There is a phrase that many people spend their entire lives without saying, hearing, or both. And it’s a pity, because it’s something that says a lot of good about whoever says it.
It says that he or she (”he” from now on, because I’m lazy, but the gender doesn’t really matter here) is honest, most importantly with himself. That he is not “old and tired”, but still has a young, inquisiting mind, like that of a child. That he is capable of learning - and willing. That he doesn’t confuse beliefs with principles, to be defended even if reality shows them to be wrong.
It shows that he isn’t arrogant, that he doesn’t believe he knows “enough” and doesn’t need to learn anything more. It shows courage - the courage to review one’s opinions, beliefs, way of thinking, even though not doing it would be a lot easier. It shows a healthy respect for reality, instead of replacing it with beliefs - as if believing something would make it true.
Most of all, it shows that his eyes are open.
The phrase? “I’ve been wrong all these years…”
As you may have already noticed, the address you currently have in your browser (which I hope is the Red Panda :)) has changed. Instead of www.dehumanizer.com/wayofthemind/ , it is now www.wayofthemind.org.
The old address, including all internal links, still work, as they are redirected to the correct new address. However, I ask you to please change your bookmarks, to avoid the need for that redirection.
I’ve just categorized the entire site. You can now click on any category listed on the right and see just the posts that relate to it.
Person: “This, and this, and this happened to me… and then he did this to me, but I still loved him afterwards… and then he hurt me again, but I still love him…”
Me: “You know, maybe you should try to be more rational in the future…”
Person: “Oh, no! I could never become cold and unfeeling like that!”
The above is a conversation I’ve had more than ten times in my life, each time with a different “Person”.
Continue reading ‘Rationalism and feelings’
This subject is somewhat related to a previous article here.
Surely (unless you’re a hermit or something) you have often heard (and maybe even said yourself) things like “it’s my/your brains that make me/you unhappy”, “simple, undeducated people are the happiest”, “I wish I was a moron like everyone else and didn’t think so much - I would be much happier”, “I wish I didn’t think so much”, “you shouldn’t question everything like that, it’s better to just go with the flow”, “don’t be such a freak, be more like everyone else”, and many more variations.
A lot of people, both intelligent and unintelligent, really seem to believe that. Which is sad, because, well, they are wrong.
Continue reading ‘Intelligence and happiness’
If you really believe that:
- Intelligent Design (ID) is not Creationism, or a disguise for it;
- ID is actually based on science, not faith;
- the current efforts to make schools teach ID as an “equally valid” alternative to Evolution in science classes are not an attempt to promote Christianity and religion in general;
- those efforts are, instead, a way to promote open-mindedness, alternatives to established beliefs, free thought, and to prevent belief in the theory of Evolution as dogma…
… then, surely, you must agree with this letter.
Right?
Racism is disgusting. I don’t hesitate when I say it - there are few things in the world that are lower, more irrational than hating an individual or a group because their skin color isn’t exactly the same as yours, or because they (or their parents, or their grandparents) were not born in your country.
But what most people don’t know is that there is another kind of racism - and that, indeed, many people attempt to fight racism with racism.
You see, the thing is, unlike what you probably believe, not all racism is about hate. Racism, in is simplest form, in the word’s original meaning, is the belief that people are defined by their “race” (ethnic group, etc.); in other words, that “race” matters. (I put the word “race” between quotes because the human race is in fact a single one - “race” only matters to racists.)
One of the best examples of racism is Affirmative Action (AA).
Continue reading ‘The other kind of racism’
Apparently, a jury in Alabama, U.S., was somehow sane and didn’t buy into a cop killer’s “video games made me do it!” excuse.
But a certain ambulance-chasing parasite still plans to steal money from the entertainment industry while perpetuating a world in which no teenager or parent is responsible for their actions. Oh, and a world where rendered violence is worse than real thing, and a pixelated nipple is worse than the Apocalypse.
It amazes me that gaming companies feel so threatened by the current state of affairs that they don’t do the right thing: sue that bastard into oblivion for libel and extortion. Aren’t they aware that, unless they do something about it (and no, putting an end to mature games and thus restricting the media to young children isn’t the right idea), the extortion attempts will not only continue but increase?
(this is expanded from a comment I wrote in the entry below this one)
A lot of people believe that love is causeless. That it is unexplainable, that it has no rhyme or reason, that a person simply loves another and that’s it, that it’s impossible to say “I love you because…” or “I love you for your…”.
Many go even further and say that, even if it was possible to say that, it would be undesirable, because it would ruin the “purity” of love, that love should be causeless. That loving someone for something, that loving something in another, does, in some way, diminish the feelings, diminish the meaning of “love”.
Call me weird, but I believe feelings do have causes. You may not think about it consciously, you may not even be aware of those causes, but you fall in love with something (or things) in the other person. Their sense of humor, their intelligence, the way they make you feel alive, the special smile they have just for you, their passion for life, etc.. “Love without cause” is for teenagers 
, or for when both people are so “low” that they can’t find anything to love in the other… and yet they are OK with it, because they know there’s nothing to love in themselves.
Yesterday, in a conversation, the other “party” said something to the effect of “opposites attract”. It’s certainly a common phrase, and a lot of people believe it to be true.
But it got me thinking. Which is always dangerous.
I’m not going to tackle whether opposites do attract or not, but, instead, what does “opposites” mean in this context.
Continue reading ‘“Opposites attract”?’
So, the controversy is on again.
What is “Intelligent Design” (ID)? It’s nothing more than a marketing plan to disguise Creationism as a science. Never mind that it doesn’t have anything to do with the scientific method at all - science is based on hypotheses, which are then tested and proved or disproved. But Creationism can’t be either. “Proof” would perhaps include God popping up and showing people how He did it; disproving it is ineffective, because, no matter what the observation of reality tells us, creationists will always reply by saying “God made it so”, or “God disguised His actions to test our faith”.
To creationists, it’s a question of faith. So far, so good - I don’t share it, I think it contradicts too much of what I see and I think it’s a “crutch”, but, fine, to each his own. Most Christians accept the idea that the Bible tells some stories as metaphors, and they have no problem at all with the idea of God creating a universe with Evolution. Creationists aren’t like that, though: to them, every word in the Bible is to be believed literally.
What really irks me is when they try to pass Creationism off as a science (by calling it “ID”), as an “alternative” to Evolution. And now, the guy who is probably the most powerful man in the world is doing it too.
Continue reading ‘“Intelligent Design”’
Why do some “former” computer geeks tend, at some time, to blame their “geekness” (and computers in particular) for any perceived lack of social success - also known, in this case, as “having no life”?
It’s a strange phenomenon that I have observed several times in my life - there comes a time when, suddenly, a person “decides” that computers, and their interest in them, are to blame for having few friends, for not having a girl/boyfriend, for not being popular - in short, for not being “normal”, and socially successful.
So, they try to cut all ties to computers. Some sell or give away their PC(s), and afterwards boast to people about not having one at home (“I have a life, you know…”). If they have a computer-related job, they either change jobs, if possible, or, if that can’t be done, they begin to hate their jobs, they lose all drive to learn anything new about the subject - only the minimum required to be efficient at their job, and nothing more.
But, after doing that, do they become happier? Not according to what I see.
Continue reading ‘Computers and “real life”’
Subscribe to this blog
Recent Comments