Walter Thirring

This theoretical physicist's statement is in accord with my thoughts: "The fierce battles between scientists and theologians seem to me not so much inherent to these subjects but rather to the pretentious character of some of their representatives who believe that they understand more than they do. This becomes better only once one has learned the due humility vis-a-vis the great mysteries of the cosmos."
Can we agree?

St. Thomas Aquinos

"Beware the man of one book."

Aristotle

Some 300 years before the birth of Christ, Aristotle sought to teach us how to be happy. He wrote: "The proper work of man is a working of the soul in accordance with reason. The most fortunate of men is he who combines a mearsure of prosperity with scholarship, research, or contemplation; such a man comes closes to the life of the gods."

History

We seem to have learned little from our mistakes of the past although the historical record is there for all who are interested. Maybe that's the clue to improvement - interested enough to read and think.

Spel chekers, hoo needs em?

Heraclitus

What do we want, crave, wish for, long for, covet, fancy? Over 2500 years ago in 500BC, this ancient sage warned: "It is hard to fight against impusive desire; whever it wants it will buy at the cost of the soul."

Yogi Berra

"Even Napoleon had his Watergate."

Energy

Sciencists tell us that our visible world, in fact our entire universe, in its ultimate basic form, is simply the invisible organization of energy - that essential material reality is a set of energy fields which interact with each other and there isn't anything else.

Warning

Spammers have flooded my Blog with anonymous comments. If you click on any of their suggestions you will be taken to sites that serve their purposes.

The Challenge

We are unpredictable because we are each unique. Our one-of-a-kind being has never existed before so our actions and reactions are incomparable and uniquely our own. I think each of us bears sole responsibility for what we say and do - a modest prequisite to the miracle of our precious existence.

The Information Explosion

We have an overwhelming deluge of information in this age of instant communication. Virginia Postrel, who writes for Forbes, puts the problem this way: "The flip side of information abundance is a huge sorting problem. Life is limited, so every new source of information must take time from an old one. We can ignore the new, or the old, or trade time from one to make time for the other. But we cannot have it all."

Illusion

The sky is filled with stars at night.
Illusion? - well for better word -
We do not see them as they are.
How they are we'll never know.
We see them only as they were
when their twinkles sped our way
from many light years far away.

Conscience

Almost every culture in our history has recognized the existence of that faculty of the mind which nags us with the feeling of obligation to do "right".
Ancient Egyptians were urged not to transgress against the dictates of the heart, for one "must stand in fear of departing from its guidance."
Hindus considered conscience to be "the invisible God who dwells within us."
Quakers emphasize conscience in responding the "inner light of God."
Some Christians believe that conscience is the Counselor that Jesus promised his diciples.

Bad News

These days the news is so depressing. Will and Ariel Durant, in their book "The Lessons of History", counter bad news with this encouraging note: "Behind the red facade of war and politics, misfortune and poverty, adultery and divorce, murder and suicide, were millions of orderly homes, devoted marriages, men and women kindly and affectionate, troubled and happy with children."

Why

Why do we accept the quick simple answer? Why do we avoid the complex which would require thinking? Unfortunately our universe and its people are anything but simple. Why can't we understand that reality is not simple - that reality is complexity and vice versa.

Bernard Lewis

This eminent historian has written of history's power: "Make no mistake, those who are unwilling to confront the past will be unable to understand the present and unfit to face the future." To confront the past I highly recommend his book: "What Went Wrong."

Andrew Marvell

This 17th century English poet reminds us of the transitory nature of our human existence:
"But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot hurrying near."

Montaigne Again

In spite of his introspection, he enjoyed travel. He likened his contact with others to a front room facing the street where people can meet and interact but he says there always needs to be a back room of the most private self in which to retreat for reflection and reassessment.

Mistakes

I have made so many. I know that Puck's declaration was not just fairy fancy when he said: "Lord, what fools these mortals be."

Agatha

She was a tiny Czechoslovakian who did housework for a living at our house and many others. She worked for one reason besides for her meager daily bread - she worked to educate young Africans in training for the priesthood. When we knew her she had at least a dozen to her credit. I have never known a more saintly person than this fragle little lady. I somehow always felt inferior in her presence.

Birthday Card

I once got one which said when I was born the Doctor told my mother "Look lady I just deliver them - I don't explain them."

Julian L. Simon

I have earlier recommended his book "The Ultimate Resource 2". His inspiring message: "The ultimate resource is people - skilled, spirited, hopeful, people who will exert their wills and imagination for their own benefit as well as in a spirit of faith and social concern. Inevitably they will benefit not only themselves but the poor and the rest of us as well."

Why

In my life I have done reasonably well with Who, What, When, Where, and How - but Why has always given me trouble.

Mind vs Computer

Both can store information but the computer must add an "address" for retrieval while the mind retrieves by means of "association" which leads to "pattern recognition". The computer can do only simple operations but can produce complex results by operating at very high speeds. The mind performs at low speeds but in parallel rather than sequence producing several results which can be compared. Artificial intelligence is still but a goal.

George Burns

"When I was born the Dead Sea was only sick."

Hazel Henderson

In her book "The Politics of the Solar Age" she deals harshly with economists and their forecasts. She sees the happier side of uncertainty and the inevitability of change and thinks we do not know enough to be pessimistic. Quote: "The life force within each of us can then focus on the possible and the potentialities. One can call it faith in the future, or the acknowledgment that we are not in charge, and that the planet is not a spaceship that we humans are steering or managing."

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Redshift

The tone of the sound of the whistle drops as an approaching train passes by us and and races on into the distance. The approaching train had shortened the sound wave while the receding train had lengthened the waves - a phenomenon known as the Doppler effect. Astronomers have applied this principle as they examine the light of distant galaxies. They found that the light was shifted toward the red end of the spectrum i.e. the longer wave lengths. The farther away the galaxies, the greater the redshift - thus their conclusion that our universe is ever expanding.

Paul Ehrlich

"To err is human but to really foul things up you need a computer."