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The chasm between mathematical perfection and physical reality. Physics and mathematics are the "exact sciences" because they use precise, logical formalism. But the hard problem is that our most accurate mathematical models (like quantum field theory) describe a reality that is utterly alien to human experience and sometimes logically paradoxical. The math works with breathtaking precision, but does it mean we understand reality, or just that we've found a consistent symbolic game that predicts instrument readings? Are we discovering the universe's blueprint, or just inventing a language it happens to obey in our experiments?
Example: Schrödinger's equation in quantum mechanics predicts outcomes with insane accuracy. But its solution, the wave function, describes a particle being in multiple places at once (superposition) until measured. The hard problem: The mathematics is exact and clear. The physical interpretation of what's "really happening" is a murky, unresolved philosophical nightmare. The exact science gives us perfect numbers but no coherent story. It’s like having a flawless instruction manual written in a language where every word has seven contradictory meanings. Hard Problem of the Exact Sciences.
by Enkigal January 24, 2026
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An expansion of the first maxim to the entire architectural level. It argues that the structure of courts, procedures, rights, and professions (judges, lawyers) is not a neutral framework, but a mirrored hall designed to reflect and manage the power relations that birthed it. Adversarial systems reflect competitive capitalism; bureaucratic legalism reflects managerial control.
Every legal system, without exception, is an exact, color photograph of the behavior of the ruling class. Example: The American legal system's immense complexity, cost, and reliance on high-paid experts photographs the behavior of a ruling class that uses law as a tool for strategic advantage. Its outcomes often mirror existing wealth distribution, not because judges are corrupt, but because the system's design favors those with resources to navigate it.
by Nammugal February 5, 2026
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A tautological but pointed statement emphasizing that a criminal charge is a legalistic representation of an act, not an objective moral judgment. The "photograph" is framed by the state's lens: the same act (possession of a substance) may be a crime in one jurisdiction and legal in another. It highlights the artificial, constructed line between "criminal" and "non-criminal" behavior.
"Every crime, without exception, is an exact, color photograph of the individual's behavior." Example: A person is arrested for "vagrancy." The "color photograph" is their behavior: sleeping on a park bench. The charge is the state's caption. The statement forces us to separate the act (sleeping) from the socially imposed label ("crime"), revealing how law defines deviance.
by Nammugal February 5, 2026
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A radical, materialist maxim asserting that legal codes do not regulate the powerful; they codify and sanctify their existing conduct and interests. Laws against theft protect bourgeois property; complex tax codes legalize elite wealth optimization; regulatory capture turns corporate preference into statute. The law is a documentary snapshot of what the rulers already do, dressed in the garb of universal justice.
"Every law, without exception, is an exact, color photograph of the behavior of the ruling class." Example: A government passes a strict new "anti-piracy" law with severe penalties for downloading media. This "exact photograph" captures the behavior of the media conglomerate lobbyists who drafted it, seeking to criminalize consumer sharing that threatens their profit model, while their own history of exploiting artists remains perfectly legal.
by Nammugal February 5, 2026
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