Sparky's Doom

Back in my impressionable youth, I got myself a subscription to the Science Fiction Book Club (still a pretty good bargain) and obtained a copy of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy. One of the central themes of the series was that, at least on the macro level, it was possible to predict the future with a high degree of success. In this theoretical far-away time, computers and statisticians were sufficiently sophisticated as to be able to obtain and analyze enough data to determine the fate of mankind for the next thousand years.

It seemed to me to be eminently plausible. What's more, it didn't go far enough.

Stepping Lightly

In The Goal, I closed by noting that it (the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything) was all about going with the flow, smelling the roses, and keeping the load light. A lot of things go into “The Load”. It's the sum total of everything that slows your step, weighs on your mind and grinds you down. It's responsibilities you don't need, desires your can't sate, and guilt you can't forget.

The Goal

I put a lot of thought into how I should spend my time on this planet. I've worked out a number of rules to live by to ensure that I won't be miserable, that I wont destroy myself too quickly, and that I'll be able to look myself in the mirror without too much shame. I think I know “how” to live. I'm still working on “why”.

What Do You Believe That You Can't Prove?

I came across an interesting collaborative essay the other day called "What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It?" It's basically a series of short vignettes by a jillion luminaries about hunches they have that they that can't quite yet prove. It's billed as a sort of study on how great minds can sometimes leap to the truth before their intellect can support it. That's not how I read it, though.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

It was only with the help of much alcohol and religious debate that I was able to finally give voice to what I'll refer to as my moral “basic premise”. “Basic Premise” is a concept I've borrowed from Ayn Rand, who famously said, “Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.”. I like that because it converts the concepts of “Right” and “Wrong” from the litany of rules impressed upon you in your youth by the appropriate authorities into a logical progression stemming from something that is, hopefully, less arbitrary.

The Ownership Society

“Greed, in all of its forms -- greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge -- has marked the upward surge of mankind.” - Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street”

The President famously coined the phrase “Ownership Society” to describe the intended results of his initiatives to unload government entitlement obligations. I suppose that's a valid enough goal, but I think we've already got an “ownership society”. By that I mean that we, as a society, seem to be pretty focused on owning as much as we possibly can.

Tomorrow's God

Neale Donald Walsch believe that the time has come for humanity to let go of "yesterday's God" and make may for tomorrow's. His theory is that the religions of the day have got most of "it" right, but maybe 5% isn't quite on. They need to acknowledge the value of inquiry, and accept that "every church is 'his church,' and every faith is 'her faith,' and every soul is God's soul, because it shares the same soul with God!"

Eh. Maybe.