Hitchhiking to Krakow
Saturday, the fifteenth of March, UCU TripCo organised a hitchhiking competition in which twenty-one teams consisting of two or three people would attempt to arrive in Krakow, Poland first, completing an assignment along the way in Berlin. Representing the Cold Room, Flavie and Rick participated in the competition with their team 'the Birdplanes', writing down the story of their ...
Collective Moral Responsibility
What does it mean to say X Corporation is morally responsible? Is that to say the company as a separate entity, is morally responsible, or are we simply referring to some people [a,b,c] as being morally responsible within a corporation? Often times, we say X Corporation is evil without actually clarifying exactly who we are ascribing moral responsibility to. This ...
Responsibility and the State
In the episode 'Society' of the Ricky Gervais Show (S3, E10), a very interesting discussion on personal responsibility comes up. In the conversation, Karl questions "how far we [should] take all this stuff of safety gear, slowing down, and wearing bright clothes at night; it's just too much". At this point, he is obviously still being Karl, and unknowingly advocating ...
Online influence a crime?
Recently, a French judge in the city of Bordeaux ruled in favour of a restaurant owner who was unhappy with the negative online attention his bussiness was receiving due to a very critical review by a French food blogger. With ...
Lines
You press Your pencil down onto the paper, expressing First, a point, a line, until the subtle play of simple strokes, creates the universe before your eyes: The bleeding red The growing green The sparkling blue; Look what you make ...
Beyond
Beyond what lies beyond my sight, now every ending has its end; As darkness carries me some light, and lightness goes where sadness went Beyond the clouds, Beyond the rain, Beyond, in silence we remain Inside my heart, Inside the ...
The path of two paths
Know how to function in the system while realising its limitations. To let go, yet to care. To comply with the way of nature, yet to understand and succeed in the constructed. To become master of what is valued, keeping ...
The Politics of Climate Change
Combating Climate Change in the International Community Without a doubt, man-made climate change is the greatest danger the world faces today. Hanging over the entire scope of human civilisation as a universal sword of Damocles, academics around the world are ...
The Danger of Drones
Through substituting a tactic for a strategy, the deaths of innocent civilians have resulted in the growth of the militant organisations that are supposed to be fought. Unfortunately, however, there is no doubt that the use of drones and similar ...
On a possible digital apocalypse
Since this topic seems to come up quite often these days, and the knee-jerk reaction seems to be fear -- quite understandably, but perhaps not entirely justifiable --, I wanted to write down some of my thoughts. It is not ...
The Coherence of the Dao
"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao, The name that can be named is not the eternal name"[1] With this introduction of Dao, the Dao De Jing was opened. A book, allegedly written by the ...
The Stone Mind
Hogen, a Chinese Zen teacher, lived alone in a small temple in the country. One day four traveling monks appeared and asked if they might make a fire in his yard to warm themselves. While they were building the fire, ...
Empty words
My mouth ready to speak; fingers ready to type. I want to say much. A lot. Everything. Now. At once. It needs to go. Then I think. One thought. One line. One word. Gone. Nothing able to describe what is ...
The Cold Room Blog
It's Februari the 2nd, late in the evening. Sitting in a room, discussing philosophical and societal problems, are Rick and I. This itself was not really an extraordinary situation, as anyone who knows us will readily tell you, but this ...
Hillscape
Endless and cold, this world I'm waking in, Hit by unknown hands, a journey I begin, Seemingly bold, playing with the game I'm in, Passing through the lands, down hills of fate Dark and vague, this world I'm walking in, ...