Some words like ten or kilometre have a single, precise definition. Others aren’t as well defined. Who is to say at what age a boy becomes a man or at what size a hill becomes a mountain? Is a table still a table if the legs are removed? These questions have no definite answers. Each word corresponds not to one, but many possible definitions, each with different levels of appropriateness depending on the context (1).

In a legal context, robbery may be defined by the wording in a statute, but in a more casual context it may simply be defined as “a deprivation of possessions by use of force”. This later definition, however, would include taxes when payment compelled under threat of jail. In general usage, robbery does not include taxation, so excluding legal actions might lead to a better definition. However, this would allow a legal loophole to exclude an action from being classified as robbery. It seems that edge cases will prevent any general usage definition from being perfect (2).

What makes a good definition? Simply, one that allows meaning to be clearly conveyed. A definition requires a certain level of consensus within the context it will be used or else it will be uncertain which definition is being used. While practitioners of technical subjects are able to often obtain consensus for an exact definition, most definitions will lack consensus for edge cases. A good definition should also refer to a concept that is useful – for there is no point in being able to clearly convey that which no-one would ever say.

Application to arguments

As we have seen, definitions are complex and so arguing about the best definition of a word is rarely productive and should be avoided whenever possible. For example, if a Libertarian tried to argue with me that taxation is a form of robbery, then I would instead try to argue about whether morally equivalent to robbery and avoid the issue of defining robbery. This not only avoids many issues, but even if the other person were to show that the definition of robbery should technically include taxation, they would not prove it immoral. Then again, often one side is simply trying to win a definition argument for propaganda purposes. If you believe that the other person is using a word unfairly, argue about whether the definition is fair (or suggest a more accurate term), rather than arguing about the definition. For example, I would argue that calling taxation robbery isn’t fair, as taxation does have an altruistic purpose. On the other hand, it would consider it valid to note that force is used in both taxation and robbery and to ask what justifies that use of force.

Many paradoxes or incorrect arguments are based on conflating multiple concepts into a single word. For example, is someone free if they are forced to commit an action under the thread of violence? Clearly, they could have decided to ignore the threat so they are still free in the sense of having free will to determine their reactions to situations. On the other hand, they are not free in the sense of being free from unfair compulsion in their actions. The word free is probably best understood to describe a set of related concepts. These issues can be resolved by teasing out the various senses and, if necessary, creating terminology for these senses. Words such as free are notoriously hard to define and I do not think that it is always fair to impose the burden of providing a definition on someone before we admit the possibility that such a concept may exist.

Footnotes

(1) As well have having different definitions, most words also have different senses. For example, book can mean to reserve, as in to book tickets or it can refer to a printed or written literary work. Another example, is that men can be used to refer to mature human males, males as a whole or all humans. If we wanted to be more technically correct, we would say it is the senses that correspond to possible definitions, rather than words. This model works reasonably well, but is still not perfect. For example, is the legal definition of robbery a different sense of robbery from the common understanding, or is it the same sense, but a different context? The answer is both. The “mature human males” sense of men can be split into sub-senses such as “human males legally considered mature” or “human males culturally considered mature”. In a legal context, whenever the word men is used in a way that suggests the meaning “mature human males”, it is likely that the “human males legally considered mature” sub-sense is meant.

(2) Some words or terms can’t be well defined in absolute terms, but they can be well defined in terms of others. For example, a one-legged man can be well defined in terms of the concepts “leg” and “man”, while “leg” is ambiguous (what if the man has a partial amputation?), as is “man” (again, when does a boy become a man?)

In this initial post, I will just list a few principles that I have learned. Firstly, try to be polite regardless of whether the other person is polite or whether you think their comments are stupid. Annoying the other person will only make them harder to convince, make you look worse and degrade the conversation. Try to make your point as clear as possible. Don’t assume that they will know what you mean – far too often, they will not. You can’t rely on other people to put effort into trying to understand your point. Expect your words to be taken to mean exactly what they say. In contrast, follow the principle of charity; which is to interpret any ambiguous statement in the best possible way. If the other person’s statement seems nonsensical, reread it to ensure there are no other interpretations. If you are really unsure of what is being said, then just ask. If you partially agree with a statement, then say so – refusing to admit valid points is sign of insecurity. Many objections to your arguments will be either quite weak or a simple misunderstanding. You can often avoid the discussion getting sidetracked by preempting these issues and mentioning your position before they are brought up.

I have also learned a lot from Paul Graham’s essay: How to Disagree. Firstly, he notes that ad hominem attacks, but not pointless name calling, are not worthless, but could be relevant, as they affect the speakers credibility. He doesn’t highly rate criticisms of the tone, but he considers them a step up as it at least focuses on the writing. While a correct argument with a brusque tone is still correct, discussing whether the tone is appropriate can help bring an scathing critic to somewhere more reasonable. Paul Graham also notes that often people aren’t actually arguing about the same thing. He suggests that counter arguments are more effective when they actually refute a statement made by the other person, and most effective when they refute the central point.

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. ~Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, c.1420

Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.  ~Jonathan Kozel

If you hate your lot but wouldn’t trade it, it’s not your lot you hate.  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, 1966

Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise.  ~Author Unknown

The biggest problem in the world
Could have been solved when it was small.
~Witter Bynner, The Way of Life According to Laotzu

Don’t ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.  ~Robert Frost

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?  ~Abraham Lincoln

Never undertake anything for which you wouldn’t have the courage to ask the blessings of heaven.  ~G.C. Lichtenberg

The best way to predict your future is to create it.  ~Peter Drucker

We are all inclined to judge ourselves by our ideals; others, by their acts.  ~Harold Nicolson

Pain is inevitable.  Suffering is optional.  ~M. Kathleen Casey

Old Chinese Curses: May you get what you wish for. May you lead an interesting life

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself.  ~Thomas Paine

Even a clock that does not work is right twice a day.  ~Polish Proverb

In your thirst for knowledge, be sure not to drown in all the information.  ~Anthony J. D’Angelo, The College Blue Book

For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.  ~Author Unknown

Love one another and you will be happy.  It’s as simple and as difficult as that.  ~Michael Leunig

All television is educational television. The question is: what is it teaching?  ~Nicholas Johnson

Imagine what it would be like if TV actually were good.  It would be the end of everything we know.  ~Marvin Minksy

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it. Groucho Marx

No-one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt

This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night of the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. William Shakespeare

Material things, of themselves, mean nothing. It’s not that they’re bad. It’s that they’re nothing. Marianne Williamson

I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure–which is: Try to please everybody. Herbert Bayard Swope

Do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of. Franklin, Benjamin

As a rule, men worry more about what they can’t see than about what they can. Julius Caesar

Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
C. S. Lewis

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves. -Carl Jung

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever. (Chinese proverb)

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

All changes, even the most longer for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. Anatole France

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. -Reinhold Niebuhr

“Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you’ll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others.”

Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, then it must be accepted.”

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.”

All war is based on deception. Sun Tzu

Know your limits, but never stop trying to exceed them.  ~Author Unknown

“Make a game of finding something positive in every situation. Ninety-five percent of your emotions are determined by how you interpret events to yourself.” – Brain Tracy

“As you think, so shall you become.” – Bruce Lee

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” – Bruce Lee

Necessity is the mother of invention

“When it’s time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived.” – Henry David Thoreau

The only good luck many great men ever had was being born with the ability and determination to overcome bad luck. Channing Pollock

Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler – Albert Einstein

If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants – Isaac Newton

Plans are worthless, but planning is everything – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Education: that which reveals to the wise, and conceals from the stupid, the vast limits of their knowledge – Mark Twain

Walking on water and developing software from a specification are easy if both are frozen — Edward V Berard

Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach – Tom Robbin

“My basic principle is that you don’t make decisions because they are easy; you don’t make them because they are cheap; you don’t make them because they’re popular; you make them because they’re right.” – Theodore Hesburgh

A peacefulness follows any decision, even the wrong one.  ~Rita Mae Brown

When one bases his life on principle, 99 percent of his decisions are already made.  ~Author Unknown

Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live. Rick Osborne

When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail

The problem with communication is the illusion that is has occurred – George Shaw

If you’re not paying, then you are not the customer, you are the product being sold

Why is there so much violence in the world? People need to feel significant. If you have a gun, then I guarantee people will take you seriously

The feelings of the person who wrote, and the person who received it, are now so widely different from what they were then, that every unpleasant circumstance attending it ought to be forgotten. You must learn some of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.” – Pride and Prejudice

Nothing is more deceitful, than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast – Pride and Prejudice

The power of doing anything with quickness is always much prized by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance – Pride and Prejudice

Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us – Pride and Prejudice

Humorous quotes

I would never belong to a group that would accept someone like me as a member – Groucho Marx

Always borrow money from a pessimist, he doesn’t expect to be paid back.

If a man who cannot count finds a four-leaf clover, is he lucky?  ~Stanislaw J. Lec

I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle.  I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.  ~Mother Teresa

After all is said and done, a lot more will have been said than done.  ~Author Unknown

What a pity human beings can’t exchange problems.  Everyone knows exactly how to solve the other fellow’s.  ~Olin Miller

“Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink.”, “Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it. Exchange between Lady Astor and Winston Churchill”

“A lady came up to me one day and said ‘Sir! You are drunk’, to which I replied ‘I am drunk today madam, and tomorrow I shall be sober but you will still be ugly.” — Winston S. Churchill

Hospitality is making your guests feel at home — even when you wish they were.

More truth than typo: The car approached the coroner at 100 miles per hour.

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there – Steve Jobs

Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window – Steve Wozniak

Homer Simpson re: alcohol: “The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.”

Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning. -Rich Cook

“In less enlightened times, the best way to impress women was to own a hot car. But women wised up and realized it was better to buy their own hot cars so they wouldn’t have to ride around with jerks.” – Scott Adams

It seems to me that personal development can be split into two steps. Firstly, finding principles that we intellectually accept as true and secondly deciding whether we can commit to focusing on that principal at this time. For the first step, it is important to record down principles that seem to be true, as memory is often quite fallible. You should also try to remember them if possible – stories or quotes will make it easier to keep them in your head. We then have to examine these principals and decide on specific changes we could make to bring us closer in alignment to these. If you record these desired changed, then as you progress, you will be able to evaluate the decisions that you have made.

I believe that it is also important to be able to share what you learn with others. Simply putting your thoughts on paper will help you think of the best way to communicate your ideas. I have now started writing a personal development guide to help define the principles that I accept. This guide is mainly for my own personal use, but I hope that it will help others as well. A draft is available upon request.

Acknowledging significant differences between cultures does not mean unquestioningly accepting the old stereotypes. These have had and still do have many negative effects. I think understanding the causes behind stereotypes is vital for dispelling them. Many were created specifically for denigrating a group of outsiders. More interesting are those stereotypes that may have seemed sensible in the past, but can be seen to be false beliefs in hindsight. Let us pretend that we are a normal person a hundred years ago trying to determine why males are dominating science. The first thought to come to mind would be that maybe men are simply better at it than women. Men and women have obvious physical differences. There are also behavioural differences as well (some cultural and some based on hormones). It would not sound outrageous to suggest that there could be a difference when it came to science as well. If we asked an expert, while they would have probably acknowledged cultural effects, they would have also told us that the difference was mostly intrinsic. The examples of a few exceptional women would not have changed our imaginary observers mind – indeed our observer would used these examples to counter that claim that women were being unfairly denied opportunities. In hindsight we can see that these views were based on confirmation bias, but while our (educated) observer would have acknowledged the possibility that other people may make this mistake, he would have denied that he could be making it himself. Many other stereotypes were created by some kind of confirmation bias as well.

Given that so many past stereotypes have been shown convincingly to be false, it is not surprising that many people rail against all stereotypes. However, not all are completely fallacious, some, while exaggerated, have a basis in truth. Let us consider a rather tame example, the stereotype that Asians are generally “cheap”. One difficultly with analysing this statement is that it means different things to different people. Some people people use “cheap” as an insult, while others are rather proud of their cheapness! We will ignore any implicit judgement value in the statement. Many people would outright dismiss this statement because as a stereotype. However, given that many Asians were brought up relatively poor, it is not unreasonable that many of them would be influenced to be more careful with their money. While it is obviously false that “all Asians are cheap”, this doesn’t mean that the average Asian mightn’t be significantly more “cheap” than the average person in our society (I don’t actually know if this is the case as I haven’t actually done the research! The actually truthfulness of this claim isn’t really important).

Objectors will point out that there would be significant variation between different Asian countries and even more between individuals. This is indeed the case, but it wouldn’t invalidate any potential significant variation between cultures. If you were trying to market to Asians and there was a statistically significant difference, you would do well to take this variation into account. Similarly, if an Asian acquaintance wanted to grab dinner somewhere and you didn’t know them well personally, it might be sensible to suggest a place that it good value. Again, these statements are just hypothetical and based on assumption about which I don’t claim to be either true or false.

The example we just considered was rather tame. Since I am half-Chinese and pretty cheap myself I think I can get away with this safely. Once you accept that there are differences between cultures, we have to accept that some cultures will have negative qualities. This is an area we have to be careful about discussing, just as we have to be careful about discussing the negative qualities of people as once someone is offended, influencing them becomes much harder. When discussing the differences between cultures, we should always focus on how cultures should improve, rather than attempt to prove the superiority of our own culture or denigrate others. True tolerance is not about denying differences, but accepting members of other cultures despite these differences. We should be proud of our own culture’s achievements, but without minimising the achievement of others.

We should realise that although our culture may seem far better than others, a large part of this will be because we were brought up in it. It is good for cultures to be different, just like it is good for people to be different. Each culture should not aim to be exactly the same, but rather to be the best that it can be. We need to realise the technological development is merely one aspect of culture and not the most important. Many more “primitive” cultures have a much stronger sense of community. Our society has not developed in first world countries as far as we often believe. We have become too materialistic and too self-focused. Most of the world lives in poverty and we don’t care. Domestic violence, alcohol abuse and gambling problem rates are ridiculous. The divorce rate is 50%. If we compared our culture with others now and in the past, I don’t think that we’d come out as well as we would like to think.

Outside of work, I have been volunteering at Newtown mission. I have lived quite a sheltered life and it is definitely worthwhile meeting people who have had a much harder lot. It is important to realise that there are massive issues out there that don’t just go away if we ignore them. I would really encourage anyone reading this to come along even just  once, as it can really open your eyes.
I’ve spent an extraordinary amount of time on the Internet trying to increase my knowledge. Towards the end of university, I started regretting that I hadn’t gained a broader knowledge than I have. I’ve spent time exploring all sorts of areas from history, psychology, philosophy, law, theology and even random trivia (snopes, mythbusters, straight dope), but there is just so much to learn. There is a story I heard, that I man was in the desert and a voice told him to put stones in his pocket and tomorrow he would be both sorry and glad. He did this and the next day found out that these were precious gems. And so he was sorry and glad, glad that he had taken some and sorry that he hadn’t taken more. This analogy describes education perfectly.

Even in IT and maths, the areas I have been concentrating on studying for 4 years during university, there is just so much I don’t know. In IT this includes: assembly language, networking, functional programming, hardware and computer graphics. I recently finished listening to a series of podcasted lectures on ethical hacking and I will expand my knowledge further, while keeping in mind that I need to pick an area to specialise in.

In maths, I’ve been spending a lot of time on Math.StackExchange and seen that there is a vast amount of material that I have never seen. A long time ago I was one of the top competitors in the Australian Mathematics Olympiads, but towards the end of uni I started losing interest in maths and ability is useless without the desire to use it. I know that if I had had access to this tool back in high school then I would literally be insanely good now. It is now so tempting to go back and study maths, but I know that programming will give me a greater opportunity to affect the world. I will therefore restrict the amount of time I spent here, so that I can focus on more important goal. At the moment, I am trying to gain a decent understanding of category theory, partially to help me understand functional programming. This is an area of maths that is abstract even for pure mathematicians. I imagine it like a hill, which I wish to climb just so I can see the surrounding terrain.

I would be interested in possibly being an entrepreneur some time in the future. At the moment I have some vague ideas of what needs to be done, but nothing solid. Even if nothing happens, I would definitely like to start working on a side project. I have spent a large amount of time reading various blogs for their opinions on startups and producing a good product, so I think I have a very good understanding what to do. At the moment, I just need to work on gaining the experience that I need to make it happen.

I’m going to probably get a new phone soon. My main issue at the moment is speed – I want a device that works seamlessly. For example, if someone mentions something in a conversation, Googling it currently takes far too long. I am really interested in how better technology could change social interactions. I’m tempted by some of Android’s features likes widgets, sliding keyboards and its sheer extensibility. While it would be annoying to have to start building my app collection from scratch again, the biggest roadblock for me is limited range of phones available in Australia. I think I’ll unfortunately have to wait until my next upgrade to switch.

I am now using Things to manage my tasks. It has a few quirks, but it manages to successfully combine simplicity with power. It definitely helps me get a lot more done, but once I started using it, I felt like I lost some degree of freedom. I guess I just need to learn to ignore the mountain of tasks I have listed every so often.

I have started using Evernote again to record notes. In addtion to the web application, it has extremely good desktop and mobile applications for most platforms and an API. I have also started using Google Bookmarks as bookmarked results sometimes appear in search results. This year, I have been focusing must more on retaining information after I am exposed to it. These tools have proven invaluable in this regard.

I’ve mainly stopped using instant messaging as I think voice technologies are better suited for conversation. So far this has worked out well, except for the fact that I have hardly anyone on Skype.

Thoughts on web apps

Google Wave is now dead, but the protocol will live on and it will have a lasting influence of future web developers because of its shear scope and ambition. I am sure that there are many other collaborative companies looking to fill the void.

StackExchange 2.0 seems to be going quite well. The sites seems to have critical mass and high quality contributions, but they aren’t really rapidly growing. These tools are insanely powerful though and perhaps we need to wait for them to gain decent page rank before they gain adoption. StackExchange chat doesn’t seem to be going very well – most of the time I have spent on it so far has been wasted. I think it would be best for me to just ignore it for a month or two, then check back to see if it has improved.

I’m really anticipating the launch of Google ME and Facebook Answers. Google has constantly been producing products that could make great components of a  a social network, but they have never really had the desire to put them together (Were they even serious about Orkut?). I would like to see how they put everything together. With Facebook answers, I think that this could be precisely what is needed to use Facebook for more serious and/or engaging discussions.

Cell phone guns exist. In fact, guns have also been hidden in “canes, pens and beepers” as well.

The Texas legislature did pass a resolution honoring the Boston Strangler for “unconventional techniques involving population control and applied psychology”. Rep. Tom Moore did this to demonstrate that bills are often passed with minimal attention.

David Phillips earned 1.2 million frequent flier miles by buying $3150 worth of pudding and claimed a $815 tax write off.

The fighting did actually stop for a few days at Christmas for World War 1.

Using too many bug bombs can cause your house to explode. I guess the name isn’t just a marketing term.

An English engineer, Joseph Jaggers discovered that roulette wheels in a casino weren’t perfectly random and managed to win $325, 000 1983 dollars.

The color of a tag on a loaf of bread indicates when it was baked.

Snakes have been used as weapons in hold ups and frozen squirrels have been used for criminal purposes.

Leave tennis balls wrapped in tape or heavier than usual alone. They could contain explosives.

Some old phones were misprogrammed to dial 911 when their batteries got low.

A farmer, annoyed at quotas imposed on his production, declared his farm a separate province and due to legal loop holes, got away with it. He no longer has to pay taxes.

Potato chips were invented out of a cook’s spite. Got to love this quote: “On that fateful day, a customer had the temerity to complain that Crum’s French fries were “too thick and soggy” and “not salty enough.” The angered cook set out to wreak some culinary vengeance. He sliced potatoes paper-thin, fried them to a singed crisped brown, salted the living daylights out of them, and dumped them in front of the hard-to-please diner. The customer tried one, smiled, then helped himself to the rest of them. Thus were born Saratoga Chips, as Crum’s unintended invention came to be called.”

Auto-brewery syndrome causes alcohol to be produced and be build up in the body.

People tend to get burnt by UV more on cloudy days. It is not just because of people staying out longer, but also because the clouds scatter rays so there are more UV rays in the shade.

Studies seem to show that sweets don’t produce a sugar rush.

Greenland is an island, but not Eurasia, as an island is defined as a mass surrounded by water that is not a continent.

There are floating islands – both natural and man-made.

Those weird laws that you hear about, are kind of true.

The president can grant immunity from prosecution, but it is kind of a let down as it doesn’t protect you from state law.

You could almost survive just on potatoes and milk.

Mass transit isn’t actually as energy efficient as you’d think – buses are about the same and trains are only 30% more. We can power them with sources other than petrol though.

Yachts can sail faster than the wind. I’m not even going to try and explain it here.

The US Army Survival Manual suggests memorising the local plants prior to being marooned. Failing that, it is an extremely long process to determine what is safe to eat.

Generic drugs are in many cases as good as brand name, but in some cases their “bio-equivalent” substitutions may not be as effective. 4

Python is a good choice for a beginner because it combines simplicity with power. Python also has a strong community – of particular note are the Python mailing list and Stack Overflow.

In programming, it is traditional to begin a discussion of a language with a program that prints out hello world. In Python this is simply:

print “hello world”

Note: Python 3 uses brackets around the string.

Python’s syntax is highly readable, but it possesses an incredible amount power. Python has many advanced features, but it is rare that you will have to use them, as opposed to being able to use them.

Code libraries are a key component of any programming language and Python has  one to handle almost any task you can imagine. Many of these are inbuilt, which guarantees you an extremely high standards of reliability and documentation. Unlike many other languages, Python documentation doesn’t just list the methods with possibly a small section on how to use it, but rather focuses on explaining how the module should be used.

Python now has excellent tool support. It is supported in a number of integrated development environments (simply programs that provide a lot a different functionality to help with programming). PyDev has recently much improved its auto-completion and can detect some errors before you run your program. Python also has useful consoles which allow you to enter code and see the effects rather than having to type out an entire program and then run it.

Of course, like all languages it has its quirks. Python 2 and 3 differences limit what libraries can be used. Additionally, graphical builders for user interfaces seem to be less popular and hence less well supported.