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| Photo by Andrew Dunn |
Civilized society is governed by time-tested principles. Refined over years; sometimes centuries, by trial and error, these rules have laid the foundations of luminous lives, legendary careers, and vast empires.
One such venerable convention applied to rules themselves is that the most important rule comes first. Let’s see what wisdom we can glean from the first principles of various systems of rules.
Thou shalt not worship strange gods…
An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
Don’t get high on your own supply.
You do not talk about Fight Club.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
Cardio
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Given any two points such as A and B, there is a line AB which has them as endpoints.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The total energy of an isolated system is constant; energy can be transformed from one form to another, but cannot be created or destroyed.
Don’t move too soon. You negotiate first and you attack last.
An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic.
All conditional phenomena and experiences are not ultimately satisfying.
Don’t Panic
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
You have the right to remain silent.
What benefits the enemy, harms you; and what benefits you, harm the enemy.
Don’t move
Jen
Sit and stare at the blank page for four hours.
SJWs always lie.
The first law of the market is self-interest, or the profit motive.
For any proposition A: A = A.
People are stupid. They believe things mainly because they either want them to be true or fear them to be true.
The first principle is: act with the utmost concentration [trace the ultimate substance of enemy strength to the fewest possible sources; compress the attack on these sources to the fewest possible actions; and subordinate minor actions as much as possible].
Do not talk about /b/
A firm foundation for the sciences requires a truth that is absolutely certain; for this purpose, I will reject all my beliefs for which there is even a possibility of doubt, and whatever truths are left will be absolutely certain.
Abolition of private property in land and application of all rents of land to public purpose.
First proposition. The reasons for which “this” world has been characterized as “apparent” are the very reasons which indicate its reality; any other kind of reality is absolutely indemonstrable.
Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself.
Law 1: Never Outshine the Master
You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
As the right of each sentient species to live in accordance with its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no Star Fleet personnel may interfere with the normal and healthy development of alien life and culture. Such interference includes introducing superior knowledge, strength, or technology to a world whose society is incapable of handling such advantages wisely. Star Fleet personnel may not violate this Prime Directive, even to save their lives and/or their ship, unless they are acting to right an earlier violation or an accidental contamination of said culture. This directive takes precedence over any and all other considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation.
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