The human mind is a funny thing. It doesn’t take much to fool it, or to blind it to reality.
What’s even more amazing, however, is how easily one part of the mind can exist happily in some fantasy world of pseudo-reality while another part can be busy earning an advanced degree in physics or learning how to compose masterpieces in music.
It’s only when the pseudo-reality of the naïve part of the mind is challenged from outside that the two parts acknowledge each other. And it is not a comfortable meeting.
Unfortunately, the logically-challenged part of the mind wants so much to continue wallowing in its comfortable naiveté that it most often simply ignores or rejects any intrusion from the part that is grounded in reality.
Well, that’s enough for the generalized introductions. Let’s narrow this down to specific examples.
It’s easier to start with childhood. Take a normal seven-year-old child who is in the first grade and can spell his name, add two simple numbers together, and knows to dial 911 in case of an emergency. He is starting to understand and acknowledge reality, even if it is very simple.
Yet many kids this same age also insist that there really exists a jolly fat man in a red suit and white beard who lives at the North Pole and travels the world once a year bearing gifts. That’s the comfort-giving, naïve part of the mind. And at this young age, there is nothing abnormal or troubling about the coexistence of both parts of the mind.
On the other hand, once a kid reaches 11 years old or so, if he hasn’t started questioning the logic, not to mention the logistics, of a real-life Santa Claus living in his world, it might be a sign that he is having trouble adjusting to reality, even if his parents haven’t broken the bad news yet.
Taken a step further, it becomes almost comical to imagine a grown man who has earned a college degree, has started to raise a family, and who can balance his bank account every month, but who still believes in a literal Santa Claus. Imagine this man refusing to even listen to logical arguments against the existence of such a legendary figure.
Now replace the story of Santa Claus with the equally mythical stories of Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, and the Creation.
Ouch! Did I just pinch a nerve?
Yes, that was me knocking on that enigmatic and reclusive portion of your mind that still believes in fairy tales. You know, it’s the part that has a phobia against reality because it honestly believes you will go to hell if you let any of it seep in.
But don’t worry; you’re far from being alone. The world is full of grown up, mature, educated, and intelligent men and women who can do everything from build a microchip to fly a jet airplane, yet who insist that there once was an 800-year-old man who built a big boat and put two (or seven) of every creature on earth into it just before a giant worldwide deluge.
Somebody hasn’t told them there is no Santa Claus, and they’re all too afraid to believe otherwise.
It might be funny if it weren’t so sad.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Friday, May 20, 2005
Bush Again Threatens Scientific Research
Back during the presidential campaign, when Pres. Bush was seeking reelection, he actually stated that, although he held strong religious beliefs, he would not impose them on Americans, because everyone in America is free to worship and believe as they wish.
During one of the debates, his opponent John Kerry stated that if he were elected, he would be the president of all the people, not just those who fell in line with his concept of morality. Bush must have thought that sounded good, so he later said virtually the same thing.
I had to laugh because, of all the presidents that have been in office during my lifetime, the one who seems to delight most in inflicting his own moral imperatives on the masses is Bush.
Last Friday, he provided yet more proof of this. He stated that if Congress passed legislation that would weaken his ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, he would veto it.
“I worry about a world in which cloning becomes accepted,” Bush said.
Well, I don’t worry about such a world. In fact, I would welcome such a world, as long as the cloning follows well-thought-out universal guidelines. But, as long as Bush is president, those of us who see the advantages in a world where cloning is used to grow organs on demand will just have to look to the future and hope the next president isn’t as intransigent.
But Bush is not only putting a stranglehold on embryonic stem cell research in the United States. He has chastised South Korea for not only allowing such research, but promoting it.
South Korea is one of the nations that has seen the benefit of doing research on stem cells from embryos. The government there has funded the production of cloned human embryos for the purpose of extracting stem cells.
“That represents exactly what we're opposed to,” said White House deputy press secretary Trent Duffy.
Everyone involved with the issue, from the White House to the researchers, agree on one issue. Cloning for reproductive purposes should be banned, at least for now. And so it should.
But cloning for scientific research, which is expected to lead to cures for a wide variety of genetic disorders, is extremely important. In fact, since we have the technology to do it, I would suggest that it might be morally wrong on some levels not to pursue it.
There are those, including Bush, who believe that destroying any human life, even if it saves many other lives, is immoral. They say that life as a human being begins at the moment of conception, even if it is artificial conception.
But there are many other reasonable and moral individuals who do not share in this belief. We believe that an embryo created in a Petri dish is not a human being because it was never meant nor expected to develop into one. The intent is the key.
And so, we’re back to Bush’s personal moral imperative being shoved down the throats of those who disagree with him, not on the basis of good science, but on the basis of his own belief system. And that’s exactly the opposite of what he promised during the campaign.
It’s just one more good reason why, despite the pretence of being highly moral, Bush cannot be trusted.
Unfortunately, he has more than three years left to go in his term, and we’ll just have to muddle through. But Congressional elections are coming up next year.
Because of the mess Bush is making of things, recent polls indicate that if an election were held today, Democrats would win. If the trend continues, maybe enough political moderates will be elected to keep Bush’s reactionary agenda in check.
During one of the debates, his opponent John Kerry stated that if he were elected, he would be the president of all the people, not just those who fell in line with his concept of morality. Bush must have thought that sounded good, so he later said virtually the same thing.
I had to laugh because, of all the presidents that have been in office during my lifetime, the one who seems to delight most in inflicting his own moral imperatives on the masses is Bush.
Last Friday, he provided yet more proof of this. He stated that if Congress passed legislation that would weaken his ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, he would veto it.
“I worry about a world in which cloning becomes accepted,” Bush said.
Well, I don’t worry about such a world. In fact, I would welcome such a world, as long as the cloning follows well-thought-out universal guidelines. But, as long as Bush is president, those of us who see the advantages in a world where cloning is used to grow organs on demand will just have to look to the future and hope the next president isn’t as intransigent.
But Bush is not only putting a stranglehold on embryonic stem cell research in the United States. He has chastised South Korea for not only allowing such research, but promoting it.
South Korea is one of the nations that has seen the benefit of doing research on stem cells from embryos. The government there has funded the production of cloned human embryos for the purpose of extracting stem cells.
“That represents exactly what we're opposed to,” said White House deputy press secretary Trent Duffy.
Everyone involved with the issue, from the White House to the researchers, agree on one issue. Cloning for reproductive purposes should be banned, at least for now. And so it should.
But cloning for scientific research, which is expected to lead to cures for a wide variety of genetic disorders, is extremely important. In fact, since we have the technology to do it, I would suggest that it might be morally wrong on some levels not to pursue it.
There are those, including Bush, who believe that destroying any human life, even if it saves many other lives, is immoral. They say that life as a human being begins at the moment of conception, even if it is artificial conception.
But there are many other reasonable and moral individuals who do not share in this belief. We believe that an embryo created in a Petri dish is not a human being because it was never meant nor expected to develop into one. The intent is the key.
And so, we’re back to Bush’s personal moral imperative being shoved down the throats of those who disagree with him, not on the basis of good science, but on the basis of his own belief system. And that’s exactly the opposite of what he promised during the campaign.
It’s just one more good reason why, despite the pretence of being highly moral, Bush cannot be trusted.
Unfortunately, he has more than three years left to go in his term, and we’ll just have to muddle through. But Congressional elections are coming up next year.
Because of the mess Bush is making of things, recent polls indicate that if an election were held today, Democrats would win. If the trend continues, maybe enough political moderates will be elected to keep Bush’s reactionary agenda in check.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Some Weather Lore Still Works
The weather affects everyone from time to time: Spoiled picnics, rained-out vacations, and damaged homes are part of weather’s nasty side. But then there are the beautiful sunny days and clear, moonlit nights too.
I’ve always had an interest in the weather and how it works. I’ve also always given it a lot of respect, knowing what it can do to you if you don’t.
In today’s technological world, predicting the weather is a much more exact science than it used to be. It’s still not exact enough; tornadoes can still strike without warning. But it’s much better than it used to be.
For example, those who depended on weather a lot, like farmers and sailors, used to employ weather rhymes and sayings to help them forecast coming storms. But do these aphorisms really have a basis in science?
Surprisingly, some of them do. When it comes right down to it, weather can be broken down into just a few components. Humidity, air pressure, and wind are the three main indicators that can tell you whether or not it’s going to rain if you know how to read the signs.
Let’s look at some examples.
“When the dew is on the grass, Rain will never come to pass. When grass is dry at morning light, Look for rain before the night.”
Dew forms on the grass when the temperature falls quickly during the night, causing the moisture in the air to condense out on grass and car windshields. But if it’s cloudy, the temperature doesn’t fall very rapidly at night because the clouds act as a blanket, holding in the day’s heat. Therefore, no dew means it is cloudy and, thus, more likely to rain.
“If a cat washes her face o’er her ear,‘tis a sign the weather will be fine and clear.”
Cat fur can build up static electric charges when it gets very dry. During times of low humidity and fair weather, especially in the winter time when it is very dry, a cat may lick its fur in order to moisten it. Moist fur will shed electric charge and prevent static discharges, which annoy the cat.
“When sounds travel far and wide,A stormy day will betide.”
Sound travels at different speeds through different substances. It travels faster through a solid substance than it does through air, for instance. Sound travels better in air that is heavily laden with moisture than it does in dry air. And air with lots of moisture is air that is likely to rain.
But there are also sayings that are just old wives’ tales and have no scientific merit.
“Onion skins very thinMild winter coming in;Onion skins thick and toughComing winter cold and rough."
Onions can’t generally predict the weather, especially the long-range weather.
And then there is the famous saying about the month of March:
”If March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion; if it comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb.”
That saying is meant more as a description of the highly variable March weather than it is a prediction.
And here’s one that seems to tie it all together in one verse. All of the signs in this poem have some scientific validity to them.
“When the sky is red in the morning,And sounds travel far at night;When fish jump high from the water And flies stick tight, and bite;When you can't get salt from your shaker,And your corn gives you extra pain,There's no need to consult an almanac,You just know it's going to rain. “
I’ve always had an interest in the weather and how it works. I’ve also always given it a lot of respect, knowing what it can do to you if you don’t.
In today’s technological world, predicting the weather is a much more exact science than it used to be. It’s still not exact enough; tornadoes can still strike without warning. But it’s much better than it used to be.
For example, those who depended on weather a lot, like farmers and sailors, used to employ weather rhymes and sayings to help them forecast coming storms. But do these aphorisms really have a basis in science?
Surprisingly, some of them do. When it comes right down to it, weather can be broken down into just a few components. Humidity, air pressure, and wind are the three main indicators that can tell you whether or not it’s going to rain if you know how to read the signs.
Let’s look at some examples.
“When the dew is on the grass, Rain will never come to pass. When grass is dry at morning light, Look for rain before the night.”
Dew forms on the grass when the temperature falls quickly during the night, causing the moisture in the air to condense out on grass and car windshields. But if it’s cloudy, the temperature doesn’t fall very rapidly at night because the clouds act as a blanket, holding in the day’s heat. Therefore, no dew means it is cloudy and, thus, more likely to rain.
“If a cat washes her face o’er her ear,‘tis a sign the weather will be fine and clear.”
Cat fur can build up static electric charges when it gets very dry. During times of low humidity and fair weather, especially in the winter time when it is very dry, a cat may lick its fur in order to moisten it. Moist fur will shed electric charge and prevent static discharges, which annoy the cat.
“When sounds travel far and wide,A stormy day will betide.”
Sound travels at different speeds through different substances. It travels faster through a solid substance than it does through air, for instance. Sound travels better in air that is heavily laden with moisture than it does in dry air. And air with lots of moisture is air that is likely to rain.
But there are also sayings that are just old wives’ tales and have no scientific merit.
“Onion skins very thinMild winter coming in;Onion skins thick and toughComing winter cold and rough."
Onions can’t generally predict the weather, especially the long-range weather.
And then there is the famous saying about the month of March:
”If March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion; if it comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb.”
That saying is meant more as a description of the highly variable March weather than it is a prediction.
And here’s one that seems to tie it all together in one verse. All of the signs in this poem have some scientific validity to them.
“When the sky is red in the morning,And sounds travel far at night;When fish jump high from the water And flies stick tight, and bite;When you can't get salt from your shaker,And your corn gives you extra pain,There's no need to consult an almanac,You just know it's going to rain. “
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