Recently, I shed light on the often overlooked disparity in compensation between full-time employees and contractors within remote-first tech companies. Today, I aim to underscore the irony of this substantial and fundamental inequality, which exists in the face of these very companies’ vigorous and commendable pursuit of diversity and equality. These companies, whilst striving to uphold principles of fairness, neglect a fundamental imbalance within their workforce â the disparities between employees and contractors. This inconsistency, bordering on discrimination, deserves attention and rectification.
Continue readingThe Shadow of the Mafia: Uncovering the Troubling Mentality in Italy’s Real Estate Market
The Italian real estate market is a bustling and vibrant sector, with a complex web of transactions and negotiations taking place daily. Like in many other countries, buying a house in Italy involves paying taxes, which vary in number and amount. These taxes are a common feature when buying and selling properties worldwide. However, Italy’s real estate industry has been tainted by the deeply rooted presence of what I like to call “mafia mentality”. This influence manifests in various aspects of the Italian life in general, and so also in the property buying and selling process. In this article, we will explore two examples that demonstrate how the mafia mentality has permeated the Italian real estate market: the role of estate agents as “mediators” and the government’s policy on taxing debt.
Continue readingThe Invisible Gap: Inequalities Between Employees and Contractors in Remote-First Tech Companies
Remote-first tech companies are known for their flexibility and global hiring practices, allowing them to tap into a diverse pool of talent. However, there’s a hidden side to this global workforce that raises concerns over inequalities between employees and contractors. While these companies often advertise a level playing field, the reality is quite different for many workers. In this article, we’ll explore the disparities between employees and contractors, the legal issues surrounding these inequalities, and the potential risks for both workers and companies.
Continue reading(Reverse) Polish Notation in JavaScript
There was a time when I despised JavaScript. True story. But things have changed much since. What I like about modern JS is its versatility and ease of use. It has a relatively simple syntax, making it accessible to developers with varying levels of experience.
Consider a common problem used during programming teaching courses: the Polish Notation (and Reverse Polish Notation, too). Polish notation (PN), also known as normal Polish notation (NPN), Ćukasiewicz notation, Warsaw notation, Polish prefix notation or simply prefix notation, is a mathematical notation in which operators precede their operands, in contrast to the more common infix notation, in which operators are placed between operands, as well as reverse Polish notation (RPN), in which operators follow their operands. PN and RPN do not need any parentheses as long as each operator has a fixed number of operands. The description “Polish” refers to the nationality of logician Jan Ćukasiewicz, who invented Polish notation in 1924.
| Traditional notation | Polish Notation | Reverse Polish Notation |
|---|---|---|
| 3 + 4 | + 3 4 | 3 4 + |
| 3 – (4 * 5) | – 3 * 4 5 | 3 4 5 * – |
| (3 + 4) * 5 | * + 3 4 5 | 3 4 + 5 * |
| (3 – 4) / (5 + 2) | / – 3 4 + 5 2 | 3 4 – 5 2 + / |
KEDS Essays â Applying 1 Corinthians in Church Ministry Today
Discuss how Paulâs teaching on ministry by women in 1 Corinthians should be applied in todayâs church.
Introduction
How do Pauline teachings in First Corinthians impact the ministry and role of women in todayâs church life? Are women permitted to be in positions of authority and leadership, such as pastoring, preaching and teaching? The matter is debated today more than it ever was in the past (Laney, 2002, p. 8), and scholars are divided in two broad categories: complementarians and egalitarians. Both sides claim scriptural support for their positions, therefore the different conclusions must be determined by exegetical differences, presuppositions, the role of textual criticism, and the understanding of the Sitz im Leben, amongst other factors.
We shall begin by describing each sideâs general stance, looking at foundational verses. We shall then carry out comparative exegesis of relevant texts. Finally, we shall determine the applicability of such texts to modern day church as we come to our own conclusions regarding womenâs role in ministry.
Continue readingWhen believing is never enough
The only book of the Bible that has the specific and stated purpose of preaching the message of eternal life is the Gospel of John. He himself tells us:
Now Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these were written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and, that, by believing, you may have life in his name.
JOHN 20: 30-31
John repeatedly reiterates the only condition to obtain eternal life: to believe in the One whom God has sent (cf. Jn 6:29). In fact, the Greek verb pisteou (to believe) appears 98 times in the Gospel according to John , almost a third of all biblical occurrences.
In the first letter of John the verb appears 7 more times, and the noun also appears once, in one of the most beautiful verses of the epistle:
Continue readingFor whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the worldâour faith.
1 JOHN 5: 4
Two new studies about CO2 and face masks
- First study is an all-Italian study still in preprint: CO2 levels whilst wearing a face mask go beyond the safety threshold. 40% of subjects with surgical masks inhale CO2 over the threshold. 99% of subjects wearing an FFP2 inhale CO2 over the threshold. The safety threshold is 5000ppm. The CO2 concentration with the surgical masks was measured to be 4965 ± 1047ppm. With FFP2, it was 9396 ± 2254ppm. It gets worse the younger the subject is. Up to 3 times the threshold in children wearing an FFP2, with an average of more than 2 times (12,847 ± 2898 ppm).
- Peer-reviewed study: Carbon dioxide rises beyond acceptable safety levels in children under nose and mouth covering: Results of an experimental measurement study in healthy children.
Masks are bad for you, study confirms (yet again)
[T]he lack of negative correlations between mask usage and COVID-19 cases and deaths suggest that the widespread use of masks at a time when an effective intervention was most needed, i.e., during the strong 2020-2021 autumn-winter peak, was not able to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Moreover, the moderate positive correlation between mask usage and deaths in Western Europe also suggests that the universal use of masks may have had harmful unintended consequences.
Study: Correlation Between Mask Compliance and COVID-19 Outcomes in Europe
KEDS Essays â The Church and Israel
Identify and evaluate both the exegetical and theological problems raised by supersessionism.
Introduction
Supersessionism can be defined as the view that the New Testament (NT) Church is the replacement, continuation or fulfilment of the nation of Israel as the people of God (Vlach, 2007, p. 217), with Old Testament (OT) promises and covenants transferred from ethnic Israel to the Church (Diprose, 2004, p. 2), now seen as the new or true Israel (Marshall, 2012).
There is a variety of views within supersessionism (Vlach, 2010, p. 13-14), such as punitive supersessionism (Israel was punished for their rejection of the Messiah), and economic supersessionism (Israel fulfilled its pre-established role in Godâs plan and is now obsolete). Within both camps we may find moderate supersessionists (p. 20), who would hold to a future nationwide conversion of the Jews. All supersessionists, however, reject the future restoration[1] of Israel in their land as Godâs chosen covenant nation (p. 19-20), as well as its implications for Godâs plan for humanity.
If supersessionism is wrong, the theological repercussions could be vastly deleterious, since a major theological entity (Israel), seemingly central to Godâs programme, would be erroneously displaced.
Our thesis is that the hermeneutics of supersessionism is the cause of widespread exegetical issues, which lead to a theological avalanche affecting several areas of systematic theology. In order to show this, we shall divide our work in three major sections: first, we shall introduce the foundation of supersessionism, namely its hermeneutics; second, we shall analyse their exegesis of passages commonly used as prooftexts; third, we shall outline the wider theological implications.
Continue readingKEDS Essays â Introduction to Philosophy and Apologetics
The problem of evil is not a defeater for the Christian faith. Discuss.Â
Introduction
The epistemic question posed by evil is whether the world contains unfavourable states of affairs that provide the basis for an argument that makes it unreasonable or outright inconsistent to believe in the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent God (Tooley, 2019). It is customary to quote Humeâs formulation of the atheistic argument from evil:
âIs [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able? then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?â (Hume, 1779, p. 186)
Scholars such as Mackie (1955) and McCloskey (1960) concurred with this traditional understanding of the problem, arguing that all forms of theism holding to the omnipotence and omnibenevolence of God succumb before the Epicurean trilemma cited above (Feinberg, 2004, p. 17). The problem of evil allegedly exposes an unsolvable internal inconsistency of the theistic beliefs; in other wordsâsays the atheistâtheists must believe not that which cannot be proven, but that which can be disproven by their own beliefs (Mackie, 1955, p. 200).
In contrast, we maintain that not only does evil not constitute a problem for the Christian faith, but it provides a positive case for it.
Continue reading