Maxim Monday - 64 - Gain Possessions Justly

Δικαιως κτω

Delphic Maxim 64 is "gain possessions justly." This is is remarkably similar to Commandment 8 of the Decalogue,^{maxim-064-fn1} "Thou Shalt Not Steal," but much more general.

Of course, 64 is just 82. Also, as we all know, Lex Luthor stole 40 cakes in high school, and 40 is just 5 x 8. Maybe the number 8 itself is the thieving bastard.

Then again, Jews may defend the number 8 by countering with the 613 Mitzvot. They believe that "undue emphasis was being placed on [the Ten Commandments], their daily communal recitation was discontinued." Of course, my source for this is Wikipedia. Maybe someone can back me up by citing the Talmud in the comments.

Mitzvah 274 (Not to steal personal property), 280 (Not to rob by violence), and 281 (Not to defraud), amongst others, are all statements reiterating Delphic Maxim 64.^{maxim-064-fn2} These numbers are not divisible by 8.

There has been a lot of numerology done on the Jewish writings. Just watching Pi once will tell you that. So maybe we can consider the number 8 vindicated.

This is really starting to get away from me...

Theft

I think we all understand the concept "do not steal." Hopefully, we can all agree that is unethical and will eventually lead to ruin. It leads to a life of either paranoia of being caught or overconfidence and getting caught.

The "benefit" is short-term, but being labeled as untrustworthy or a criminal is a very long-term punishment.

Stolen Items

Justly gaining possessions also includes not buying anything that is stolen. Just because you didn't do the crime yourself doesn't mean you are absolved of the consequences.

As an example, watch this talk from DEFCON18. The story itself starts at around 3 minutes in.

I don't think you need to be tech savvy to truly appreciate this video. ssh is a way to remotely control a computer. vnc is a way to remotely watch a computer's screen (You may have heard of similar things like Remote Desktop, LogMeIn, or GoToMyPC).

Imagine if you had bought Zoz's stolen computer. Even though two years had gone by, he was still able to track his computer, fuck with the criminal, and eventually have him apprehended.

Do you want your pictures and Internet search history put on a large projected screen during the largest hacker convention in the world?

^{maxim-064-fn1} The term "Decalogue" comes from literal roots meaning "ten words." It's an ultra-fancy way of referring to the Ten Commandments of the Hebrew Bible.

^{maxim-064-fn2} The translations and numbering comes from JewFAQ. These numbers do not coincide with Wikia.