A Rant on Not Simplifying the Complex

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Behold: My sketch attempting to simplify the concepts of simplicity and complexity.

I have been seeing people throwing around the statement “Defund the Police” in response to the Black Lives Matter protests lately. And without getting into the actual arguments for this, or whether this kind of response is what should be undertaken in response to systematic racism, or the assertion of systematic racism; instead it brought home for me the inherent problem we have in today’s society where people try and simplify complex issues. Especially when they try and distil them to slogans, or tweets.

This is especially relevant when Trump is insisting that Biden wants to defund the police, and his republican base start hearing this, and taking it as fact.

But this is a complex issue, and we need to ensure that complex issues, aren’t oversimplified. After all, what do we mean by defund the police? Without going to deep into it, you can imagine the two extremes here, the simple, or the complex. The simple explanation is that it means take all of the money away from the police. The police are the problem, stop funding them. Simple.

Then there is the more complex meaning. The police forces are being over-funded and relied upon to perform tasks, and enter situations, where they are not the best application of societal controls. Instead of throwing all this money at a bloated and semi-militarised police force, we should be taking some of the funds away, and focusing them in other more effectual areas. Better mental health support is one suggestion. In this sense defunding isn’t a total removal of funds but a reallocation of what is seen as the excessive and inappropriate funding of police forces. Complex.

If you put these arguments to people, they will respond differently to two different proposals. Yet when they are reduced to simple slogans and chants, opposing sides don’t understand which point they are either supporting, or opposing, without taking the time to really get involved.

They don’t agree with the other sides point of view, but they also wouldn’t agree with the other sides description of the problem. They are fighting two separate arguments.

I believe that many people who oppose ‘Defund the Police’ would actually support a lot of the initiatives it represents. But the opposition to defunding the police does not benefit from looking at this nuance, and discussing the problems, so they simplify it, and polarise it.

You can see a similar simplification and obfuscation with Trump’s announcement that he was going to build a wall, and Mexico would pay for it. Some people heard this to mean that Mexico would pay for the wall, as in literally be made to provide funding for the wall. Others insist that Mexico are paying for the wall through some other transnational or retributive terms, whether it be through favourable trade deals with the United States, or internal costs as Mexico has to change the way it deals with the United States. Either way there is the complex, and the simple.

Was Trump being purposefully obfuscatory when he said that Mexico would pay for the wall? Was he thinking complexly and meaning that they would pay in some other transactional way, but wanted the public to think that they would literally pay for it? I don’t think so. I don’t think Trump was thinking ahead, or thinking strategically. He was saying that Mexico would pay because he thought it could happen, and that people liked to hear this simplistic plan.

Trump is all surface, there is no deeper vane to try and unearth.

But at risk of spiralling into a Trump rant, I’ll leave that there.

So people can look at these things (Defund the Police, Mexico Will Pay) either way and say that Trump or Biden are lying, or telling the truth. Really what we need to take from this whole thing is that we need to speak clearer, and accept that things are complex.

Mexico isn’t paying for the wall, Biden won’t defund the police.

Mexico is no doubt feeling the effects of the Trump presidency, and simultaneously some wall is being built. Joe Biden does hope to address issues related top policing by changing he way the police force functions, and likely utilising current funding for other institutions.

The Simple, and the Complex.

I would argue that unlike in mathematics, the only way we are going to make these problems easier to solve is to avoid simplifying them, and focus on understanding the complexity.

Rant over.

Book 26 for 2020: A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

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A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

Murakami’s books were always of interest to me but in reading the blurbs I never really knew what I would be in for, so shied away from delving in. That changed in 2018 when I picked up a copy of 1Q84 on sale in the Kindle store.

I read the book, I enjoyed the book, but afterwards I wasn’t exactly sure why.

I feel the same with this book. It is hard to put a finger on it, but I think what I enjoy when I read these books is simply being in the moment. I enjoy the reading, the words, the experience. I enjoy the act of reading the book, less so the remembering, or the lasting things I get from it.

Maybe this is a new kind of purpose in books for me. In the past I read books and found enjoyment in them for more explicit reasons. I read Matthew Reilly when I want non-stop action. I like Kim Stanley Robinson’s books for the grounded, realistic hard science fiction worlds he crafts, and the believable utopian ideals he espouses.

Additionally I like reading non-fiction books because I love to learn. I want to know about Einstein’s life, or why sleep is important. I want to try and square the circle of my meat-eating, with my love of animals. I want to understand humanity’s place in the anthropocene. I have agendas behind a lot of my reading, but with Murakami’s books I feel like there is a different purpose in mind.

I like being able to throw this to the wind, and just lose myself in the strange worlds he creates.

For instance this book is ostensibly about a man’s search for a mysterious sheep, but as we delve deeper into the journey, and the character, the story turns into a more surreal tale where the chase for the sheep has existential bearing on reality. Or maybe it doesn’t.

I honestly don’t know, and can fully understand how academics can make a living analysing these kinds of fiction.

But for me I am starting to learn that I don’t need to ‘understand’ all fiction in this way. I can simply let the experience happen, and enjoy it for what it is.

Not that that has stopped me Googling theories, and explanations mind you….

#2020inBooks #Murakami #ReadingforReadingssake #AWildSheepChase

Anyone Can Paint

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So one of my challenges for 2020 was to produce a decent piece of art by the end of June. Some of you may have seen my initial posts where I was practising sketching etcetera, but then a little thing got in the way (global pandemic), and I really left this challenge by the wayside.

Such is 2020 I suppose.

But with the deadline approaching, I took the time on the weekend to stop by Officerworks and grab myself some painting supplies to see if I could salvage the whole thing.

To give a bit more background, this challenge wasn’t just an instance of me wanting to better myself, it was actually spurred on by a discussion I was having with a colleague about painting. He was showing me some work by a favourite artist (Ben Quilty), and I commented that ‘anyone can paint’, so he ended up challenging me to produce something in six months.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to belittle or trivialise artistic skill here. My sister is an amazing artist and she works hard to perfect her craft. What I meant by the comment ‘anyone can paint’ is that I see this kind of thing is a skill, and if you are willing to put in the time and effort, anyone can develop their artistic abilities. We won’t all be Monet’s, or Quilty’s; but I think you can show massive improvement in the initial stages of picking up any new skill. 

I think the same thing when I see bodybuilders and super-fit people. Yes it is impressive, but again it is something anyone can do. I think the same thing about a lot in life. I don’t like the idea that some people are naturally talented, and believe a lot of what we can achieve is down to hard work and perseverance. We might have some inclination towards certain skills, but if you want to do something (develop painting skills, earn a muscular physique, play an instrument, write a novel, etcetera), you have the ability to make it happen.

So perhaps taking my claim to the extreme, I waited around for the majority of my six month deadline, and then chose the last two days to actually attempt to paint anything. I think the last time I painted was likely in 1997 in secondary school, so it is fitting that I used the same methodology of waiting until the last moment to complete my homework that I applied throughout my schooling.

I initially tried a portrait of Tony, then a printed off paint by numbers template, but ultimately decided to paint his VW as people are tough subjects to paint (with minimal practise).

So this is the ultimate result. A few hours work, and I am pretty happy with the result. Sure it isn’t really comparable to what professional artists can do, or even hobbyists, or simple enthusiasts; but I really enjoyed the process, and think I did a reasonably impressive attempt.

MM

Fourteen

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Fourteen years ago, for the briefest of moments, my son was the newest member of humanity. It is weird to think that at one point, we were all the youngest humans on earth, but back in 2006, for approximately 233 milliseconds, that title was held by my son.

And while he may have quickly faded from world importance soon after, for the past fourteen years he has never strayed from being the central point for my wife and I.

I was a relatively young father, and I cannot recommend highly enough the experience of being a parent not only for the happiness it will directly bring into your life, or for the love and fulfilment that you will feel every day. But also because it helps you grow, and find direction in your own life.

Being a part of Harrison’s life is the greatest privilege. Being able to watch him grow, to guide him through life, and then watch as he develops into his own person, following his own path; it fills me with pride every day.

Today he is fourteen years old. He is at the point in his life where he is starting to choose the electives in school which will allow him to take agency of his own education like never before.  He is also training for his next black belt (that will be his 4th by the way), and the fact that he has been training as a martial artist for over a decade blows my mind!

He is a compassionate young man, always concerned about others. His creativity, curiosity, and passion for reading knows no bounds. If you give him the chance he will talk your ear off on any number of things, but he is also considerate, and takes the time to listen.

He has emerged from our recent COVID19 isolation more resilient than before, and perhaps even a millimeter or two taller than his mum (almost)!

Put simply he is my son, and while I think fatherhood is simultaneously the hardest and easiest thing I have ever done, I wouldn’t change anything.

So Happy Birthday Harrison!

Dad rant complete.

We didn’t see this coming…

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I’m not annoyed at our scientists, or politicians, or anything for not seeing COVID-19 coming. Scientists had always said this was a possible scenario, and many governments had some sort of contingency plan. But I have to say; where were the astrologists on this one? Why wasn’t everyone’s horoscopes starting to suspiciously align a few months ago? Were peoples tarot readings warning of the coming isolations? Were people’s psychics giving them a heads up to include a few extra rolls of toilet paper for the coming weeks?

I mean they really dropped the ball on this one.

Its almost as if all of that stuff is a whole lot of bullshit…

COVIDSafe App Thoughts

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COVIDSafe app | Australian Government Department of Health

Some quick thoughts I chucked up on Facebook to get peoples opinions on the new COVIDSafe app released by the Australian government, and my ultimate decision.

Original post:

Ok everyone, give me your point of view on the Coronavirus tracking app.

I am most likely going to get it, because I feel like this is an important way for us to tackle the health emergency we are all living through.

I get that there can be privacy issues, but considering the amount of my data already being mined by corporations, I am willing to give up a bit more for the good of our nation’s health. And if there ever is a push for this data being used elsewhere by the government down the track, we can always delete the app. And if that becomes a problem (i.e. we are forced to keep the app), then this is a whole new battle for a different day.
I mean I know it is a lot to trust the government with, but at this point in history if we don’t put this kind of faith in the government, then we are in trouble. If we step up and take on this duty, perhaps our government will step up and earn it.

What is everyone thinking?

I got some good replies, with I think a lot of people like myself who are cautious, but willing to do what they feel is the right thing. Overall I was glad to see so many rational thoughts on the subject, and no conspiracy theory rants and anti-government tirades.

My final thoughts as posted in reply:

Thanks everyone for your comments. At the end of the day I see the trade off I am making by getting this app as being more positive than the negative. While I see the risks in giving out more data to a government that has not been good at managing our data in the past, they are also the only government we have at the moment, and this is the moment in history we find ourselves in.

Furthermore, as far as i can tell, this app doesn’t actually track your location, but instead simply logs contact between other users of the app and reports these to a central database, so that these contact points can be utilised down the track to follow any infections. And this reporting is also something that you op in to. So the data isn’t even as significant as being able to track where you are, or have been, and seems to be quite voluntary in its dissemination.

And if the worst case scenario simply means that we have to be vigilant for any future changes or overreach, I am fine with that; keeping an eye on what our government is doing is kind of our job as a populus anyway.

So I am going to get the app. I would encourage you to as well, but I understand if you don’t. This isn’t like social distancing, where I think you have a moral imperative to take this action, or proper washing of hands, where it is just stupid not to join in. This is more of a ‘if you want things to get better quicker, do this’ kind of thing.

But hey, I am an introvert anyway, so social isolation is suiting me quite well.

Anyone else have any interesting takes? I would love to see them try and release this kind of app in the United States with their current government/electorate.

MM

Keeping an Eye on the Democratic Primary

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When Trump was elected, I would keep an eye on his Twitter feed daily, fascinated by the bizarre spectacle taking place in American politics. But it didn’t take long for fatigue to set in, until I got to the point that even Stephen Colbert’s monologues couldn’t keep me interested (only Bill Maher has staying power for me, because at least he swears and gets properly frustrated with things).

So I have been interested to watch as Bernie Sanders has been rising in popularity, and eventually taking over as the front runner for the Democratic Primary. I would love to see what Bernie could do with the presidency, and to see America start to take the lead in world issues again would be great. But I am still pessimistic of his chances.

Here is the current forecasting from FiveThirtyEight; lets see how the South Carolina primary changes things tomorrow morning:

Before SC

 

January 07, 2020 at 10:48PM

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One of my challenges for 2020 is to produce a decent piece of artwork by the end of June. So I figured I would post each weeks progress as I start to try and develop my artistic skills.
I have never been much of a creative sketcher, and was always better at technical drawings, or imitations. So this weeks bit of art is a copy of a mouse photo I found online. Not too bad for my first attempt.
#2020ArtProject #musmusculus #amw from Instagram: https://ift.tt/2QugsKu

January 06, 2020 at 03:36PM

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Sometimes I ask people if they know about some fact only to find they have absolutely no idea what it is (the example today was the Chernobyl disaster), and I am amazed they don’t know about it. I wonder how it is that someone has gone their whole life without knowing this seemingly basic fact of the world, or history. You see similar videos on YouTube where general members of the public are quizzed on the street (usually on current events, history, or geography), with the aim being to show how ignorant people are, and then more ‘educated’ people lament the populations ignorance.
But really, it just makes me think: “Geez, what are all the things that I don’t know that other people would be amazed at my ignorance of?”. What whole sections of human experience am I not aware of my own limited understanding of. It makes me more enthralled at the enormity of the human experience, rather than despair at people lack of certain knowledge.
Just a random thought.
#randomthoughtforarandomphoto #amw from Instagram: https://ift.tt/2sSdnux