Evil in the World Today
The virtue of selfishness presupposes the existence of a self. Julian Jaynes posited that the development of writing enable the creation of interior "voice." In the _Iliad_ warriors spoke to each other of being told by gods or spirits to act. But in the Odyssey, our hero is called "clever" because he is a "liar" who keeps his true motives to himself. As late at the 15th century CE, Joan of Arc thought that she "heard voices" never identifying her motivation as internal. Even today, millions of people have no voice in their heads. They routinize actions from imitation, but have no internal motivation. They have no internal experience.
(Reuters) - So you say all you want to do is to take a few minutes to sit down and think without anyone or anything bugging you? Maybe that is true. But you might be in the minority.
A U.S. study published on Thursday showed that most volunteers who were asked to spend no more than 15 minutes alone in a room doing nothing but sitting and thinking found the task onerous.
"Many people find it difficult to use their own minds to entertain themselves, at least when asked to do it on the spot," said University of Virginia psychology professor Timothy Wilson, who led the study appearing in the journal Science.
Researchers then had adult and college student volunteers do the same thing in their homes, and got the same results. In addition, a third of volunteers cheated by doing things like using a cellphone or listening to music.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/0...
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA report on the study here:
http://news.virginia.edu/content/doing-s...
(Reuters) - So you say all you want to do is to take a few minutes to sit down and think without anyone or anything bugging you? Maybe that is true. But you might be in the minority.
A U.S. study published on Thursday showed that most volunteers who were asked to spend no more than 15 minutes alone in a room doing nothing but sitting and thinking found the task onerous.
"Many people find it difficult to use their own minds to entertain themselves, at least when asked to do it on the spot," said University of Virginia psychology professor Timothy Wilson, who led the study appearing in the journal Science.
Researchers then had adult and college student volunteers do the same thing in their homes, and got the same results. In addition, a third of volunteers cheated by doing things like using a cellphone or listening to music.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/0...
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA report on the study here:
http://news.virginia.edu/content/doing-s...
little tour trains and a lighthouse and evvathang!!! -- j
and it's gooooooood! (like Jeff Dun-ham's "peanut")
I recommend it!!! -- j
p.s. it's just filtered city water, now, after the PC
folks got ahold of 'em.
the rest ... of the sto,,,rey! -- j
1) Illuminate, learn, and teach
2) Obfuscate, attack and destroy.
Instead of discussing the ideas of one of humanity's greatest minds as to the intellectual development of children, you fall back on the time- worn technique of obfuscation by misdirection. By your argument, no one can discuss Jesus unless fluent in Aramaic or Aristotle in ancient Greek.
Moreover, I believe that individuality is inherent and not everyone does the same thing in the same way.
Translation from concept to word format occurs seemingly without effort, as language is so ingrained and practiced within me...but when I ponder deeply on something, I always revert to the super-efficient and naturally direct venue of concept.
"Maybe, the fountain of youth isn't a fountain at all. Maybe, it's a way of looking at things - a way of thinking."
Keep thinking. Stay young!
Technology is merely a tool that the human mind can use, like any other tool, to enhance our understanding of the universe. Those who allow their mind to atrophy by continuing a passive existence instead of interacting proactively with the universe have merely chosen a specific means by which to sequester themselves - but they would have done so nonetheless. Drugs, alcohol, TV, video-games; they all provide a means of escape. It is more that we don't have to provide more for ourselves that allows us to disconnect from the universe. It wasn't merely the lack of TV and video games that caused those in the US western frontier to be engaged - they had to in order to survive. Today, one doesn't need to hunt for one's food, skin an animal or pick one's own cotton to make clothing, etc.
Hope you had the happiest of days and have many more to come!
To be compared to Paul Harvey? That is quite a compliment. Thank you. If I needed a resume, I would include that in it.
been hospitalized for eating too much fast food (low
magnesium), sold my '71 harley fx, bought two more
bikes, a harley and an old honda ('65 dream), and
now I'm working on wearing out a subaru baja! -- j
p.s. Keep Up The Good Work, gee-eye!!! ... and
remember the fellow who skidded in sideways,
yelling, "Yee-Haaaa, Whatta Ride!"
limited by it and enabled by it ... and at 65, I have
found that I have driven parts of it -- like my lungs
and my legs -- too hard. they are nearing the end
of their service lives. makes me love advances in
bio-mechanical and stem-cell research!!! -- j
somewhere which made me adore your contributions
here -- the seasoning of a radio listener who knows
how to think through things gently, letting them flower
as they will. like Paul Harvey, the prince of pause,
radio involves phrasing during which there is time
for the imagination to flourish. tv and the current
overstimulated world lacks this phrasing, in my
humble opinion ... -- j
drawings which freeze the ideas on paper, for
further thought and, maybe, action!!! -- j
after reading through the gulch musings here ... and
the movie reported that Edison tested 9,000 different
filaments before finding that carbon-filled, baked
sewing thread would work. for awhile.
but pursuing this specific goal with such persistence
implied that he had a vision which convinced him
that it was worthwhile. and the idea of enclosing
the filament in a vacuum came to him separately,
as he worked on filaments, the movie said.
for me, my little inventions have come from self-
guided mental lists like your yellow pad lists -- it's
a well-proven group problem-solving technique
which involves listing all of the brainstormed ideas
and gradually letting them lead to a solution.
these measures keep me from going negative,
like Mike implies with the title of this post!!! -- j
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