"Fooling people only requires telling them what they want to hear, over and over again. People love to hear how right they are." —Stan Beeman, in The Americans. The market for truth is a small one. On the scale of the universe, it is true that we are insignificant. On that level, we don't factor … Continue reading The Market of Truth & Faction
Category: writing
The Dreamer & The Judge
The dreamer is in no position to judge what is real or who is awake. The first task of the dreamer is to awaken and of the judge is to make sure the evidence is admissible. Everything else is a kangaroo court of suffering.
Perfect Contentment
What would it take to be content in this moment, just as it is? Changing our minds; both the hardest and easiest thing we can do.
New Year, Coloring Around a Dead TV
Spending New Year's Eve watching live TV. I'm struck by how this format, based on a shared experience at the same moment in time, is a relic from a previous media era. After a few hours, I feel dumber. I'm left with the feeling that I could live the rest of my life and not … Continue reading New Year, Coloring Around a Dead TV
Jumping Rope, 2021
I've done a bit of a trial of jumping rope for the last 2 months. I've decided that in the new year, it is worth trying to develop a consistent practice. Based on these two months, these are my equipment suggestions and the training program I've come up with. Equipment A jump rope, Wirecutter recommends … Continue reading Jumping Rope, 2021
Trauma & Transformation
Psychologists like to talk about trauma. If you have experienced X, then it must have been a traumatic experience. But, this is a function of the lens with which they view the world. Our experience of the world tends to form a lens of interpretation. An emergency room physician — who, by definition, sees emergencies … Continue reading Trauma & Transformation
Ordinary Invisibility
"There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says 'Morning, boys. How’s the water?' And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes 'What … Continue reading Ordinary Invisibility
PSA: Wiping With Paper
Wiping your mouth (or your ass) with paper does not make it clean.
Criticism as Other People’s Stories
Stories are explanations of the world we tell ourselves. They are filled with unnecessary detail, and by extension, falsehoods. Getting involved with stories is how we give meaning to our lives, reenforce our ego, and project that ego - our brand if you will - out in the wider world. If the above is true, … Continue reading Criticism as Other People’s Stories
Masks are the Pandemic Marshmallow Test
"The Stanford marshmallow experiment was a study on delayed gratification in 1972 led by psychologist Walter Mischel, a professor at Stanford University.[1] In this study, a child was offered a choice between one small but immediate reward, or two small rewards if they waited for a period of time. During this time, the researcher left … Continue reading Masks are the Pandemic Marshmallow Test
One Question, Forty Answers
People want to believe in something, even if it is false. No one knows enough to be completely right (or wrong) about anything. But, how do we judge? If we think of truth as a continuum, where answers are more right and less right, or more wrong or less wrong, compared to other answers. Then, … Continue reading One Question, Forty Answers
Jumping Rope
I bought a Heavy Muay Thai jump rope from Elite SRS. I've never jumped rope before. But, I had heard it is easier to learn with a heavier rope and I wanted more than a cardio workout. Normally, a jump rope is about a half (0.5) pound. A "heavy" rope is one (1) pound. This … Continue reading Jumping Rope
Why Do We Talk to One Another?
Open Question: Why do we talk to one another? "...To varying degrees, there is an uncrossable chasm between you and everybody you care about.There are two ways you can interpret this. One is the depressing route: to believe that your friends are not really your friends and that you don’t really know them. That you … Continue reading Why Do We Talk to One Another?
Exhibit A for Legal Realism: I’m Not in Washington Defense
"'Defendants maintain that because the state constitution defines Washington’s northern boundary in relevant part as the 49th parallel, the State does not have jurisdiction to prosecute them for crimes committed south of the international border between the United States and Canada, but north of the 49th parallel as currently located.'Perhaps not wanting to create 'a … Continue reading Exhibit A for Legal Realism: I’m Not in Washington Defense
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