children

Who are you? (Part II)

I tried pointing out in Who are you? (p.504) how civilization plays a major role in educating its citizens as to who they are and who they should be. This contrasts sharply with the natural intuitive way that our ancestors acquired a secure sense of self. Religious stories, central to every civilization, are humanity’s attempt […]

Amazon mother

Google [CBS News From Amazon to Garden State] for a story that perfectly exemplifies observations I’ve made on civilization over the last few decades. To be clear, I’m not pro or anti civilization; I simply wish to comprehend its full impact on humanity. Despite the obvious downsides of civilization, we’re never going to turn back […]

Emotion Speaks… Literally

I learned to speak a number of languages during my traveling years. Learning a language in country is an easy, quick and enjoyable way to learn. During those years, my interest was to communicate—not eloquently mind you, but just enough to get by. Several hundred words and some fearless pantomime (especially at first) worked wonderfully. […]

Science’s Baby Steps

Every now and then, I’m struck by the “Well… duh” discoveries science finally arrives at. My “Well… duh” relationship with science began early. As a child who enjoyed playing with fire, I discovered that putting ice or cold water on a burn worked great. Even so, the standard first aid treatment at that time was […]

A Tao of Parenting

Breeding, and the parenting that follows, are the most significant things we do in life; without this, none of us would be here. Most would agree that the best gift you can give children is raising them as balanced and wisely as possible. This has become more daunting in civilization’s post Agricultural Revolution environment. Gone […]

The Why Of It

Probing into the why of it feels like jumping into a bottomless well of mystery. This is certainly the epitome of quixotic quests. However, there is the survival reward of seeing life as close to its actuality as humanly possible. Exploring the why of it promises a glimpse into nature’s secrets. This is one of […]

It’s Simply Nature’s Way

The Pope’s reference to suffering struck me. (Google [Pope Benedict stumped by Japanese girl’s question about suffering inflicted by the Tsunami].) Briefly, a young girl asked him, “Why do children have to be so sad?” Benedict admitted: “I also have the same questions: why is it this way? Why do you have to suffer so […]

Change we can believe in?

Many people are disappointed with President Obama. This is a good example of how easily our expectations sow the seeds of our disappointments in life. Mature character boils down to how gracefully we can accept a reality that doesn’t match our expectations. Children get their hopes up for one outcome, and when life goes another […]

Children Know What Adults Forget

What in particular do children know that adults forget? For some clues, google [Kids face up to disgust surprisingly late]. Consider this excerpt from Science News: Kids viewed images on a computer screen of adults displaying the six basic emotional expressions. The kids’ task was to assign faces to boxes at the bottom of the […]