J.D. Moyer

sci-fi author, beatmaker

Month: January 2011 Page 1 of 2

How to Accumulate (Non-Coercive) Power, Part I

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On January 25

In Metaprogramming, Utopian Speculations

As it turns out, the door to power isn’t even locked.

This post is a follow up to The Four Types of Power, in which I described different types of power, as follows:

  1. Tyrannical (Coercive, Zero-Sum)
    Ex. monopolies, unregulated financial markets
  2. Diabolical (Coercive, Non-Zero-Sum)
    Ex. slavery, colonialism, human trafficking, illegal tax havens, cons
  3. Competitive (Non-Coercive, Zero-Sum)
    Ex. sports, reasonably regulated economies, marketing/advertising
  4. Progressive (Non-Coercive, Non-Zero-Sum)
    Ex. invention, innovation, infrastructure, education, exploration, creating new markets, connectivity, information sharing

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The Four Types of Power

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On January 21

In Utopian Speculations

By the power of Crom!

There are at least four words missing from the English language; words that could more accurately describe the general concept of “power.”  There are different types of power, and they are radically different.

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How and Why to Balance Fat-Soluble Vitamins

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On January 12

In Health/Body-hacking

She’s probably not deficient in vitamin D.

I admit it, I’ve jumped on the vitamin D “bandwagon.”  I’ve been a part of the “vitamin D craze,” recommending larger-than-RDA doses of vitamin D to my friends and family.  Why?

  • The majority of Americans have low to borderline-low vitamin D levels, due to lack of sun exposure, overuse of sunscreen, overuse of soap (I’ll explain this in a minute), and extremely low consumption of dietary vitamin D.
  • Though most of the evidence is low quality (correlative rather than causative), there is still a great deal of evidence that points to lower risks of heart disease, many cancers, and depression when physiological vitamin D levels are on the high side.

So should every adult be taking 5000IU of supplemental D3 every day?  Absolutely not.

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The Game-Changing Algorithm Nobody Is Looking For (Part III — The Objects)

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On January 10

In Evolution/Biology

Micro/macro.

In my first post in this series, I wrote about the idea that reality is comprised of various “layers,” and I raised the question of how, in an evolutionary sense, do we “get” from one layer of reality to another. How did the molecular layer emerge from a universe that (at an early stage) included only atomic elements?  How does the biological layer arise from the molecular/chemical layer?

We know many of the specifics of each “layer jump.”  For example, we know that a type of chemical bond, the covalent bond (electron sharing) allows different elements to bind to each other and create molecules.  In terms of how biological life started on Earth, we have some idea that it had to do with the evolution of self-replicating chains of nucleotides.

Is there a way to model these “layer jumps” in a general sense?  If we could, we could make some incredibly interesting computer simulations.  Perhaps we could model the emergence of biological life, of somatic forms, of social interaction networks, and eventually perhaps even intelligent entities.  With sufficient processing power (maybe driven by quantum computing), we might be able to model an entire universe, including everything from the creation of galaxies and solar systems to the evolution of biological life to the development of culture.

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Distillation — Figuring Out The One Thing That Matters

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On January 5

In Creative Work/Career, Metaprogramming, Money/Personal Finance, Writing

Distilling Japanese whisky (not what this post is about).

Lately I’ve been obsessed with the idea that in every field, art form, or “area of life,” there is ONE thing that matters above all else.  One thing, that if you get it right, success in that area is inevitable.

I’m naturally a detail oriented person, so it’s a constant challenge for me to zoom out and see the big picture.  I know from experience that focusing on the wrong details is just a waste of time.  I easily fall victim to the “all tactics, no strategy” trap.  I’ll make myself long lists of things to do to achieve my goals, without taking the time to deeply consider my overall strategy and approach.  I’ll endlessly try to fix things that should just be discarded.  I’ll make judgment calls based on details that I personally appreciate, instead of details that are truly important.

In order to hone my “big picture” skills, I’ve been conducting the following thought experiment: pick one field, art form, or “life area” and try to distill all my knowledge and experience of that area into a single simple idea, the one thing that matters more than anything else in terms of effectiveness, fulfillment, and success by any measure.

The experiment has yielded a number of “Aha!” moments.  I don’t expect you to agree with my results (or care about the same areas), but conducting the same experiment yourself might yield an epiphany or two.

Here are some of my questions and results, in areas that are relevant to my own life:

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