Fundamental Organizing Principles

Posted on February 26, 2012 by dave

I’ve been working on trying to get down to the “root” of my belief system. For the sake of naming, I have decided that the most stable, unaffected foundations for my belief system are Fundamental Organizing Principles or FOPs. At this point, I’ve identified four FOPs that for me seem to be the underlying principles on which I base my Values and then from Values my beliefs. Here they are: Continue reading →

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Constitutional rights and murderers . . .

Posted on October 2, 2011 by dave

Over on another social media blog, the author of the post took the stand that the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki was unconstitutional and contrary to international law. The stated reason is that we had taken an American citizen’s life without due process. I disagree, and stated so on the blog. I am by no means a constitutional scholar, nor do I fully understand international law. And while I understand the blogger’s view and can accept it, I do not think it is particularly well thought out. Nor do I think this action is without precedent – ample precedents actually – both at home and abroad. I feel the same way about Osama bin Laden’s demise. Continue reading →

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Room for Wisdom

Posted on October 2, 2011 by dave

A colleague mentioned that he was not able to meet with me over the weekend. He was attending a “Wisdom Weekend” course and would be tied up. Really? Wisdom in only one weekend? I chuckled and made some comment about how he’d be really scary if he had any more wisdom and wondered if he was teaching the course. But of course, this conversation started me down yet another rabbit hole of inquiry. What is wisdom? Continue reading →

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Did Jesus Have a Cat?

Posted on September 3, 2011 by dave

Infrequently, okay, rarely, I pick up a book other than business or science related. When I do, it’s usually a science fiction or thriller of one kind or another. Maybe this happens once a year. This year, totally out of character, I decided to read what turns out to be an absolutely delightful book of essays. Totally unlike me and I’m so happy that I made time to read Did Jesus Have a Cat. I had forgotten how much fun it is to read essays and short stories. It’s much easier to stop and start. The books I read don’t always have easy “break away points.” Continue reading →

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The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer

Posted on July 3, 2011 by dave

The Believing Brain by Michael ShermerWe cannot separate human behavior from human biology. That much seems clear even to the lay person. Michael Shermer manages to shed even more light on that view of how things come to be accepted by individuals as “truth.” The brain, as Shermer demonstrates, “is a belief engine. From sensory data flowing in through the senses the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses those patterns with meaning.” Continue reading →

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“You don’t thank for this. This is sad, very sad only!”

Posted on June 27, 2011 by dave

Recently, I had reason to watch (for about the third time) the movie Avatar. As I listened to the news Sunday evening and heard that Osama bin Laden had been killed, one of the lines in Avatar jumped into my head. My first response to the news was “Thank goodness.” Then I remembered that line, “You don’t thank for this. This is sad, very sad only!” Continue reading →

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Brain Rules

Posted on June 26, 2011 by dave

Brain Rules by Dr. John MedinaBook Review: Brain Rules by John Medina

Medina has pulled together all the verified scientific data (repeatable experimentation, trials, etc.) on how our brains “work” to process our sensory inputs and remember what we’ve experienced. He readily admits that this is an on-going study that will be augmented as we discover new ways the brain works and evolves.

Continue reading →

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Kurzweil was (is) right.

Posted on June 26, 2011 by dave

Many years ago, I read Ray Kurzweil’s book “The Age of Spiritual Machines.” In that book, Kurzweil opined that at some point we humans would take over our own evolution. That we would become cyborgs and then eventually, learn to “download” our brains into machines and “live” on the vast internet. A follow-on book, “The Fantastic Voyage,” in which he discusses how we need to treat our bodies with respect and that if we live long enough, medical advances will allow us to live for hundreds of years. Now, we see that he was “right on.” Continue reading →

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Reflections on retirement

Posted on June 26, 2011 by dave

A retired friend (best man at my wedding) asked me recently, “Have YOU thought about retirement? It’s great and a lot of fun down here” [meaning where he is living now]. Among us “baby boomers,” this seems to be a popular topic these days – retirement: when and how? I suspect the answers will be as varied as the boomers themselves. Continue reading →

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Mystery; It’s enough for me.

Posted on June 26, 2011 by dave

Recently I came across some science writing that reawakened my sense of awe at our natural world. As if to emphasize that sense of awe and feeling of insignificance, the horrible news of the Earthquake in Japan drove home just how indifferent nature is to our existence. Only we, in our insufferable arrogance, can believe that we somehow deserve special treatment. Continue reading →

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