Reflections L - Causual Observations

What is most tragic about the fine arts is that it likely peaked in the 17th century with a slight boost given to it by the Impressionists two centuries later.  Since then the decline looks to be terminal. AI may be the final nail in a once ornate coffin.

Anything perceived as free to use, will be ultimately abused by the public. Many people simply can’t help themselves.

The tragedy of the modern is that we are drowning in a sea of unoriginal sludge.

In an insane world it is even more important that one’s thoughts be focused, rational and reliably conceived.

To an extremist the danger is not the directly opposing viewpoint but the very truth itself.

A sad observation is that most people fail to understand the limits of science including many scientists themselves.

Any religion that uses excommunication as a weapon to ensure conformity has no understanding of the God-Person relationship.

A declining society has no problem relegating the truth to a position behind popular sentiment. The eventual aim is to eventually replace the former fully with the latter.

Navigating the Chaos - Part 7 - What is Good Science?

 Good Science is the pursuit of knowledge derived from questioning. It is the science that looks at a phenomenon and attempts to elucidate its workings through rational thought and empirical investigation. It strives to be as objective as possible in its process. Conclusions are eventually drawn following the thorough analysis of evidence, but the conclusions must not extend beyond the assumptions that so define the research.

There is no single definitive scientific method, but there are broad procedures that extend from the initial observation through hypothesis to the investigation, analysis, and subsequent conclusion(s) for any inquiry.

Scientists are not guardians of truth but agents of clarification that peel away the fog of noise in an attempt to model more accurately the workings of the world. They are, of course, free to philosophize and speculate about the significance of their findings (something I personally call the extended objective), but these speculations should not overwrite or even overextend the mandate of their original research. 

The individual Scientist is bound to understand the limits of their findings which ultimately calls for an appreciation of the restrictions of their respective disciplines. Science is not a religion, nor should it be vaunted as one; however, it is the best tool that we humans have for understanding the material world. It is indeed very powerful, but it is ultimately confined to the milieu of matter/energy.

Navigating the Chaos - Part 6 - The Purpose of my book Navigating the Chaos

 It isn't easy to make sense of the chaos that is modern-day reality. Transformational change, information deluge, and a preponderance of bad ideas often leave us feeling isolated in a world that seems to be edging closer to an expedited collapse.

Post-truth has made itself heard across virtually every intellectual discipline, leaving one navigating a turbulent pathway to a workable clarity.

It is my experience that if you wish to live a life of meaning that you also have to adhere to beliefs that are well thought out, clear, and based on sound reasoning and logic.

I would say that my eventual goal is making sense of the universe. A cynic would claim that such a task is futile, fraught with obstacles, and ultimately a bridge to eventual disappointment. Perhaps this is true, but I would not renege on the journey, its path may be convoluted, but the serendipity that it invites is overwhelmingly rewarding.

Navigating the chaos is a formed-in-the-fire product of me wrestling with a multiplicity of ideas that I have come across in my stay on the planet so far. It is a consequence of both my practical experience and independent inquiry that reflects issues as diverse as the nature of science, the ebbs and flow of history, and the trajectory of our future.

A great deal of what I write here is based on my judgment that I have endeavored to substantiate with evidence and reasonable speculation. I will admit when I am at a loss and most certainly welcome the reader to challenge my conclusions.

Over the years, I have learned that all issues are not as clear-cut as their champions make them out to be, and in virtually every case, one's personal position is a derivative of the net information available. While it is necessary to have principles, it is equally important to listen to contradictory standpoints, which is why the free flow of ideas is so critical to any debate.

Navigating the Chaos - Part 5 - Thoughts on Buddhism

 There is an essence to Buddhism that, at first glance, appears to be extremely soothing. As a philosophy, it puts on a kinder face that, to so many, appears to be more welcoming than the harshness of the Judeo-Christian belief system. One such facet that has engendered one to think of Buddhism in a more enlightened framework was the replacement of the all-powerful judging God viewing each and every one of our actions with the belief in karma that argues that every action has a consequence to it. In reality, both God and the karmic system function to guide our actions toward doing what is the 'good.' 

Bad acts in the Buddhist world invite bad karma, which leads to suffering. In Western theology, these acts are punished by the wrath of God that, too, leads to suffering. So what we have here are alternative explanations for the same outcome. But are they really alternatives, or is the one, karma, perhaps merely a description as to how God meets out justice? My problem with the karma view on its own is that it is too convenient and mechanistic. It provides for the predictability of outcomes that deduces B from A. In short, it is deterministic, like the theological version of classical physics. The complexity of human nature fits neatly into an equation of fortune that 'makes it all too easy.' 

I believe that consequences are murkier on the outcome of action because the ultimate decider of our fate is Ein Sof, and Ein Sof's logic is not so simplistic. We, for example, cannot explain why infants die at such a young age. Ein Sof must clearly know the reason. 

People once believed that the rules of mathematics and classical mechanics could be used to predict the future history of the universe with complete certainty. Quantum Mechanics (uncertainty principle, wave-particle duality, etc.) threw this 'certainty' on its head. Now it appears that the universe is more intricate and unpredictable than we could ever imagine. There is a logic there, but it is hidden behind a complex veil that I am not convinced we will ever breach. The same is true of the exact repercussions of our actions.

Navigating the Chaos - Part 4 - Why Free Will Matters.

Free Will gives us a choice. We are no longer automatons. However, a consequence of Free Will is a bad choice that can lead to pain and suffering. Free Will can also lead to a life of greater harmony. Both consequences need to be present. Otherwise, our Free Will is meaningless. Existentialism also deals with this issue but has a different basis - it argues that in a world of no innate meaning, we are free to make a choice, but we have to live with the consequences of our choice.

New Lists #3 - Options after we die.

 I have absolutely no idea. Although I figure it will be one of these ten situations.

1. We cease to exist completely in all dimensions.

2. We are recycled and reborn as humans somewhere else on Earth.

3. We join with a singularity so that our consciousness becomes one with the new medium.

4. We are reborn as a life form somewhere else in the universe.

5. We are reborn as a non-human life form on Earth.

6. We join with another consciousness and are reborn in some form or another.

7. We move into another dimension that our living conscious here on Earth cannot comprehend.

8. We ascend to the paradise described in traditional views of heaven. Never to be reborn again.

9. We are reborn in another world but keep our knowledge gained from the previous life.

10. We (or at least some of us) become 'angels' or messengers. Building new worlds across the universe that will themselves be populated by life

Scientific materialism would suggest 1. I am personally hoping for 3 or 6. They are way cooler.

Navigating the Chaos - Part 3 - Why do many People hate truth tellers?

 The problem, in the words of Jack Nicholson (taken from A Few Good Men), is that we 'cannot handle the truth.'

In order for us to function in the world, we have a tendency to create structures of coping that center around the way things ought to be, not how they are. We are all guilty of this and, in time, often turn the 'ought' into the 'is.'

This may serve us well until reality comes around to remind us of our short falling. When our deception is revealed, we are forced to re-evaluate our ingrained paradigm creating much anxiety and angst. The natural response is to prevent this re-evaluation from happening in the first place, which we implement by turning our anger.