alex chiang: web 6.0

I read an interesting article at k5 tonight and one of the most interesting questions posed by the author was, “Why not believe in God?”

After some thinking, I came to the conclusion that it takes too much energy. I don’t really believe in the existence of a supreme being, but then again, I don’t believe strongly that there isn’t one either. At the root of it all, I just don’t care.

I’ve decided that I am apatheist. The question of a god, for me, is irrelevant. Whether or not a supreme being exists has no bearing on my behaviors, code of ethics, thoughts, or satisfaction with my life. I live in the only context I know how, which is entirely centered around me, without worrying about what happens after I die. After all, I “die” every night when I go to sleep, insensate and unconscious, and while the idea of never waking up is less desirable than waking, by no means do I find it to be scary or horrific.

Dedicated theism and atheism take too much energy that I can devote to more interesting things in life. I prefer the path of least resistance. Along that line, agnosticism doesn’t require much energy input, but I’d like to go one step further. Even actively maintaining the notion of not knowing whether God exists (or not) takes effort, whereas simply not caring requires the absolute least amount of energy necessary.

Think of all the effort you’ll save whenever the conversation turns towards deities. With my new perspective on secularity, all of your religious debates will become extremely short, as you will only have (and need) two rebuttals.

Q: Do you believe in God?
A: I don’t care.
Q: Why not? How could you [snip impassioned plea for explanation]
A: I just don’t.

Done.

On a final note, it occurred to me to google for “apatheism” on the hunch that I probably wasn’t the first person to come up with this term. Unfortunately, my hunch was correct, and I found a site for the Church of Apatheism. Damn those bastards for stealing my original thoughts. On the plus side, the page is funny — whatever.

Conference presentation judo should be required reading for anyone who makes a presentation of any sort, ever. PowerPoint Remix is the other required reading.

I wish PowerPoint would die.

I learned a few things about mountain biking on Monday.

First, flats are a lot more common compared to road biking. Second, not having a replacement tube really sucks. Third, there are lots of nice people on the trails, but you can’t count on them saving your ass every time.

I was up on Horsetooth Ridge, just riding around and exploring, and at one point or another, unknowingly rode through a thorn patch. When I headed back down the trail, I noticed my rear tire going flat, which sucked because I was completely unprepared. Luckily (at first), I met a few people coming the other way who asked “Do you have everything you need?” I admitted that I was a moron, and one guy gave me a tube.

After replacing the rear tube, I thought I was ready to go. I picked up my bike and noticed a shitload of thorns sticking out of the front wheel. I groaned. The other guy didn’t have another tube (and why should he have? It wasn’t his fault that I was a dummy), and so I was resigned to walking home, which sucked. Bad.

So now I have an extra tube, tire levers, and a pump at all times. It’s better to carry a little extra weight to avoid having to walk home. And to pay back into the karma system, I bought the guy two new tubes. The first few lessons are always painful.

In other news, everyone needs trucknutz.

Fortune has an interesting article about unemployment in the white-collar world. And in a delicious twist of irony, Wired has an article about Indian workers whose jobs are getting exported to even cheaper countries like the Phillippines, Thailand, and some Balkan countries. The best quote comes at the end: “It’s hard to know where it will all end. Is there a country were people will work for free?”

In other news, mountain biking is fun, but a lot harder than I initially anticipated. I bought a new Gary Fisher Marlin over the weekend and have been hitting some easier single-track trails around town. I’m finding that although the steepness of the trail doesn’t bother me much. It’s getting knocked off balance by rocks and other obstacles that is the crux.

I made a biking page.

Learned some interesting new poker games last night — anaconda, chase the queen, and some sort of tic-tac-toe version of 7 card stud. Lady luck has been with me for two sessions now, as I ended up profiting $7 for the second time in a row. No small feat when you’re playing with nickel antes and $0.50 max raises.

Poker night is fun, and what makes it more fun is drinking cheap crappy beer. Last time, I started off with a forty of Colt 45 malt liquor. Last night, the drink du jour was Schlitz, which is quite a refreshing beverage. My friends did not agree, stating that the beer “tasted like hangover”. Mmm… haven’t had beer from a can in years.