A techno-nerd who knits and proud of it.

JAHschwa

Time for a quick origin story. Way back in 7th grade, one day in study hall I was bored and ended up flipping through a dictionary. My English teacher, Mrs. Mount, who was supervising the study hall that day, walked up behind me, reached over my shoulder, and pointed to a word. The word was schwa — an upside-down e used in pronunciation guides. From that day forward she used "schwa" as a nick name for me pretty frequently. It stuck because you can take my first name, Joshua, and re-write as "Joschwa" to get almost the same pronunciation. Recently, I added another layer by using my initials JAH to end up with "JAHschwa". You might also see it written as "JAHə" on my blog.

Politics

I'm a Left Libertarian and in favor of Social Democracy. I dislike both the Republican and Democratic parties, albeit the Republicans are usually worse. Currently terrified about what Trump might do during his presidency. Political Compass results (Economic, Social):

• 2018-11-01 = -4.25, -7.64
• 2020-04-07 = -8.00, -7.90

Philosophies

I don't adhere strictly to a single labeled set of codified beliefs or rules (and doubt that anyone actually does), but here are some that should provide insight into how I view and interact with the world. The quick blurbs after the links might not be academically precise; they are how I personally connect with these topics and might be gross oversimplifications for the sake of brevity:

• Mindfulness — allowing yourself to experience what you expierence and accepting it
• Empiricism — using evidence to understand the world ala the Scientific Method
• Utilitarianism — keeping Empathy in mind, actions should be taken to benefit many
• Categorical imperative — do unto others as you would have them do unto you
• Second Bill of Rights — we must establish a floor below which a person cannot fall

Formative Works

• Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (Eliezer Yudkowsky)
• A People's History of the United States (Howard Zinn)
• 12 Angry Men (1957 film)
• Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
• Nineteen Eighty-Four (Scott Orwell)
• Night (Elie Wiesel)
• Manna (Marshall Brain)