The Singularity is Ne’er Written by Shawn Funk The futurist’s job is to project current trends far into the future and make bold predictions about the world of tomorrow based on these trends. Ray Kurzweil is bold indeed. He posits the idea of a technological singularity, a moment in time when artificial intelligence (AI) eclipses the intelligence of the smartest human beings, leading to a technological explosion and super-intelligent AI (Schneider, 2016). This statement is loaded with assumptions which I will not mention. Instead, I am just going to assume it is all true and have some fun. I will add that as it stands, we are far from developing…
Check out our Digital Exclusive January 2023 Issue here. Some of the articles in this issue include: Four Boys Playing Music: An Afternoon with 4BPM Meeting Your Inner Child Starting Your New Fitness Resolution Strong Social Media Manager
What is Meliorism? Written by Shawn Funk The word ‘meliorist’ finds its root in the Latin word ‘melior,’ which means ‘better.’ According to the pragmatist philosopher William James, meliorism can be understood as a means between optimism and pessimism, or what I like to call healthy skepticism (Bloeser & Stahl, 2022). It holds that the world can be made better through human action. Underlying meliorism is the deeply held belief in human progress. What a religious sentiment! Interestingly, while James is a hardcore pragmatist, there is an element of hope embedded into meliorism; James calls this hope rational faith, and it is a critical component of the concept of meliorism…
Check out our Digital Exclusive December 2022 Issue here. Some of the articles in this issue include: Watching in A Winter Wonderland: Finding Warmth Through Movies in the Winter Time Did You Know Japan Celebrates Christmas with KFC? Check Your Christmas Playlist Here! The Melioristthemeliorist.ca/
Written by: Shawn Funk Christmas music is nauseating past the first week of December. We gravitate to the same worn-out classics every year. These songs are on the radio, in every playlist, and heard at every Christmas event. You know the ones I am talking about; I won’t mention them. They burrow into the mind, leaving you humming away like a good little automaton. This year, dare to stand against the oppressive canon of Christmas music! The classics need a rest. Here are five albums on Spotify that blast the traditions of Christmas past. Snoop Dogg Presents Christmas in tha Dogghouse. (2008) Get funked up on Snoop Dogg’s Christmas shizzle.…
Written by: Shawn Funk Our bodies are very funny. They make funny sounds and produce funny smells. Funny things happen to men in the morning. There is even a funny bone. Funny things also happen when you age. I have always been told our lives are funny. Perhaps that is because we are compelled to live in these funnily shaped bone bags called bodies. Check out these funny and weird facts about the human body. Mobile Ecosystem The human body is home to millions of bacteria called the human microbiota. There are more bacteria in our bodies than in human cells. It makes you wonder how much of…
Written by: Shawn Funk Much of my knowledge of war has been from the consumption of film rather than through historical documents and letters. Thus, like many others, I know my war history through the movies I have watched rather than factual accounts relayed in books, notes, and documentaries. In most films, there is a clear distinction between good and evil; that is, a distinction between America and “the enemy.” So, I was not surprised to find out many of them had been produced with the guidance of the U.S. military. What is the purpose of these films? In the absence of an official state propaganda bureau, some Hollywood filmmakers…
Check out our November 2022 issue here! The Melioristthemeliorist.ca/
Backyard Astronomy: Introduction to the Stars Written by Shawn Funk The introduction of the James Webb Space Telescope earlier this year has no doubt captivated the imaginations of those who have seen its images, but you don’t need a big fancy space telescope to enjoy the rich starscape beyond our planet. Getting into the hobby is very easy and requires minimal start-up costs. Like any hobby, you can spend thousands on astronomy gear, but it doesn’t and shouldn’t be expensive for a newbie. You can start your journey for free by simply looking up at night. Start easy; learn the constellations that are visible in your sky. I recommend buying…
On the Origins of Good and Evil Written by Shawn Funk “What is good?–All that heightens the feeling of power, the will to power, power itself in man. What is bad?–All that proceeds from weakness.” Friedrich Nietzsche–The Anti-Christ From a very young age, we know the difference between good and evil, and we willingly accept the ‘truth’ that underlies these concepts. For most of us, myself included, the justification for ‘the good’ probably goes something like this: the good is good because it’s good, and likewise, for its opposite. Great argument! If I go any deeper than that, contradictions arise besides a tautology is always true! Okay, so my point…
