Philosophy
I had lunch yesterday with a Playground regular and had an interesting discussion about an element of college policy. Underage students are not allowed to possess alcohol, those of age are, but even those who may legally purchase and imbibe are not allowed to play drinking games. The rationale is that the games lead to unhealthy binge drinking which is the cause of a number of problems on campuses across the country including alcohol poisoning and in some cases death. The question was whether the college should be able to restrict how one drinks or what one does while drinking and not just the act of drinking itself. Does the prohibition of games keep students from learning the necessary lessons needed to control their own drinking? Is it justified on utilitarian grounds?
- Monkeys And Alcohol
A friend of mine sent this link to me. It's a BBC nature program that looks at monkey's drinking habits on St. Kitts. Given that monkeys seem to have drinking patterns similar to those of humans -- most drink only moderately, others not at all,...
- What Should Replace The War On Drugs?
We've been fighting a war on drugs...which explains why we've been doing it so badly. The Rockefeller plan of locking up ever more non-violent offenders surely is not the answer. But simple legalization in this culture would probably work about...
- Universality Of Games
Had a student in my logic class mude with some friends about the universality of games. It turns out that kids in the US, Burma, and Nepal all play both hide and seek and freeze tag. Their question was whether that was an indication that these games were...
- Pity Party: Who Do You Feel Sorry For Today?
Once again time for a pity party. I feel sorry for Vicki Iseman. I mean if you have to deny sleeping with someone famous and powerful, don't make it John McCain who looks like your creepy grandfather. I feel sorry for the American Leadership Project,...
- Will The Government "nanny" This Too?
"Another dimension to 3-D TVs: The potential health risks" by Liz Szabo June 1st, 2010 USA TODAY Teens have been known to play video games until they're glassy-eyed. As 3-D televisions arrive in stores — offering both TV shows and video games...
Philosophy
Drinking Games
I had lunch yesterday with a Playground regular and had an interesting discussion about an element of college policy. Underage students are not allowed to possess alcohol, those of age are, but even those who may legally purchase and imbibe are not allowed to play drinking games. The rationale is that the games lead to unhealthy binge drinking which is the cause of a number of problems on campuses across the country including alcohol poisoning and in some cases death. The question was whether the college should be able to restrict how one drinks or what one does while drinking and not just the act of drinking itself. Does the prohibition of games keep students from learning the necessary lessons needed to control their own drinking? Is it justified on utilitarian grounds?
- Monkeys And Alcohol
A friend of mine sent this link to me. It's a BBC nature program that looks at monkey's drinking habits on St. Kitts. Given that monkeys seem to have drinking patterns similar to those of humans -- most drink only moderately, others not at all,...
- What Should Replace The War On Drugs?
We've been fighting a war on drugs...which explains why we've been doing it so badly. The Rockefeller plan of locking up ever more non-violent offenders surely is not the answer. But simple legalization in this culture would probably work about...
- Universality Of Games
Had a student in my logic class mude with some friends about the universality of games. It turns out that kids in the US, Burma, and Nepal all play both hide and seek and freeze tag. Their question was whether that was an indication that these games were...
- Pity Party: Who Do You Feel Sorry For Today?
Once again time for a pity party. I feel sorry for Vicki Iseman. I mean if you have to deny sleeping with someone famous and powerful, don't make it John McCain who looks like your creepy grandfather. I feel sorry for the American Leadership Project,...
- Will The Government "nanny" This Too?
"Another dimension to 3-D TVs: The potential health risks" by Liz Szabo June 1st, 2010 USA TODAY Teens have been known to play video games until they're glassy-eyed. As 3-D televisions arrive in stores — offering both TV shows and video games...