Topic Tuesday #167 2015/09/29 "Willful Ignorance"

Topic Tuesday #167 2015/09/29 "Willful Ignorance"

Today I was planning on discussing Planned Parenthood being on the chopping block and why losing them would be a very bad thing. I also had the fall back that today is National Coffee day or some such made up holiday that gives us an excuse to have another cup of java. Alas, no, I was confronted with willful ignorance and it will not let go of my mind.  

I am, by my nature and practice, a skeptic; this is really nothing more than confirming that what I know is true through lines of serious questioning.  Because of this self evaluation, and internal consistency with reality, I have a real issue with those that refuse to incorporate facts into their worldview. For example, all I need to change my mind about something is convincing evidence. If someone finds that they will hold onto a concept even after evidence to the contrary is presented, and I mean irrefutable evidence... Then that person is just being willfully ignorant of reality. 

If you were considering that it may be alright to allow someone to languish in their irrationality, I beg to differ. There are consequences to believing things that are demonstrably false. In this day and age we don't have to look very far to see a prime example of this in the debates around the science of evolution and the consensus around climate change. These two items are hotly contested and frankly shouldn't be. This is nothing more than putting your fingers in your ears and saying, "I can't hear you!" The results are clear. The science is sound. To deny it is not to be skeptical, it is to be willfully ignorant of reality. 

Maybe it is just a pet peeve of mine... Perhaps I am being irrational about it. But you see... there I go entertaining the idea that I can be wrong and maybe I should change my view. I'm open to being wrong. I welcome change; there are many things I wish I was wrong about.  But one thing that I have yet to have a good argument for, is why being willfully ignorant could possibly be a good idea given how many strikes it has against it.

Topic Tuesday #149 2015/05/26 "Expectations"

Topic Tuesday #149 2015/05/26 "Expectations"

Look, I was promised flying cars and moon bases, okay..? I have a thing or two to say about expectations versus reality (as does everyone currently alive), but as I like to have a special relationship with reality by respecting it exists, I have lowered my aspirations to meet it. 

Recently a friend has had a run in with the intersection of reality and expectations at the crossroads where they diverge. It's hard on him to square this new aspect of reality to his pre-existing one. This is leading to a great deal of existential angst. I completely understand how it can be painful as I would wager we have all been disillusioned, of certain notions or had our noses rubbed in an unpleasant reality, from time to time. Be that as it may, reality doesn't care what we think of it. The universe, for all its wonders, is apathetic to its inhabitants. That quantum foam and fundamental forces don't care about what they look like on a macro scale is humbling. 

Long ago (in a galaxy not so far away), this revelation hit me pretty hard; it had ramifications and implications that my little mind had to grow to accept. This is my story and your milage may vary. I had to accept that there wasn't a guiding force behind me. That beyond my tribe, no one was going to care if I lived or died, succeeded or failed, lived up to expectations - or not. I was pretty much on my own in this big uncaring universe. It was up to me to be remembered or time would certainly forget me. The old saying goes, "Make hay while the sun shines." That seems appropriate a metaphor for life spent making legacies.  

Now, let's be plain, I care a great deal about what my friends and whatever they are going through. My path is my own and I can not profess any special knowledge as to how all this works, only what I have found works for me. If you find that spirituality, religion, mysticism, folk remedies, chakra alignment of your subluxation energy aura something or other, works for you - That's grand! HOWEVER - I have a request. Please make sure your views have a strong basis in reality. Believe as many factual things and as few false things as possible. You are less likely to suffer the heartache of realizing that Santa is not going to bring your flying car so you can spend Christmas on the Moon, and more likely to build it yourself.

Topic Tuesday #119 2014/10/28 "Perception As Reality"

Topic Tuesday #119 2014/10/28 "Perception As Reality"

We are amazing. Seriously. Think about your reality. What are you? No matter what your ultimate belief your reality is a marvel. Check this out, and bear with me. 

In the macroscopic view our solar system is orbiting the center of a galaxy that is also spinning around a galactic center. Inside our own star system, our relatively small planet has a thin atmosphere of various gasses and trace minerals. The biosphere that supports the only known life in the universe at this time, is equivalent to the skin of an apple. That peel is just as thick. Below that, it's too hot, perhaps for all but the most extreme forms of life. Above that, there are no nutrients to support life, as we know it. As we continue to draw closer to our own existence in between the "Macro" and the "Micro",  as we exist on what amounts to be a biological spaceship, we are little more than biological robots. I know that sounds odd, but it is a mater of perception. We only experience life through an interpretation of our senses. Sight is processed by our brains, and then interpreted and given meaning by our collected experiences. The same as our other sensations. If we stub our toe on a coffee table in the dark, though it may seem instantaneous, our nervous system still has a speed limit. The strike takes time to make its merry way along our cells to our brains to then be interpreted as "Pain" and then our brains react and send the response back to our motor neurons to yank your foot away from the offending furniture, and begin our slapstick dance around the room while stifling an expletive.

Everything you always wanted to know about sex by Woody Allen

Our consciousness is the captain of a biological spaceship navigating middle earth and middle management. Neuroscience and biology have settled on (for the moment) that consciousness is an emerging property of our brain's architecture. If we alter our neuro-chemistry, our reality changes. LSD, PCP, Marijuana, Peyote, Caffeine, Oxygen Deprivation, Sedatives, Uppers, Opiates, Love, Genetics, Brain Damage... All these things and more change our perception of reality.  In the end, we are only as effective as our information, and all we are is the information we obtain from our senses. Our interpretation of the data is our reactions and feelings and thoughts, and everything that we represent, all that we are.

I like to make an attempt to believe as many true things and as few wrong things as possible. To do that, I have to question reality, and in turn, my perceptions. In this respect, I am ever changeable and changing. I will change my mind based on new input, both good and bad. I hope that everyone does. Keep learning. Keep questioning. Never give up. Keep your hailing frequencies open.

Helm, all ahead full, and watch out for that coffee table.