BlogHide Resteemsryanfmason (37)in economics • 5 years agoI, Pencil, Conspiracies, and IncentivesThe point of Leonard Read's essay I, Pencil is simple and important. No one person is capable of making something as simple as a pencil. You need the wood, lead, paint, etc. all of which have inputs…ryanfmason (37)in politics • 5 years agoThe Real ElectionsWe hear the word "election" and we typically think of a Tuesday in November (very encouraging choice of day/month to get people to come out and actually vote) every four years where some of us go…ryanfmason (37)in politics • 5 years agoWhy does the left think Trump is a Nazi?I'm not sure where this idea comes from originally. The two people I'm fairly certain have said it at some point are Michael Malice and Thaddeus Russell. The idea is "Politics is downstream from…ryanfmason (37)in philosophy • 6 years ago8 Quotes Everybody Would Love If They Weren't From Ayn RandIt's fairly uncontroversial to say Ayn Rand is designated among most people to be "out of bounds." She was just some crazy Russian lady who escaped from the Soviet Union and so she had a visceral…ryanfmason (37)in language • 6 years agoHow Google-ability changes languageThe implications of the internet and search engines specifically are generally understood. You can just Google anything generally considered to be a fact and you can find it instantly. For those of…ryanfmason (37)in politics • 6 years agoUS imperialism, Venezuela, and democracyFrom everything we're seeing on social media, it is about to go DOWN in Venezuela. The US, Canada, and every South American country except Bolivia has recognized the leadership of the opposition…ryanfmason (37)in sports • 6 years agoBelichick & MourinhoFor the intersection of fans who know the soccer world inside and out and area at least casual NFL fans, the comparison is easy - Bill Belichick is the Jose Mourinho of the NFL. The guy everybody…ryanfmason (37)in blockchain • 6 years agoDemocratizaton and Decentralization are not the same thingThe advent of Bitcoin and Blockchain has opened up a whole world of possibilities about how people make decisions. Blockchain can let people vote easier and without fraud, or so the story goes.…ryanfmason (37)in philosophy • 6 years agoForms of Non-Religious AsceticismAsceticism in a colloquial, un-nuanced definition means that you are giving up the "good stuff" in life. If you've heard the word, you probably picture a Buddhist monk in a temple somewhere…ryanfmason (37)in philosophy • 6 years agoWho are the Philosophers of the 21st Century?There's a certain paradox of philosophy in the 21st century. When we think of philosophers, we think of people all throughout history, from ancient Greece to the mid to late 20th century. But in the…ryanfmason (37)in philosophy • 6 years agoThe Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in LanguageIn the previous post I used the common analogy of physical space to talk about the internet. I then used the same analogy to talk about language, explaining that words would be analogous to…ryanfmason (37)in philosophy • 6 years agoLanguage as Physical SpaceUsing the internet is easy enough and can be taught to pretty much anybody. Explaining how the internet works is a whole other task. Where is it? Where does it come from? How is it all connected…ryanfmason (37)in soccer • 6 years agoWas anybody else even close to France?Coming into the 2018 World Cup, I (and I think many others) had 4 teams in mind who were genuinely in contention to win it all. Those 4 teams were (in order of how likely I thought they were to…ryanfmason (37)in soccer • 6 years agoWorld Cup Preview: France vs ArgentinaIf somebody told you this match was happening at the World Cup you'd expect it to at least be a quarterfinal. 3 World Cup titles between the 2 teams makes this a clash of giants, especially with…ryanfmason (37)in soccer • 6 years agoWorld Cup Group Stage First Round - The 5 WorstComing into the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the field of competition seemed very stratified. After the first round of games, the fog of stratification has burned away, revealing the true parity of…ryanfmason (37)in philosophy • 6 years agoMarx was Wrong, but Class Still MattersIf you've been to college, and particularly an elite, WASP heavy college, there is a phenomenon you're already familiar with, but maybe don't know exactly what it is or why it happens. To make…ryanfmason (37)in cryptocurrency • 6 years agoIs Vox's "Crypto Explained" Episode worth watching?Vox has recently started a new Netflix series about seemingly random subjects they think are topical or "edgy." Since this series started I (and I'm sure many others in the crypto space) have been…ryanfmason (37)in politics • 6 years agoI wasn't born an AnarchistEspecially in the modern era of hyper partisan ship, that is support or attack of a particular policy, philosophy, or person simply because of what else they are associated with, ideology is a…ryanfmason (37)in politics • 6 years agoMurder by Police is a Feature not a BugIt's not a secret that Progressives and Libertarians don't see eye to eye. They disagree very fundamentally about the role of government in every facet of life. It can then seem odd that…ryanfmason (37)in economics • 6 years agoDon't Privatize it, Eliminate itEvery day when I use the DC Metro rail system, I think about this problem. For those who don't know, the DC Metro is worse than you thought it ever could be. There's always too many people and not…
