Services Introducing Search.BeneHomini.Com We're launching a new service: curated lists of resources that help make the world a better place for everyone without discriminating against anyone because of who they are. We are looking for organizations that support the social contract of tolerance. This means that you should not have to hide who
The role of effective altruism Effective altruism is a growing movement, but its basis in utilitarianism can lead to some seemingly outlandish results. This is not an indictment of utilitarianism but how the effective altruism movement uses it. In the long term, effective altruism will likely do more harm than good if it's the only
Newsletter Newsletter for 19 Nov 2022 In this newsletter, I share what I'm reading and watching during the week. I may also touch on current events. I'll try to show how the books, videos, and events tie in with ideas in the Bene Homini space. In this newsletter, I cover one news item and two videos:
Newsletter Newsletter for 12 Nov 2022 In this newsletter, I share what I'm reading and watching during the week. I may also touch on current events. I'll try to show how the books, videos, and events tie in with ideas in the Bene Homini space. I missed last week's newsletter because I was under the weather.
Sustainability Introducing BeneHomini.Social The news cycle has been filled recently with Twitter. People have been leaving for the Fediverse, mainly joining instances running Mastodon (see "Mastodon and the Fediverse: Beginners Start Here" for more details on the Fediverse and Mastodon). That's been great, but it's also been a struggle as instances try to
Newsletter Newsletter for 29 Oct 2022 In this newsletter, I share what I'm reading and watching during the week. I may also touch on current events. I'll try to show how the books, videos, and events tie in with ideas in the Bene Homini space. In this newsletter, I cover one news item, three books, and
Newsletter Newsletter for 22 Oct 2022 In this newsletter, I share what I'm reading and watching during the week. I may also touch on current events. I'll try to show how the books, videos, and events tie in with ideas in the Bene Homini space. This has been a busy week elsewhere, so in this newsletter,
Newsletter Newsletter for 15 Oct 2022 In this newsletter, I share what I'm reading and watching during the week. I may also touch on current events. I'll try to show how the books, videos, and events tie in with ideas in the Bene Homini space. In this week's newsletter, I cover three books and one video:
Newsletter Newsletter for 8 Oct 2022 In this newsletter, I share what I'm reading and watching during the week. I may also touch on current events. I'll try to show how the books, videos, and events tie in with ideas in the Bene Homini space. In this week's newsletter, I cover one news topic, three books,
Newsletter Newsletter for 1 Oct 2022 This newsletter is the first in a series I will write, sharing what I'm reading and watching during the week. I may also touch on current events, though I don't have any in this week's newsletter. I'll try to show how the books, videos, and events tie in with ideas
Sustainability Graceful degradation of infrastructure Have you ever been at home and had the power go out on you? Have you had a water main break, and you lose water pressure? Have you gone to the store and been unable to find what you were looking for? It's a headache, but you know you'll get
Values Creating a moral habit This article is a meditation on what constitutes moral character when assuming that empathy should guide our decisions rather than religion. Of course, the relationship between morality and religion is complex. Still, no one should have to believe in a supernatural agent watching them, accept any dogma, participate in rituals,
Values Choosing our future Information is about surprise. If this comes as a surprise, then read on! Think about the last time a friend surprised you: they did something that you didn't expect them to do. And in that surprising moment, you learned something new about your friend that you didn't know before. Maybe
Values A modern ten commandments The Abrahamic ten commandments [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments] are seen by many as the basis for our laws [https://www.deseret.com/1998/12/10/19418564/10-commandments-are-basis-of-u-s-law] , even though they aren't [https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/are-the-ten-commandments-really-the-basis-for-our-laws] . These commandments are examples of early legal codes that come
Sustainability We are what we create We are creators made in the image of gods. While other animals can create things like nests (birds) and artificial ponds (beavers), only we can create anything and everything, from practical, concrete things like beautiful clothing and gourmet food, to highly abstract, like paintings and scientific theories. Things are created
FIRE Retiring early with empathy Who doesn't want to retire early or gain financial independence? Having the luxury of walking away from your job if you don't like it frees you to be yourself. You no longer have to pretend to be the employee your boss wants. You no longer have to set the alarm
Universe We probably aren’t alone This post isn't about UFOs and aliens, though we'd forgive you for thinking so. Instead, it explores what history tells us about our assumptions about our place in the universe and what we can expect in the future. In the Abrahamic religions, God created Adam and Eve and placed them
Democracy Democracy at work The U.S. presidential election is over. States are still counting some votes to determine close races. But they've counted enough votes to know how the election will play out for the U.S. president. Crowds took to the streets to celebrate. Many felt relief that there was a conclusion.
Environment Answering Pope Francis's challenge Recently, His Holiness Pope Francis delivered a TED talk from Vatican City concerning the global climate crisis. The whole video is worth watching, but we'll look at the main points here and how Bene Homini addresses them. In his message, Pope Francis calls on us to tackle climate change in
Internet Selecting our filter In 2008, Alan Liu gave a talk titled"Peopling the Police: A Social Computing Approach to Information Authority in the Age of Web 2.0." [https://alanyliu.org/citation/peopling-the-police-a-social-computing-approach-to-information-authority-in-the-age-of-web-2-0-dhsi-u-victoria/] He reimagined Internet filtering [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content-control_software] that wasn't one-size-fits-all [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_
Health No one should profit off the suffering of others According to the Census Bureau [https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2018/demo/p60-264.html], about 1 in 12 people in the U.S. don't have health insurance. Even with health insurance, costs can be prohibitive. Some of the cost is from hospitals, drug companies, and medical device manufacturers making
