Category: Observations
Why our predictions must move away from utter doom to continuity?
The idea of terminal decline is pulling the power of prediction like a black hole pulls light into it. This phenomenon is not new. It has happened again and again throughout history. It has also had its reasons. It is sufficient to say that people desire achievement and progress. However, when the price, the sacrifices,…
The higher criticism – one that is not directed by objective
It sounds noble, as it is appealing – to practice a higher level of criticism that is not directed by objective. There is hardly an offering of criticism today that is not directed by objective, not subject to some personal interest, not contaminated by some ulterior motive. It might even be opined that it is…
What kind of conversations can truly produce change in society?
Conversations are the most powerful tool to bring change in society. In a civil society, it is the only acceptable tool. It is true, we have to make an assumption about a society being civil in the first place. Aside from a limited personal experience and association, a very cursory reflection on the whole of…
Why is it that so much conversation fails to produce change in society?
Conversation is so uniquely human. Even in the stories we write, one of the fascinating capabilities a writer can give to his imagined beast is to talk like humans. A bird, a dragon, a serpent, or some other ferocious beast takes on a new life as soon as it talks like humans do. From there,…
Becoming the kind of people who have a diversity of interests
Technology has affected not only societies but also the individual within them. In particular, the way we search and access information has become very specific. This is not a bad thing. However, it also requires a user of technology to put this knowledge to use. Using information is possible through understanding, and that understanding comes…
The mind and its need for certainty – a tendency toward black-and-white thinking
Time goes by and a human mind is able to persist despite a lack of certainty. It requires a simplicity and an exercise of patience, but it is possible. Keeping a sense of contentment is very important during times of uncertainty. It is quite like a ship out in the open sea. A ship can…
Cults of black-and-white thinking – a lesson from Jehovah’s witnesses
Cults – what does the word bring to mind? There are thoughts of blind devotion. There most certainly is the charisma or power of a leader over his followers. Finally, there is the absolute certainty of purpose. Whether one thinks of Jim Jones, Hitler, or the Messiah of Israel, these things are to be found…
What is required to even consider changing one’s beliefs to explore better possibilities for the future?
The last post went through a consideration of the possibility of changing one’s beliefs. It is a task best considered worth undertaking for the sake of survival. Beliefs are also to be considered as a subject for change in the interest of preservation, longevity, and continuity. Our existing generations would not be the first to…
Can we change our beliefs to formulate better predictions for the future?
As hard as one may try, it is not possible to entirely avoid the practice of predicting the future. Why is it that people want to predict the outcome before it happens? The reason is quite simple. There is a desire to have certainty about the future. Predictions give us a feeling of security. We…
How does faith suppress analytical thinking, but also provide comfort?
Faith is a particular aspect of religious thought. It is a confidence in what has not happened yet. There is a confidence in the unseen ability of someone or something to bring about what does not yet exist. Yes, this is how it works. The human mind and heart are capable of having such thoughts…
Why I feel that religion will continue to remain a part of human thinking
The existence of religion seems as old as the human ability for imagination, and to formulate questions on the basis of our ability to have a sense of wonder. Some believe that humans had a start as apes and this ability developed through evolution. Others believe humans to have had a start as fully intelligent,…
How can we use the speed of communication technology to social advantage?
In ancient times, a man would get on a horse if there was an important information to be delivered quickly. Horses were kept and cared for, for times just as these. Maybe the rider was sleeping in his bed. He was awakened for the express purpose of having to get the horse ready and deliver…
Why we might criticize technology rather than the information it brings
Every time new inventions and technologies have arrived upon mankind, there have been critics of them. Some of these criticisms are valid. Even the observations upon which these criticisms are made are not obvious to everyone. For example, it would be rare to notice like Tristan Harris, how particular designs of apps and interface psychologically…
How does a movie differ from real life? And why does present life seem like a movie?
Art follows life, or does life follow art? This question seems nowhere more relevant than in the case of movies. Movies are the depiction of life. The characters in some cases are so relatable, that people have seen themselves on the movie screen. They learn lessons, find out their own mistakes, and understand more about…
How attitude towards information affects individuals?
The individual is the focus of global changes. It seems so very easy to take for granted what mankind has achieved. We have achieved the possibility of limitless information. We have achieved the possibility of international communication. This is extremely specific to an individual, yet comprehensive for entire societies. The thought is overwhelming. Among billions…
How is hope the basis of a social movement?
So, really, it is not just the changing objectives but hope that is keeping the ideology of a movement in continuation. If there is a hope worthy of maintaining, the social movement will find regenerative power.
The book of human existence
There is the impossible task of asking society to offer solutions to problems that society itself has produced, tolerated, or silently witnessed for so long. When such a task is undertaken, there is the danger of quickly losing balance in any line of reasoning or with any argument. As soon as a statement can be…
The vicious cycle of paranoia and extremism
During times of difficulty and great anguish, the subtlety of human thought suffers. There is not the attention to detail, and nuance seems only hypocritical. What a relaxed mind, one at ease in a secure environment can do, a stressed mind cannot. This is easily understandable. This understanding should have caused humans to aspire for…
About sin, the world, and death – questions and wonders partly confined to human imagination
Sin, the world, and death – we wonder of these at some time in our existence – by choice or we are compelled to. In these very words or some other, in one language or another, we are confronted and cannot run away. There is to be found a peculiar coexistence in human thought today,…
Observation – The disobedient angel and humans in Eden: what it says about the Creator?
Just in general terms and even with a number of misconceptions, the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden is one of the most popular stories from the Bible. It happens to be right at the start, in the first few chapters of Genesis. That is a prime reason for its popularity.…
Observation – Satan’s absurdity, and Eve’s naivete…and many questions
The claim is often made by individuals with specific objectives and interests that, the Bible is outdated and no longer useful. It is also believed that, there is nothing profound or worth learning from a book that many others consider to be the revealed will of God. It is possible that, the Bible falls short…
Observations – Adam and Eve know they are naked
On a day like any other day before, but never a day like it afterwards, the first man and woman experienced something. From that day forward, woman and man were changed irreversibly. They felt things unknown to their minds prior to that day. They said new things. Adam and Eve said things to the Lord…
How personal convictions challenge social peace and justice?
There has to be a necessary coexistence in society for an individual to flourish. A society is a huge factor in the development of an individual. There are individuals who can and want to take up social causes, offer practical suggestions, and assist in bringing changes that will bring possible improvements. The flourishing of all…
The nature of conviction, and the certainty of belief
Conviction and certainty of belief impart a particular trait to the very thinking and expression of a person that goes counter to reason, and the willingness to listen. Be it blunt or sharp, the absolutist conclusion of the convinced person does not have the opening to alter the conviction. The belief is not only unchallenged,…
Is the future determined by our beliefs?
Think of belief as a future destination. Yes, there are beliefs of such nature. All beliefs are ideas, and ideas can travel through time.
The natural order of things as a basis for justice
There is a natural order of things. Nature works because, it has its own system. The most gigantic interaction of living and the nonliving makes up the system of nature. In this system, there are many parts and subsystems. We can discern, there is an order to the way all creatures interact with the environment…
Does justice emanate from belief?
Human beings are unique among creatures on this earth, for we have even deeper than the conscious, the very instinct of justice. Even without thought or much deliberation, a human can have the instinct for justice. This sense of justice brings rivalry among brothers, it brings favoritism, it brings inequality between the genders. On the…
Conceptualizing justice in the age of impatience
For those who are thinking actively, it would seem prudent not to put words like justice and impatience in the same sentence. However, as soon as one steps out of propriety and sentence construction in theoretical settings, it is easy to see that, our practical reality puts us in precisely this undesirable position. In the…
The future of human society is predicated upon our perception of justice
The featured image: Weighing of the Heart Book of the Dead written on papyrus showing the Weighing of the Heart in the Duat using the feather of Maat as the measure in balance. What is justice? Is personal justice and justification more important than social justice? Is human intelligence capable of offering satisfactory justice? Is divine justice the only possible hope…
The flawed and biased employment of critical thinking
The website, “The Critical Thinking Community” carries this definition of critical thinking, on one of its pages: Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form,…
