CURRENT MISSION

To survive and enjoy the next three months.

ABOUT ME

I'm a programmer (and general tech enthusiast) living in Edinburgh.

Also see user amy.guy's references for mentions of me.

As a result of spending two years being taught by a mad genius I love philosophy (of the analytical variety) and am happy to wax lyrical about it.

I can be terribly shy (particularly in stressful times of my life) but - like most terribly shy people - I'm told I'm fairly amiable once I'm started.

PHILOSOPHY

I take life as it comes and try to ensure I improve the lives of those around me. To this end I am happy to provide assistance where I can and I love passing my skills on to others (e.g. I teach programming to under 19s at a regular club). The most fulfilling experience for me is when I know I have helped someone else.

I have on occasion stated my core ethical principle as "Don't be a dick" and I believe this is less trite than it at first sounds. For example many utilitarian or relativist actions would definitely count as dickish. Objectivism as a whole seems to be a dickhead's philosophy. Nietzsche can be interpreted as a bit of a dick too. Though adamantly non-religious, I love the idea of agape which I read as "being unconditionally not a dick to everyone". That's not to say, however, that I wouldn't attack (and intentionally hurt) a rapist caught in the act, to pick an extreme example. I just try to assume the best I reasonably can of each person I meet.

I believe modern society has been poisoned with the despicable idea that a person is worth only what their skills can get them. This has lead us to being distrustful of the poor and the disadvantaged. The idea was recently brought up in Switzerland of providing every single citizen with an unconditional, liveable amount of money. This sounds to me like a huge step towards utopia.

My ideas on utopia aren't solidified just yet; I've come across some new ideas in the past couple of years that have made me rethink. So take the following with a pinch of salt.

My idea of utopia is a society in which resources are plentiful, people need only do the things they need to, and no-one dies without choosing to. "Plentiful resources" includes living space in which to house the rapidly expanding population (so we'll need to expand beyond the pale blue dot).

I'm not sure this is a feasible scenario and certainly the no death thing is controversial.

I asked my partner how she would summarise my philosophy and she replied with: "Being chill, enjoying the world as it comes". Sounds about right.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've hosted (along with user amy.guy, with whom I live) a fair few people, though I've largely kept to myself whilst Amy entertained them.

Interests

Video games, Books (typically of the Sci-Fi and Fantasy variety), Programming (and software engineering), generally the sorts of things you'd expect from a computer scientist. I also enjoy, as mentioned above, a good philosophical debate.

In contrast I also thoroughly enjoy playing ping pong and badminton and some of the best times of my life have been spent in the middle of nowhere, halfway up a mountain, surrounded mostly by sheep and fog.

• books
• running
• clubbing
• technology
• video games
• table tennis
• badminton
• engineering
• science
• software

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Running around Holyrood Park in Edinburgh (basically a patch of highlands in the middle of the city) with a bunch of friends in the small hours of the morning certainly stands out. The view out over the city as it sleeps from the sides of Arthur's seat is fairly breathtaking. And the simple pleasure of mucking about like children and hiding from each other in long grass isn't something to scoff at.

Countries I’ve Visited

Norway, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom