Wisdom of Ages

A revelation of present sense and mutual relevance

I first published this article in Feb 2010. A lot has changed since then... The human brain has long been called the last frontier of science, and by most accounts the mind remains a mystery. Given that our brain regulate every aspect of our life experience and our mind is at a loss without it you may be surprised to know that until recently we knew very little about it. Given that technology has advanced to the level that we can study it in action you may think we know more, but it seems we're more at a loss than ever before. From understanding the difference between emotional and neutral memories, to finding why people in a happy mood will almost always choose the first of any available choices given, all the way through to the role of emotions in determining self bias and the recent shocking discovery that morals are nothing less than conclusions and deductions to defend our actions. Take the recent discovery that imagination takes place in the same region of the br...

Sometimes people need to be reminded about reality. This typically take the form of one or the other seemingly innocent experience that spark a childhood memory of anguish and regret, which in turn ignite a dozen or so others you had similarly denied and explode with such a force that it shakes the very foundation of what you consider to be reality. When the the bedrock of reality start crumbling in the face of revelation there is little time for reason. It is then that it pays to have some kind of understanding that will inform the choice to be made. And it is worthy to note that the overwhelming feeling of doubt is transient. Do not panic. Breathe. Believe in your heart what is true and choose. If choice allow change in the face of cost, then you better hold on to your hat if you can. When the storm winds of change come to blow you just hold on tight, and wait until it is over. Also keep in mind that wherever you are, there you will stand resolute in your choic...

If you are looking for likely candidates to bring ruin to any relation, you have to look no further than words. I will always maintain a healthy respect for the power of the spoken word, but goodness knows. There is hardly a word still around you can trust for the sense people try to make when they share the idea. Its all a bit like way back when it was still fun to attempt your advice. Why I clearly remember a time when I did, convinced that my word had the holy conviction of all that is good in the world. Remember the times that you knew you were right? I guess there come a time in everybody's life to be found wanting when it matter the most. The funny thing is, were it not for hurt or shame or guilt or fear the odds are better than not you are right. If a common understanding exist and you share your conviction in honest and trust, the chance you are wrong will be slimmer to none. Unless of course, there is always the odd chance that maybe they thought... Maybe you should have t...

If intention is the seed that fertilises our collective conciousness to give birth to existence, then the quote below is quantum proof of pretty much everything. It defines our universal role as observers on a mission to explore the myriad of possibilities we have, and manifest those that are the most appealing. In quantum mechanics,  wave function collapse  (also called collapse of the state vector or reduction of the wave packet) is the process by which a wave function, initially in a superposition of different eigenstates, appears to reduce to a single one of the states after interaction with an observer.  In simplified terms, it is the condensation of physical possibilities into a single occurrence, as seen by an observer. It is one of two processes by which quantum systems evolve in time according to the laws of quantum mechanics as presented by John von Neumann.[1] And thus we find that quantum mechanics provide the perfect proof to support the notion ...

The most common reply when someone requests proof of God would probably refer to the sunrise, but this may not necessarily be wise. Although the beauty and the majesty of God certainly reflect in nature, by definition nature is of spirit no more than whispers on the wind. So what is it you may ask? I suppose beauty is as good a place to start as anywhere, and just like all the others share the qualities that mark the spirit everywhere. Qualities like timeless, wonder and universal resonance are ways that would describe a thing of beaut, be that in a diamond buff, angelic face or sunrise seen. I remember well the torrent overcome as gathered friends are swept away with feeling at the break of day, and throughout history you find that dawn has left its mark in rituals old as time. For some a theme repeated day by day, for others seasonal on special days, but every one no less in their significance. Beauty shines from many source to lift the heart and cloud the mind with awe and wonde...

(Warning! This may be challenging to read, but as rewarding at the end) We have been gifted with a recent addition to our motley crew of souls and since, our lives have been blessed untold. She captures our attention, time after time to be blissfully lost in playful innocence and awe, and leave us filled with wonder evermore. Mind you, that could so be said of all. Even Patsy, that rule the nest with the threat of getting highly upset should her word not be met is much more than what you’d expect. And what she gets by being as cute as a gremlin in mogwai disguise she only takes so every now and then, and demand it only rare these days. But hands down cuter than what Patsy sound you must see our baby cat. She’s a button that can fascinate for hours in a whirlwind of attention deficit delight, scaring monsters hide and dare and fighting foe and friend in the abundance of life we share. Which remind me to ask if everyone knows that kittens sleep blissful unaware? Trusting natur...

Unless you have been privileged to jump out of a plain or bungee off a bridge you cannot really say that you have experienced it, although there are a lot of ways that we try to imitate it. Take for instance circus flyers or loop-de-loop carnival rides, and I’m wondering why? For instance, did you know that our brain has the ability to make us feel as if we are free falling, even if were not? Scientists have recently discovered that our auditory system include a bulbous mass that start to vibrate if exposed the the right frequency of sound, and when it does you experience free falling. Right down to the loss of ability of just about everything you thought you had under control. I have never experienced it myself, but I think I have felt it while listening to an advertising media clip with enhanced sound. And still I don’t know why we would have such a trigger in sound? And why would evolution procreate such an obviously redundant ability? Why would it be found in other species even t...

What is it to be a law? According to an article online, there are four reasons philosophers examine what it is to be a law of nature: First, laws at least appear to have a central role in scientific practice. Second, laws are important to many other philosophical issues. For example, sparked by the account of counterfactuals defended by Roderick Chisholm (1946, 1955) and Nelson Goodman (1947), and also prompted by Carl Hempel and Paul Oppenheim's (1948) deductive-nomological model of explanation, philosophers have wondered what makes counterfactual and explanatory claims true, have thought that laws must play some part, and so also have wondered what distinguishes laws from nonlaws. Third, Goodman famously suggested that there is a connection between lawhood and confirmability by an inductive inference. So, some sympathetic to Goodman's idea come to the problem of laws as a result of their interest in the problem of induction. Fourth, philosophers love a good puzzle. So if I ha...

It is a modern day fact that society is the glue that holds our human existence together. It protects us, gives us purpose and rewards us for good service. It is then not surprising that social benevolence and standing become an important part of peoples lives. The things that happen to us and how we are viewed by the people that make up our society may gain a significance beyond our own. What many people fail to realize is that social benevolence may provide a platform for contact with others, but that it does not provide any assurance of connection. It is this need for connection that is the root of what psychologists and sociologists call our herd mentality. By connecting with others we share and we grow. But people compromise to be able to fit in. People cheat to belong. The result of this, is that even if we achieve contact we cannot connect because we are not truthful, or even honest with ourselves. And while we are lying to ourself we cannot be honest with others. While we...

How many of us still hold the view that the brain is an organ that doesn't change? Do you believe that we are born with what we have, and after that it is all pretty much downhill as our brain cells continue to die off as we get older? The good news is that this view is incorrect! According to a NewScientist Special Feature the brain is probably the organ that can expect the most changes during our lifetime as it constantly adapts to our changing environment. It starts to develop withing 5 weeks of gestation and continue to grow during the first two trimesters of pregnancy. After this period of construction it is ready to begin processing information it receives via sensory input. Perhaps surprisingly, learning, memory and language begin before we are even born. After birth the brain continues expanding its functional capacities, and at the age of approximately three months the cerebral cortex becomes active. The frontal cortex of the brain will ultimately govern such th...