Personality Type and Social Organization

A lot of people put too much stock in personality tests like the Myers-Briggs, myself included. I'm still curious whether the results could be applicable to social structure.

For instance, NT types are supposedly skilled at theoretical analysis, and SF types are good at dealing with people. Could an organization use NTs to make many of the detailed decisions with broad implications, and the SFs to help maintain internal cohesion?

The psychologists in Human Resources should look into this. It'll do more to maximize your profits than just refusing to hire introverts because reasons.

Critique of Micronationalism

I first found out about micronationalism about five years ago, and have generally enjoyed my forays into that world. Looking back, though, there are a few criticism that I'd like to lay out.

These fall into two basic categories: important problems and unimportant quibbles. We'll start with the quibbles first.

Quibbles with Micronationalism

Okay, what's with the ridiculous names? It's like some of these people take an eastern European province and mash it together with a Russian transliteration and used it to name a country. Or it sounds like a realm from some fantasy novel. Or is hyperspecific (Principality of Hutt River is downright clean compared to most). I know that's a pretty silly thing to get worked up about, but after awhile I'd just like a nice [Republic/Kingdom] of [Normal-sounding place-name].

Similarly, their online presence leaves something to be desired. A few paid to have nice websites built, but most just took a course in HTML and went to town with it. In both cases, their websites are usually difficult to navigate and full of contradictory or redundant information. This leads me to one of my more serious criticisms.

Serious Problems in Micronationalism

Micronations, generally, aren't very well planned. Usually they start out as creative exercises in imagination that stick for entrepreneurial reasons. Naturally, this leads to some very weird histories, including outright fabrications. Because they aren't very well planned, micronationalists often come off pretty whiny in their attempts to gain independence and recognition, even when run by relatively stable and responsibly individuals (anyone who finds the idea of setting up a new country in your back yard is a little weird, myself included).

I think the reputation of micronations actually hurt serious independence movements and new country projects. When micronationalists declare the People's Republic of Backyardlandia, they draw negative media attention to the idea of setting up a new country. While well-organized micronations could help foster the idea in people's minds, for the most part, they taint the public perception of separatism.

At risk of sounding like an altruist, I'd advise micronationalists to think about others and put their own immediate interest aside for the sake of independence movements everywhere. Focus on developing community and identity before working on sovereignty. If you've got a reasonable large community that wants to secede, then go for it. Until then, keep the games to yourself.

That's some advice I could afford to follow, too.

Shkadov Thrusters

Shkadov Thruster and Dyson Rings (via Wikipedia)

A Shkadov Thruster is a proposed sort of stellar engine, which would be used to move an entire star system by redirecting the primary's radiation pressure. A star being piloted by a Shkadov Thruster wouldn't move very fast (if we built one for Sol, after 1 million years we would have moved less than .1 parsec), but given enough time it could end up moving fast relative to the surrounding stars.

Of course, the Sun is probably bigger than need be. A particularly luminous but much less massive star could accelerate much faster. Alternatively, a somewhat more massive but much more luminous star (F3, for example) might accelerate faster (I haven't done the math on it).

Additionally, energy collected by a Class C engine could supplement the thruster's thrust. Suppose a ring of collectors was set up about the star's equator, and the thruster was located above one the poles. The energy that might have headed out from the equator could instead by directed to electric propulsion drives.

What sort of star to use for this would depend in large part on how fast and far the architects want to go, and how long they want to be able to see returns on their investment.

Sleep

They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. I'm not sure precisely how true that is, but I'll put it out there. I sleep too much.

Perhaps it's because even on nights when I don't have insomnia it takes me a long time to go to sleep. Perhaps it's because upon waking I find the world no better than I left it, and dive back down. Perhaps my body is still too weak and feeble to operate on less than ten hours without complaining. Or maybe I'm just perpetually dehydrated.

It doesn't help that I think my cycle is longer than 24 hours. I could sleep twelve hours and then stay awake for sixteen, easily. In fact, that would probably be more efficient than what I do now. Unfortunately, our civilization is still dependent on daylight, and I am too dependent on "civilized" people to break from that cycle.

New Year's Resolutions

I made two resolutions this year: floss five times a week, and start using the Periodic Calendar more. I'm also going to try to post weekly.

Goals for the New Year, on the other hand, I've yet to finalize.

What would I even call this?

I'm very tired and will probably question this in the morning, but I want to get this out. Sometimes I just really don't understand my mother.

This probably doesn't seem surprising but I feel (special pleading alert!) that my situation is unusual. We're both INTJs, we're both fairly intelligent, but we completely differ in our approach to living.

In particular, I just can't seem to wrap my head around why she'll suggest one thing and then wonder how anyone could ever do something so stupid as what she suggested! It's like she's completely incapable of seeing how her own behavior prevents the very behavior she wants out of me.

All I want is to just be left alone long enough to get something done. That'll never happen. And then the damn fools will wonder why it never got done.

How anyone has a family and doesn't believe in laissez-faire is utterly beyond me.

Anti-Capitalism and Misanthropy

I've been reprising my summer job at a retail store over the holiday break, and naturally I've been just astounded by the ridiculous sorts and quantities of things that people buy. While I will admit that the store's prices are a lot lower for various reasons, I still don't see the reason why anyone other than a millionaire or newlyweds would buy so many lamps, vases, or plates, not to mention the endless stream of trinkets and doo-daas.

The work doesn't nearly approach occupying my mental capacity at all times, so in my mental meandering I realized something interesting. Hating commercialism is often an alternative to hating people, or more precisely, hating people's vapidity. All too many people think that commercialism causes the vapidity, when in reality, vapidity is what made commercialism possible in the first place!

Following this line of thought, we see that anti-capitalism on both the left and right (colloquially known as socialism and fascism, respectively) is a misanthropically-motivated desire to control people because they're obviously too stupid to run their own lives. Whether or not you believe that's true (I think in a lot of cases it is), that's no proof that you would be any better at the job. It certainly doesn't justify totalitarianism. That's of no consequence to the totalitarian, who believes himself—through the state—perfectly worthy of controlling other people.

The socialist anti-capitalist believes that if we can end capitalism, we can free people of their vapidity. The fascist anti-capitalist is more honest, believing that since people are vapid, we must control them through the state to subdue their vapidity. Europe's history of socialism and fascism in the 20th century should be sufficient evidence that neither approach will work.

Looking at my own political history, I see elements of both viewpoints. I hated industry like a good little ecosocialist, but in other ways could have been described at proto-fascist in my views. Fortunately I came around to see the folly of authoritarianism many years before I could vote, and learned some valuable lessons from it.

Creepertarian Pick Up Lines

For fun a few months ago I made up some "creepertarian"* pick up lines. They went over pretty well when I told people about them, so I thought I'd share.

• I think you just shifted my market equilibrium
• You're stimulating my private sector
• Let's increase aggregate demand by tearing off those clothes
• Looking at you shifts my demand curve
• I'm just thinking about the production possibility frontier if we had a merger
• If I weren't so convinced of the Non-Aggression Principle, I'd consider a hostile takeover
• I'd like to seize your assets.
• Is that bottom on the open market?
• Do you read Rothbard on the first date?
• Do you support private ownership of the means of reproduction?
• I'm usually for fiscal restraint, but I just can't control my outlays around you
• That butt is a positive externality
• If you were the market, I'd like to be equilibrium, so I could lie at the intersection of your curves
• I oppose all regulations that would limit the supply of you.
• I really had a scarcity of you in my life until just now
• Want to go create some market anarchy in the bedroom?
• Buying that outfit did more than just make GDP grow...

*Creepy libertarian, for those of you blessedly ignorant. The fact that we have a portmanteau for this should tell you how many there are.

New Blog

I went ahead with that idea of creating a writing blog. I'll try to populate it a bit over break. Link in my profile.

Datum

I'm thinking about spinning off another blog where I write fiction (both short stories and serials). Having somewhere to publish my stories might give me the added incentive to finish them. Then again, maybe not.

Anyway, it would probably be mostly hard science fiction mixed with some pro-capitalist political fics. Maybe a little fan fiction would show up. I might make some progress on that front over winter break. Two weeks from now I'll be home again. God, that seems soon.

It seems like all I write about on here is b-grade political rants. Maybe I should branch out?