All is Vanity, Saith the Preacher On the Day of the Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus Fame, wisdom, love, and power were mine, And health and youth possess’d me; My goblets blush’d from every vine, And lovely forms caress’d me; I sunn’d my heart in beauty’s eyes, And felt my soul grow tender; All earth…
Education’s Limitation
When I was younger I used to be impressed by people who could come out with a quotation from someone famous for every occasion. It is a consequence of the private education in the UK where the elements of debating are well taught and practiced, which in turn is a training for the legal profession…
Predictions
At this time of year the airwaves are filled with pundits of all descriptions guessing at what may happen in the year ahead. I thought I would give my own – sometimes fantastical- version of what lies ahead of us. The world will not end, at least not for all of us but for many…
It Isn’t Always What You Think
I remember my first lesson about fine art being about the manipulation and painting of light, and not so much the ‘object’ being painted. I was reminded of this recently learning the processes and considerations of typesetting a book because I came at the design from the point of view of the writer, looking at…
Mind Manipulation
Hoping to find a cure for depression many years ago doctors cut the connecting tissue in patients, that joined the two hemispheres of the brain. Subsequently patients found themselves doing the same thing twice without realising – such as putting on two sets of clothes – because the hemisphere they had rarely used thought the…
Authority
When I visited Jerusalem in 2008 and absent-mindedly told a religious lady I did not believe in god, besides her visible shock, she asked me who I looked to for authority. I have to admit the question took me off guard because I come from a tradition that views all religious texts as written by…
Atom to Atom
I was listening about the concepts derived from Quantum mathematics and the Pauli constant. Basically the Pauli constant states that no two elections can occupy the same energy level and this is why as we progress through the pH Table we get to elements that add more and more electrons and these orbit the nuclei…
A Joke To End 2011
So you think someone is in charge of the universe? ……………………………………. Saul is working in his store when he hears a booming voice from above: “Saul, sell your business.” He ignores it. It goes on for days. “Saul, sell your business for $3 million.” After weeks of this, he relents, sells his store….
George Orwell
Not widely known for writing poems, his work is thoughtful. ………………………………………………. The lesser evil Empty as death and slow as pain The days went by on leaden feet; And parson’s week had come again As I walked down the little street. Without, the weary doves were calling, The sun burned on the banks of mud;…
Christmas
Religions have a lifetime. People don’t really like to think about this because we are always looking for certainty and religions have often offered us some measure of security in our certainty, and the idea that they necessarily grow and fall is not sympathetic to the mind. But actually as we change so do they….