John Baez

He's a (mathematical) physicist I like a lot, though I haven't really tried to really understand his (mathematical) physics stuff. Since I've put a link to his Science Journal page, here are more links. First off, his home page is here and according to this, he got his B.A. from Princeton and his Ph.D. from MIT.

In this, he talks about global warming:
- economics
[ http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/economics.html#august28.04 ]

and if you PageUp a few times to the April 14, 2004 post on that page, you also get to read that "For example, companies like Nike are more likely to improve the labor conditions in their sweatshops in response to public shaming than just from you and I ceasing to buy their goods - if we do the latter, they may assume we just don't like their sneakers."

Then, an overview of the current situation of the planet. We're in the middle of a mass extinction...
- extinction
[ http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/extinction.html ]

And finally, if you thought having to register at the Speaker's Corner in Singapore is bad, look at the bastion of democracy that is the United States under George Bush:
- Free Speech Zones
[ http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/free_speech_zones.html ]

Freedom, free speech, free software, are all worth fighting for. Democracy may not be an ideal way of running a country, but it's probably the most robust method there is. But it only works if there is dialogue and free speech, if people can share their opinions and the government is open and the people are able to shape and check the government. The many-body problem will then be solved: dynamic equilibrium arising from a self-organizing mass of people with all sorts of differences and commonalities.

Ultimately, democracy is compromise. It is a constant tension constantly alive and kicking, fundamentally inspired by the spirit of cooperation and mutual benefit. The Bush Administration corrupts this by cooperating with the rich to sack the poor.