Carl Abbott

Learning What You Know

In recent years, I’ve realized there is more to meet the eye when it comes to learning, understanding, and knowing. Perhaps, as chapter 14 says, These three cannot be fathomed, and so they are confused and looked upon as one. A few days ago, I was having a discussion with my wife and our son […]

We’re Not So Different After All

Google [Chimps may be aware of others’ deaths and Neanderthal genome yields evidence of interbreeding with humans] for research that challenges the prevalent myths of human uniqueness. The Judeo-Christian myth, “Man was created in God’s image”, obviously proclaims this uniqueness. This need to pin down our origins is universal, going back into prehistory. The advent […]

Chairs: One of Our Big Mistakes

The use of chairs in the West is ubiquitous. One of the most important life style changes I ever made was giving up my use of the chair fifty years ago. Chairs and sit down toilets are good examples of my motto, short-term pleasure invites long-term pain; short-term pain invites long-term pleasure. The physical ease […]

Gossip, Hysteria, News

It is easy to notice gossip or hysteria in the news sometimes. This brings me to wonder how much of the news is actually gossip and hysteria. Since gossip and news closely correlate (p.572) they are definitely equivalent, at least in the grand scheme of things. We think of news as a serious attempt to […]

The Family Purse

The money in our family is family money… really. It is one big pot that each takes from as needed. This is radically different from the independent model my parents used to raise me. I did chores for which I got a salary. I suppose the idea here is to prepare their child for the […]

Swarm Savvy

Google [Swarm Savvy: How animals avoid dumb decisions] for insight into the dynamics all social animals share… including humans. I’ve always been in awe by how well people manage the logistics of living in a civilization composed of millions of individuals. Sure, I realize how supply and demand plays a role in this. Still, it deeply […]

SETI… Quixotic SETI

An article in Science News, Can you hear me now?, explored issues around the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) program. I see a Taoist twist on this, but first here is the editor’s take on this: An intelligent ET would probably just stay home. Apart from jokes about how hard it is to find intelligent […]

The Worry Gene

Have you noticed how something always seems to be wrong no matter how right things appear initially? There is an apparently endless supply of issues to fret over. After we resolve our pressing life and death issues, you’d think we could relax and appreciate that victory. Alas, no sooner is one problem solved than we […]

Odds Are, It’s Wrong

Google [Odds Are, It’s Wrong] for a look into how science fails to face the shortcomings of statistics. It reminds me of chapter 71’s, Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty. The patient search for truth pales next to our hunger for the answer, or any answer. Science is […]

Bathtub Tai Chi

I finally realized multitasking was a waste of time. Taking this shortcut fooled me into feeling I could really accomplish more. Paradoxically not so, as chapter 48 hints, One does less and less until one does nothing at all, and when one does nothing at all there is nothing that is undone. More importantly, the […]

How the Hoodwink Hooks

Chapter 65 begins with, Of old those who excelled in the pursuit of the way did not use it to enlighten the people but to hoodwink them. Initially, I thought of old referred to people, e.g., parents, politicians, preachers, gurus. On the other hand, these people are often?… usually?… always?… hoodwinked by their own set […]

Omega-3 and Vitamin D

When it comes to human nutrition, it is a struggle separating the wheat from the chaff. Each era has its blind alleys of nutrition. Foods deemed healthy today could easily be less so tomorrow… and vice versa. In the 70’s, I got nutrition religion and set out to uncover information that was closer to the truth. […]