Saturday material
Feb. 5th, 2006 01:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradeptA well-inspired bit from one of the many on the friends list has gotten me thinking about what I really believe in, or think I do.
I believe in gods, angels, and the creatures of the aether and astral, as many as you can think of and more. I believe they are useful representations of the forces that we wish to bring to ourselves and the forces we wish to avoid. I find them useful as support, in thinking that a bigger, smarter, wiser, etc. entity than myself will take an interest or lend some confidence and strength to me to accomplish tasks, be they big or small, when I want or need to. They are a crutch and a facilitator. I do not think I will ever stop believing in them.
I believe that the process of evolution is quite valid. I also believe that evolution could have been an intelligent designer's way of leaving his mark. Until prover one way or another, I believe these two things are not incompatible. I do not, however, believe in teaching nonscientific things in science curricula. They are best left to the philosophies and regions from whence they come.
I believe in fragments of reality and the ability of the human mind to construct them. I do believe that everyone sees with their own bias, through their own lens, no matter how unbiased they are. Much like prescriptions, I believe that biases have varying strengths depending on both person and topic. I believe that reality interactions are grounded on what two interactors are willing to accept as real. (A note on that - the interactions between cells may form a consensus reality regardless of what the consciousness thinks is real or not. So disbelieving in venomous snakes doesn't mean you won't still be suffering the effects of one if you're bitten.) I think that most conflicts are a result of one or both parties being unable to accept the terms of consensus offered. I find that if one can see with the lens of another, it becomes easier to find a consensus acceptable to both.
I believe in the ability of the human mind to create autonomous agents inside itself, whether the source of those agents is from other parts of the mind in creative exercises, or the adaptation of another's creative exercise to one's own mind. I do not find this strange - what I do find strange is that this function is considered to be strictly the domain of children. Adults, the "grown up" are supposed to have abandoned that function, and I think it makes many people less than what they were when they do so. I think the world needs more creativity and less critique.
I am biologically a human male. I am confused easily by the machinations of my own and the other biological sex. I believe that what a person does with their biological apparati is strictly their decision. I find it lamentable that there are people who are unwilling to concede this point, and take it upon themselves to enforce their views on other people. I'm not entirely sure that this problem will resolve. I do not believe in the inherent superiority of any one race, class, or gender. At least, not until the transhuman revolution, at which point I may either be forced to recant, or willingly retract this statement to promote Draco uber alles. I will probably not need to modify that statement in my lifetime.
Probability dictates that we consider the idea of sentient life existing on a place other than Gaea. I believe that the probability of non-Gaean sentient life is quite high. I hope that first contacts are made with a peaceful race, and that they can teach humanity how to be peaceful as well. I also believe in the existence of universes and realms where our decisions were different and our outcomes changed. I think that if this turns out to be true, we will harness the ability to move through those various dimensions, and likely through our own temporality.
I believe in an afterlife, and that for the majority of the "soul"'s existence, the afterlife is merely a debriefing and preparation for the next incarnation into this universe. Perhaps at the point when the "soul" completes its lessons and has refined itself to the celestially nth degree, that reincarnation will cease. Perhaps, then, the "soul" recreates the universe of its origin and starts the process all over again...
These beliefs are subject to change without notice, warning, or disclaimer. As one sentient on a world of nearly six and one-half billion similar sentients of my species, the countless other sentients on this world, and then the possible sentients on other worlds in this universe, the probability of my being correct in all aspects of the universe is infinitesimally small. Not only can I be wrong, I probably am.
There's also other things for this entry. Like Roseanne Barr, puppets, and singing . Frightening. (Remember, it's also in my nature to put the serious and the silly together and see who makes sense out of it.) Although something that could be magnitude scarier is the teacher who caught flak for trying to introduce her first, second, and third graders to opera - admittedly, the video uses 'Faust' as the point of discussion. Thinking about what they could see on network television, however, Faust is tame. Still, I find this article reinforces the theory that many parents do not want the school system to provide an education. Rather, they wish it to be a holding space for children where ideas are not challenged and prevailing assumptions are not discussed as assumptions, but rather as facts. If it seems a bit harsh, it's because the schooling systems are not being used as they could be - there are other factors than parents impeding the educational process, yes, but schools already have enough difficulty as it is. Adding to their complications is not a recipe for success.
There are also these grit-your-teeth-and-snarl sorts of pieces, like keeping civil liberties positions vacant in the American government, combined with increased domestic surveillance. And for as much as we're wrangling over free speech and the Internet here, our corporations aren't really putting up much of a fight elsewhere. (Such things from Fox, of all places. Should I be surprised?) Another nice thing - as we find out, it's pretty easy to track someone's phone as a private citizen. Speaking of spying on people, it appears that quite a few of the people being spied on by the President are, well, innocent. Not so good when the expanded network doesn't catch anyone...
But there's better stuff, too, like the wand. The story's pretty nice, the ending is spot on, really. There's also a piece about making skeptics into better skeptics by getting them to research the things they're skeptical about scientifically. If that didn't make sense, try these painted-room illusions instead.
I believe in gods, angels, and the creatures of the aether and astral, as many as you can think of and more. I believe they are useful representations of the forces that we wish to bring to ourselves and the forces we wish to avoid. I find them useful as support, in thinking that a bigger, smarter, wiser, etc. entity than myself will take an interest or lend some confidence and strength to me to accomplish tasks, be they big or small, when I want or need to. They are a crutch and a facilitator. I do not think I will ever stop believing in them.
I believe that the process of evolution is quite valid. I also believe that evolution could have been an intelligent designer's way of leaving his mark. Until prover one way or another, I believe these two things are not incompatible. I do not, however, believe in teaching nonscientific things in science curricula. They are best left to the philosophies and regions from whence they come.
I believe in fragments of reality and the ability of the human mind to construct them. I do believe that everyone sees with their own bias, through their own lens, no matter how unbiased they are. Much like prescriptions, I believe that biases have varying strengths depending on both person and topic. I believe that reality interactions are grounded on what two interactors are willing to accept as real. (A note on that - the interactions between cells may form a consensus reality regardless of what the consciousness thinks is real or not. So disbelieving in venomous snakes doesn't mean you won't still be suffering the effects of one if you're bitten.) I think that most conflicts are a result of one or both parties being unable to accept the terms of consensus offered. I find that if one can see with the lens of another, it becomes easier to find a consensus acceptable to both.
I believe in the ability of the human mind to create autonomous agents inside itself, whether the source of those agents is from other parts of the mind in creative exercises, or the adaptation of another's creative exercise to one's own mind. I do not find this strange - what I do find strange is that this function is considered to be strictly the domain of children. Adults, the "grown up" are supposed to have abandoned that function, and I think it makes many people less than what they were when they do so. I think the world needs more creativity and less critique.
I am biologically a human male. I am confused easily by the machinations of my own and the other biological sex. I believe that what a person does with their biological apparati is strictly their decision. I find it lamentable that there are people who are unwilling to concede this point, and take it upon themselves to enforce their views on other people. I'm not entirely sure that this problem will resolve. I do not believe in the inherent superiority of any one race, class, or gender. At least, not until the transhuman revolution, at which point I may either be forced to recant, or willingly retract this statement to promote Draco uber alles. I will probably not need to modify that statement in my lifetime.
Probability dictates that we consider the idea of sentient life existing on a place other than Gaea. I believe that the probability of non-Gaean sentient life is quite high. I hope that first contacts are made with a peaceful race, and that they can teach humanity how to be peaceful as well. I also believe in the existence of universes and realms where our decisions were different and our outcomes changed. I think that if this turns out to be true, we will harness the ability to move through those various dimensions, and likely through our own temporality.
I believe in an afterlife, and that for the majority of the "soul"'s existence, the afterlife is merely a debriefing and preparation for the next incarnation into this universe. Perhaps at the point when the "soul" completes its lessons and has refined itself to the celestially nth degree, that reincarnation will cease. Perhaps, then, the "soul" recreates the universe of its origin and starts the process all over again...
These beliefs are subject to change without notice, warning, or disclaimer. As one sentient on a world of nearly six and one-half billion similar sentients of my species, the countless other sentients on this world, and then the possible sentients on other worlds in this universe, the probability of my being correct in all aspects of the universe is infinitesimally small. Not only can I be wrong, I probably am.
There's also other things for this entry. Like Roseanne Barr, puppets, and singing . Frightening. (Remember, it's also in my nature to put the serious and the silly together and see who makes sense out of it.) Although something that could be magnitude scarier is the teacher who caught flak for trying to introduce her first, second, and third graders to opera - admittedly, the video uses 'Faust' as the point of discussion. Thinking about what they could see on network television, however, Faust is tame. Still, I find this article reinforces the theory that many parents do not want the school system to provide an education. Rather, they wish it to be a holding space for children where ideas are not challenged and prevailing assumptions are not discussed as assumptions, but rather as facts. If it seems a bit harsh, it's because the schooling systems are not being used as they could be - there are other factors than parents impeding the educational process, yes, but schools already have enough difficulty as it is. Adding to their complications is not a recipe for success.
There are also these grit-your-teeth-and-snarl sorts of pieces, like keeping civil liberties positions vacant in the American government, combined with increased domestic surveillance. And for as much as we're wrangling over free speech and the Internet here, our corporations aren't really putting up much of a fight elsewhere. (Such things from Fox, of all places. Should I be surprised?) Another nice thing - as we find out, it's pretty easy to track someone's phone as a private citizen. Speaking of spying on people, it appears that quite a few of the people being spied on by the President are, well, innocent. Not so good when the expanded network doesn't catch anyone...
But there's better stuff, too, like the wand. The story's pretty nice, the ending is spot on, really. There's also a piece about making skeptics into better skeptics by getting them to research the things they're skeptical about scientifically. If that didn't make sense, try these painted-room illusions instead.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Yeesh
Date: 2006-02-05 01:53 pm (UTC)Now the only thing the teachers in Florida are concerned with, or allowed to teach, is how to pass the FCAT test. It's like nothing else matters. and frankly, that pisses me off.
Re: Yeesh
Date: 2006-02-05 02:42 pm (UTC)State standardized testing is no friend of mine, period. Twice in middle school and once more in high school was I subjected to such things - and I laughed at their simplicity. And then I hear that there is a very high failure rate on them, even with the instructors being told to teach to the test and nothing else. That makes me wonder what's going on in the school system.
Re: Yeesh
Date: 2006-02-05 03:15 pm (UTC)