Note: I've been toying with the idea of putting together a series of essays of my worldview and thoughts on different subjects. Partly as a way of working them out myself, and partly just for the interest. Below is a draft of the first installment. No one starts from first principles when developing a worldview; … Continue reading Reflections: First Principles
Musings
Musings: On Certainty and Uncertainty
There is an idea – almost an axiom in our world – that strong, dogmatic belief leads to intolerance, social oppression, and the decay of reason, while an uncertain agnosticism that subjects everything to reason and logic leads to tolerance and open-minded harmony. Actually, it’s almost the opposite. I say almost because dogmatism certainly can … Continue reading Musings: On Certainty and Uncertainty
To Build a Fire
I sometimes visit my sister, who lives in Maine. The cabin on their land has a wood stove (fireplaces aren’t used much in Maine, since they don’t radiate heat very well), so I’ve had a fair amount of experience making up fires. You start by arranging a pile of kindling: ‘fat wood’, sticks, pieces of … Continue reading To Build a Fire
“Tonight, I Am Nemesis”
Revenge stories never grow old. Though as Christians we know that wrath is a sin and vengeance belongs to the Lord, yet we still get a visceral satisfaction from a well-told tale of revenge. Don't believe me? Go read The Count of Monte Christo. We may deplore it morally, but...well, it feel rights. This isn't … Continue reading “Tonight, I Am Nemesis”
Thought of the Day: A Solution to the Immaculate Conception – Evolution Problem
Honestly, I have no bone in the evolution fight. To my mind it makes no practical difference whether, as a matter of prehistoric fact, humans are or are not bodily descended from apes or other animals. I think most of the 'conclusions' that people derive from the theory (e.g. "see, everything is just a chemical … Continue reading Thought of the Day: A Solution to the Immaculate Conception – Evolution Problem
Altering Thoughts
As I’ve shared before, I suffer from moderate depression. Lately, in my effort to combat it, I’ve been reading a book called Feeling Good by David Burns, MD. Though I’m very skeptical of most modern psychology, this one is actually based on pretty solid insights, ones that harmonize with what I read from older authors … Continue reading Altering Thoughts
Catholic Match Post on Being a Provider
Another essay up on Catholic Match, this one on man as provider: Okay, so what constitutes ‘providing’? Well, in this sense, to provide simply means that a man gives his family what they need to live; not just in the sense of what they need to survive, but a context in which to live and … Continue reading Catholic Match Post on Being a Provider
New Essay Up at the Federalist
Don't particularly care for the title they gave it, but such is life. This one is a semi-sarcastic examination of the idea of 'The Age of Faith' as it applies to the modern age Sample: We’re not taught how to reason in school: we’re just presented with “right answers” and told to put those down. Science … Continue reading New Essay Up at the Federalist
5 Impossible Things
Found this video drifting around YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mVRc80vhhQ Assuming any of these things are actually true (when you're looking at something lightyears away you will forgive me if I don't absolutely buy that you're seeing what you think you're seeing). Two Shadows: Okay, this is pure padding. Multiple shadows happen all the time on the Earth, … Continue reading 5 Impossible Things
An Observation
Human excellence is essentially individual. Ten thousand men of ordinary skill, by pulling their resources, could never have produced Aristotle's Ethics, Shakespeare's Hamlet, or Bougeureau's Abduction of Psyche. Even in the cases where crowds do great things, there tends to be a single genius guiding their efforts: the American Revolutionaries never would have succeeded without George Washington, and Standard … Continue reading An Observation
Serpent's Den 