tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10526479.post3860148889445054912..comments2023-10-21T11:07:31.849-04:00Comments on Silly Humans: "Optimistic Submission"Michael Bainshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13734972725056899460noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10526479.post-5784712317719242202007-06-05T10:39:00.000-04:002007-06-05T10:39:00.000-04:00The what it is written is why I like it so much, P...The what it is written is why I like it so much, Paul. The implication is that, despite genetic predisposition, we are still the ones who decide what face we will show to the world. <BR/><BR/>I think that the other way suggests that we can Only Be what we are. While we're certainly better off not denying whatever that may be, we are Not locked into it; unable to transform our experience in Life.<BR/><BR/>I'm glad you wrote about it, bro. I love discussing the whole concept.<BR/><BR/>Welcome back, Coffee! Did ya bring me any o' that Chocolate??? {-;Michael Bainshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13734972725056899460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10526479.post-90156240383245198442007-06-05T06:48:00.000-04:002007-06-05T06:48:00.000-04:00Nicely done and echo pcm!Nicely done and echo pcm!Coffee Messiahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16908162048706236634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10526479.post-56634071736019869612007-06-04T23:58:00.000-04:002007-06-04T23:58:00.000-04:00Call me a silly human, but I got stuck on this pos...Call me a silly human, but I got stuck on this post right at the top: "We are what we only pretend to be. So we must be careful about what we pretend to be."<BR/><BR/>Is that what he meant? Or did he really mean "We are only what we pretend to be..." I think that's what he really meant because the second sentence would only necessarily follow from this version.<BR/><BR/>Could this only be me - in distinction from the self deprecating, "Could this be only me..."<BR/><BR/>I only hope not...Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14770384445526387065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10526479.post-25829473496640712132007-06-04T21:10:00.000-04:002007-06-04T21:10:00.000-04:00I believe Waning Gibbous is actually a country sin...I believe Waning Gibbous is actually a country singer from Enid Oklahoma. He plays a mean pedal-washboard with a raunchy beer-bottleaphone accompanist and shares duets with his long-time - ahem - companion, Elsie Holsteinski.<BR/><BR/>High Class, Mama. All the way.<BR/><BR/>{-;Michael Bainshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13734972725056899460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10526479.post-21905242179860997572007-06-04T20:34:00.000-04:002007-06-04T20:34:00.000-04:00On an unrelated note, is the current moon really a...On an unrelated note, is the current moon really a Waning Gibbous? no kidding. If I hadn't seen it here first I'd have thought that a Waning Gibbous was an animal that lives in the rainforest.Mando Mamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08086172912612587749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10526479.post-90132628748874896892007-06-04T17:50:00.000-04:002007-06-04T17:50:00.000-04:00It's horribly so, Mary. How folks complain about a...It's horribly so, Mary. How folks complain about all the little things which are part and parcel of the technologies that make our lives so much more comfortable and convenient, then, instead of trying to make things better, they just try and <I>go back</I> to some imaginary harmony that has Never existed. Ever. <BR/><BR/>I'd rather die a moderately poor man on the edge of a modern city then watch 3 or 4 of my babies die before I myself succumb at 41. There's just SO MUCH more to see and know and appreciate now and with even my modest level of education. <BR/><BR/>I don't begrudge anyone their ignorance, and certainly no one their desire and efforts to live in harmony with nature. I just believe it's inevitable that our species creates and manipulates the natural world, and someday we WILL learn wisdom. I really do believe that. <BR/><BR/>I think, MM, that folks think that because so many other Folks forcefully pressure us into it. I've lost my own now and then, but it's always been because I couldn't find any group or even more than a few individuals with whom I felt truly comfortable being my very own self; bad and the good. <BR/><BR/>It's hard. It's also life. :)<BR/><BR/>Great point, Larry. I think that one of the biggest debates among social scientists is what constitutes a critical mass in societies. I think those sciences are still so new and the data set with which they work so mind-bogglingly enormous in variety of details that the best we've been <I>able</I> to do so far is "make compromises that satisfy no one."<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, I think that'll continue as long as people democratically choose superstitions and the Cult of Personality over Reason and empirical facts. <BR/><BR/>At least, and this is why I hold my above belief so firmly, the data is truly being gathered and deciphered by rational means. Now it's just going to take some unknown to get a majority of folks to require our Leaders' use of it for Everyone's good.<BR/><BR/>Utopias are still fantasies, but the American Dream is not that far from being reborn. It just may still need to die a little more catastrophically first. <BR/><BR/>I'm thinking the Dems' weak-willed response the heinous threat of Bu$hCo might just be the levy breaking in that regard...Michael Bainshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13734972725056899460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10526479.post-16128585238673910422007-06-04T16:32:00.000-04:002007-06-04T16:32:00.000-04:00I agree with most of this, but I think the intrans...I agree with most of this, but I think the intransigent obstacle to individual responsibility and control is the massive size of our societies. When there are so damned <I>many</I> of us it is absolutely necessary for us to delegate control to a relatively small group of "leaders," who -- at best -- don't always act in the best interest of the society at large or -- at worst -- are corrupted by their power. And of course between those two extremes is a path of mediocrity dictated by the need to make compromises that satisfy no one.Larry Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13425250800667058263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10526479.post-4654672453549336642007-06-04T09:33:00.000-04:002007-06-04T09:33:00.000-04:00Wow, that's an excellent observation by Peacechick...Wow, that's an excellent observation by Peacechick.<BR/><BR/>This is an intriguing post, Mr. Bains. More and more the tension between individualism and the greater good seems to manifest in stories all over. It's frustrating in some ways. I have a lot of respect for entrepreneurial spirit, but that's not to say entrepreneurism must be exercised for the sole purpose of the entrepreneur. Unfortunately that's often how it plays out, although there are lots of ways to manifest individualism for the greater good. <BR/><BR/>I don't know why folks feel they have to sacrifice their individualism to participate in society or make a contribution to their communities.Mando Mamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08086172912612587749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10526479.post-72536350872603640852007-06-04T09:21:00.000-04:002007-06-04T09:21:00.000-04:00It's odd isn't it that people want a better life f...It's odd isn't it that people want a better life for their children than they had when growing up and then when the children are grown, the parents complain that things aren't as good as it used to be. Striving forward to wish you'd been back where you were??Peacechick Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16808832340636218022noreply@blogger.com