My hands have felt the cold of Mikramurka
I have tasted
the waters of Lenai
the blue of the chill sky
the cry of the hawk in high summer
My heart has felt the cold of Mikramurka
I remember
and can find no warmth
this place is not known by my ancestors
(Traditional, "Cold of Mikramurka")
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Word meanings and "nice guys"
I talked a bit about changes in word meanings in a previous post. I'll give an example.
I assert most planetside Matari would consider "a nice guy" to be somebody who is nice to other people. An Angel Cartel loyalist would not be "a nice guy" because they seek to extort, enslave and kill other Matari.
Many Matari capsuleers, on the other hand, seem to use "a nice guy" to mean "somebody who is talking pleasantly to me". They seem to attach to the words no requirement to actually be nice to other people. Sometimes not even the requirement to be very nice to the speaker himself, the words may just mean said person is entertaining company.
I assert most planetside Matari would consider "a nice guy" to be somebody who is nice to other people. An Angel Cartel loyalist would not be "a nice guy" because they seek to extort, enslave and kill other Matari.
Many Matari capsuleers, on the other hand, seem to use "a nice guy" to mean "somebody who is talking pleasantly to me". They seem to attach to the words no requirement to actually be nice to other people. Sometimes not even the requirement to be very nice to the speaker himself, the words may just mean said person is entertaining company.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Measuring morals
I believe a capsuleer's morals are measured by their deeds. Things they do, and things they choose not to do.
I believe one cannot be separated from their deeds - a man who does evil deeds is an evil man, not a good man who does evil deeds. Otherwise, the world would only have good men and the whole distinction would become rather useless.
Yes, there is a theory of moral relativity. One man's good is another man's evil and so forth. However, should one happen consider all viewpoints to be equally "right", choosing between using one's own moral standards and enemy moral standards should hopefully not be particularly difficult choice.
I believe one cannot be separated from their deeds - a man who does evil deeds is an evil man, not a good man who does evil deeds. Otherwise, the world would only have good men and the whole distinction would become rather useless.
Yes, there is a theory of moral relativity. One man's good is another man's evil and so forth. However, should one happen consider all viewpoints to be equally "right", choosing between using one's own moral standards and enemy moral standards should hopefully not be particularly difficult choice.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Looking into darkness
I believe you cannot look into the darkness without the darkness looking back into you.
I see this as part of how human contact works, not a weakness in any specific person or a flaw in their integrity.
The very act of seeking to understand and emphatize with an enemy's views is an act of mentally trying on their justifications. There is little harm of doing it once and then rejecting it.
However, making a mental habit of thinking of an enemy as a nice guy will slowly over time affect what one considers to be characteristics of nice guys, subtly changing value sets and meanings given to words.
I see this as part of how human contact works, not a weakness in any specific person or a flaw in their integrity.
The very act of seeking to understand and emphatize with an enemy's views is an act of mentally trying on their justifications. There is little harm of doing it once and then rejecting it.
However, making a mental habit of thinking of an enemy as a nice guy will slowly over time affect what one considers to be characteristics of nice guys, subtly changing value sets and meanings given to words.
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