6.28) and Mexico (5) scored as the only two countries with a grade Superior within Latin America.
ISI compared the statistics of Latin American countries with some of the best, those countries that recieved the rank of Optimum; like the US or northwestern European nations - those countries averaged 9.5. And ISI also compared themselves with countries marked Sub-Optimum, for example South Korea, Portugal and Greece, which recieved an average 6.77.
Even though our country continues to stay as the leader in the region, the gap between well developed countries of Europe or the US and semi-developed countries like Chile is far wider than the chasm between Chile and third-world countries,^ said DMR Counsulting representative, Juan Francisco Yáñez.
¨Analysis has permited us at ISI to conclude that there exists a infrastructural hole in basic technologies (TI), that is pertinent to sustain Chilean markets. In part, this is due to medium and small businesses unwilling to make the switch to the internet,¨ said Yàñez.
¨We don't do the first point and leave without finishing the second point (NOTE: This is hard to translate, basically he's saying that Chile can't be satisfied with large businness going digital). There is an arduous job to do. We need to penetrate the markets with newer technology,¨ continued Yáñez.
Monday, July 28, 2008
On Music
I decided to assemble a short list of music that seems to be conjured whenever I think of Chile. Call it a soundtrack to the country, if you will. The criteria for this list is two-fold. First, it has to be popular. Popular enough that you might hear it walking down the street. The more popular a song is the higher I'll place it. Second, I have to enjoy it. That part is important too.
Of course, with that sort of criteria you'd expect the mayoría of this list to be reggaeton. Firstly, cause reggaeton is the lingua franca of music down here, and secondly cause I happen to like it. So your expectations would be fulfilled - I'm not dando jugo when I say that.
1. Las Dalmatas - Fotogenica (Reggaeton)
Yeah, I happen to like this song a lot and Chile seems to as well. The Mexican group gets plenty of airplay down here.
2. Babasónicos - Pijamas (Indie)
If you hate reggaeton maybe you'll like Indie-Postrock: enter Babasónicos, the Argentinian rock group.
3. Los Bunkers - Y Volveré (Rock)
Los Bunkers is pretty darn good, but this song is only marginal at best. Well, it's best I could do in this short amount of time. Perhaps I'll edit this and put a better Los Bunkers song on.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Sick... again
Ugh, I have the cold again and I know exactly how I got it. So a friend was over last week and we had some drinks. She had a cold and I knew about it. Only, I wasn't thinking when I poured her a re-fill and she said right after that she had to go home. So I poured the drink back in the bottle. Stupid, Patrick. About five days later I decided I wanted to warm up to some homework and took a glass of Irish Cream to the dry. And here I am, two days after that with the beginnings of a cold. Ugh.
Because there is little else to do, I am going to translate a recent article in El Mercurio, a Chilean paper.
Chile Top South American country to live in
by María de los Ángeles Naudon D.
Once again, we are the top ranked in the region. According to an recent ranking published in the magazine, 'The Economist', our country is the best place to live inside Latin America.
Just underneath us is Mexico, Argentina and the rest of the continent.
The magazien surveyed 111 nations, placing Ireland, Switzerland and Norway in the top three. Chile took 31st. Not bad.
The Best and the Worst
Because there is little else to do, I am going to translate a recent article in El Mercurio, a Chilean paper.
Chile Top South American country to live in
by María de los Ángeles Naudon D.
Once again, we are the top ranked in the region. According to an recent ranking published in the magazine, 'The Economist', our country is the best place to live inside Latin America.
Just underneath us is Mexico, Argentina and the rest of the continent.
The magazien surveyed 111 nations, placing Ireland, Switzerland and Norway in the top three. Chile took 31st. Not bad.
The Best and the Worst
- Ireland
- Switzerland
- Norway
- Luxembourg
- Sweden
- Australia
- Iceland
- Italy
- Denmark
- Spain
13. United States
25. France
31. Chile
105. Russia
111. Zimbabwe
Monday, July 21, 2008
Another day, another coffee
I know I am still learning language. Well, in theory. But it feels like I'm not learning anything anymore. Dan Erb told me that he heard some languages like French start hard and get easier, Spanish starts easy and gets harder. I believe it. This language is really tough to come even close to mastering. Here's a reason (I might have given this example in an older post, I can't remember), while English combines words to make new ones, Spanish invents totally new words. For instance, say we have this new type of potato that is sweet rather than the typical bland taste, what do we call it? How about sweet potatoes? But in Spanish, it's a completely new word - batatas - which is never found in any other case other than for sweet potatoes. Or how about homework (Home + Work) = tarea. Anyways, vocabulary is one thing, but the grammar is very rigid; so even though I might be able to understand everything, expressing myself correctly is quite a challenge.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Well, well, well...
Not much to talk about here. I just finished another level of Spanish in my private lessons - now I am a week ahead of my class. There is a small party at the school at 6 PM tonight, I think I will stop by. I haven't played chess in a while here cause the subway trip is getting on my nerves - Plaza de Armas, where the chess club is, is simply too far away. Last night I sat down with the older of my two host brothers, Jorge, and my host dad and planned out what I think is going to be a real winner of a trip. The trip will include Northern Chile's Atacama desert, the lagoon of San Pedro, Icuique, southern portion of Peru for its beaches and the Salar salt flats of Bolivia. Plus, I believe I will go with Jorge, a married 28 year old math teacher, who has been there before. With a native South American with me who has made this trip in the past, I think it's probably safer than my weekly trip into downtown Santiago. Plus, some friends of mine have made a similar trip recently and gave glowing reviews.
I really, really, really want to see the salt lakes of Bolivia. I knew about them long before my Chilean excursion and I know they are one of the most highly prized destinations in the world.
One thing I want to mention is I believe the guidebooks were way off in their description of Plaza de Armas. Plaza de Armas is one of the safer areas in all of Santiago. Yes, it's more dangerous at night, obviously, because what place isn't? Oh, and when there are student protests it can be dangerous. Not dangerous in that you are a target, but dangerous in that you might grouped with the students by the police, who have a nasty habit of overreacting with fire truck hoses, batons flying and beatings. I really have to say that the police here are way stricter on protests than in the States, and it takes much much less to provoke a cop here. Personally I don't really care either way, I'm just saying.
Anways, I have nothing new to report. Tengas una buena noche.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
A lazy afternoon.
I am trying to fit in a trip to a faraway destination while I am here. The only question is where. I could catch a flight to Buenas Aires for only 50.000 pesos with some friends. Or I could take a bus ride to Mendoza, Argentina for 10.000 pesos. Buenas Aires has around 18,000,000 people, and is around three times the size of New York City. Everything there is extremely cheap as well. Plus, one of my favorite postmodern authors - Jorge Luis Borges - lived nearby and a pilgramage to his place would certainly be in order. Buenas Aires, like any city, has it's dangerous sections, but really the city is quite safe if you stick around the touristy, the rich and the well-traveled sections. Of course I won't be going to La Boca or any ghetto while I am there.
Or I could go to La Serena (where penguins be), and catch a one hour busride to a remote Mapuche village in the mountains. It's a secret little area that tourists don't know about - a teacher of mine told me about it - and supposedly rocks La Serena's world. The village is in the highest parts of the mountains, but it has a lake that should not be missed.
Right now, people are flocking to the currently erupting volcano near Púcon and I would not want to miss it. It's about five hours south and bus services are created a special trip down there. Not to mention that Púcon hosts some incredibly beautiful hot springs you can bathe in. That's another option.
Far south is Puntos Arenas, 100 miles away from Antartica. While the cost of a bus trip there is about the same as lunch in Santiago (cause no one wants to go), I would definitely need my ski jacket as well as iron skin.
San Pedro is another option. But it's touristy and does not have that much to offer. Plus, it's full of hippies and hippies annoy me. I have been told there is a town inside the Atacama Desert that boasts everything Pedro has without the tourists. I'm gonna look into that. Only catch is that both trips take a full 24 hours. So we'll see, dear reader. We'll see.
Or I could go to La Serena (where penguins be), and catch a one hour busride to a remote Mapuche village in the mountains. It's a secret little area that tourists don't know about - a teacher of mine told me about it - and supposedly rocks La Serena's world. The village is in the highest parts of the mountains, but it has a lake that should not be missed.
Right now, people are flocking to the currently erupting volcano near Púcon and I would not want to miss it. It's about five hours south and bus services are created a special trip down there. Not to mention that Púcon hosts some incredibly beautiful hot springs you can bathe in. That's another option.
Far south is Puntos Arenas, 100 miles away from Antartica. While the cost of a bus trip there is about the same as lunch in Santiago (cause no one wants to go), I would definitely need my ski jacket as well as iron skin.
San Pedro is another option. But it's touristy and does not have that much to offer. Plus, it's full of hippies and hippies annoy me. I have been told there is a town inside the Atacama Desert that boasts everything Pedro has without the tourists. I'm gonna look into that. Only catch is that both trips take a full 24 hours. So we'll see, dear reader. We'll see.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Food, pt. 3
Here is yet another installment on Chilean food. My goodness.
palta - Don't make the mistake of calling this guacamole, it's not. Instead it's crushed, smushed avocadoes. Guacamole without the extras. Palta is everywhere, on completos, churrascoes, etc...
merquen - A Mapuchen spice. Mapuches are the natives of Chile, they are about 5% of the population. I have yet to have merquen.
pastel de choclo - Corn on the cob. The corn is tougher back home and never sweet.
frambuesa - Gotta hand it to the Chileans, they know their juices and jugo de frambuesa is the stuff. It's a raspberry juice and it's the best of the natural juices here. Too bad it's not in season. No matter, you can still find it in some resteraunts.
palta - Don't make the mistake of calling this guacamole, it's not. Instead it's crushed, smushed avocadoes. Guacamole without the extras. Palta is everywhere, on completos, churrascoes, etc...
merquen - A Mapuchen spice. Mapuches are the natives of Chile, they are about 5% of the population. I have yet to have merquen.
pastel de choclo - Corn on the cob. The corn is tougher back home and never sweet.
frambuesa - Gotta hand it to the Chileans, they know their juices and jugo de frambuesa is the stuff. It's a raspberry juice and it's the best of the natural juices here. Too bad it's not in season. No matter, you can still find it in some resteraunts.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Say Yes to Elliot
I am chilling on a bed with a friend's laptop in the beautiful and rich port, Vina del Mar (with a ~ tilde over the 'n', it's impossible on this computer). My Spanish is good, but it needs improvement - something I constantly work at. And I have definitely learned a lot of Spanish while I've been here. It all depends on who is your "teacher" - in other words, your friends. And if your friends are gringos from gringolandia then you're not likely to learn a lot. Fortunately, I have made an effort to make Chileno friends and not give in to temptation to associate heavily with English speakers.
Then again, it's about taking aprovechar (to take advantage) of the situations presented to you. For instance, last night I decided to go with ten friends of mine to a club - Exfabrica - and after loosening up with some pisco and with my friend's encouragement, I asked a gorgeous girl to dance and she said yes. She turned out to be a model. For some reason, however, I lied to her and said I was from Ireland and not the United States. The lie kinda slipped out and I am disturbed that I did it, but once it was said there was no real turning back. The girl and I really hit it off and her and her friends went to her apartment in Santiago Centro to chill (this was 6 in the morning). Since I was the only gringo there, believe you me, I was definitely practicing the Spanish. Anyways, she said in the middle of the trip that if I was from America she would not have invited me back. Haha! I also learned really strange fashion slang words. All of us shared music that we love using the magic of the internet and amazing speakers. At around 10 AM I was ready to crash so her friend drove me home (the trek in this area of Santiago is very dangerous even during the day, so it was necessary to drive).
In totale, it's doubtful I'll ever see her again. But it was definitely a crazy night.
Then again, it's about taking aprovechar (to take advantage) of the situations presented to you. For instance, last night I decided to go with ten friends of mine to a club - Exfabrica - and after loosening up with some pisco and with my friend's encouragement, I asked a gorgeous girl to dance and she said yes. She turned out to be a model. For some reason, however, I lied to her and said I was from Ireland and not the United States. The lie kinda slipped out and I am disturbed that I did it, but once it was said there was no real turning back. The girl and I really hit it off and her and her friends went to her apartment in Santiago Centro to chill (this was 6 in the morning). Since I was the only gringo there, believe you me, I was definitely practicing the Spanish. Anyways, she said in the middle of the trip that if I was from America she would not have invited me back. Haha! I also learned really strange fashion slang words. All of us shared music that we love using the magic of the internet and amazing speakers. At around 10 AM I was ready to crash so her friend drove me home (the trek in this area of Santiago is very dangerous even during the day, so it was necessary to drive).
In totale, it's doubtful I'll ever see her again. But it was definitely a crazy night.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Things that show you're a foreigner.
I suppose the following aren't necessarily bad to do in Chile, but these are a few of the things my host family has told me while I am here that make it painfully obvious I have little conception of Chilean etiquette. In other words, it screams European or American; which I suppose isn't that bad, but a little undesirable. When in Rome, if you know what I mean.
Don't eat that sandwich with your hands. Chileans think eating sandwiches with your hands an act of unkemptness, bad manners and social sloth. Don't be the one guy at the party grossing everyone out by accident - use the fork and knife they gave you. This goes for pizza too.
When you get your food, start eating. Maybe in higher, richer circles Chileans have a conception of waiting for everyone to be served, but I have seen none of it. Of the three families I have sat down with at the dinner table, and the countless times I've gone to a resteraunt with Chilean friends, at no point did anyone wait for the rest to be served. What are you waiting for? The food's getting cold. Plow in.
Wear dark colors. I wore my light blue sweater the other day and I think I was the only one without black, dark brown or navy on. Chileans certainly have good fashion sense, but their senses have gone way darker in shade than ours. A good way for a white guy like me to stick out is to wear something light colored in a crowd (which I have done). Nothing screams foreigner quite like that. Then again, if you happen to be like me and don't care what other Chileans think about your fashion sense as long as it's not commiting a crime, go ahead and wear what you want.
Alright, I'm peacing out. Bye.
Don't eat that sandwich with your hands. Chileans think eating sandwiches with your hands an act of unkemptness, bad manners and social sloth. Don't be the one guy at the party grossing everyone out by accident - use the fork and knife they gave you. This goes for pizza too.
When you get your food, start eating. Maybe in higher, richer circles Chileans have a conception of waiting for everyone to be served, but I have seen none of it. Of the three families I have sat down with at the dinner table, and the countless times I've gone to a resteraunt with Chilean friends, at no point did anyone wait for the rest to be served. What are you waiting for? The food's getting cold. Plow in.
Wear dark colors. I wore my light blue sweater the other day and I think I was the only one without black, dark brown or navy on. Chileans certainly have good fashion sense, but their senses have gone way darker in shade than ours. A good way for a white guy like me to stick out is to wear something light colored in a crowd (which I have done). Nothing screams foreigner quite like that. Then again, if you happen to be like me and don't care what other Chileans think about your fashion sense as long as it's not commiting a crime, go ahead and wear what you want.
Alright, I'm peacing out. Bye.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
On Chilean Customs
I have found there are a few social oddities in Chile that would do any traveler well to learn:
Make Eye Contact during Salud. Salud means health in Spanish, and is what you say when you cheers over drinks or a toast or what have you. The important thing here is to always look the other person in the eyes when you say Salud or you have ten years of bad luck.
Greet and say goodbye to everyone in the room. You can commit a serious social offense by leaving a party without saying goodbye with a handshake or a kiss with someone. I personally have never commited the grievance yet, but I have heard horror stories.
Spicy Food is Rare. There is a saying here that when loosely translated reads 'Chileans are the British of the Southern Hemisphere'. They mean that in more ways than one. The weather is temperate and the food is downright tame. I think the food I eat here is more like the food back home than what I've eaten in the Dominican Republic, Spain, Mexico, etc... Oh, and like the title suggests, don't even bother trying to find spicy food. It's non-existent.
Make Eye Contact during Salud. Salud means health in Spanish, and is what you say when you cheers over drinks or a toast or what have you. The important thing here is to always look the other person in the eyes when you say Salud or you have ten years of bad luck.
Greet and say goodbye to everyone in the room. You can commit a serious social offense by leaving a party without saying goodbye with a handshake or a kiss with someone. I personally have never commited the grievance yet, but I have heard horror stories.
Spicy Food is Rare. There is a saying here that when loosely translated reads 'Chileans are the British of the Southern Hemisphere'. They mean that in more ways than one. The weather is temperate and the food is downright tame. I think the food I eat here is more like the food back home than what I've eaten in the Dominican Republic, Spain, Mexico, etc... Oh, and like the title suggests, don't even bother trying to find spicy food. It's non-existent.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
On Food, pt. 2
Yesterday I stayed home sick with the cold. I wasn't terribly ill or anything, but I remained in bed because having bronchitis or pneumonia in a foreign country can be pretty dangerous and I didn't want anything to progress to that. Today I awoke refreshed and fine - just a little runny nose.
Anyways, I am dedicating another post to Chilean food. This is now updated and revised to fit the most recent taste bud information. The number next to each item is a ranking on a scale of 1 - 10.
Completos (hotdogs) (2). I have changed my mind, I do not like Chilean hotdogs. They are very messy and overall quite tasteless.
Pizza (8). The pizzas here do not claim to immitate US standards. No, these pizzas are Chilean through and through. And delicious. They go light with the cheese, even lighter with the sauce, and heavy with the extra indgredients. ¡Bakan!
Choripan (7). Delicious sausage links inside bread that resemble (though not entirely) hot dogs in sight, but in taste they are completely unique. Highly recommended to go to your grocery store and buy a pack of Choripan if you're ever down here.
Chocolate (10). The chocolate down here is amazing. Except chocolate syrup, that's awful. But you won't believe how good it gets.
Pisco (4). I am sick of Pisco, which is, if you remember, the native beverage for Chileans. It's dirt cheap and used with nearly every meal, but I was tired of it after meal number 4. There are a wide variety of Pisco recipes, but the one my family prefers is vodka, egg white and distilled mangos that make a soury concoction that I loved at first, and now loathe.
Churrascos (sandwiches) (8). The sandwiches are just as tastey as ever. And there are many different kinds. An absolute requirement to sample at least three of four times. My personal favorite is the Churrasco Italiano, but they're all good. Be careful, though, if you don't like mayonaise. Usually around one to two CUPS of mayonaise is applied to make it a fork and knife meal. Hands off.
Carne Asada (steaks) (3). They have zero conception of how to cook a steak. I have had it a few times, always dissapointed.
Jugos de las Frutas (fruit beverages) (10). Amazing varieties, and very different. Each and every one of them.
Okay, gotta go. Bye
Anyways, I am dedicating another post to Chilean food. This is now updated and revised to fit the most recent taste bud information. The number next to each item is a ranking on a scale of 1 - 10.
Completos (hotdogs) (2). I have changed my mind, I do not like Chilean hotdogs. They are very messy and overall quite tasteless.
Pizza (8). The pizzas here do not claim to immitate US standards. No, these pizzas are Chilean through and through. And delicious. They go light with the cheese, even lighter with the sauce, and heavy with the extra indgredients. ¡Bakan!
Choripan (7). Delicious sausage links inside bread that resemble (though not entirely) hot dogs in sight, but in taste they are completely unique. Highly recommended to go to your grocery store and buy a pack of Choripan if you're ever down here.
Chocolate (10). The chocolate down here is amazing. Except chocolate syrup, that's awful. But you won't believe how good it gets.
Pisco (4). I am sick of Pisco, which is, if you remember, the native beverage for Chileans. It's dirt cheap and used with nearly every meal, but I was tired of it after meal number 4. There are a wide variety of Pisco recipes, but the one my family prefers is vodka, egg white and distilled mangos that make a soury concoction that I loved at first, and now loathe.
Churrascos (sandwiches) (8). The sandwiches are just as tastey as ever. And there are many different kinds. An absolute requirement to sample at least three of four times. My personal favorite is the Churrasco Italiano, but they're all good. Be careful, though, if you don't like mayonaise. Usually around one to two CUPS of mayonaise is applied to make it a fork and knife meal. Hands off.
Carne Asada (steaks) (3). They have zero conception of how to cook a steak. I have had it a few times, always dissapointed.
Jugos de las Frutas (fruit beverages) (10). Amazing varieties, and very different. Each and every one of them.
Okay, gotta go. Bye
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Busy procrastinating.
I thought I devote a little segment to Chilean slang words.
I have always thought it interesting the little turn-of-phrases a Mexican or a Spaniard might use that has become completely irrecognizable to a Chilean, and vice-versa. Here is a small list I compiled of Chilean street slang. Most of which is essential in ordinary conversation, yet cannot be found in your dictionary.
¡Bakan! bah * KAHN : Cool!
Fleite FLY * tay : (insult) When used as a noun for places, Cheap or Run-down. For people, Dangerous.
¿Como e(s)tai? KOH * moh ehs * TAI or KOH * moh eh * TAI : How are you?
Weon way * ON : Dude.
Po : Dude. (Often used after Weon)
Yapo : Yes, dude.
Pokémone po KAY moh NE : Comes from, obviously, pokémon. Used for emo and scenesters, which run amok in Chilean cities. They do not like emo music, surprisingly, Pokémones listen to reggaeton.
Hardcorito ARD KOR EE to : Little hardcore boy.
Pelolais PAY lo LIE ss or Pelolisa PAY lo LEE sa : Dumb blonde. (Not an insult).
I have always thought it interesting the little turn-of-phrases a Mexican or a Spaniard might use that has become completely irrecognizable to a Chilean, and vice-versa. Here is a small list I compiled of Chilean street slang. Most of which is essential in ordinary conversation, yet cannot be found in your dictionary.
¡Bakan! bah * KAHN : Cool!
Fleite FLY * tay : (insult) When used as a noun for places, Cheap or Run-down. For people, Dangerous.
¿Como e(s)tai? KOH * moh ehs * TAI or KOH * moh eh * TAI : How are you?
Weon way * ON : Dude.
Po : Dude. (Often used after Weon)
Yapo : Yes, dude.
Pokémone po KAY moh NE : Comes from, obviously, pokémon. Used for emo and scenesters, which run amok in Chilean cities. They do not like emo music, surprisingly, Pokémones listen to reggaeton.
Hardcorito ARD KOR EE to : Little hardcore boy.
Pelolais PAY lo LIE ss or Pelolisa PAY lo LEE sa : Dumb blonde. (Not an insult).
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Indy Day in Santiago.
A lot happened yesterday. As class drew to a close, I headed off to the Plaza de Armas to spend the afternoon playing chess. I won 15 and lost once. To Jesse Adams, Steve or anyone else interested, the Santiago ajedress scene is pathetic here. Not in terms of lack of interest - ther5e's plenty of that - but the players are simply not good. Which is either awesome or awful, depending on if you feel like being a gringo chess god, sent, in their eyes, to rock their world. It's interesting how much worse the Santiago players are than what I've experienced in Harvard Square or in NYC. I would probably lose to 3/4 of the Harvard players; here there are only five or six players definitively better than I.
However high I felt while playing, I managed to leave on a low note. During a very a very important game with a crowd standing around (I was in the crowd watching), white had checkmate four moves ahead. Blindly, however, white moved in an opposite direction. Out of shock I shouted, ´¡No puede!´Meaning, basically, you must be an idiot. White, who had not taken his hand off the piece when I shouted, returned the piece to it's original position, relooked at the board, smiled, and moved to what would eventually be checkmate. The crowd erupted in anger and I had to walk out in utter embarrassment. I am glad I played well yesterday because I wonder how much smaller their patience would be if I had not.
After chess I went to a party at a teacher's house. A party of about 30 people. The fourth of July is not only EEUU's independance day, but also the day of a minor victory of Chile over Bolivia, which Chile uses as an excuse to party. Think Cinco de Mayo for us. The party was meh. I met a few interesting people; there was also three other students, but they were in their mid-30's and hardly interested me.
I managed to escape that pit of a party to go to Oxygen O2, a bar with a dance floor that was populated by nearly every expatriate American there. I recognized a lot of gringos there. Because white people are so rare here, when you see one on the street you definitely remember it. But I had a good time for sure. I am also glad I didn't drink anything more than a roncola and water, because I managed to meet a really cool girl and got her number. We'll see if I follow it up.
I talked with some British people who moved to Chile a few years ago about places to see in Chile. I certainly want to take at least one trip to somewhere in Chile, but talking to them didn't make the decision of where to go any easier. In the north of Chile is San Pedro, a city of perfect weather all the time and the amazing desert I saw from the plane. The mid-to-north end of Chile boasts La Serena, which has warm weather and a to-die-for natural reserve, but also penguins start to live (penguins have long left the area of Santiago so there's no way to see them without venturing a little far). As attractive as warmer weather is to me, everyone who has ventured both North and South tell me the South of Chile is a unique experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere else on earth. The wildlife is absolutley individual to the area, nowhere else on earth, and while it may be cold, a unique experience is... well... you know... not to be missed.
So that's my perdicament, we'll see what I decide. Anyways, gotta go.
However high I felt while playing, I managed to leave on a low note. During a very a very important game with a crowd standing around (I was in the crowd watching), white had checkmate four moves ahead. Blindly, however, white moved in an opposite direction. Out of shock I shouted, ´¡No puede!´Meaning, basically, you must be an idiot. White, who had not taken his hand off the piece when I shouted, returned the piece to it's original position, relooked at the board, smiled, and moved to what would eventually be checkmate. The crowd erupted in anger and I had to walk out in utter embarrassment. I am glad I played well yesterday because I wonder how much smaller their patience would be if I had not.
After chess I went to a party at a teacher's house. A party of about 30 people. The fourth of July is not only EEUU's independance day, but also the day of a minor victory of Chile over Bolivia, which Chile uses as an excuse to party. Think Cinco de Mayo for us. The party was meh. I met a few interesting people; there was also three other students, but they were in their mid-30's and hardly interested me.
I managed to escape that pit of a party to go to Oxygen O2, a bar with a dance floor that was populated by nearly every expatriate American there. I recognized a lot of gringos there. Because white people are so rare here, when you see one on the street you definitely remember it. But I had a good time for sure. I am also glad I didn't drink anything more than a roncola and water, because I managed to meet a really cool girl and got her number. We'll see if I follow it up.
I talked with some British people who moved to Chile a few years ago about places to see in Chile. I certainly want to take at least one trip to somewhere in Chile, but talking to them didn't make the decision of where to go any easier. In the north of Chile is San Pedro, a city of perfect weather all the time and the amazing desert I saw from the plane. The mid-to-north end of Chile boasts La Serena, which has warm weather and a to-die-for natural reserve, but also penguins start to live (penguins have long left the area of Santiago so there's no way to see them without venturing a little far). As attractive as warmer weather is to me, everyone who has ventured both North and South tell me the South of Chile is a unique experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere else on earth. The wildlife is absolutley individual to the area, nowhere else on earth, and while it may be cold, a unique experience is... well... you know... not to be missed.
So that's my perdicament, we'll see what I decide. Anyways, gotta go.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Yesterday.
After class ended yesterday, I took the train into downtown Santiago and played old men in the park at chess. I won two of three against some guy. Don't worry, I took plenty of photographs. White people in Santiago are rare, so there was a tiny crowd around me simply to see how good a gringo is at hedress. After a few chess matches, I headed to a salsa bar for some free lessons. All I learned was that I am terrible at salsa dancing. I then rounded out the night for drinks at Cabo Frio with one of my host brothers and his two friends Fernando and Gino.
A very good night. Chau, xiao, caio!
A very good night. Chau, xiao, caio!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
A slow Tuesday.
Today was the hottest Santiago has been since I arrived. Excellent weather. With that in mind, I took to camindando the streets with my camera in hand.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
On Chilean Food
Perhaps it's a bit obvious to say that the food and drink from Chile is pretty different from the States or Europe. Today's entry I dedicate to the most notable differences, with comparisons.
Ice Cream (helado) Winner: Chile
This one's a no-brainer, Chile easily has better ice cream on a commercial level than corporate America. The ice cream you get here is sweeter, uses real fruit and is fluffier. Chile 1, USA 0.
Hot Dogs (completo) Winner: No Contest
Unfortunately the hot dog and the Chilean version are so far removed from each other that there can be no comparison.
Sure, Chileans use bread for a bun and have a meat product inside, but the condiments (which, unlike in America where a plain hotdog is a normal sale) are NOT negotiable, are too different. El completo has a guacamole variation, a special kind of mayo and other goodies that make this quite distinct from a Chicago or New York style wiener dog. Chile 1, USA 0.
Brownies Winner: USA
As bad as the states are whipped by ice cream, even more so do American brownies school Chilean. I've had the Chilean brownies twice, and I must say they are paltry. Not as sweet (which need not necessarily be a bad thing, but in this case is), dry and heavy, they failed to impress and went zero for two on my pallet. Good effort Chile, but take a lesson from the north. Chile 1, USA 1.
Sandwiches (Sandwiches) Winner: No Contest
Both nation states definitely put up a fight here. The Chilean sandwich is amazing in its varieties, condiments and taste. A personal favorite is the de Espana (I don't know how to do the ~ over the 'n' on this laptop), which is loaded with red peppers, probably half a cup of Chilean mayonnaise and two different preparations of pork. But, like the ice cream, the Chilean sandwiches are just too different to compare accurately and fairly. Thus I am forced to declare for a second time: no contest. Chile 1, USA 1.
Pisco (pisco or piscos _____) Extra point to Chile.
Pisco is the native liquor of Chile. It's made of egg yolk, sugar and a grape fermentation that when prepared correctly turns into a drink so thick it resembles molasses more than wine. It's really cheap and comes in a variety of flavors that shouldn't be missed. Is it better than the wines and standards like whiskey (whisky) or rum (ron)? No, not really. Anyways, I'll send a bottle home through the mail. Chile 2, USA 1.
Ice Cream (helado) Winner: Chile
This one's a no-brainer, Chile easily has better ice cream on a commercial level than corporate America. The ice cream you get here is sweeter, uses real fruit and is fluffier. Chile 1, USA 0.
Hot Dogs (completo) Winner: No Contest
Unfortunately the hot dog and the Chilean version are so far removed from each other that there can be no comparison.
Sure, Chileans use bread for a bun and have a meat product inside, but the condiments (which, unlike in America where a plain hotdog is a normal sale) are NOT negotiable, are too different. El completo has a guacamole variation, a special kind of mayo and other goodies that make this quite distinct from a Chicago or New York style wiener dog. Chile 1, USA 0.Brownies Winner: USA
As bad as the states are whipped by ice cream, even more so do American brownies school Chilean. I've had the Chilean brownies twice, and I must say they are paltry. Not as sweet (which need not necessarily be a bad thing, but in this case is), dry and heavy, they failed to impress and went zero for two on my pallet. Good effort Chile, but take a lesson from the north. Chile 1, USA 1.
Sandwiches (Sandwiches) Winner: No Contest
Both nation states definitely put up a fight here. The Chilean sandwich is amazing in its varieties, condiments and taste. A personal favorite is the de Espana (I don't know how to do the ~ over the 'n' on this laptop), which is loaded with red peppers, probably half a cup of Chilean mayonnaise and two different preparations of pork. But, like the ice cream, the Chilean sandwiches are just too different to compare accurately and fairly. Thus I am forced to declare for a second time: no contest. Chile 1, USA 1.
Pisco (pisco or piscos _____) Extra point to Chile.
Pisco is the native liquor of Chile. It's made of egg yolk, sugar and a grape fermentation that when prepared correctly turns into a drink so thick it resembles molasses more than wine. It's really cheap and comes in a variety of flavors that shouldn't be missed. Is it better than the wines and standards like whiskey (whisky) or rum (ron)? No, not really. Anyways, I'll send a bottle home through the mail. Chile 2, USA 1.
Friday, June 27, 2008
On Religion
It´s a friday and I just completed my first exam. The professor is grading them now as I type this. Last night, I dreamt in Spanish for the first time. It´s kinda interesting to dream in two different languages. Anyways, I want to use this time to talk about Chile and religion, or at least, what I´ve noticed about Chileans and religion.
Let me start by saying that Chileans are far more culturally religious than Americans, and a thousand times more so than the Spanish. On a cultural level, it´s quite appropriate to see signs and billboards with Catholic or otherwise Christian imagery. The third question my host family asked me was if I was religious. And the tests our school uses has obviously been designed by a religious person.
Take today´s exam. Well, not the exam I took, but the exam a lower level class took. The students from that class said one of the questions on the test was to identify the persons in a picture. The correct answers were any of the following: woman, mother, child, baby. The picture, in fact, was this: the Virgin Mary holding children in her arms and in giant letters below her.I will let you take a guess as to what abortó means, I am confident you will understand the actual message of the picture. As an other example, my homework sometimes had practice sentences like, when translated, ^Do you believe in God? Because I do.¨
Then again, church attendence in Chile is about the same as in America. So I think that reinforces my thesis that Chileans are far more culturally religious. I wonder aloud, now, if this is because of Pinochet (whose government was extremely religious) and Opus Dei (which is pretty popular here) or is normal in all of South America.
Update: Here is the picture. Pero no estoy seguró que toda las.
Let me start by saying that Chileans are far more culturally religious than Americans, and a thousand times more so than the Spanish. On a cultural level, it´s quite appropriate to see signs and billboards with Catholic or otherwise Christian imagery. The third question my host family asked me was if I was religious. And the tests our school uses has obviously been designed by a religious person.
Take today´s exam. Well, not the exam I took, but the exam a lower level class took. The students from that class said one of the questions on the test was to identify the persons in a picture. The correct answers were any of the following: woman, mother, child, baby. The picture, in fact, was this: the Virgin Mary holding children in her arms and in giant letters below her.I will let you take a guess as to what abortó means, I am confident you will understand the actual message of the picture. As an other example, my homework sometimes had practice sentences like, when translated, ^Do you believe in God? Because I do.¨
Then again, church attendence in Chile is about the same as in America. So I think that reinforces my thesis that Chileans are far more culturally religious. I wonder aloud, now, if this is because of Pinochet (whose government was extremely religious) and Opus Dei (which is pretty popular here) or is normal in all of South America.
Update: Here is the picture. Pero no estoy seguró que toda las.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Santiago, the first week...
The philosopher Ludwig von Wittgenstein once famously wrote
Wittgenstein, heir to an Austrian fortune, wrote almost entirely in English, and because of this, had a very nuanced perspective on language. I am beginning to understand where Wittgenstein was coming from when I read his works. Nothing broadens the mind like learning something very difficult, and language is one of them. I remember reading a cognitive study whose results suggested that when we learn something new, special ¨reward¨hormones in our glands are fired off and give us a high-like effect that´s mildly addictive. I am not surprised.
Today, a Thursday afternoon, is the warmest it has ever been. Not a cloud in the sky and the smog was barely noticable. But I am not enjoying it in the least, because I have been studying for tomorrow´s exam all day. Anyways, I´m taking a break to type up a small report on what has been going on. But I believe I will go backwards...
In the first entry, I wrote that food is very expensive. I want to reassert that fact right now: I think 90% of my money is going to food. Last night I went to a bar with my ¨brothers¨ and a friend, and was surprised to find the prices very managable, the food delicious and in large quantities. The bill, for four grown men, came to only twenty thousand pesos (around forty dollars)! Then I found out one of the brothers, Corke, was childhood friends with the manager and gave a ridiculous discount. I also found out last night that Corke IS Jorge, Corke is his nickname. And there aren´t three brothers, there are only two and I mistook this friend of their family as one of them.
Uh-oh, the bell rang and students are gonna want to use the computer and I feel bad cause I have been on so long. Alright, chau pescados.
In art, it is difficult to say something as good as saying nothing.
If people did not sometimes do silly things, nothing important would ever get done.
Wittgenstein, heir to an Austrian fortune, wrote almost entirely in English, and because of this, had a very nuanced perspective on language. I am beginning to understand where Wittgenstein was coming from when I read his works. Nothing broadens the mind like learning something very difficult, and language is one of them. I remember reading a cognitive study whose results suggested that when we learn something new, special ¨reward¨hormones in our glands are fired off and give us a high-like effect that´s mildly addictive. I am not surprised.
Today, a Thursday afternoon, is the warmest it has ever been. Not a cloud in the sky and the smog was barely noticable. But I am not enjoying it in the least, because I have been studying for tomorrow´s exam all day. Anyways, I´m taking a break to type up a small report on what has been going on. But I believe I will go backwards...
In the first entry, I wrote that food is very expensive. I want to reassert that fact right now: I think 90% of my money is going to food. Last night I went to a bar with my ¨brothers¨ and a friend, and was surprised to find the prices very managable, the food delicious and in large quantities. The bill, for four grown men, came to only twenty thousand pesos (around forty dollars)! Then I found out one of the brothers, Corke, was childhood friends with the manager and gave a ridiculous discount. I also found out last night that Corke IS Jorge, Corke is his nickname. And there aren´t three brothers, there are only two and I mistook this friend of their family as one of them.
Uh-oh, the bell rang and students are gonna want to use the computer and I feel bad cause I have been on so long. Alright, chau pescados.
In art, it is difficult to say something as good as saying nothing.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Santiago, the first day
Well, well, well... it´s a Wednesday afternoon and I thought I´d take a break from my homework to talk a little about Santiago so far.
Flying into Chile was long, arduous and beautiful. The first 22 hours were dull, and I was extremely tired yet unable to sleep. But somewhere over Chile I awoke from one of my painful catnaps and opened the airplane window purely from boredom, expecting to see nothing. What I saw was an amazing dawn breaking over the Andes´mountains, which were probably 100 miles to the east, and seeing the sun stretch over miles and miles of bare, blue desert. I´ve never seen anything like it.
But after five minutes, the place was as dark as night again as an enormous sandstorm blew in at amazing speeds. And ten to fifteen minutes later, the sandstorm blew away to show us that we were no longer over a desert but over the mountains themselves. The Andes´are by far the tallest mountains I´ve seen. The entire rang
e is full of peaks and crests, but somewhere along the flight, off in the distance, was a single peak, a single mountain, that towered over all the others. It was basked in cloud and red light, and it seemed to go on forever skyward as the clouds hid from us its secrets and its end. The mountain, I believe, is Cerro Tupungato, elevation 22,310 ft. The picture, I believe, captures the raw Purgatory that I saw that day. I was reminded of a story in the Biblical book of Deuteronomy when Moses approaches the mountain of judgment that ¨burns¨and that not even the animals can touch, and that even Moses cried, Í am trembling with fear!`
e is full of peaks and crests, but somewhere along the flight, off in the distance, was a single peak, a single mountain, that towered over all the others. It was basked in cloud and red light, and it seemed to go on forever skyward as the clouds hid from us its secrets and its end. The mountain, I believe, is Cerro Tupungato, elevation 22,310 ft. The picture, I believe, captures the raw Purgatory that I saw that day. I was reminded of a story in the Biblical book of Deuteronomy when Moses approaches the mountain of judgment that ¨burns¨and that not even the animals can touch, and that even Moses cried, Í am trembling with fear!` After the show, we soon landed in Santiago. From the plane, I could see Santiago was situated in a large valley with one access point. I have mixed feelings about the city. You don´t get a second chance to make a first impression, and most first impressions are more accurate than we might like to admit. Santiago is bathed in smog more than any other city I have ever been to. Words cannot do it justice, but believe me when I say the smog slightly obscures anything as close as a city block away. When I arrived, the smog was not as bad as per usual - but I didn´t know that - and the temperature was pretty good. The relationship between temperatures and smog is a virtuous cyle. If a warm front comes in and the temperature gets to a certain point (I´m not sure what), the smog heats up enough to rise, which allows sunlight, which in turn dissapates more smog and the place gets better and better.
The family is really nice and really funny. They told me they had a grandma named Rosa - they lied to get a tax break. I thought that was hilarious. They also have one more son than they let out, a 26 year old named Corke. Corke and I get along the best. He´s pretty dang cool. But I didn´t meet Corke the first day, so that is for another time.
In terms of describing the first day, there is only one more thing that happened. The father, Jorge, took me to a ¨Mercado de la calle¨, a street market for pirated and super-cheap stuff. We bought twenty dvds that day for two dollars. Everything here is really cheap except for two things: food is just as, if not more expensive, and the internet is about two dollars for half an hour.
After visiting the market, I crashed for the rest of the day and night in my room (a very tiny room about seven by four feet). It´s also extremely cold in their house because there is no central heating (and they´re considered upper middle class!). Suffice it to say, that is what happened on the first day. And I say it was good.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Halfway to Chile
As some of you may know, I am taking classes in Spanish in the mountain capital of Santiago. While I am there, I might as well use this space to talk about my experiences there.
However, I am not there yet (I'm in Dallas on layover for another four hours and fifteen minutes), so I might as well talk about something else.
Avid readers of Scientific American will no doubt recall to mind the surprising article on page 38, written by a certain Michael Shermer, editor-in-chief of Skeptic Magazine, and a professing atheist. Shermer devotes the full page opinion piece to what one might call the "triumph" of emergent materialism; as reductionist/limitedist cognitive psychology is being pushed further and furth back into the recesses with the results of recent studies at major universities. The studies in themselves are not what occupies Shermer's mind, instead, Shermer discusses what the studies bode for Philosophy of Mind and the religious experience.
As it is becoming apparent that though the mind is of physical components, and is influenced by phsyical treatment (e.g., giving medicine to treat various psychological problems, sending electrical pulses can give a subject quale experiences), it is equally becoming apparent that the mind cannot be reduced to physical components. These means several things, though is not limited to:
However, I am not there yet (I'm in Dallas on layover for another four hours and fifteen minutes), so I might as well talk about something else.
Avid readers of Scientific American will no doubt recall to mind the surprising article on page 38, written by a certain Michael Shermer, editor-in-chief of Skeptic Magazine, and a professing atheist. Shermer devotes the full page opinion piece to what one might call the "triumph" of emergent materialism; as reductionist/limitedist cognitive psychology is being pushed further and furth back into the recesses with the results of recent studies at major universities. The studies in themselves are not what occupies Shermer's mind, instead, Shermer discusses what the studies bode for Philosophy of Mind and the religious experience.
As it is becoming apparent that though the mind is of physical components, and is influenced by phsyical treatment (e.g., giving medicine to treat various psychological problems, sending electrical pulses can give a subject quale experiences), it is equally becoming apparent that the mind cannot be reduced to physical components. These means several things, though is not limited to:
- Hyper-religious people can rest assured that their "soul" is not challenged by taking pills. And now there is room for supernatural possibilia affecting the mental, such as demonic possession and 'God' talking to you, yet still pay respect to natural phenomena affecting the mind, such as genuine schizophrenias.
- All mental causation is natural yet more important that just that.
- Extreme limitivists are wrong (e.g., Dan Dennett).
- The 19th century German Gestalt psychologists have been vindicated.
Of course, the jury is still out on the matter; Shermer simply acknowledges that emergentism is enjoying a high point in popularity. Shermer even goes on to acknowledge that under emergentism, deities are worthy of worship once again. Of course, the editor is still an atheist and there is probably little changing that. Shermer ends his article with what should be by now a trademark bit of skepticism, questioning the validity of worshiping an outdated, Bronze Age Jewish war God. Yet why stop at the skepticism of Shermer? I am reminded of what Hume once said in regards to Bishop Berkely's proof for God, that while "I [Hume] have no answer for him, [the proof] produces no conviction at all." How can we remain a skeptic and avoid solipsism? But I digress.
Two years and several thousand miles away from this airport in Dallas, in the papers of British news source The Guardian, Lord Winston wrote a short essay defending the evolutionary reasons for belief in God. Winston, himself a devoted Jew, spent the good portion of the essay discussing the parts of the mind that nearly demand divine attention. In other words, there is, Winston argues, a spiritual side to our brains that needs to be given heed.
Winston relates to us an example of a psychology test during the mid-century at the University of Minnesota. The study's aim was to see if religious zeal correlated to psychological disorders. Several groups of various religious backgrounds were assembled: Charismatics, monks, wealthy Protestants and Catholics, even snake-handlers. In fact, the test did show a direct correlation between religiosity and psychological problems. But it's the reverse of what might be expected. The less involved someone is (in other words, the less passionate [and do not read crazy] a worshipper is) the more likely they will suffer from mental disturbances. Snake-handlers had few problems, same with monastics; the wealthy were far more likely to need psychological help. Perhaps our minds do demand spiritual attention.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
It pays to be unusual.
I thought it'd be nice to take a break from philosophy with a short post on economics.
In economic theory, there is a term called compensating wage differential. It's pretty easy to understand. The idea behind it is that all jobs are are equally attractive to workers in the long run because of a difference in wage rate.
Obviously this excludes some major factors. For one, you need a degree, or even an MBA to even be considered for most high-paying jobs in corporate America. So we are taking a narrow view of economics when we are talking about compensating wage differentials. Instead of comparing broad market fields like being a doctor in New York with a drug runner from Colombia, we compare jobs like window washing.
In window washing markets, the compensating wage differential is, for example, the difference in a pay check a sky-scraper window washer receives compared to a ground-level washer. In the long run, the window washer for the Empire State building or the Sears Tower makes considerably more. Obvious, huh?
So here's the point, as I wrote in the title, it pays to be unusual. Think about unusual tastes you might have. A addiction to danger is perhaps the best. If you have no fear of heights, you might find window-washing skyscrapers nets you more money than your current job - even if you have a degree! Robert Hall of Stanford writes,
~ Hall, Robert. Microeconomics: Principles and Applications. Thomson: South-Western Publishers. 2008. Page 369.
Damn straight. Nonmonetary job characteristics often manifest themselves in big paychecks. If you have seen Thank You For Smoking you know the kind of flexible morals are required for a tobacco lobbyist. I remember reading in National Geographic that oil pipeline maintenance workers in Alaska make upward of $200,000 a Summer (read: four months of work) for even the lowest position. But you need to have balls of steel and a penchant for -60º F weather and tolerate the fact that liquor is strictly forbidden and no one sells alcohol within 1000 miles anyways. Think about that for a Summer job.
In economic theory, there is a term called compensating wage differential. It's pretty easy to understand. The idea behind it is that all jobs are are equally attractive to workers in the long run because of a difference in wage rate.
Obviously this excludes some major factors. For one, you need a degree, or even an MBA to even be considered for most high-paying jobs in corporate America. So we are taking a narrow view of economics when we are talking about compensating wage differentials. Instead of comparing broad market fields like being a doctor in New York with a drug runner from Colombia, we compare jobs like window washing.
In window washing markets, the compensating wage differential is, for example, the difference in a pay check a sky-scraper window washer receives compared to a ground-level washer. In the long run, the window washer for the Empire State building or the Sears Tower makes considerably more. Obvious, huh?
So here's the point, as I wrote in the title, it pays to be unusual. Think about unusual tastes you might have. A addiction to danger is perhaps the best. If you have no fear of heights, you might find window-washing skyscrapers nets you more money than your current job - even if you have a degree! Robert Hall of Stanford writes,
"One implication of compensating wage differentials is that workers with unusual tastes often have a monetary advantage in the labor markets... ...if you like the frigid winter weather in Alaska, if you like washing windows on the 90th floor, or if you think it would be fun to defend the cigarette industry in the media, you can earn a higher wage by putting your somewhat unusual tastes to work."
~ Hall, Robert. Microeconomics: Principles and Applications. Thomson: South-Western Publishers. 2008. Page 369.
Damn straight. Nonmonetary job characteristics often manifest themselves in big paychecks. If you have seen Thank You For Smoking you know the kind of flexible morals are required for a tobacco lobbyist. I remember reading in National Geographic that oil pipeline maintenance workers in Alaska make upward of $200,000 a Summer (read: four months of work) for even the lowest position. But you need to have balls of steel and a penchant for -60º F weather and tolerate the fact that liquor is strictly forbidden and no one sells alcohol within 1000 miles anyways. Think about that for a Summer job.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
After Mental
Fodor's Hume Variations, chapter 6 part A
So we have made it to the third post. I have skipped chapters one, three, four, and five and jump ahead. Way ahead. In fact, chapter six is titled 'Conclusion'. So yeah, we're wrapping it up with Fodor pretty quickly. There will be one more post, part B of chapter six, and then I will have typed enough so that we can begin discussing.
Chapter six is Fodor defending the theses that we are both born with a few innate ideas and the rest of our ideas are copies from impressions. The basic idea of language - not specific words or even a certain language, but the fact of speech - is an example of an innate idea. Why is it innate? Because, according to Chomsky, Pinker and others, there is a special part of the brain dedicated to providing language in order to form concepts. In other words, language precedes concepts! Notice that basic mental states, discussed in the previous post, is relegated to a category called non-conceptual content. Information-in-itself is nonconceptual as well, but information (i.e., language) must be attained before concepts can be attached to them.
This, of course, runs against the grain of nearly every philosopher in history. Ryle, Stroud, Kant, the Pragmatist tradition, Wittgenstein. But, as Hume said, we must proportion our belief to the evidence and when a scientific truth is contrary to a philosophical scruple, the scruple must be abandoned - no matter how much we might wish the opposite. The simple fact is that the last fifty years of cognitive science has been slowly migrating away from external-to-the-internal theory. Fodor is giving philosophy a good updating. Now on to the chapter.
Fodor proposes Propositional Attitudism: if 'x' thinks then 'x' has productive, compositional thought; he also proposes Propositional Attitude Realism: the mind interacts with the world by mental events being causally efficacious on the world and other ideas; and, finally, he proposes Dispositional Causation: the mind interacts with the world by havin a disposition to act or think in a way 'x' (or in circumstances 's') when one has a belief 'y'.
Chapter six also has many contraries that Fodor takes time to rebut. We won't get to all of them here. The one contrary that is worth mentioning is the argument against Dispositional Causation.
P(1): If one's action or thought is predisposed by having a belief and one's belief is predisposed by one's action or thought, then dispositions explain occurrences of events only by virtue of other dispositions. P & Q -> R
P(2): However, dispositions cannot explain dispositions that explain occurences of events, only causes can do that.
C: Therefore, Dispositional Causation cannot explain event occurances.
Fodor responds against the second premise: Dispositions explained by other dispositions can explain occurrences of events if events are explained in terms of hypothetical. e (event caused) -> (M1 -> M2) (mental states)
Fodor lists a rebuttal to his response against premise two: Events are not hypothetical but real occurances. e -> M1 -> M2!
That is where I leave you for now. Fodor is becoming very convincing. However, Fodor cannot (or, at least, does not) answer his final rebuttal. Unsatisfying, isn't it? Join me next Friday for the exciting conclusion!
So we have made it to the third post. I have skipped chapters one, three, four, and five and jump ahead. Way ahead. In fact, chapter six is titled 'Conclusion'. So yeah, we're wrapping it up with Fodor pretty quickly. There will be one more post, part B of chapter six, and then I will have typed enough so that we can begin discussing.
Chapter six is Fodor defending the theses that we are both born with a few innate ideas and the rest of our ideas are copies from impressions. The basic idea of language - not specific words or even a certain language, but the fact of speech - is an example of an innate idea. Why is it innate? Because, according to Chomsky, Pinker and others, there is a special part of the brain dedicated to providing language in order to form concepts. In other words, language precedes concepts! Notice that basic mental states, discussed in the previous post, is relegated to a category called non-conceptual content. Information-in-itself is nonconceptual as well, but information (i.e., language) must be attained before concepts can be attached to them.
This, of course, runs against the grain of nearly every philosopher in history. Ryle, Stroud, Kant, the Pragmatist tradition, Wittgenstein. But, as Hume said, we must proportion our belief to the evidence and when a scientific truth is contrary to a philosophical scruple, the scruple must be abandoned - no matter how much we might wish the opposite. The simple fact is that the last fifty years of cognitive science has been slowly migrating away from external-to-the-internal theory. Fodor is giving philosophy a good updating. Now on to the chapter.
Fodor proposes Propositional Attitudism: if 'x' thinks then 'x' has productive, compositional thought; he also proposes Propositional Attitude Realism: the mind interacts with the world by mental events being causally efficacious on the world and other ideas; and, finally, he proposes Dispositional Causation: the mind interacts with the world by havin a disposition to act or think in a way 'x' (or in circumstances 's') when one has a belief 'y'.
Chapter six also has many contraries that Fodor takes time to rebut. We won't get to all of them here. The one contrary that is worth mentioning is the argument against Dispositional Causation.
P(1): If one's action or thought is predisposed by having a belief and one's belief is predisposed by one's action or thought, then dispositions explain occurrences of events only by virtue of other dispositions. P & Q -> R
P(2): However, dispositions cannot explain dispositions that explain occurences of events, only causes can do that.
C: Therefore, Dispositional Causation cannot explain event occurances.
Fodor responds against the second premise: Dispositions explained by other dispositions can explain occurrences of events if events are explained in terms of hypothetical. e (event caused) -> (M1 -> M2) (mental states)
Fodor lists a rebuttal to his response against premise two: Events are not hypothetical but real occurances. e -> M1 -> M2!
That is where I leave you for now. Fodor is becoming very convincing. However, Fodor cannot (or, at least, does not) answer his final rebuttal. Unsatisfying, isn't it? Join me next Friday for the exciting conclusion!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
After Nonconcepts
Chapter 2b on Nonconceptual Content
In the second half of chapter 2, Jerry Fodor responds to arguments for nonconceptual contents (read: a way of representing the world without meeting conditions for concept, a normative condition for intentional mental states including structure, compositionality, internal consistency, determinateness, abstract, categorization and belief. Nonconceptual content as a mental state, of course, opposes the Theory of Ideas that Fodor so dearly loves. The reason for this being - if nonconceptual content is within the bounds of thought, then thought is governed by the immaterial as well as the material.
Fodor lists three cases for nonconceptual content. The second, on phenomenal experience, is/was my personal objection.
Belief Independence Argument:
P(1): Concepts are belief-based.
P(2): Informational states are independent from belief.
C: Therefore, informational states are nonconceptual.
Fodor responds: Informational states do not constitute thought. So while informational states are nonconceptual, thought is not constituted by nonconceptual content. Fodor thus appeases the proof against him and eats his cake as well. Fodor lists a dot-psychology test from the 1970's as strong evidence. We will not get into that here.
Enrichment Argument:
P(1): Our phenomenal experience has more content than is/can be determinately identified.
C: Therefore, our phenomenal experience has nonconceptual content.
Fodor responds: Quite simply, nonconceptual content can be determinately identified demonstratively.
Continuity Argument:
P(1): Adult humans and non-linguistic animals share the same content.
P(2): Adult humans have beliefs but animals do not.
C: Therefore, adult humans and animals share content that does not require beliefs.
For this final argument Fodor has no response. Well, I lied, Fodor has no immediate response. In fact, the rest of the book is a response to this argument and for that you will have to wait until next time.
In the second half of chapter 2, Jerry Fodor responds to arguments for nonconceptual contents (read: a way of representing the world without meeting conditions for concept, a normative condition for intentional mental states including structure, compositionality, internal consistency, determinateness, abstract, categorization and belief. Nonconceptual content as a mental state, of course, opposes the Theory of Ideas that Fodor so dearly loves. The reason for this being - if nonconceptual content is within the bounds of thought, then thought is governed by the immaterial as well as the material.
Fodor lists three cases for nonconceptual content. The second, on phenomenal experience, is/was my personal objection.
Belief Independence Argument:
P(1): Concepts are belief-based.
P(2): Informational states are independent from belief.
C: Therefore, informational states are nonconceptual.
Fodor responds: Informational states do not constitute thought. So while informational states are nonconceptual, thought is not constituted by nonconceptual content. Fodor thus appeases the proof against him and eats his cake as well. Fodor lists a dot-psychology test from the 1970's as strong evidence. We will not get into that here.
Enrichment Argument:
P(1): Our phenomenal experience has more content than is/can be determinately identified.
C: Therefore, our phenomenal experience has nonconceptual content.
Fodor responds: Quite simply, nonconceptual content can be determinately identified demonstratively.
Continuity Argument:
P(1): Adult humans and non-linguistic animals share the same content.
P(2): Adult humans have beliefs but animals do not.
C: Therefore, adult humans and animals share content that does not require beliefs.
For this final argument Fodor has no response. Well, I lied, Fodor has no immediate response. In fact, the rest of the book is a response to this argument and for that you will have to wait until next time.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
After Concepts
Fodor's Hume Variations, Chapter 2a
Readers of current analytic philosophy will be familiar with Jerry Fodor and his cogently-argued book, Hume Variations. Though I disagree with Fodor's brand of materialism, I believe the Rutgers professor delivers near-death blows to metaphysics. In the upcoming I will be working with each chapter of Fodor. Breaking down his arguments and, possibly, expounding upon each of them. Hopefully any readers will find this interesting enough to discuss. My advance apologies to a certain professor of mine for stealing some of his notes. When I will plagiarize him, I plagiarize him out of respect and time.
The goal of this will be discussion and argumentation between any readers. Today I'm going to begin most un-interestingly with the first part of Chapter 2. (I am skipping Chapter 1, let us say, to suffice, that Fodor finds both Cartesian and Pragmatist ideas faulty. But that the school of David Hume and the Theory of Ideas, ultimately, bears fruit; Wittgenstein's language arguments, ultimately, gone astray. You can find Fodor's argument for the Theory of Ideas and his analysis of Wittgenstein's private language argument, which Fodor still checks back with from time to time, in the comment section of this post).
In the first part of Chapter 2, Fodor launches an attack on British Empiricism, namely, Hume's copy theory. For reference sake, you can find Hume's copy theory in Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding.
P(1): If Ideas (read: concepts) are copies of Impressions, then Ideas and Impressions have the same kind of structure. P = > Q
P(2): Ideas and Impressions do not have the same kind of structure. ~ P
C: Therefore, Ideas are not copies of Impressions. ~ Q
Obviously this destroys 18th century British Empiricism. Fodor supports the controversial second premise with ten reasons:
a) Perceptions are passive. We cannot will the perception, we can will the concept.
b) Impressions do not have structural rapport from the world to lend to concept structures.
c) To say opposite of Premise 2 would commit a grave categorical mistake: concepts have canonical decomposition.
d) Impressions are iconic, concepts are discursive.
e) Impressions are sometimes segmented but remain simple as concept. A concept of a watch is simple, but the impression is complex - a watch has many parts.
f) Segmentation of Impressions are under-determined. An impression of virtue from a particular scenario gives conception of virtue that can apply to any given situation. If Hume was right, our impression of virtue from a particular scenario would only be conceptually applied to that particular scene. (i.e., A "virtuous" situation of a guy giving a starving man a sandwich would dictate that we would only call guys giving sandwiches away as virtuous. There is no strong method to apply universal concepts.)
g) Gestalt psychology. Need I say more?
h) Impressions are of the world, not the world.
i) Phenomena is abstract; noumena is particular.
j) Concepts have content, some Impressions have "pre-conceptual" content.
Sounds good to me; this is what two hundred post-Humean years have offered. At this point, Fodor is seemingly contradicting his own position. If he is for the Theory of Ideas why the fuck does he demolish it? Fodor explains that while copy theory is necessary to Hume's epistemology, cognitive psychology may dispense with it how it wilt.
Fodor makes a final move, making a case (albeit, a shorter one) for Hume.
P(1): If concepts are not copies of impressions, then concepts are innate. ~ P => Q
P(2): Concepts are not innate. ~ Q
C: Therefore, concepts are copies of impressions. .`. P
So now we have contradicted ourselves here. One argument leads us against Hume, another for him. I might raise issue with Premise 2 of the second argument, seeing how it is shown inductively. Hume probably would not like the position he has found himself in, nor how history has treated him. In a letter to his publisher a year before his death, Hume wrote candidly, "But it will happen to me as to many other writers: Though I have reached considerable age, I shall not live to see any justice done to me." I do not think, even if he were still alive, he could have seen it.
Regardless, we can detect the moves Fodor is making, especially because argument two's second premise is so weak. I believe we are going to see Hume in the future.
Readers of current analytic philosophy will be familiar with Jerry Fodor and his cogently-argued book, Hume Variations. Though I disagree with Fodor's brand of materialism, I believe the Rutgers professor delivers near-death blows to metaphysics. In the upcoming I will be working with each chapter of Fodor. Breaking down his arguments and, possibly, expounding upon each of them. Hopefully any readers will find this interesting enough to discuss. My advance apologies to a certain professor of mine for stealing some of his notes. When I will plagiarize him, I plagiarize him out of respect and time.
The goal of this will be discussion and argumentation between any readers. Today I'm going to begin most un-interestingly with the first part of Chapter 2. (I am skipping Chapter 1, let us say, to suffice, that Fodor finds both Cartesian and Pragmatist ideas faulty. But that the school of David Hume and the Theory of Ideas, ultimately, bears fruit; Wittgenstein's language arguments, ultimately, gone astray. You can find Fodor's argument for the Theory of Ideas and his analysis of Wittgenstein's private language argument, which Fodor still checks back with from time to time, in the comment section of this post).
In the first part of Chapter 2, Fodor launches an attack on British Empiricism, namely, Hume's copy theory. For reference sake, you can find Hume's copy theory in Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding.
P(1): If Ideas (read: concepts) are copies of Impressions, then Ideas and Impressions have the same kind of structure. P = > Q
P(2): Ideas and Impressions do not have the same kind of structure. ~ P
C: Therefore, Ideas are not copies of Impressions. ~ Q
Obviously this destroys 18th century British Empiricism. Fodor supports the controversial second premise with ten reasons:
a) Perceptions are passive. We cannot will the perception, we can will the concept.
b) Impressions do not have structural rapport from the world to lend to concept structures.
c) To say opposite of Premise 2 would commit a grave categorical mistake: concepts have canonical decomposition.
d) Impressions are iconic, concepts are discursive.
e) Impressions are sometimes segmented but remain simple as concept. A concept of a watch is simple, but the impression is complex - a watch has many parts.
f) Segmentation of Impressions are under-determined. An impression of virtue from a particular scenario gives conception of virtue that can apply to any given situation. If Hume was right, our impression of virtue from a particular scenario would only be conceptually applied to that particular scene. (i.e., A "virtuous" situation of a guy giving a starving man a sandwich would dictate that we would only call guys giving sandwiches away as virtuous. There is no strong method to apply universal concepts.)
g) Gestalt psychology. Need I say more?
h) Impressions are of the world, not the world.
i) Phenomena is abstract; noumena is particular.
j) Concepts have content, some Impressions have "pre-conceptual" content.
Sounds good to me; this is what two hundred post-Humean years have offered. At this point, Fodor is seemingly contradicting his own position. If he is for the Theory of Ideas why the fuck does he demolish it? Fodor explains that while copy theory is necessary to Hume's epistemology, cognitive psychology may dispense with it how it wilt.
Fodor makes a final move, making a case (albeit, a shorter one) for Hume.
P(1): If concepts are not copies of impressions, then concepts are innate. ~ P => Q
P(2): Concepts are not innate. ~ Q
C: Therefore, concepts are copies of impressions. .`. P
So now we have contradicted ourselves here. One argument leads us against Hume, another for him. I might raise issue with Premise 2 of the second argument, seeing how it is shown inductively. Hume probably would not like the position he has found himself in, nor how history has treated him. In a letter to his publisher a year before his death, Hume wrote candidly, "But it will happen to me as to many other writers: Though I have reached considerable age, I shall not live to see any justice done to me." I do not think, even if he were still alive, he could have seen it.
Regardless, we can detect the moves Fodor is making, especially because argument two's second premise is so weak. I believe we are going to see Hume in the future.
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