Today on Howard Stern I heard a news update which is apparently about a week old, but it was new to me. It centers in on the topic of ultra racial sensitivity. A Dallas Commissioner during a meeting regarding ticket collections said: It sounds like Central Collections has become a black hole. Obviously this was intended to imply that their ticket collections system was comparable to a black hole where things which enter it, never escape. I do not know much about the Dallas municipalities and their issues with ticket collections but when seeing this statement, no matter what the context, I do not see any semblance of racism. However, commissioner John Wiley Price felt that this sort of language was unacceptable, and racist. (You can view the original video of the conversation here.) This is all fine and good, I suppose he is entitled to his stance that a black hole is a […]
Is there a God?
Such a lofty question for me to even attempt to answer. I guess no blog related to Philosophy would be complete without a post like this. In truth, though, I never planned to write on this subject, and in this instance I doubt I will even draw many conclusions. The idea was brought to me by being posted as the question of the month on Philosophy Now, an online magazine I recently found. So to start, I suppose in order to discuss if there is a God, we need to define exactly what a God is, and discuss the implications of each definition. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. (John 4:8) We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. (John 4:16) Okay, well this […]
Presentism and Imagination, Depression
How much would you enjoy a nice big slice of pizza right now? Ignoring the fact that somehow there are people out there who don’t like pizza any time, I would be willing to guess that those of you who are hungry, would enjoy it very much. Those of you who just ate, probably wouldn’t. In fact, if you just ate so much that you are stuffed, the idea of eating pizza which you might otherwise love, might just make you feel a little sick. All animals can predict the hedonic consequences of events they’ve experienced before. But humans can predict the hedonic consequences of events they’ve never experienced by simulating those events in their minds. Scientists are beginning to understand how the brain simulates future events, how it uses those simulations to predict an event’s hedonic consequences, and why these predictions so often go awry. (Prospection: Experiencing the Future) […]
Hi, How are you?
How often have you been asked this question, and how often do you tell the truth? I pass people in the hall ways at work dozens of times a day, and we always exchange these words. The answer is usually: “Fine, how are you?” Right? For me, it is, but its pretty much a lie most of the time. Sometimes I am quite far from being fine. Why do we exchange such petty tidbits of conversation if not only do we often lie, but we also never actually care to know in the first place? The other day, I asked someone as we passed each other in the hall, “Hey, how are you?”, and he responded, “Not good.” and kept walking. While I appreciate his honesty, and I appreciate him even more for continuing to walk instead of making me sit and listen to just why his day was not […]
Staying Organized in a Digital World
I am very anal when it comes to staying organized. I obsess over very small things and I am constantly making to-do lists, or managing things on a calendar. I offload as many standard things I would otherwise have to remember, such as bill due dates, onto a calendar system. I find my day to day life is much more enjoyable when I can put my faith into other systems for remembering when things are due. If you can trust your calendar to remind you when a bill is due, that leaves your brain open to focus on other, more important things. My biggest issue with staying organized has always been related to the world of computers, however. As much as they help, they tend to make an obsessive person such as myself want to have access to everything from everywhere, since something like a calendar is only useful when […]
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