E.B. Dawson's Blog, page 16
May 23, 2016
Captain America: Civil War
It was a well done movie. Clearly, a lot of thought and effort went into it, and I can understand why most fans love it. But I am going to explain to you why I was ultimately underwhelmed (spoilers ahead obvi). There are better things I could be doing right now, but this has been […]
Brain Hacking
I’m not sure how DNA manipulation is advancing, but the ability to manipulate our brains into learning faster, remembering more, and performing better may be closer than you think. Check out this interesting article about using electrical impulses to “enhance” brain function: Brain Hacking I’m not sure how I feel about implanting a chip into […]
Do the Ends Justify the Means?
We’ve all heard it before: the ends justify the means. It’s the leading premise in Niccolo Machiavelli’s infamous political treatise, “The Prince.” It’s also the cousin of another philosophy: utilitarianism. Utilitarianism at its core admits that you can do evil in order to achieve the most good. Both of these mantras are often used as […]
The Individual vs. The State
It is an interesting question. Which should have precedence? Militaries function under the assumption that an individual’s life is insignificant compared to the welfare of the state. We’ve all heard the phrase, “The end justifies the means.” Do we believe it? The feudal system arose in medieval Europe out of necessity. The farmers were vulnerable […]
Isolationism
Isolationism Isolationism is the idea that a nation will not make alliances, will not interfere in the politics of other nations, will be self-sufficient, and will avoid trade as much as possible. As an ideal it is seldom perfectly attained. Even some of the world’s most closed off countries have often maintained ties with at […]
May 17, 2016
Ender’s Game
This is happening! This is happening! (SNL’s Black Friday skit, anyone?) Such a difficult book to review because I have this haunting fear I won’t get it right. But here we go… There are many things I love about this book, but I will simplify it to a few to focus our time: It’s examination […]
The Martian Chronicles
I finished it! Let me start by saying it was very different than I thought it’d be. There is a sense in which each chapter is its own entity. Bradbury covers a time period from January, 1999 to October 2026 and never latches onto a single protagonist or antagonist for that matter (although a couple […]
Foundation
Foundation I had heard of Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” series a long time ago, but never got around to reading it. Then I found a copy in a thrift store.
Ender’s Game (the movie)
Ender’s Game I put off this review for a long time. I will start by saying two things: Yes, the book was better than the movie. But yet, I bought the DVD. Here’s the short version of my thoughts on this adaptation of one of my very favorite books: it was unable to capture the […]
Ender’s Game
Ender’s Game I put off this review for a long time. I will start by saying two things: Yes, the book was better than the movie. But yet, I bought the DVD. Here’s the short version of my thoughts on this adaptation of one of my very favorite books: it was unable to capture the […]
