Isocracy and Bushfires, Impossibility and Philosophy, Gaming and Reviews

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The first real action of the Isocracy network (inspired by brock_ulfsen has been to generate practical ideas on prevention of bushfires for the impending Royal Commission. So, if you have any great (or even not so great) ideas on the subject (cause, prevention, cure), please feel free to contribute. The network itself is growing at the rate I expected and would want it to do so (i.e., roughly one person a day). I will this opportunity to highlight 17catherines's efforts with the vicbushfirefund.

Next Sunday at the Unitarian Philosophy forum I will be presenting on "Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast", which discusses the (mis)use of metaphysics (logic, ontology and theology) in philosophy and modern criticisms of metaphysics from Hume, through to Kant and to Ayer and Popper. I will be concluding with the rise of epistemology, the need to separate theology from philosophy, and a universal pragmatism towards verification. Apropos a University of Hawaii lecturer in philosophy tries to explain what metaphysics is not (such things are actually possible in transcendent metaphysics because it doesn't rely on verification); hat-tip to erudito.

My review of the Zin Letters (a Finnish Glorantha 'zine) has been put up on rpg.net, and a review of Greg Saunders' Summerland should be there soon. Have just started a new PBeM based on the old Chaosium product Questworld but using Steve Perrin's Quest Rules. Karl B. ran a session of Gulliver's Trading Company on Sunday with good setting and character interaction; the FUDGE/FATE based system is slowly being bashed into some shape.

Comments

[kremmen.livejournal.com]

Applicability of practical ideas and prevention for bushfire environments will depend on solving basic issues first. A friend who bought a holiday house block a while back received notification by council that they had to plant 20 extra trees. You've not doubt seen this story. To me, buying a piece of property on which to build a house should automatically give one the right to protect it against its destruction and the deaths of those within it. While local councils continue to be allowed to force householders to make their houses unsafe, the whole of the rest of the discussion is moot.

BTW, I don't see what purpose there is of including ludicrous sections such as "2.1 God" and "4.1 Terrorism" in your outline of submission. How about "2.1A Spaghetti Monster has a Bad Day"? Considering random acts by supernatural beings and acts of terrorism just distracts from the real issues.

[imajica-lj.livejournal.com]

I have an idea for bush fire prevention. As in an idea that will stop a plasma fire dead.

We should talk.

[janewilliams20.livejournal.com]

One point you seem to have missed in your Zin review (I'd answer over there, but it insists on me trying to remember if I have an ID, and asking for the password and.... and life is too short)... that is, I'm told, and almost exact copy of the John Hughes Far Point website. That's been the definitive work on the Far Point for years, the only change here is that you don't have to do your own printing if you want a hard copy. If "official" Gloranthan history ever gets round to mentioning the area, it had better agree with this, or be laughed at, not the other way round.

[darknova666.livejournal.com]

might need to ban ppl from some state and national parks on really hot days and have security cameras to log cars entering them.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_zombiemonkey/]

the need to separate theology from philosophy

Always in agreement with. I find philosophy and faith rather like science and faith. Their intermingling cheapens both parties. Philosophy has conjured some absolute rubbish in trying to muck around with questions of theology, like Pascal's Wager, which is I think the most transparent game of philosophical 3-card monte around.