The Ruse of Religion

On the whole, our world is usually quite orderly. Most of the time we can find good justifications for different phenomena. Take for example the honeycomb; it is widely believed that the reason for their hexagonal shape is so that they enclose the greatest volume with minimal use of materials. Indeed, the philosophy behind science is to infer general principles about the universe from a large number of specific examples. The phenomenon of religion is one thing with no such elegant explanation. Like astrology, it is an enormous convoluted mess of tradition.

As with most traditions, we maintain religion for no particularly good reason. It has existed for centuries and is therefore tolerated as normal, comparable to the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes. There are a number of limiting issues with acceptance due to tradition; the tradition continues to be as true or false as it was when it originated - regardless of how perceptions of it change. The fact that something can not be proved false does not at all mean that it is true; there are no means by which one can test its validity. It is ludicrous to expect ourselves to get things right first time, yet we are willing to put faith in an idea that cannot be revised, this is nonsensical. Things are either true, or they are false, there are no shades of gray; either Atheism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Jewish, Pagan, or one of the many other belief systems are truthful, but only one can be.

Unfortunately, history tells us that peaceful coexistence is not possible; the majority of international conflicts have been the direct result of religious disagreements, from the Crusades, to the Holocaust, to the modern situations in Northern Ireland and between Israel and Palestine. Religion is a label we attach to people to justify atrocities and brutalities. Religion has been, and will continue to be damaging to society. We know that there can only be one truth, yet we are willing to go into conflict because we irrationally consider our own beliefs over others; there is a superiority complex, and we can only maintain our superiority by destruction of those who disagree, not by supporting our own beliefs with verifiable evidence.

As with most traditions, religion will continue to play a significant role in the lives of many. This can, but probably will not change. There is no doubt that religion has a positive impact on many people; it can bring people together, but its power to segregate is much more potent. It can hinder the rate of human invention, and has often done so, from the library of Alexandria, to Galileo and the Inquisition. Our goal should be to educate, not to fight; we should not stoop to their level. The pen is mightier than the sword; ideas can change the world, so we should make sure that people continue to base their ideas on reason, rather than tradition.

Guilty Pleasures

We are all guilty of it, it is a pleasure in which we all indulge. It is as if a part of us drives us to do it, a genetic disposition? Yet, for such conspicuous an act, it is hardly given any attention. In all likelihood, you would have witnessed it the last time you were part of an audience. Is it all mindless conformity? Why on earth do we clap?

At the time of our birth, we are barely capable of anything remotely useful, but what we do, we excel at. We imitate, from facial expressions, to our first utterances of language. We develop progressively more complicated faculties, all because of a simple propensity toward imitation. Our greatest strength, however, is also our greatest weakness. While we adopt all the good aspects of our culture, we have no way to reject the numerous bad, sometimes even harmful elements. We probably clap for the same reason.

To gain some deeper insight into why we perform this mysterious act, we should look into the places that we do it most often, performances. From the ancient Greek orators, to Shakespearian plays, to today's modern music concerts, sports matches and award ceremonies. We bask in the talent of others for the purpose of entertainment, and then communicate our appreciation by clapping. But why clap? What gives bringing our hands together with reasonable rapidity in a random fashion such appeal? Why do we not instead make some special bodily gesture? Not noticeable enough? Why do we not shout our appreciation at the top of our voice? Too heterogeneous and inconsistent? These reasons are all plausible, but given the age at which we adopt the habit, it seems far more likely that we do so due to imitation of tradition.

It would be difficult to trace the origins of the clap, but there is no reason to suggest that this would be the only manner in which people have shown appreciation. We can imagine that other cultures have performed ritual sacrifices, cries, or perhaps even bodily gestures in appreciation of talent; clapping is very much a cultural phenomenon - it would have arisen for a number of reasons, good or bad, but continues to exist today as a tradition.

The Legendary Ocarina

The results of a short piece of "Advanced Writing" assessment, a retrospective review of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:

Nearly a decade following its release, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time still stands as one of the most widely acclaimed games in history. There have been several distinguishing moments in gaming, from Nolan Bushnell's creation of Pong, to Shigeru Miyamoto's hit Super Mario Brothers. With Ocarina of Time, the master designer Miyamoto-san again brought forth an era in gaming. Its elegant control system, its memorable cast, and its immersive, expansive world set a standard for all games that followed it. It sold a total of 7.6 million copies worldwide, with 2.5 million units in its first 40 days, and received critical acclaim and many awards, among being the first video game ever to receive a perfect score from the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu.

As with other games in the acclaimed Zelda series, Ocarina of Time once again put you in the role of the lovable, silent protagonist Link, and propels you into the land of Hyrule, a world afoul with evil, to build up the courage required to overcome it. A familiar cast of characters returns to aid in your quest against the evil Ganondorf; the rock-eating Gorons, the water-loving Zoras, and the voracious Gerudos. You may think that all of this sounds clichéd, and you would be right, this is a very typical Hero's Journey; save the princess, save the world; but Ocarina of Time never fails to delight the senses.

The core mechanic of the game was the ability to travel back and forward seven years through time. You would begin the game as young Link, and soon after you could travel at whim as the Hero of Time between the world of young Link, and the much darker world of the older Link. During your first venture into the world of the older Link, you discover that Hyrule has been overrun by the evil Ganondorf, and it is your responsibility to bring harmony back to the world. Naturally, different weapons and items are available for your use depending on which time you are in, and some puzzles in the world require you to make use of both.

If there is anything that this game stood out for among others of its time, and perhaps even among modern games, it would be its scale; the world of Hyrule is massive. You start in a small, secluded forest inhabited by fairy folk, but soon find yourself awing at the expansiveness of the world; you travel over broad plains, sometimes by horse-back, you scale towering, volcanic mountaintops, dive to the bottom of a lake, and traverse a mysterious desert. This was the first Zelda game to foray into a 3D world, and it did so with impeccable style, taking full advantage of the Nintendo64's capabilities. The world of Hyrule is to be marvelled at; from the low plains of Hyrule Field you can see in the distance a huge mountain, and the smoke emanating from its fiery peaks.

The world of Hyrule stands out not only for its expansiveness, its beauty is to be marvelled at and its elements show incredible synergy. As you travel the land, you will see the days slowly pass; the sun will descend below the horizon with the moon taking its place, and night will bring all new enemies out of hiding for you to dispose of. Almost from the outset, you are able to venture through the majority of the world's localities. The world and its inhabitants elegantly coalesce, not only do they provide guidance for your journey, they also provide useful items, and some with only the value of novelty, if you so choose to pursue them. there are many there with the sole goal of comic relief. The dungeons and temples, which constitute the path for progression through the game's story are cleverly woven with the world, and a number of the series familiar foes return to impede you in your journey.

With modern games, there are many different control schemes that developers are experimenting with, testing the impact that they have on gameplay, especially so with the stylus of the Nintendo DS and the Wii's revolutionary wand, but at Ocarina of Time's release, many other games had awkward at best control schemes, and this was an area in which it set itself apart from the competition. Ocarina of Time's camera would dynamically adjust as you move Link about the world, always bringing a clear view of the action. The 64's Z-button will act as a targeter to place your focus on different enemies, and is an elegant well thought out system - features commodotised today, but transcendental for its time.

Ocarina of Time's music was composed by returning series veteran Koji Kondo. It is a striking soundtrack, and features a number of memorable tunes, some returning from earlier titles in the series. It draws from a wide array of influences, from songs reminiscent of Muslim religious music (which Nintendo was sued for, until it was later slightly modified), to Spanish flamenco-like melodies. Early on you would acquire an Ocarina, which throughout the game continues to adopt new and useful functions, you can play it to manipulate the world in a variety of ways, from calling upon your horse, or changing night to day.

The sheer sense of scale in this world makes it a wonderful place to explore, and there are colourful characters and a host of hidden treasures awaiting you, the greatest of which is no doubt the pleasure of the experience; the world of Hyrule is easy to be immersed in. The game has immense replay value, and will certainly keep you coming back for more. Ocarina of Time is a game that set a new benchmark for the expressiveness of games, and will long be remembered among gamers. Take a dive into the mind of Miyamoto, you owe it to yourself.

The Scourge of Software Patents

The functioning of society is contingent upon a number of processes, many of which naturally conflict. The proper functioning of society depends on the balance of these conflicting processes. Maintaining this balance is the role of law and its proper enforcement. We have lived through what has been termed the information age, and the regulation of this scarce resource is now more important than ever. Today, with computers, we are able to process enormous amounts of information extremely quickly, and therefore the programs that control these machines are of considerable importance and value. While the technological evolution in society depends on the sharing of information thanks to the idea of collective intelligence – the idea that the intelligence of a group can be greater than the sum of its individual members – traditional business practices rely on keeping ideas to themselves to give advantages over competitors. To this end, one of the main weapons in a business' arsenal has long been the patent.

The argument of whether computer programs are patentable has long been contentious, and there was a proposal for a law in the European Union called the “Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions” that initially argued for making all software patentable. This drew heated fire from two opposing sides; supporters consisting of large companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and also the European Patent Office, and the opposition composed of diverse parties, from academics, lobbying associations such as the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) to businesses and the more famous Sir Tim-Berners Lee, developer of the World-Wide Web.

Supporters of the proposal argued that “thousands of jobs were at risk because of opposition from the European parliament to a draft EU directive giving patent protection to scores of new products.” This stance has been characterised by the FFII as being “dominated by patent lawyers from the patent arms of large corporate members.” Opponents have attacked the proposal saying that while some software patents would be beneficial, it would generally hinder innovation and reduce competition.

The difficulty that software brings to patent law is that software is fundamentally different from traditional, tangible goods. The algorithms - which are basically descriptions of process - which lie behind such goods are comparable in form and function to cooking recipes. Historically, mathematical statements and proofs have been not been patentable, but these are different from algorithms in that they are declarative rather than imperative in nature. The World Trade Organisation's TRIPS agreement states that “(...) patents shall be available for any inventions, whether products or processes, in all fields of technology, provided they are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application,” so a major problem is deciding on whether algorithms can be classed as inventions.

Although unjust laws can wreak havok in the economy, just laws depend on the faithfulness of those that enforce them, and there is always a possibility that organisations may subvert the laws intentions. It is important that people are recognised for their innovations, but it is also important that large companies are not given too much leverage over the innovations of smaller companies and that distribution of knowledge is unencumbered. As with all laws, software patent law must continue to address this issue of balance.

Passing the Torch

The rate of human technological evolution has been exceptionally rapid, and there have been no signs of its impending slowdown. Many ages have ushered society with new means for improving work-flow efficiency, from the industrial revolution to the modern information age. Moore's law, which roughly states that computing power doubles every two years, remains intact decades after its inception. If anything, our technological progress seems to be gaining speed.

With increased efficiency, however, also comes increased luxury, and this is not always beneficial. The structure of today's society is highly complicated, and depends upon the hard work of many individuals to keep it functioning smoothly. The luxuries that society's evolution affords can fall into the hands of those unwilling to repay those that created them. We can be too easily seduced by our embarrassment of riches and neglect the world which shaped them.

But where does the blame fall? Not on those slothfully exploiting technology, but on the technology itself. Television and video games are often considered some of society's evils, guilty for a range of problems; from the obesity epidemic to acts of violence, we are blinded by our virtues, unwilling to accept our vices. In an attempt to combat this, some politicians try to bring in legislation restricting access to such content. They are after entirely the wrong target. Rather than enforce restrictions, we should support moderation and education. Rules and regulations are established in an attempt to prevent exceptional cases; not everyone desires to go out and wreak havoc in vehicular accidents, but occasionally drunk drivers do. There is nothing inherently evil about a motor vehicle, only people. Censorship is not an effective, nor a necessary or sufficient way to save ourselves from societal problems. Our efforts would be more effectively employed educating people in the use of this content, and managing its use as part of their lives.

How can we educate society about these issues? This is not a trivial problem, and cannot be solved over a short time-frame. It is a long term commitment that requires a large degree of cooperation between all facets of our society, from educators, to parents, to law-makers. They all need to promote awareness of the issues that we face; understanding the problem is the first step to finding the solution. They need to encourage balance in all the different aspects of our lives, and they need to create a strong foundation for the sustainable development of these attitudes well into the future.