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Beautiful Quotes
I have a respect for beer
Nash: Hello Martin
Martin: Jesus Christ
Nash: No. I don't have that one. My savior complex takes a different form.
Classes will dull your mind; destroy the potential for authentic creativity.
I've made the most important discovery of my life. It's only in the mysterious equation of love that any logical reasons can be found. I'm only here tonight because of you. You are the only reason I am... you are all my reasons.
Dr. Rosen: You can't reason your way out of this!
Nash: Why not? Why can't I?
Dr. Rosen: Because your mind is where the problem is in the first place!
The real John Nash
The Movie "A Beautiful Mind"
Other Ronlawhouston
What is God?
Rowism
Seeking vs. Believing
Releasing Your Cows
Forrest the Savior
Council of the Streams
Ron Almighty
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| Church SecrecyIt seems to me that if you have a religion and you claim that your religion is "true" then you don't need the keep secrets. If God is on your side, then why do you need to keep things secret? Won't God take care of things?
One common means the cult leaders use to control their followers is to control the flow of information. If you have a secret handbook that only the top leaders share, then you don't have to worry about the rank and file getting upset over what's in your secret handbook.
It appears that the LDS church feels that it needs to keep secrets. When it's confidential handbook for church leaders was leaked, they lawyered up and decided to threaten those who posted the material. They were successful in bullying the site Scribd.com. However, they've been unsuccessful in bullying WikiLeaks.
If you're interested, here's the WikiLeaks page and here's the Slashdot article about the dispute.
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| IOne simple letter. However, it is a philosophical mind field. Is there really an "I"? If you're a Buddhist (which is probably the closest definition of my mind state), then the answer is "no." In Buddhism, nothing is really solid. Everything in life is fluid. Everything is impermanent and is in a constant state of flux.
In Buddhism, "I" is simply a created construct. My perceptions create this sense of being that I then call "I." There is no "I" apart from my perceptions of what is "I."
This is actually one of the subtle beauties of Buddhism. Since no real "I" exists, then there should be no attachment to this whole concept of "I." If there is no "I" then who can be offended? Can there really be any problem with something that conflicts with this created sense of "I"? Decartes would say, "I think therefore I am." However the Buddhist would counter with "who is the one that thinks?" There maybe thoughts, but there is no thinker. Similarly if there is no "I" then there is no "me" to be offended by things that occur around me.
In a way, it's a subtle but profound shift. Can you offend me? No, because there is no "me" to be offended.
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| Reflections of an Old FartI spent part of this weekend digitizing some of my old CD's. It seems that it's just too hard to avoid any scratches on my CD's and I want to back them up before they become unreadable. Besides, I might spring for one of those fancy MP3 players. Zune or Ipod? Hmm, decisions, decisions.
Music is simply powerful. There is nothing that can trigger you like music. So, it was interesting to listen to songs from my past. Of course, the most intense songs were associated with times and or people in my life that seemed particularly important. What's particularly interesting to me now, is how those periods, while emotional, now don't really amount to much. At the time, those songs were associated with what seemed quite intense periods of my life. Now I look back and see that those times didn't matter much.
In a way, it's like we create our own drama. We make important those things that we want while minimizing other things that perhaps are in the long run more important. When you add to this drama the whole intensity caused by the biochemistry of love, you have the makings for a serious melodrama.
I don't say this to minimize the worth of the beautiful people who have crossed my paths. I can say this even for my first wife. As I look back, I can see what attracted me. However, the fact that I'm glad she's no longer a significant part of my life shows just how so many things that seem important at the time often end up either not so important or completely irrelevant later on.
In summary, it drives home a Zen like paradox, people and things are important, yet they are not. Each person added something to the tapestry that is my life. In that way, they were important. However, for my life right now, they are unimportant.
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| Determinism, Free Will, and OCDIf Descartes had been OCD, he'd likely have said:
I Think, therefore I Wash.
This got me thinking on the whole issue of free will versus determinism. To an extent, the OCD sufferer's washing is determined by their having a biological condition. So, to an extent OCD validates determinism. The OCD sufferer has been biologically determined to feel the need to wash.
However, OCD really makes the case for compatabilism where free will and determinism are not viewed as mutually exclusive propositions. While the OCD sufferer may be biologically determined to wash, they also can break that cause and effect relationship. They can just through shear will decide that they are not gong to wash.
Which made me further wonder - what if Eve had some obsession over apples? Would that undermine the theological basis for free will?
Hmm, I wonder.
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| OCDIf you've ever watched The Aviator, you've seen the effects of untreated OCD or obsessive compulsive disorder. Now I believe that like a lot of disorders such as autism and attention-deficit disorder, OCD exists on a spectrum. Here's some examples I've seen. I know a guy who compulsively organizes everything at his desk. If anyone sits at his desk he can immediately tell because something will be out of place. Is this guy OCD? Maybe not, but he certainly exhibits some very OCD traits. I know a lot of people who obsess quite a bit about germs. They don't have to go to the bathroom 15 times a day to wash their hands, but they clearly have the OCD trait of compulsive thoughts about germs.
My wife had a coworker who was full blown OCD. Her office was on the same hallway as the bathroom and she'd see her coworker heading to the bathroom many times during the day to wash his hands. He also suffered from horribly dry and cracked hands from too much washing.
What I don't understand about a lot of OCD people is that they either lack understanding of their condition or don't know that there are effective treatments for this condition. Why suffer from intrusive thoughts, cracked hands, and a whole lot of uneasy feeling when you can get effective treatment? It's even more puzzling when you see people medicate their OCD with the wrong substances. Many people with OCD turn to alcohol or drugs to escape the continued intrusive thoughts of their minds.
In a way, I do really appreciate OCD people. They're actually quite funny in their obsessiveness. It's also fun to sometimes jack with them. A simple, "yuck, did you see how dirty that was?" is enough to send most OCD persons off on their sanitizing rituals.
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