Isn't It Obvious

K Sera asks about Religion. Hold on to your hats.

Show Notes:

N/A

K Sera’s after thoughts:

- Tell us how you really feel, me.

- Religion has its purpose in offering people comfort and acting as a moral compass to those (arguably terrifying) individuals who need to be told how to “be good” - even though we have secular alternatives that are based in reality… but whatever, different people have different needs.

- Even with the positive aspects, I would still argue religion is not a good thing for humanity. Like any system of governance, it’s designed to control through manipulation and the threat of consequences. In many respects, our current legal and criminal justice systems aren’t much better. In both instances, the institutions have stagnant leadership and substrate. Trying to implement changes are often met with violence and death in devastating numbers. The difference between religion and governance is actually pretty minimal when I think about it. The biggest difference I see is probably the approach of leadership. Who holds power? Why do they hold power, or who gave it to them? God? Santa Clause? Citizens? Money? Electoral votes? … ugh… it’s all stupid lies, isn’t it?

- I don’t know guys. Government looks like a net bad, too.

- Well, I guess I’m going to go listen to Imagine by John Lennon and contemplate the unattainable.

Phil’s after thoughts:

-Are people a net negative as a whole? Government can be just as corrupt as religion, from small tribal leaders to modern day empires. And even if we don't have any organization (maybe the step prior to hunter-gather, when our ancestors were nothing more than vulture-scavengers), serious injustice of "might makes right" would substitute any artificial human law.

-Whenever people exist; problems exist. I feel we blame religion as the scape goat when really the problem is human beings all along (insert meme "AlwaysHasBeen.meme").

-We blame the tool, not the toolmaker

Micah brings up a government-policy question. Phil flip flops. K Sera puts forth a better motion. Just another political podcast! Also, we bring up Mercantilism, Deep State, Aging Politicians, Drinking Age, Voting Age, Military Conscription, Wolf-Pac Campaign Finance Reform Proposals, Citizens United, old white male senators, and the need for a better informed American voter. Now isn’t that obvious?

Show Notes:

N/A

K Sera’s afterthoughts:

-On this week’s episode, Micah stews in his impotence, wanting to break capitalism over his knee and **** the consequences. Phil tries to get his point across, and it sounds like it will be a well reasoned one, alas, but gets interrupted almost every time. And I tell Micah he’s wrong. Which episode was this? This feels familiar.

-After talking this through (mostly listening to Micah rant) I’m most in favor of smarter term limits. If there must be a change to who is allowed to serve as an elected leader, and we are installing some kind of barrier to entry to prevent leaders from serving too long, better designed term limits is the way to go. If you are old enough to vote, you are old enough to serve your country.

-Motion to raise voting age to 20? While we’re at it: lower the drinking age to 20; raise armed service age to 20; raise age of consent to 20; it should all be 20. 

I’ll have to put up that poll at some point… 

Phil’s after thoughts:

-Get money of out of politics. Until we do this, every law will be perverted by legalized bribery.

-To finish my introduction, Mercantilism (zero sum exchange of goods and services) is how I feel about our country today. I feel like in order to win, someone must lose. While my education tells me that this is not true, I cannot shake this inexplicable feeling that when the first American Trillionaire arrives it will be accompanied with a new age of extreme American Poverty. Doesn’t that feel Zero Sum to you?

Phil asks if writing a book is the closest thing we’ll get to a Holodeck. Then the discussion gets real dark.

Show Notes:

What is a Holodeck?

Holodeck addiction (episode and reference)

Neural pathways and addiction

Attractive nuisance doctrine (you can be held liable for people trespassing into your property)

K Sera’s after thoughts:

- Oof, I hate to say this but… I agree with Micah? Video games are closer to a holodeck than reading or even writing a book. 

- And boy this went dark fast. - While I don’t really buy the slippery slope argument, because I do think there are some distinct lines that can be drawn on the subject of sexual morality (probably), I can see where allowing access to certain items that are not in and of themselves harmful could lead to acts of harm. Some kinks are ‘weird’ or ‘gross’ or not for everyone, but not harmful if you take the right precautions. What one, two or more consenting adults do by themselves or with each other in the privacy of their own home is really no one else’s business. Unrelated people can stay the heck out of it. The line after that should not be crossed. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

- Holodecks sound super fun, though! As a personal preference, I’d rather be the observer, not the protagonist. In general I would rather read a book or watch a movie than play a video game. Unless it’s Stardew Valley. Best. Game. Ever.

Phil’s after thoughts:

-So after re-listening to this episode, I want to make it very clear that I SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE! I was trying to use a “mock-conservative” voice but it fell flat. Also, GAY MARRIAGE IS NOT YUCKY!

-I love how Micah destroys my argument in less than five seconds. Well done sir.

-Finally, I think Lucid dreaming is the closest thing we can get to a Holodeck, and unfortunately I only thought of this while I was uploading this episode!

-Sorry for the dark episode, I tried to keep it light but I couldn’t help myself bringing terrible examples and comments. There’s always next year!

Micah asks if it is obvious we should have Universal Basic Income. Phil rants a lot. K Sera remains skeptical. Phil continues to rant. Micah predicts the future, K Sera expresses doubt, and Phil rants again.

Note: This discussion was originally recorded in the very beginning of 2021, almost a year before the release of this episode.

Show notes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_basic_income

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K Sera’s After Thoughts:

Sera: *doubt*

Phil: Micah is a prophecy of the future person!

Sera: *doubt intensifies*

I’m not the best forecaster for what would actually happen if people were given UBI, but if I had to make a guess, I don’t see UBI helping long term. It might provide temporary/immediate relief, and maybe that’s what you need in that moment of desperation, trying to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table. Long term, though, supplying UBI is like taking an aspirin for cancer relief. Short term it might slightly alleviate the suffering, but that sickness and pain isn’t gone. The Economic Impact Payments during the pandemic were helpful when things came to an economic standstill and millions of people were temporarily furloughed and relying on unemployment. Now, a year later, inflation has more than doubled. I’m looking at my most recent utility bill and see it has also doubled. Everything is more expensive and supply chains are in disarray. My wages haven’t increased proportionally to inflation. In short… my budget needs to be overhauled and the next few years are looking potentially lean.

While listening to this episode, or really any of our discussions involving our socio-political climate, I hear us putting a lot of blame for our unhappiness or dissatisfaction with our lot in life on the government or our society. That isn’t necessarily undue, but it sure is easy to blame the complex and inexorable systems of our unwieldy populous than to put any effort into self reflection. Just saying. Adding UBI or universal healthcare or abolishing capitalism won’t magically solve our discontentment.

Phil’s After Thoughts:

- After re-listening to this episode about 11 months after it was recorded I can proudly state that I am a moron. This is a classic example of Dunning-Kruger where I think I am smart but I am actually very dumb (especially about economics and finances). I am very ranty and very angry in this episode, and honestly I still am pissed to this very day. The literal “Billionaire” class is treating America like a toybox and our politicians are unfortunately not going to save us from the myriad of problems we face (rising poverty chief among them).

- I pretty much ranted on three sides of this terrible triangle of hell. First, if we have UBI how many Americans would stop participating in life? If I had guaranteed income for life (despite how paltry) would I stop trying to improve myself and just be a total consumerist and provide zero positive impact to society? Basically, just live in my mom’s basement and play MMORPG’s like I’m 18, but forever?

-Second, without UBI (at some level) we are going to start facing massive unrest to the point of becoming a failed state. The richest 1% own more SIXTEEN TIMES MORE WEALTH than the bottom 50% in America (as of Summer 2021). Eventually we are going to reach a tipping point where our consumer-based economy cannot consume because the rich have all the money. Once that happens, the rich will flee to a nice country while the exploited mass will suffer from an economic implosion. The only way to keep this stupid scheme going is to actually infuse more cash to the bottom, since ultimately poor people collectively will buy MILLIONS of things, and then they can’t the factories will close and the snowball beings to roll.

-Third (and final rant): UBI will be implemented wrong in the US. If it ever passes congress and the executive branch, whatever law that will be written that is meant for UBI will ultimately be so terrible that it would make our lives worse. My future prediction: they get rid of housing, child care, health care, social security, food stamps, heat/oil subsidies, tuition aid, and basically all the safety nets they (political-elite billionaire funded class) and they’ll replace it with a measly 500 dollars a month. Then of course inflation will make it worth tremendously less year after year, to the point where it wouldn’t even cover the cost of a cellphone bill. How do I know this? Because it’s the same playbook how they treat Veteran Affairs, Social Security, and all the other programs that we (the people) pay into and look at how those funds are robbed and run in return. Our nation is a garbage fire and the worst part is that almost half of the voting population LIKE IT THIS WAY.

-Fourth rant: all that being said, I think that things will eventually get better. Otherwise without blind and stupid optimism and naïve hope, the only other motivation we have is spite.

Phil asks if we should teach rudimentary law as a language in high school (like Spanish or French). Micah and K Sera discuss their education experiences.

Show notes:

Come visit us at www.iiopodcast.fm for fun!

K Sera’s Afterthoughts:

- Should “legalese” be a subject offered in our public education system? Yeah, I think it would be a great high school elective course. Make it required? Hm… no. Maybe have it count as a language credit or an English/writing credit depending on how you structure the class.

- Logic should be a required course, darn it!

- Adult me likes the idea of year round school. Maybe with shorter days or have longer breaks interspersed throughout the year so families can still plan vacations. Three months off seems unnecessary. Way too long.

- Was there something I was forgetting? Music stuff? Pish. Never mind that.

Phil’s Afterthoughts:

-This episode was originally recorded in very early days of 2021 (January), the thing we are alluding to “of the common peasant learning the rules” was about the GME stock and how retail investors were striking back against hedge fund managers that were shorting the market.

-After re-listening to this episode (from almost a year later from publication) my feelings have changed on this subject matter. Since the release of this episode we have had some high profile court cases (constitutional and prosecutorial) where it would be nice understanding the context of state versus federal law (and expectations). But, while it is a “nice to have” the jury is still out if it is a “must have” subject to be taught to our fellow Americans.

-When we talk about the public education system in Minnesota (and by extension the rest of the 49 states) I would argue that children that are graduating today we less equipped to survive in the modern economy compared to even a decade ago. To make matters worse, many high school graduates end up having to learn remedial courses that should have been taught or learned in K-12 in college (and that’s for the fortunate folk that can afford the debt to go to college). Perhaps adding another elective isn’t the solution we are looking for.

Phil claims that it is far better to be the dumbest person in the room. K Sera brings up how intelligence quotients are useful for government organizations to direct resources. Micah questions how those in the middle are being underserved. Phil advocates to spam the dumb card often.

Note: This was originally recorded in early winter of 2021.

Show notes:

IQ is not the same as intelligence

Growth Mindset

Phil’s after thoughts:

-I am often the dumbest person in the room. It used to bother me but then I realized that it can be quite liberating.

K Sera asks about the logic behind 30 days challenges. Phil agrees that they are not the most effective use of time. Micah brings up politics. K Sera challenges us to a 30 day challenge.

Topics covered: ego depletion, ice bucket challenge, couch to 5K, the power of habit, lupus spoons, ignorance is a privilege, the BBC, and more!

Show notes:

Ego depletion theory

Ice Bucket Challenge

Couch to 5K

The Power of Habit

Lupus Spoons

Come visit us at www.iiopodcast.fm and show your support (or non-support) at our site!

K Sera’s after thoughts:

N/A- on vacation!

Phil’s after thoughts:

I love how at the way end of the episode I totally agree that the 30 day challenge is a good idea! After disparaging it the entire time I was suddenly so gung-ho about doing one with Micah and K Sera. By the way, we did record an after summary of our thoughts on this, possibly to be uploaded to our Patreon account.

K Sera brings up an obvious question while helping her brother move. Upon further discussion, it is more a series of questions, one more obvious then than next. Starting with: Isn’t it obvious you feed your friends and family that are helping you move?!

Note: This episode was originally recorded in the late fall of 2020.

Shownotes:

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K Sera’s afterthoughts:

- I was so mad. Still am, if I’m being honest. Just a bit. Once my fury had simmered down to a mild irritation, I had a conversation with my brother about that day. It took a few months, but I don’t find it good practice to speak in anger. He and his now wife are more cognizant of what is expected when you are asking friends and family to help you move, at least, and they are learning to be better hosts in general. They’ve still got a ways to go, though.

Social etiquette is important. Keeping your ties to friends and family strong is important. There will be times when you need help, and while I know there are people who believe unconditional love exists, I’m not so sure. Better not test that and keep investing in the relationships that yield strong returns.

Phil’s afterthoughts:

-So I messed up a bit here, this was actually supposed to be Episode 49 but I mixed up the order! That being said, I love that this is episode 50 since it is by far my favorite episode so far. Thank you K Sera, for explaining to us in exquisite detail about the importance of self-reflection and how people must be taught common sense.

Micah asks to approve the government’s decision to classify documents by Jury Duty. Phil suggests that this Jury Duty can also audit the government actions (like no-bid contracts for the military industry complex) and that the threat of auditors is a good first step to curb corruption. K Sera has other ideas.

Note: This was recorded in the winter of 2020 (about a year prior to the publication of this episode), and thus it was during the first real winter of the pandemic with the 45th President still in charge. There is a light to the end of the tunnel, which is sadly the same light in this publication-date tunnel of the winter of 2021.

K Sera’s after thoughts:

- Bad idea, Micah. Bad idea. Random, non-experts can have their (usually misinformed) opinions on matters, but I tend to want experts who are actually qualified to pass their verdict on things that impact the safety and security of our nation. If I’ve learned anything from living through the last few years of this anti-vax-but-have-you-tried-essential-oils garbage, it is that the average person knows very little outside of their specializations. Cries of “do your own research” haunt my memories. Listening to family members tell me that they refuse to get themselves and their children vaccinated for various reasons (some valid, most not), drives me crazy - because the logic and knowledge behind their reasoning is absent and they keep moving the goalposts any time one of their hold-ups gets resolved. I can only assume that they are either lazy or too afraid of what they don’t understand. Why on earth would I want people like this to receive, pass judgement and potentially reveal sensitive information? These people are about as likely to comprehend the contents and the consequences of revealing that information as they are to get vaccinated to help their community.

- Of course, later on in the episode, I mention my (probably) unsubstantiated faith in humanity, which seems counterintuitive to my feelings noted above. Listen, guys, just because I have faith in some people does not mean I extend that faith to ALL people. I would rather have a vetted and qualified person making these important decisions, not some random stay-at-home father in Nebraska who pretends he’s an entrepreneur/fitness coach selling Beach Body shakes to quietly ashamed friends and family members.

- My favorite, truest quote from this recording: "You are only as good as you can afford to be." - Phil Osoffee

Phil’s after thoughts:

-This was originally recorded in the winter of 2020, a year prior to the publication of this episode. We talk about the 45th President’s ability to classify most documents to prevent citizens and journalists alike to ask what is truly going on in the highest echelons the offices of our government. One year later, we still do not know.

-Checks and Balances is the theme of this episode, but without a proper way of getting our citizens educated (with critical thinking) the idea of a civilian review board (jury duty pool) may not have the intended impact desired. The fact that so many Americans are so behind in mathematics, science, biology, statistics, physics, theology, literature, and basic geography it really dampens my belief that we can rely on the average citizen to uphold our democracy, much less sensitive information. But at the same time turning off our brains and reluctantly trusting the bureaucratic system to represent our best interest is much worse.

-So how do we go about getting a well-educated, well informed, critically thinking people? I am not asking for a friend, I am asking this for myself. I need this for myself.

Micah talks about a borderless world, Phil talks about a single currency, and Sarah talks about Sealand.

Shownotes:

The global philosopher: Should borders be abolished?

K Sera’s afterthoughts:

- The tiny Principality of Sealand has a shop where you can purchase nobility.

- As cool as it would be to have an open trade world without borders, I feel like we are actually a long, long way off from becoming anything close to Micah’s dream. Maybe in the far future this could be our eventual path, but as we are now, I can’t see people making that shift. To make this happen, you would need better infrastructure, a common currency and something more powerful than our current United Nations to govern the mess that is humanity on earth. Good luck getting people to agree on universal laws!

- Preview for a future episode: Micah’s dreams haven’t changed nor has reality.

Phil’s afterthoughts:

-As much as I complain about the United States, the fact that we have “open borders” to 50 states is simply amazing. As much as I like the frozen tundra of Minnesota, it would be cool to live in Alaska and experience even harsher winters. It is really nice to have free travel inside this country, and having that expanded to our allied countries would be a great first step (such EU, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, etc.). I know it is just a dream but having trade agreements and freedom of movement with friendly nations is definitely a start, with the hope of admitting more.

-I have a problem of disassociating things though. When I think of open borders (like the EU or the US) I think about the fact that they typically use a common currency. For some reason in my mind they go hand in hand. I find it strange that while the EU had a debt crisis with Greece almost 20 years ago, the US never had a problem with one of their states going haywire. Or did we?