Heres something to think about
How much of your experience is reality based? and how much is imagination based?
I have to clarify a bit here, I'm using the word imagination as "anything that the brain adds onto your interaction with the world"
To me....It seems that >95% of what we experience is purely in our heads. What would we expect to be the result of this?
A huge variety of ways of living life, belief systems, cultures, traditions. Only tempered by one set of ideas an beliefs dominanting another set into oblivion.
It means in many situations just by changing ones perception of a situation changes the entire experience of that situation.
It means we have to work really really hard to workout what is real.
It means reality is often less interesting than what we can imagine.
It means our experience of life is very controllable. By our selves or others.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
meta blog creation
Over the weekend (being disconnected to the net) I sat down and started writing some blogs, then found I came up with lots of blog entries in lots of of different subject area but they all kind of tie into a theme of perhaps "atheist wisdom". Either way, I have quite a few blogs planned and I'm really enjoying fleshing some of them out a bit more. I have no idea whos really reading any of it (only a few people at this stage) but its really just place to write down various idle thoughts I've had over time. Anyways, if you do see anything that you think is wrong, do comment. Also I am noticing Im wanting to highlight technical ideas without exploring the technical parts so much, just trying to pick out the possible implications and what it might mean about the nature of things. Anyone find any of my blogs interesting from this poin of view should do their own investigation into the idea. Also, if anyone has any technical, philosophical or scientific concept they really dont get....or just simple want an overview.....just drop a comment and i'd be a happy to explore it more.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Offence as a tool of deconstruction
I was listening to the greenroom tonight (a christian radio talk back show hosted by frank whose blog is linked to at the side "a servants thoughts") and the discussion was on being offended in light of recent world events with muslim cartoons and south park etc.
I think one of the good uses of offence is deconstruction. Quite often offecnce is used when people want other people to re-evaluate their perception on certain things. Usually on emotionally charged issues. A lot of the satire we are seeing these days is a secular / atheist view on various religions. The offence is often intended to try and point out what they see is absurd about a particular groups beliefs. I dont think this is a bad thing, but it does need to be balanced with a broad spectrum of views. Offfensive material may just cause someone to re-evaluate their view on things.
and just for the record, I think south park is a fantastic show and I personally find it really funny. Though, for offensive things that make even me start to ponder if we stepped over a line... have a look at www.tshirthell.com there are some really edgy t-shirts in there. Mostly I find them funny in a "conceptually" funny way. I dont think Im so comfortable with the idea of someone wearing them in places where people would get upset.
I think one of the good uses of offence is deconstruction. Quite often offecnce is used when people want other people to re-evaluate their perception on certain things. Usually on emotionally charged issues. A lot of the satire we are seeing these days is a secular / atheist view on various religions. The offence is often intended to try and point out what they see is absurd about a particular groups beliefs. I dont think this is a bad thing, but it does need to be balanced with a broad spectrum of views. Offfensive material may just cause someone to re-evaluate their view on things.
and just for the record, I think south park is a fantastic show and I personally find it really funny. Though, for offensive things that make even me start to ponder if we stepped over a line... have a look at www.tshirthell.com there are some really edgy t-shirts in there. Mostly I find them funny in a "conceptually" funny way. I dont think Im so comfortable with the idea of someone wearing them in places where people would get upset.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Are Catholics Stupid?
South park has mocked both jesus and god many many times, but now south park mocks mary they get really upset??? Whats up with that?
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Finely Tuned Universe?
Since I touched on it in a previous post...
One of the interesting arguments for a god is based around the physical constants of the universe (such as the speed of light, or nuclear forces). It is argued that these physical constants are incredibly finely tuned and that if they varied even a little bit then this universe couldn't of created life. Which everyone generally argees on. Basically the odds of the universe being created as it is is *incredibly* tiny. So the argument is that a creator is needed to set this universe in motion. The counter argument is that there are many equally plausable ways the universe could come into being (infinite universes being one). Basically you can argue either which way. Though it is odd arguing which thing is more probable for an incredibly improbable thing in the first place. Personally I'm quite happy to say we dont really know enough about the origin of the universe to even have sensible arugments about it yet. (though it can be fun arguing the possibilities)
One of the interesting arguments for a god is based around the physical constants of the universe (such as the speed of light, or nuclear forces). It is argued that these physical constants are incredibly finely tuned and that if they varied even a little bit then this universe couldn't of created life. Which everyone generally argees on. Basically the odds of the universe being created as it is is *incredibly* tiny. So the argument is that a creator is needed to set this universe in motion. The counter argument is that there are many equally plausable ways the universe could come into being (infinite universes being one). Basically you can argue either which way. Though it is odd arguing which thing is more probable for an incredibly improbable thing in the first place. Personally I'm quite happy to say we dont really know enough about the origin of the universe to even have sensible arugments about it yet. (though it can be fun arguing the possibilities)
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Taoist Formula for Truth
The following is essentially the introduction to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (circa 6 BC)
The "Tao" is too great to be described by the name "Tao".If it could be named so simply, it would not be the eternal Tao.
Heaven and Earth began from the nameless (Tao),but the multitudes of things around us were created by names.
We desire to understand the world by giving names to the things we see,but these things are only the effects of something subtle.
When we see beyond the desire to use names,we can sense the nameless cause of these effects.
The cause and the effects are aspects of the same, one thing.They are both mysterious and profound.At their most mysterious and profound point lies the "Gate of the Great Truth".
So here we have the idea of the great unknown, the undefinable "Tao" within all things exist. And those things can be reasoned and rationalised about since we can name them. But it also gives the warning that we shouldnt get too distracted by the names and look for a deeper nature of everythings connection with the greater flow of the nameless. While there is no specific god in Taoism, the Tao has interesting god like qualities in that everything comes from something and that everything in its nature is fundamentally linked to what it comes from. The danger we as humans suffer is wishing to name and rationalise the things around us while missing the underlying nature of everything. If we can Deconstruct (I'll waffle about this another time) our current expereiences then perhaps we can see the "Gate of Great Truth". Sadly, despite the tittle of my blog, there isnt a formula for this. But you must engage the Tao in all things to exist in harmony with it. The principle being in all this is that we need to dig, analyse, and explore that which it exists, challenge it, see if it has a deeper nature. If we can learn and harmonise with the deeper nature of things I think possibly life shows its true nature. Though I think there are many paths you can walk on for this journey, and most mainstream paths have some well beaten tracks that try to lead people to find the "meaning of life". Its the wisdom in these different approaches to "life" that Im keen to extract and incorporate into a possibly more secular life.
The "Tao" is too great to be described by the name "Tao".If it could be named so simply, it would not be the eternal Tao.
Heaven and Earth began from the nameless (Tao),but the multitudes of things around us were created by names.
We desire to understand the world by giving names to the things we see,but these things are only the effects of something subtle.
When we see beyond the desire to use names,we can sense the nameless cause of these effects.
The cause and the effects are aspects of the same, one thing.They are both mysterious and profound.At their most mysterious and profound point lies the "Gate of the Great Truth".
So here we have the idea of the great unknown, the undefinable "Tao" within all things exist. And those things can be reasoned and rationalised about since we can name them. But it also gives the warning that we shouldnt get too distracted by the names and look for a deeper nature of everythings connection with the greater flow of the nameless. While there is no specific god in Taoism, the Tao has interesting god like qualities in that everything comes from something and that everything in its nature is fundamentally linked to what it comes from. The danger we as humans suffer is wishing to name and rationalise the things around us while missing the underlying nature of everything. If we can Deconstruct (I'll waffle about this another time) our current expereiences then perhaps we can see the "Gate of Great Truth". Sadly, despite the tittle of my blog, there isnt a formula for this. But you must engage the Tao in all things to exist in harmony with it. The principle being in all this is that we need to dig, analyse, and explore that which it exists, challenge it, see if it has a deeper nature. If we can learn and harmonise with the deeper nature of things I think possibly life shows its true nature. Though I think there are many paths you can walk on for this journey, and most mainstream paths have some well beaten tracks that try to lead people to find the "meaning of life". Its the wisdom in these different approaches to "life" that Im keen to extract and incorporate into a possibly more secular life.
Semi Inteligent Design
I've recently been wading through some of the "Intelligent Design" (ID) stuff. It strikes me that a lot of it pre supposes that evoloution is "anti god". Which is not exactly true. Evoloution does reduce the need to have a god to explain why things are the way they are but it dosn't necessarily negate the existence of a god. How this universe came into existence and how it got set in motion with a finely balanced set of physical constants and laws is a bit of a mystery. Theres plenty of room for a God to explain this (as there is room for non god explanations). But it is interesting to note that since the start of the universe that there is not really a need for a God to be involved. However it is also interesting to consider this in the light of my previous blog about time. Time is relative. Our perception of billions and billions of years simply dosnt exist for things like light which experiences no time passing at all. There is also a lot of weirder stuff happening at a subatomic level. So the nature of a God and how it would be intertwined with this universe could be entirely beyond the bizzare!
Think about this for a second, think how truly odd this is
Einsteins special theory of relativity says that for every observer, the speed of light stays the same. The laws of physics is the same for any given observer.
so, imagine you take two torches turn them on, and point them in the opposite direction. Now if you sat on the the beam of light travelling one way looking back at the beam of light travelling the other way. What would you see? Ignore the fact we cant actually travel at the speed of light :). Well, light stays the same speed no matter what, since we have been travelling at the speed of light we would observe that the other beam has done nothing, moved no where. Yet, if we are the person holding the torches we see two beams stretching off into the distance both ways. Whys this? Time is relative. This is quite a heavy concept! Time changes depending on the speed we are going relative to other things! Mostly people just see time marching on in a pretty straighforward manner, yet its worth considering time is not constant! It took some smart thinking to let go of the notion that time is this constant distinct definable flow of everything.
And whats really interesting is if you looked back on your beam of light the only thing you'd see is that instant of the torch being turned on. Meaning for a beam of light time effectively stands still.
so, imagine you take two torches turn them on, and point them in the opposite direction. Now if you sat on the the beam of light travelling one way looking back at the beam of light travelling the other way. What would you see? Ignore the fact we cant actually travel at the speed of light :). Well, light stays the same speed no matter what, since we have been travelling at the speed of light we would observe that the other beam has done nothing, moved no where. Yet, if we are the person holding the torches we see two beams stretching off into the distance both ways. Whys this? Time is relative. This is quite a heavy concept! Time changes depending on the speed we are going relative to other things! Mostly people just see time marching on in a pretty straighforward manner, yet its worth considering time is not constant! It took some smart thinking to let go of the notion that time is this constant distinct definable flow of everything.
And whats really interesting is if you looked back on your beam of light the only thing you'd see is that instant of the torch being turned on. Meaning for a beam of light time effectively stands still.
Monday, February 20, 2006
The nature of the universe
Some of the stuff I want to waffle about is oddness of the universe and how its constructed. Quantum Physics, Special Theory of relativity, Complex Systems, and Chaos. What does all this mean? How do these things affect our day to day life, what are the implications for peoples belief systems? How does it tie in with Philosophy, Psychologoy, Sociology, Religion and Spirituality?
And from all that can we make smart choices about the way we live life? Can we find Wisdom? Can we reinvent the way we live life and the things we believe in? What is it we want as humans?
Some tough stuff to explore!
And from all that can we make smart choices about the way we live life? Can we find Wisdom? Can we reinvent the way we live life and the things we believe in? What is it we want as humans?
Some tough stuff to explore!
a space for my mind to dump
Thought I'd setup a blog just to dump my thoughts. I think I mainly want to waffle about philosophy, life, religion, and whats really going on around here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)