This story came across my socials feed, attributed to John Perricone. Several years ago I invited a Buddhist monk to speak to my Senior elective class, and quite interestingly, as he entered the room, he didn’t say a word (that caught everyone’s attention). He just walked to the board and wrote this: “EVERYONE WANTS TO… Continue reading The Superior Cynic
Category: Positive Thinking
“Both Sides”
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism Imagine a child,… Continue reading “Both Sides”
Mythology, Religion, & Hollywood: Systems of Control or Morality Plays?
If we imagine the shape of the adoption of new morality like a wave, the adopters of the newest morality would be the crest of the wave while most are far behind them.
The QAnon Shaman and The Three Sides of Apophenia
Apophenia as Delusion Reed Berkowitz’s piece, A Game Designer’s Analysis Of QAnon, insightfully noted how Apophenia drives people into the Cult of QAnon. Jacob Chansley, a.k.a. the QAnon Shaman, it has been pointed out, “displays strong aspects of what psychologists call ‘patternicity,’ which is to see hidden patterns, meanings, and agency behind what others would… Continue reading The QAnon Shaman and The Three Sides of Apophenia
Reason and the ability to use it are two separate skills
To be fluent in a language means not only that you can understand it, but that you can speak it competently. Competency in the language does not necessarily make it your first language. It may be your second, or third. Your first language is your dominant one. Reason can be thought of like a language,… Continue reading Reason and the ability to use it are two separate skills
Toxic
Water is vital, essential, and wonderful. When not treated with proper respect, water can kill you. So is water healthy or is it toxic?