Sat, 26 Sep 2026 14:21:13 -0500

Lego, founded in 1932, introduced its modern brick in 1958, but the brick separator wasn’t introduced until 1990.

This is one of those bits of information that strikes me as extremely interesting, but if I had to explain why it’s so interesting, I don’t have any answer ready to go.

What would it change

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:06:38 -0500

What would it change?

I read this today on Ganzeer’s blog.

Random thought: The whole simulation theory that seems to be increasingly trendy these days actually isn't at all at odds with any of the traditional religious beliefs of old, the ones that imagined God as an anthropomorphized king on a throne in the clouds. Because simulation theory by definition implies the entire universe being created by someone somewhere

I’ve been thinking about this kind of thing, because I’ve been talking about it with a few people.

When I say “this kind of thing,” I mean big questions like:

Does God exist?
Is the universe a simulation?
Do we have free will, or do we live in a deterministic universe we experience in a way that allows us to feel like/believe we have free will?

I’ve noticed that in the conversations I’ve had about these questions, some people have really strong opinions which they will argue for fervently. They will get really worked up.

I tend to enjoy the conversations, but I don’t get worked up, because I keep thinking to myself, for me, the answers do not change anything.

If God exists, what would I do differently? Nothing.
If God does exist, what would I do differently? Nothing.
If God exists in a way that human beings can and never will understand, would I do anything differently? Nope
If the universe is or is not a simulation, would it change how I live my life? I don’t think it would.
If free will is an illusion, would it change how I live my life? Again, I don’t think it would. (Though after watching the show Devs, which I learned about when a friend talked about it in one of these free-wheeling conversations about all this stuff, I’m not as sure about this one.)

As I reflect on all this stuff right now, as I write these words, I wonder if I’m being a little too sure of myself. I don’t know the answers to these questions. They are mysteries, and I think that’s why they are cool and fun to think about or talk about. But maybe if I could know the answers to these questions, if they stopped being mysterious, it would have some massive effect on who and what I am. If I did know the existence status of God, or that I was/wasn’t in a simulation, or that free will was/wasn’t an illusion, all sorts of stuff about how I live my life would change.

I don’t know.

I guess I like not knowing.

Not knowing is fun.

Are we all writers?

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 08:00:00 -0500

From On Writing, Content, and Art, by Manu:

This is clearly writing and, therefore, I am a writer. But in that case, we’re probably all writers. We all text and send emails and post online. Are we all writers? What makes a writer a writer? The medium? The length? The meaning? The time spent?

Fun to think about those questions, eh?

Eh? on Notes

What would it change

What would it change?

Are we all writers?