education – An Autonomous Agent

Debt: The First 5,000 Years – David Graeber

anautonomousagent — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 13:49:59 +0000

Debt: The First 5,000 Years, by David Graeber, is a fascinating and astounding look at the ubiquity of debt in human affairs. It replaces many “accepted” theories on the origins of money and debt and disproves the Myth of Barter by studying the anthropological record. From my own experience, economic theories and models are almost never based on actual historical observations, only upon assumptions about human behavior and interaction that I personally find naive. Just look at the Efficient Market Hypothesis or the idea that humans are rational decision makers — these ideas or their assumptions quickly fall apart with a simple analysis. For instance, as Chomsky points out, the advertising industry exists to create irrational decisions. People can lie and manipulate; they can be greedy or ascetic. It is nice to finally have a down-to-Earth study of actual historical accounts of human interactions without forcing the current paradigm on the past. Graeber’s book provides a wake-up call for people to see a more realistic view of the interactions of humans, debt, markets, government and money.

NOVA – Life’s Rocky Start

anautonomousagent — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 15:01:33 +0000

Life’s Rocky Start gives a decent educational account of the importance of minerals to both the formation (assuming life originated on Earth) and the progressive development of life. It is one of the few documentaries I have seen that properly shines light on the importance of meteorites to the understanding of planetary formation. The documentary starts by visiting Marrakesh, Morocco to show how meteorites are obtained in the infamous Northwest Africa region. I only wished it developed more on this meteorite theme.

Politics and Vision – Sheldon Wolin

anautonomousagent — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 19:56:32 +0000

After watching Chris Hedges’ interview with Sheldon Wolin, I desired to read Wolin’s books. Democracy Incorporated provided a creative perspective with which to interpret recent American political and social events. Upon completion, I had an urge to continue extracting the political ideas of Wolin and I concluded that the best way to do this would be to jump into the deep end and open his book, Politics and Vision. Not only do I now have incredible respect for his ideas but I also feel that he has broadened my personal awareness of my place in society and history. There are criticisms I have toward the content (exclusively focused on “European/American”), but they are rather minimal in scope compared to the benefits any reader would gain by reading it thoroughly. I would say that Politics and Vision, as time progresses, will turn out to be one of the most important books I have ever read.

Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death

anautonomousagent — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:08:00 +0000

In the documentary Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death the BBC takes a detailed look at one of the worst humanitarian disasters and ruthless killing of natives done during the imperial colonization era.

White King — King Leopold II of Belgium; Red Rubber — book by E. D. Morel; Black Death — Congolese killed number in the millions.

The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002)

anautonomousagent — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 05:56:00 +0000

Watch it: The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002)

Summary:

Part contemporary investigation and part historical inquiry, documentary follows the quest of one journalist in search of justice. The film focuses on Christopher Hitchens’ charges against Henry Kissinger as a war criminal – allegations documented in Hitchens’ book of the same title – based on his role in countries such as Cambodia, Chile, and Indonesia. Kissinger’s story raises profound questions about American foreign policy and highlights a new era of human rights. Increasing evidence about one man’s role in a long history of human rights abuses leads to a critical examination of American diplomacy through the lens of international standards of justice. Written by Sujit R. Varma

Planet Ocean (2012) – Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Michael Pitiot

anautonomousagent — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 15:05:00 +0000

I absolutely loved the stunning imagery and awe captured in Planet Ocean. Looking at the microscopic organisms blooming in the ocean, then witnessing the entire Gaia system interacting in complex ways, the perspectives are inspiring for scientists and artists. It was one of the best visual documentaries I have seen. Definitely worth watching!

John Pilger Videos

anautonomousagent — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 10:46:00 +0000

John Pilger reveals the inconsistencies in the actions taken by modern governments to assert their agenda. His documentaries are informative and help to raise awareness of various moral and ethical issues not normally covered by the typical news organization.

He has made numerous documentaries, here are a few:

War By Other Means (1992)
The New Rulers of the World (2001)
Palestine is Still the Issue (2002)
Stealing a Nation (2004)
The War On Democracy (2007)
The War you Don’t See (2010)

Dangerous Knowledge – David Malone BBC

anautonomousagent — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 03:04:00 +0000

Dangerous Knowledge, by David Malone, summarizes the work and life of some of the greatest thinkers in late 19th and 20th centuries. Includes the work and life of Cantor, Boltzmann, Godel, and Turing.

Watch it here: Dangerous Knowledge

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace – Adam Curtis

anautonomousagent — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 13:02:00 +0000

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, by Adam Curtis, provides a grand overview of many of the people and ideas which have shaped the development of computers, systems, social theory, and politics over the past century. It is one of the better documentaries I have every seen and definitely worth watching; however, I agree with the reviewer John Preston who said it had an “…infuriating glibness too as the web of connectedness became ever more stretched. No one could dispute that Curtis has got a very big bite indeed. But what about the chewing, you ask. There wasn’t any – or nothing like enough of it to prevent a bad case of mental indigestion.”

Watch it:

Shush.se
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

Vimeo
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

Cosmic Apprentice: Dispatches from the Edges of Science – Dorion Sagan

anautonomousagent — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 23:31:00 +0000

Being a huge fan of Carl Sagan’s books, I was delightfully surprised when I found that his son, Dorion Sagan, is a prolific writer on the subjects of science, philosophy, and evolution. The first of his works which I decided to read is entitled Cosmic Apprentice: Dispatches from the Edges of Science. For a good review see Maria Popova’s review here. I loved reading the book and I look forward to reading more of Sagan’s writings.