Ian wrote: “i’m actually responding to that thing you wrote in march about how you wanted to be a guy that makes propaganda. admitedly this would be cool, but i really don’t feel it would satisfy your hunger for power. there wouldn’t be any face to face gratification. The guys that make the propaganda aren’t the ones that decide what it says. you’ve probably already thought about this, but incase you haven’t, do.

“it seems much more like the kind of job that someone like mr. peabody would like. puzzle after puzzle after puzzle. big ones. important ones. those are the people that make the propaganda not the power hungry ones. the power hungry ones don’t really have any power. they just think they do. thats why their in a political office, so they can’t screw anything up. it’s like a cage for them. keep um there until they die or the species falls into anarchy.”

I’m currently wondering what can ever satisfy my desire for power, short of world domination. Another question arises from this: Who really holds power? Looks like another blog topic. (Sometime this week, perhaps.)

Nice essay, Ian. I didn’t know that was one of the topics for spin-mastah-nelli’s class, but you were in a different period. Any type of punishment for crimes can’t really serve as a deterrent because criminals, for the most part, don’t believe they’re going to get caught. The best deterrent would be for criminals to be sure that they couldn’t get away with crimes. I’ve never completely made up my mind about capital punishment, but I look at it as a punishment, not a deterent. So, crimes, deterrents, capital punishment, more topics, for other days.

Yes, Lloyd, I probably could get more robot to follow a red line, it’s just that my sheet comes with a big black line, not a big red line. The light percentage values for the light sensor would be more ambiguous, but I think it would work.

Diana said: “now in my opinion the strongest are the ones who have the power BUT HURT SELECTIVELY those who deserve that pain…( comparison with God)….could be not sure… anybody can be evil…but its much harder to stay good……..and well the ones who have the power supposed to pick things that are much harder to do…… kind of complicated but i hope u got the point….”

Hurting selectively doesn’t seem to be a different choice. It’s not like you’re forced to hurt people. You still choose. Choosing to hurt selectively just seems like a rationalization. Eventually, you’ll rationalize hurting others who you otherwise would have thought “undeserving” of the pain.

I didn’t answer all the comments, but some didn’t need answering.