Random

Sex must feel like spending three straight hours talking to three people simultaneously on MSN about different aspects of philosophy, psychology, religion and politics at the same time. I'm in the recovery phase now after that barrage of furious typing and thinking.

I've been reading about Alvin Plantinga and I quite like his work on metaphysics, epistemology and religion.


School thus far has reopened pretty well.

The first Political Science Study Mission (PSSM) class started good, and all that discussion about rural China and China itself has gotten me quite excited about the upcoming trip to Guizhou.

It has also helped that my initially hazy research topic on the role of ideology and civil society in development in Guizhou has been tightened up. One can consider the communal or societal consciousness of the villagers in Guizhou and determine what results in what we perceive as a lack of ambition in development. It could be due to a whole host of reasons ranging from traditions to geography to value systems. It has been known that some provinces are chronically poor because their tradition of splurging on huge festivals whenever there is a bumper harvest ensures that there isn't enough surplus for development. And one can't assume they're being silly through tinted lenses either, because they might not have come this far if not for the festival parties they throw.

Political Philosophy class was freaking awesome. For about two hours Brian Mooney brought me through the ages across the globe, quoting great names in history and demonstrating how the recurrence of religious thoughts and symbols result in the political structures we see in the world today.

Technology and World Change class was totally nonsense though. The amount of patronising going back and forth from teacher to students and vice versa could rival that of a cell group meeting.