Facts, but there is usually more to the story ...

I have learned that "facts" are inadequate to  account for reality and history.  More is needed than "facts".  One can read the words of a sentence, and fail to comprehend the message of the sentence and the same with "facts" versus the actual "truth".  The fact of the matter is that actual truth has lost something very valuable in its reduction to just "facts". Facts are like integers, they fail to accommodate the many instances in which the correct answer is to be found in the infinite range of rational and irrational real numbers between any two integers. 

Here are some of my favorite quotes about facts.

"It is not so very important for a person to learn facts. .... --Albert Einstein (quoted by Philipp Frank in "Einstein's Philosophy of Science," 

and another "It is best, it seems to me, to separate one's inner ... "If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." --Albert Einstein ...

and another You can understand the facts of life. But facts of love are much different. .... Albert Einstein

I do appreciate that knowing certain facts and sorting out the false ones from the true ones is important to gain information about anything which is under investigation or study, but facts alone are not sufficient. I do practice the scientific method, but have learned to advance further with my mind to go beyond what my mind and the scientific method have collected into the unknown, into the "answer box" that researchers find if they try hard enough (the collective consciousness?). Perhaps a prerequisite to being able to do this requires letting go of the "facts" and what we "think" we know and having a willingness to learn.... a desire to learn ... Mathematics taught me this ability or developed it and perhaps there are those who consciously choose not to learn in order to protect and defend their "facts" and what they already "know".

Many times it is what is not said or not written that matters.... the space between the words, the meaning of it all. When we speak words, it is merely noise.... what is communicated with the words/noise is the intended message sent by the speaker that must be comprehended. If someone in an audience is so focused that they hear only what they want to hear they will never receive the true input, because they have their "facts" placed uppermost in their mind rather than like a child being open to accept and discover without first comparing to their store of facts. The audience member has rejected and filtered out and has a predisposition to accept only what will not threaten or disturb the present state of mind 

Intelligence

The future?

 

Excerpted from Collective Intelligence: Number of Women in Group Linked to
Effectiveness in Solving Difficult Problems
ScienceDaily (Oct. 2, 2010)

 

"It really calls into
question our whole notion of what intelligence is. What individuals can
do all by themselves is becoming less important; what matters more is
what they can do with others and by using technology."

.......

 

Yolanda

Data, Information, Source, God

God defines the SOURCE of information (derived from data)..... NOTHING IS EQUAL TO GOD because he is the infinite data of the universe, some defined some yet undefined (both existing as metadata, data about data)!

Many do not appreciate the meaning and value of being SOURCE versus being derived information (derivatives) ... Information is derived from data (its source), and  All SOURCE is derived from God who is infinite data.

Think of a program's source versus its assembled or compiled object version ... one can change the object (machine code patch), and it will run differently on a computer, but unless they change the program source the next time the program is assembled or compiled the change made in the object will disappear ..... the source of a program is the most valuable and sometimes given the object version one can regenerate the source.... sometimes not ..... especially if the source is dynamically real time changing and soon the object is out of date and a new version of the program from its current source creates a new object to run on the computer with all of the latest features and bugs corrected. Real time programming is more like the real operation world. 

One must protect the Source ..... more importantly one must realize the value of the One who created the Source .... God.  Programs produce information by processing data.  Both programs (process) and data are distinguishable from one another merely by definition.  God is infinite data defining all Source in the Universe in real time and outside of time (yes, no clock). 

A point, an origin, a vector emerging from it with both a magnitude (power) and a  direction (sense) is a single source.  All Source is derived from God. God is greater than Source.  God is infinite data. God is Truth. God is Love! 

God gave us choice.  The choice to choose Good over Evil.  How we choose becomes our Soul or weakens it.

***************** People differ in their beliefs and their theology.

"After all God is a concept and concept is in the mind and mind is in the brain and brains are different with different histories. " wrote Narayan, member of ThIMK Yahoo Group (you may join this group by invitation only as it is not listed in the Yahoo Directory).

Narayan is an author and has written a book: search Amazon.com: Exploring the Hindu Mind: Cultural Reflection and Symbolism (9788189973889): M.K.V. Narayan: Books.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=M.K.V.Narayan&bi=0&bx=off&ds=30&recentlyadded=all&sortby=17&sts=t&x=67&y=7

http://www.amazon.com/dp/8189973886

Religion

Once upon a time there was an animal called jelly fish

It tasted it's environ to swallow or spit with no relish

Came the bony fish that swallowed first and then spat

Dogs and cats and cattle obeyed their nose's diktat

They sniffed to eat, to mate, to fight or flee

They could fear or love with some inner glee

Then monkeys and apes formed harems to breed

Birds of course kept in the eggs their seed

Brains did not stop bloating and to fast forward

Thinking animal was born with many a word

Bipedal animal called woman or man that stood

To foresee food, mate or danger they could

Eons made the brain develop bigger and higher

One day brain saw their past and future in utter fear

Worried about all they own and dear and near

How to stop worrying was not at all clear

Being far from the goat that ate the sacrificial flower

What to do when bad times come thought the clever

To float one or two high brains found out a way

To keep easily their worries and fears at bay

Words worked and poems got composed

That scripted all the dos and don'ts exposed

Cults were crafted that expanded to religion

To occupy and rule the world in every region

Again one day some one thought religion was his

His and his own the best and not of others

Religion got tainted with saffron and green

Safety in religion lost as has never been

Man shrank his large brain to be animal again

Does it do any good or deliver some social gain?

Nay this religion takes us to the days of savage

Human society hardly needs such a social baggage

Like the fish that ejects water from their gill

Like birds that keep the chick and leave the shell

Like astronauts keep the sat and stages jettison

Let us wisely keep the gods and shed the religion

© M.K.V.Narayan

PS: The colours safron and green were used to signify the Hindu- Muslim symbols in India. This poem was written when Hindu-Muslim- Christian clashes were reported in the news.

--- In ThIMk@yahoogroups.com, Catskills John wrote:

>

Information

Videos and photos record more than what we see at any instant and thus are a great aid in later referencing and harvesting for that other information we needed to see BUT DIDN'T at the time the video/photo was captured....

 

We can not photograph or video document what is not by some means experienced or studied over a period of time by a viewer or scientist so all photos and video documents are consequently limited by the number and quality of the viewers/scientist recording subject material and their mental monitor. Occasionally, we are "lucky" and record something we only appreciate at a later date or by later generations.

 

If only God would have provided in his infinite wisdom a pause and playback recorder to this world's existence and its history (and he may have via all events traveling in light waves and sound waves into outer space), how interesting it would have been.... hypnosis offers some mental playbacks, but for most of us, the information we derive is from either our data store or that of another's.  It is most interesting the different ways of categorizing that store of data into information for retrieval ...

 

I recently wanted to identify by name a particular houseplant .... do you know how difficult that is to do plant identification? It seems that I should only need to photograph it and submit it to a visual scan for the identification to occur such as they now do with human faces ..

 

Information is identification and vice versa, but the soul is source data ...

 

Self Images

Took this web cam photo of myself this morning ... sans makeup, no photo enhancements, etc... just impromptu and in the present .... one needs to see their photo periodically to realize reality of self's image which often times there is not just one and any one of the set is quite different than our mental image of our selves. Others also have images of us that may differ from our real physical image if, in fact, there is only one true real physical image.  I believe that whoever holds the camera creates a different image of us to be photographed.  One can even see transformations in one's image as we are in the presence of different individuals or state of mind.

Transmogrification usually connotes changing one's shape and form grotesquely but couldn't the same concept create something more beautiful? That would be the concept of  transfigure .... to give a new and typically exalted or spiritual appearance to ... or transform outwardly and usually for the better.

A lot of money is spent on cosmetics and various programs to enhance our beauty ..... well, that is one of the luxuries I gave up after my bicycle accident in 1987 .. I rationalized I had traded beauty and youth for my being able to survive the accident and the physical injuries of being hit by a van traveling 40 miles per hour driven by a disabled driver in 1987.  My head still moves involuntarily, and the motion is noticeably visible to others when I am somewhat stressed or talking, and they think perhaps I have Parkinson's disease but I believe it is just scar tissue on my brain from the head injury I sustained.  I did not grieve over no longer being lovely and attractive since I was concentrating on just staying alive and focusing on being alive.  A lot of things about me changed as a result of that accident .... just as death changes us and some look ok in a coffin and others prefer they have closed coffins .... I don't think I want someone looking at my dead body. 

As persons, we have the right to reject and deny another from taking a photo of our self at any time except if we are arrested and they need to take a mug shot ... mug shot's are never flattering.  

I do not own my image as viewed by others, nor do I feel that anyone owns their image. We are responsible to our image but it serves principally as the interface for others who see it (unless we are totally hiding from sight or like women in the Islam religion).

The image of a person is a means of identifying them, When we see someone, it is in the public domain, public view, the common environment. If capturing that moment with a camera  and doing so without invading one's personal privacy, propriety, and space, then how can the subject of that photograph claim it as their property?  The photographer can claim it since it was his view and camera that captured the image.  There are many laws concerning the rights of citizens in this country and it seems that there are more being added all the time via court cases and legislation.  If I photograph someone, I must have a model's signed permission in order to publicly display a photo with that model in it if she is recognizable in the photograph. I think in the practical sense it matters more the intent of photographing and how the photo is used that matters more than any person's image in it. One should always see and photograph another in the best light possible.  That means to think the best of another as we would want them to think well of us similarly.  Photos can be defiled and so can our images, that is a crime even if done mentally and not physically.

Beauty and self image?  Is that important to happiness?  One can spend hours primping in front of a mirror or little at all and the results vary greatly individual to individual.  I prefer to accept my natural image with as little of commercial cosmetics as possible. Personal appearance is like good body hygiene in that we should care enough about ourselves to be reasonably neat, clean, and tidy especially if we plan to be in the company of others.  We care what others think about us, up to a point, and it reflects that we care about them.

Alone Together

Alone Together

Unifying all the separateness,

Integration, not segregation,

Acceptance replacing desperateness,

Universalists, One congregation.

ZOOM!

The concept of many would never have happened if man had not exceeded the number of his fingers to count with...?? The concept of infinity would never have happened if man did not realize there was more than he could count in his lifetime or his imagination.

Zoom in on a singular in the plurality ..... observe uniqueness from the common and very ordinary similarities ..... Zoom way out and there is only One Universe , One Nature.

The universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all physical matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space.

You and I are merely a part of that universe and can not exist separate from it or from one another. One huge energized bucket of matter and space in motion. We're in the same bucket together, alone together with the rest of the universe!

Advancing Age, Death, Love, and Spiritual Life Beyond


Dr. Eddie Harrison shared his philosophy with me. "At the Human level, we can facilitate the Divine Self-Expression through our Form by improving our Body (exercise, healthy food, etc.), Mind (constructive thoughts and concepts), and Soul (Energy Forms: Positive Ideas, Images). As we evolve our Inner Mechanism, the Divine Consciousness can express Itself "more perfectly" through us. In time, it is said, It can become Fully Conscious in the Material Universe through our Form. At that point, we realize that the Divine is our Real Self. Our ego falls away. Our sense of separation disappears. We become the Divine, incarnated in Matter, fully Conscious, and able to transform this world into the Paradise that it truly can be."

One may stay reasonably alert until they die, but they are not as mentally capable as they are in their prime ... there is unavoidable decline with aging and the individual usually compensates in some way or another. All things wear with time and it is prudent to adjust, adapt, and, even if reluctantly, accept new limitations as we grow older.

We need not feel lesser because we are less fit than those younger and more active. We should strive for new discoveries and new abilities which revitalize our sense of accomplishment and competency. 

I am amazed at the tenacity of some in advanced age to not only stay alive but BE alive (within their physical limitations) as contrasted to others who grow bitter and withdrawn, even hollow. A wise man once said, "That which is not lived is devil (lived spelled backwards)".

It is at the end of our life that our true character is most challenged it seems. Yes we can be happy (if not the happiest in our life) and relatively healthy (even if diminishing in degrees) until we die, but it is the power of love within us that radiates outward that overcomes death itself and sustains one's spiritual life beyond. For that reason I feel atheists and other non believers disadvantaged, deprived, of what is the essence of living their life.

Health, Happiness, Love .... Old Age

James Wesley Martin, My Father (now deceased)

Eyes, teeth, hearing, taste, and smell..... all lose function with aging... but usually it occurs gradually so we don't notice it until it is gone ..... glasses for eyesight, false teeth or dental repairs for teeth, hearing aids, loss of taste in foods we used to enjoy, and reduced ability to smell odors, perfumes, or scents.

We not only lose our senses gradually, but also our mental alertness at some age... some more and earlier than others depending on their heredity, environment, and one's attention to their health and hygiene carefully avoiding accidents and diseases.

I guess at my age of 65, I am now comparing my health status to others around me that I know .... I am luckier than those already dead, more fortunate than those suffering in pain or coping with impaired mobility, dread diseases like Shingles, Parkinsons Disorder, Cancer, etc, and I spend more time now thinking about the quality of my life or that of friends and wonder for how long? At my age, there can be quick changes in health and well being .... this I know all too well!

I require prescription medications for my current status of health and regular physical and mental examinations. I am thankful for the professionals that attend to my health and that of others.

Health and Happiness...... can you have one without the other? I think the two attributes should be fused together as just one and not be separate? To be happy, am I bargaining with my health or that of others? To be healthy am I foregoing certain pleasures that would make me very happy? In fact if we put Love, Health, and Happiness inseparably as one then they could one could not be used to the disadvantage of the other. It would be impossible to discuss happiness alone since it also meant love and health.

How words in a language are engineered does create a conditioned culture, influences our individual behavior, and motivates appropriate attitudes about life, our psyche, and our social relationships during our life.  Since there is no such thing as a healthy or happy dead person, love is the only surviving attribute of who we once were.

Passive versus Aggressive Advertising (My Pet Peeve)

How to sell or buy optimally.... it is the essence of commerce which sustains an economy. How to sell or buy your pumpkin(s)!

Really I do think there is way too much unsolicited unwanted advertising that aggressively intrudes into our lives and demands our attention or else (what?).... junk mail, spam mail, too many TV commercials, too frequently interrupting our enjoyment of a program, telemarketers calling (even though you are on a do not call list with the government), bill boards cluttering up the roadside or on sides of buildings, flyers left on windshields while in a parking lot, and what next I wonder? I am hopeful that this aggressive form of advertising will soon be banned just as it is no longer permitted for door to door salesman to knock on your home's door and flyers on telephone poles are prohibited. Street hawkers selling from the back of their pickup truck are now a thing of the past (and so should aggressive advertising)!

Passive advertising is what is to be found via the Internet or by simply opening a store in an area that consumers can know exists and choose to visit at will .... I am impressed with web advertising. If you want a particular something or service, you Google it and up pops a list of vendors from which you can choose to patronize and sometimes you even see how others have rated that vendor. Or if you like to shop at certain stores you sign up for their notices online and you can visit them when you want on the Internet. Some choose Ebay, Craigslist, or other online alternative to market their products if selling or search if buying.

I advertise my Pekingese via the Arizona Republic classified ads under Dogs and have also used Next Day Pets online, Kiji, and other tools such as providing my own web site http://ymmartin.com . Referrals are the absolute best way of letting others know you have quality Pekingese puppies wanting their new homes and owners. I would never think of aggressively marketing my Pekingese and likewise, expect not to be made a victim of others aggressively marketing their goods and services.

Non aggressive (passive) advertising makes known and available to the consumer all the stores and vendors of products so that he can choose at his convenience, unlike aggressive advertising that steals our time and attention without any commensurate compensation or apology.

If a product is valuable and worthy, it does not require aggressive advertising. So what does that say about the value of products being aggressively advertised?

God Bless the USA ?

Photo of patio table after recent unprecedented hail storm in Phoenix, Arizona

I guess I never realized how anti-commercialism my feelings are ..... that and having an aversion to anything smacking of politics, artificial, or not natural and sustainable. Growing up in a rural farming community I was taught to abhor waste, respect nature, and work hard to earn an honest living. 

Someone is God blessing the good old USA and all of its commercial glory .... ??????

That is the one thing I would curse rather than bless. Excessive capitalist commercialism is one of the things I dislike most about our country, what I feel is detrimental to our economy. Money being spent for marketing goods and services and TV commercials to excess goes down the drain away without adequate return on investment and sometimes a negative return.  It seems that everything we encounter today is some sort of advertising, has a gimmick, a mass marketing come on to entice consumers to buy something regardless of the merit of the product or its affect on the health and future well being of the people in this country: alcohol, tobacco, sugary soft drinks, expensive cars, and anything that just piles up in the landfill after a short life which is non biodegradable and perhaps even hazardous waste. It creates a costly, debt ridden society that is in reality unintelligent, cheap, and superficial! 


However, I do like the current political commercial on TV that shows the man digging a hole deeper and deeper and deeper .... right on! Is he a grave digger? Truth hits home!The instant gratification era .... the no time to do it right but always time to do it over. No wonder the value of the American dollar has plummeted downward with no hope of timely recovery.

Autumn

Fall is harvest time and for those of us in Phoenix,

A blessed relief from the long hot summer weather.

We anticipate the coming joyous Holiday Season

Then look forward to Spring as awakening blossoms gather.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrTzsvbPOpE