| I'm a student of Mathematics who truly enjoys reading, and somewhere along the line developed the saving grace of remembering much of what I have seen. My other interests include the sciences and, probably most relevant here, ancient history, especially regarding Greece and Byzantium. On this see:
Bronze Age Catastrophe - notes on the civilization collapse c. 1200 BC
The Ancient City - notes on a classic book reviewing the role of religion in shaping ancient society.
Roman Imperialism - how one city took over so much of the others
The Decline And Fall Of Rome - and why that country collapsed in turn
should they end up existing and being completed, which will depend on time, initiative, and interest. In particular Roman Imperialism is very hard to get up steam for, because I'm trying to come up with a way to make it immediately comparable with American Imperialism but still be a useful reference on its own. An older analogy, Mytilene And Plataea, came in a form preventing the second, which I have found once or twice to limit its usefulness, and a form removing the first, which essentially leaves it without a point. This is an attempt to find a third, more difficult but more valuable solution.
For more general politics, I've had the misfortune of growing up in Alberta and then living in Ontario, both of which are becoming corporate welfare states with a lag between them of about two years. This has been a pretty blatant lesson in how selfish people can be, how easy it is to pass off lies as truth, and how entirely impossible it is to do anything about that on the short term. America has since given done a quicker and more thorough job explaining the limitations of humanity today.
Various pages relate to this; I think it is definitely worth examining those left by Richard Kulisz, whose positions are sometimes similar to and often more extreme then mine, and generally more confident. I should mention my question and his response at the end of Assessing America, because it hints at one of the points where I'm least sure of myself. That's being offered in place of a proper response or contribution to this:
Josh, thanks for the edits yesterday, especially on the important matter of the Roots Of European Anti-Semitism. It's great to see you on Why again. I have been very aware that our joint (well, I wrote a few words) Potted History Of The Universe was far from complete. I'm not sure how long the whole project will take. I didn't know what else you were thinking of doing with your life. So rather than plough right back into that today, I'd like to dedicate another page to you. Problems With My Hypotheses. I haven't done this to anyone before but please feel suitably honored! -- Richard Drake
In other subjects, one should especially see How Well Taxonomy Works. Also, all opinions are subject to change without notice. This is not always likely, but you should consider yourself forewarned.
Very cool thanks. Lots of winter (re-)reading. (A hint of timescale from this interested interactor.)
Emergency request from a Slow Wiki
Josh, thanks for trying to edit recently; you can do so now, if you wish.
I'd particularly appreciate your comments on the point about Osama bin Laden and the possibility of "US Conspiracy" over 9-11 in the last two sections of Conspiracy Probability. -- Richard Drake
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