Psychology is an interesting study that has some part to play in understanding why some decisions are taken without anyone seeming to run through a process of reasoning. I have somewhere in these ruminations talked about the psychology of history but I am thinking this evening about China rowing with the USA because its AAA…
How Talented Are You?
Human beings have a series of gifts but many of us exhibit an aptitude with them superior to others. Many of us practice and become more adept and skilled than others. But when did the applause first turn someone’s head? I think of this, watching the talent shows and seeing how emotionally wrought people are…
Plus ça Change
“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose “, first written by Karr but closely associated with the Theatre of the Absurd a century later, this saying which sums up Waiting for Godot also is supposed to sum up much of life. That no matter what we do, and what we make, the few fundamentals…
What Is A Marriage
When I was at school it was a rough guide to say one third of all marriages ended in divorce. Some say it is more or mostly the same statistic today. The ideal is to stay married all one’s life so one has to ask what did these people do right to begin with and…
Alter Ego
Perhaps because Hollywood has gone AWOL on making Marvel comics come to life but I find myself thinking about the super-hero. Maybe because as children most of us go through a phase of wanting to fly, beat the bully, change our lives without actually trying just snapping the fingers, or leaping away from our homes…
Toothache
So it seems fillings that come loose can hurt and whilst that made me think about pain in all its attributes I was also reminded that no matter how much the poor manage to save the savings always have to go on something important they were not expecting. As if all savings were for emergencies…
Cabals and Conspiracies
One of the finest pieces of advice I was ever given when reviewing news items in international politics (or anything actually) was to ask the question ‘Who benefits?’ The result of this simple question leads directly onto the question ‘Who benefits from me believing this?’ and from there to a host of questions. It is…
A Single Idea
How do we prove our existence? The question may seem frivolous as this is something that needs no proof except when you ask yourself simple questions such as, ‘How do we know this existence is not a dream?’ ‘Can I prove you exist and are not in my imagination?’ The idea and the attempts to…
Expedient Recognition
This week the British Government recognised along with a good many other countries, the Libyan opposition as the legitimate leadership. At the same time the British Government says nothing about aspirations around the world of small peoples who are not rebelling against their own leadership because actually, it is not their own. Why do we…
Brinkmanship
Watching the American arguments on Capitol Hill about the budget has been (for a foreigner) a dispiriting and banal experience. The arguments surrounding the life-blood of the American people (money) take place with hardly any real thought about what those people are suffering. It is not usual for us to think of American’s suffering, or…