Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Bill Gates’s monetary wealth, for example, is approximately 70,000 times greater than my own, but I’m certain that he doesn’t daily ingest 70,000 times more calories than I ingest in a day. I’m also certain that the food Bill Gates eats isn’t 70,000 times tastier than the food I eat; that his many homes are not 70,000 times larger than my one home; that his children are not educated 70,000 times better than is my child; that he cannot travel to Europe or to Asia 70,000 times faster or more safely than I can; that he doesn’t have 70,000 times more annual leisure than I have; and that he will not live 70,000 times longer than I will live.
I’m even sure that he’s not 70,000 times happier than I am.
So, really, it’s incorrect to conclude that Bill Gates’s real wealth is 70,000 times larger than my real wealth. The difference isn’t remotely close to being that large.
Hmmm. What would the logical thinker conclude if it could somehow be established that Mr. Gates was 70,000 times happier than the average fellow?
That we need to find a way to re-distribute Bill Gates’ happiness? Or that it’s on other people to think to themselves “I wonder what Bill Gates did to become that happy, and what it would take for me to do the same thing…”
But it’s a good point about “wealth.” We argue about how much people have and we don’t put that much thought into what that word really means.
Hat tip to one of my friends and former colleagues on the Hello-Kitty-of-Blogging.
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He may not be 70,000 times happier, but he’s pretty darn happy nonetheless, I am sure.
And not just for monetary reasons. It probably gives him a great deal of personal satisfaction to know that he had a hand – a big one – in creating something that is used daily by millions – no, billions – of people worldwide every day. And that that product is not only widely used by everyone from the homeless to the United States government, it was responsible for opening up the world of computers and the Internet to countless people who weren’t able to work a computer.
Besides, I’ve heard it said that money really does buy happiness – in a way. More specifically, it frees you from worrying about day to day expenses, from that feeling of helplessness when you come across someone who needs help (and really deserves some)…or even about having to ration your luxuries the way most of us do. Past a certain point, of course, more money or more stuff doesn’t make you happier, yes, but you know what I mean. In other words, money may not buy happiness, but being poor REALLY sucks.
(Oh, spare me the sanctimonious whining about how Gates ripped off Apple’s idea. There’s a reason the MacOS doesn’t have anywhere near Windows’ market share.)
- cylarz | 11/15/2010 @ 00:09