Reflections, Ideas, and Dreams

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This Blog Has Moved!
2007-10-10 02:46:00
This is not a dead blog, but it has moved to a new location:blog.gravityatwork.comSee you there!
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Meta: Wordpress Migration
2007-10-05 20:09:00
I've decided to move this blog over to Wordpress . Some of the designs look sleeker, but mostly it will allow for a cleaner, non-proprietary comment system that doesn't require an account for non-anonymous commenting.The permanent domain for the blog will remain at blog.gravityatwork.com, and the LiveJournal will remain for archival purposes. The new blog is functional, although I'll be adding things and touching up over the weekend.
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The Gammage Cup
2007-10-04 06:15:00
As I was retrospectively thinking one day, I remembered Carol Kendall's The G ammage Cup. I first discovered this book in the fourth grade. The storytelling was fantastic, but I also remember being intrigued by some of the messages of the book--issues such as authority, conformity, and expression. I re-read the book a year later, enjoying it as much as the first time, and then it somehow ended up in a garage sale and disappeared from sight. I just finished reading the book for the third time in my life (which for me is rare for any book), confirming my suspicions that I took to heart some of the themes Kendall brought out in her novel. As children the simple fact that our view of the world is limited allows our imaginations to think of worlds that might be, to examine things we do not yet take for granted--and to laugh about the absurdity of it all. A brilliant piece of cultural satire, Kendall's novel touches some profound questions of society, religion, and being alive. This book...

Top of the Food Chain
2007-10-03 17:42:00
Sometimes I think it's easy for us to forget that we are part of a food chain. Granted, we have no predators and are therefore at the top of the food chain, but this position relies on an intricately connected system of support that allows organisms to persist. If the bottom collapses, though, the reprocusions will be felt all the way up through the top.Part of this forgetfulness stems from the change in food production with the advent of civilization. Nowadays most people have no direct role in food production as these jobs are left for a small group of farmers, breeders, and herders, and even modern farming practices--which reserve land exclusively for human use--obscure our place in the food chain. Conversely, the hunter-gatherer way of life exposed most of the tribe to the process of collecting food--in land that was shared for food by humans and other creatures--emphasizing that our food comes from living creatures, who in turn get their food from living creatures, and so on. ...
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Deadly Sins Tree
2007-10-02 06:30:00
With the chief sin, if you will, as any unrestricted pursuit in life, we can define the remaining sins and fully construct the deadly sins tree.The unrestricted pursuit of...Pride: delusionsEnvy: desireLust: sexual desireGreed: goods, for storageGluttony: goods, for consumptionSloth: nothingWrath: hatred       ;   |  ----------------  |              |  |       ---------------  |       |             |  |       |       --------------  |       |       |      &nbs p;     |  |       |       |      --------------  |       | &...
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Real Set
2007-10-01 03:17:00
We can, perhaps, define real life as a set of memories that corroborate present perception:1) Perform sufficient reality checks to ensure a waking state.2) Construct the set of all memories, from any method of perception.3) Any memory that intersects with the sets of both physical evidence and the memories of others is considered real.
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Neverending Quest
2007-09-29 22:09:00
The fulfillment of one dream is the beginning of another.Once again, ready to rock the town!
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A Reduced Set
2007-09-29 01:18:00
Minimalism expresses the complexities of simplicity.

Categorical Association
2007-09-27 22:00:00
Personal identification with a particular category--especially when concerning beliefs or lifestyle--is one of the ways we seek communal association.There is a sense of security when identifying with a community. Instead of stating their own beliefs and opinions (e.g., "recycling is good", "Shiva is supreme", "erotic pie fights are fun"), many people will cling to a collective identity that encompasses these beliefs (e.g., hippies, Hindus, pie fetishists).These communal associations are sometimes helpful but sometimes harmful. Certain associations provide real benefits of community, but others simply act as a security mechanism to keep people from feeling alone with their ideas. There is nothing inherently wrong with this (since we are, after all, social animals), but categorical association can sometimes lead to the diminishing of independent critical thought or the pigeonholing of others into categories of your own.
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Shared Knowledge
2007-09-26 23:52:00
Communities in our society are more nebulous than tribes, yet we can still gain communal knowledge from these associations. This knowledge is more than descriptions of simple facts, processes, or techniques; instead, knowledge gained from communal membership applies to the way in which we should live.Within each community, we are all continual teachers and continual learners.
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Special Cases
2007-09-26 03:33:00
The exception to the rule often draws the most attention. This extra attention, though, does not imply extra importance.Our minds often fixate upon that which requires the most attention, clouding our vision of the grander scheme.
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Sources of Knowledge
2007-09-24 23:08:00
A continuing inquiryIf we are able to find and ask the right questions, there is still no guarantee that we will expose a delusion.It is not sufficient to ask the right questions; we must also probe the proper sources of knowledge. Delusory sources of knowledge can explain away even the right questions, giving answers that circle upon itself and perpetuate the delusional tautology.
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Heresy
2007-09-22 18:16:00
Many Christians claim the Bible contains "all the answers" necessary for True spiritual growth and communion with God, but I sometimes doubt this is an actual belief.Biblical inferences that preserve the status quo are called theology, while contrasting Biblical conclusions are known as heresy. Although both theology and heresy may be derived from equally consistent patterns of reasoning within the religious framework, only one of these is considered valid in Christian circles.Often times, heresy is no more than inconvenient theology.
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An Inquiry
2007-09-22 00:05:00
If our experiences are our only certainty, then our perceptions cannot be delusional.Delusion can only exist if we adhere to a view or belief that contradicts one or more of our experiences.By continually assessing our own experiences with our perceived worldview, then, we can prevent delusion--provided we can come up with the right questions.Given this dependence on the proper line of reasoning, though, can we ever assume that we have reached a non-deluded state of mind? There is no mechanism to generate the right questions, so there is no guarantee that a delusional worldview will be shattered.

Delusion
2007-09-19 21:58:00
Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day! In keepin' wi' tradition, today's entry be brought t' ye in buccaneer speak.If we assume th' Kantian notion that our experiences be ou' only certainty, then what would we consider delusion?Delusion cannot be a discrepancy between someone else's perspective an' yours, on accoun' o' thar be nay reason t' think that th' perspective o' another be more valid than yer own. Neither can we assume that dissent from th' experiences o' th' majority be delusional, fer--although democratic reality can be useful--thar be nay reason t' reject certain perception fer th' uncertain claim o' others.Within this framework, then, delusion be only possible when ye hold a view that be inconsistent wi' th' sum o' yer experiences. Delusion be th' purposeful avoidance o' inevitable conclusions.

Find the Seed
2007-09-18 23:21:00
Mathematics: Begin with a sequence of numbers with maximum = MAX, minimum = MIN, and length = LEN. Given a random number generator with a range [MIN, MAX], find a seed that will generate the LEN numbers of the initial sequence. (I used this technique when developing the Stocalculator.)Personal History: Begin with an interest, idea, interest, outlook, passion, belief, or philosophy you currently hold. Given the history of events that have transpired in your life, find the initial event (or seed) that generated the sequence of events leading to your present state.Creating a personal history timeline is an interesting and insightful game to play. Some of these seed events can be easily identified , while others can only be confined to a range of a year or so--if at all; the complexity and inter-dependence of life's experiences can make finding initial seeds a daunting task. But it's still fun to try.
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Lifestyle
2007-09-17 06:18:00
The division between culture and religion is more nebulous than it often appears.And in many cases, cultural zeal outweighs religious zeal.
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Mirror Image
2007-09-14 20:17:00
It seems strange to think that the only interactive visual perception we have of ourselves is through a mirror. Photos and video can capture our behavior (and can be either enlightening or embarrassing to view), but we cannot interact with ourselves in these preserved media. Self-interaction via mirror is limited as well, though: you cannot converse with a mirror image, nor can you even view yourself as others see you (since the reflection you see is fixed, based on the position of your eyes). Multiple mirrors allow you to increase your visual range (such as seeing the back of your head), but these do not add much toward perceiving yourself the way others do.It seems that this experiment lends itself nicely to the dreamworld, though. Meeting oneself in dreaming life will still suffer from some limitations, but the full suite of available senses in a dream provides an advantage to the mirroring technology of the waking world. The world of dreams--especially lucid dreams--creates the ...
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Order of Operations
2007-09-14 04:19:00
The first three chapters of the Bible are often assumed to contain a single continuous creation narrative, while there are in fact two separate accounts of the creation--each with a significantly different meaning. Although I have looked at this difference before, it was not until recently that I noticed that the order of events changes between the two stories.In the Beginning (Genesis 1:1 - 2:4)Trees and vegetation (1:11-12)Fish and birds (1:20-21)Land animals (1:24-25)Humans--male and female (1:26-27)The Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:4 - 3:24)Man, out of the dust (2:7)Trees and vegetation (2:9)Land animals, out of the dust (2:19)Woman, out of a rib (2:22)As a single account, it is difficult to reconcile these differences; as separate accounts, the two stories present interestingly unique spiritual and theological perspectives. And, as another interesting point, the second account of creation has man, trees, and animals all coming from the ground--while woman alone is made from a rib. ...
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Critical Thinking
2007-09-13 05:00:00
If an idea or establishment is fundamentally flawed, then it is dangerous to ask too many unfriendly questions. Tautological dogma can be discussed endlessly but broken by a certain path of questioning.Sometimes we get stuck in circles because we are unable to come up with the right questions.
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Seeking the Sacred
2007-09-11 01:48:00
Most of our conceptions of religious expression are fundamentally based on practices that are biologically human. For instance, religious books or texts require literacy, which in turn requires the development of abstraction coupled with a language--all of which resulted from increased brain size. Congregational worship is reasonable for our species since we are biologically social creatures, and our primate hierarchies form a convenient basis for the worship of a personal God.What about other creatures, though? If squirrels, dolphins, and owls are spiritually active, how could we tell? Since most outward expressions of human religiosity are based on biologically human traits, it seems that we are largely unqualified to identify non-human spirituality by simple comparative means.Given that we do not see these obvious parallels between human and non-human spirituality, we are led to one of three conclusions:1) Spirituality is a result of intelligence (or some other uniquely human b...
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Remember the Clue (35) - Replication
2007-09-08 02:03:00
Not all good things need to be re-encountered.

Breathe
2007-09-06 22:58:00
We can neither create nor destroy energy. As a result, the Earth system and Solar System (and, of course, the Universe) are composed of a discrete system of particles that can be rearranged and perhaps transformed, but never eliminated. Inhale, and your lungs are filled a legacy of Earth's past: the air that a triceratops breathed 65 million year ago; the early remnants of the planet's atmosphere; the byproducts of photosynthesis across time and the globe; the carbon of people who live today and who lived a million years ago; dust from lunar and Martian rocks; remnants of extinct forms of life that once thrived; traces of the early Solar System, when Earth was just forming. Exhale, and release this innumerable and unfathomable history, contributing your own story to this endless cycle. The exceedingly complex interactions and couplings of the biosphere exemplify our interdependence and immersion in the community of life. This connectedness is exemplified with each and every breath...
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The Power of Our Myth
2007-09-04 20:45:00
My essay I wrote for the Pale Blue Dot III workshop was published in the August issue of the journal Astrobiology. The paper discusses the conflict that often occurs between the belief in intelligent design or creationism with the theory of evolution, particularly because the underlying story for describing both of these perspectives is sometimes similar. View a PDF of the complete article.
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Meta: Color Change
2007-08-31 09:12:00
I didn't realize how tired I was of white text on black until now. I might tweak things around a bit, but I think I'll be sticking with black text from now on.
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Hairlessness
2007-08-31 05:37:00
Awhile back I wrote an essay on the loss of hair in human evolution. There are a few plausible reasons as to why humans became naked, but there is no strong evidence to prefer any of the ideas.I wonder, though, what the impact on modern collective thought would have been if humans had not lost their hair. The theory of evolution repulsed many people because they did not want to draw a connection between humanity and animals--after all, humans were a status above the animals. Yet eventually sufficient evidence accumulated to suggest that humans indeed were closely related to the other great apes on the planet. Among the great apes, though, we physically stand out because of our nakedness. If we had retained our full coat of hair, would our perception of relationship to the animal world have been greater? Might this have been enough to avoid the idea of human-animal separation to begin with?Perhaps not--but then again, hairlessness was specifically noted when Adam was becoming fully h...
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The Surreal Life
2007-08-29 22:42:00
We explore the world and learn information through our senses; this, along with our brain's processing of this information, forms the basis for how we perceive the world. Living in the world day after day, we learn to accept certain processes, occurrences, and events as commonplace. Through this repetition, we learn what is real in the world.Exploration of the dreamworld and other altered states of consciousness provide a unique perspective on this perception of reality, though. This is not to say that the world is unreal, but rather that our perception of the world is strictly limited by our sensory input devices. The dreamworld is just as real to our minds as waking life, since dreams contain the same type of visual, auditory, and tactile sensations to our minds.Dream experiences are generally considered "less real" than waking experiences, perhaps because in waking life others can corroborate and share our experiences, thus confirming the reality. Yet it is difficult to argue fo...
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Deadly Sins: Lust
2007-08-27 23:13:00
Greed and gluttony seem to share similar qualities with each other. This weekend Erin Dawood pointed out to me that lust also falls into this broader category. We can define lust in a general sense as "the unrestricted pursuit of sexual desire". The sin of lust, then, follows the same pattern as greed and gluttony: excessive or unrestricted action is itself the base sin, whether this be the storage of goods (greed), the consumption of goods (gluttony) or sexual desire (lust).It seems reasonable to me that all seven of the deadly sins could follow a similar pattern. Greed and gluttony are more similar to each other than to lust, since they deal with the acquisition of goods, so we can describe the seven sins with a tree structure. As I think through the remaining three sins (wrath, sloth, and envy) I'll build up the tree until we have a complete relation of the seven sins--and we can see which of the sins takes its place at the root of the tree.       &n...
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Storytelling
2007-08-27 05:25:00
We are hardly the most important, significant, or successful species on the planet. Even the most triumphant of human achievements is diminished in the context of life's history on Earth. Our achievements as a species are part of what makes us unique--as can be said for every other species--but these do nothing in our self-designation as the dominant form of life on the planet.Instead, we are the storytellers of the world. As humans we explore, investigate, and think, creating memories to form stories of ourselves, each other, and our world. We cannot consider ourselves superior or inferior in the community of life, but we should certainly acknowledge that thus far we are the only species endowed with this special gift of storytelling. We do not tell stories simply because we can; rather, we tell stories because it is part of who we are.
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Mythic Perspective
2007-08-22 20:18:00
The past is fleeting, and the future is looming. Eternity is here and now.Passed my master's defense today!
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