Absolutely jaw dropping feat of human capability. Just wait until he runs in his crampons across the ridge of the Eiger to get to the summit. Pure awesome.
Monthly Archives: August 2011
It’s Okay to Not Know the Secrets of the Universe
The title says it all… we don’t NEED the answers and it’s not bad when we don’t have them, but we’re working on them. Constantly improving. All the time. Too many people think it’s our fault we don’t have all the answers. It’s not. Humans can’t know everything even given 1 million years. We have consciously existed a fraction of that and we are by no means close to knowing everything. Over 90% of the energy in the universe is unaccounted for, dark matter and dark energy… but like I said, that’s okay, we’re working on it. It is infinitely far better of us to admit to the stuff we don’t know than it is to claim there is little left to explore. Knowing what we don’t know allows us room for exploration, and that is what matters.
Here is a simple comic I made utilizing one of Einstein’s best quotes in my opinion. If you would like to comment on the topic, don’t hesitate.
Incredibly Intriguing Visual Data On Global Improvement: Video
Jetman Flight At Grand Canyon West
Watching this sent excitement and chills up my spine. Being an Aerospace Engineer and a past member of the Air Force, this video really gave me a sudden inspirational urge to do something like this myself. Watch this in full screen HD, turn up the volume and be surrounded by pure awesome.
Warfare is Inevitable: Modern Humanity’s Way of ‘Survival of the Fittest’
You heard me right, warfare is inevitable as long as our species walks this planet. I don’t care who you talk to and how much they advocate world peace… It will NEVER happen, EVER. I’ll tell you why.
Of course we all would love a world without war; a peaceful place wherever you place your longitude and latitude would be wonderful. The only problem is that each and every person in the entire world has a different idea of what a peaceful world would look like, thus, warfare. Each person and their immediate relations has “wants” and/or “needs” that satisfy them to some extent. Their current existence will never be good until those wants and/or needs are met.
In nature, animals fight to survive. They fight over food, water, territory, mates, and even just pure dominance. It is literally survival of the fittest. Or in other words, Darwinian natural selection. In other, other words, evolution. Robert Sapalsky, doctor of Biological Sciences said, “In the realm of aggression, lots of other species kill, they kill members of their own species, they kill them in anger, they kill them in cold blood premeditation, they kill them strategically in ways that would make Machiavelli (philosopher) proud, they do it to each other’s infants, they do it competatively, advantageously. We’re not the only species that kills”. He then refers to Jane Goodall, the leading chimpanzee expert and her photographs… “We are not the only species that kills in an organized matter. This is a border patrol, a group of chimps that have gotten together and they are patrolling the edge of their territory and if they encounter another male, they will attack and kill him”…’ the only thing that changes between humans and chimps is the tools and the strategy’.
Now this just gives us an idea that every species has and will kill in an effort to maintain what benefits themselves. But how about humans? Can humans overcome this with our trait of an evolved brain that can rationalize and comprehend?
I don’t think so, and here’s why. As stated above, every single person/group in the world has their own idea of a peaceful life. Just here in America we have 2 major political parties that cause enough tension that some individuals impose hatred and violence to advocate for or against one of those parties. Take that to the extreme and you could have 2 different national doctrines, capitalist democracy and socialist communism. Each nation believes whole heartedly that they have best system of government.
Then you get into probably the worst category of all, religion. There are over 3,500 known religions in the world and about 2,500 of them are theistic religions. Each and every one of these has its own world view. Countless wars have been fought in the last few thousand years over religious superiority. If there were no single religion in the history of the world, Earth would ALMOST be war free, but not quite.
The problem is a self perpetuating meme, according to Margaret Mead a late American anthropologist. Whom I agree with on certain things but not all things. Her general idea was that war is perfectly contagious… in that “when one group enters conflict/war, others must either take it up or be destroyed”. This is quite literally the definition of survival of the fittest. If America doesn’t agree the Islamic Extremists who think a perfect world is one without “infidels”, then one or both ideologies are going to attack. President George Washington had a very inciteful quote, “To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace”. Peace among a community requires a defense that has lethal capabilities because it is guaranteed there will be someone out there willing to harm that community for their own ideology. And if you don’t protect yourself from that, then your community may fall tragically.
The peace symbol is actually of military origin, it represents 2 flag symbols of the letters "N" and "D" that stand for Nuclear Disarmament. I'm sorry to all hippies and global peace advocates but the symbol is only political and culturally impossible. As much as global peace is a great idea in principal, it can never be reached.
As long as 1 person of the soon to be 7 billion people in this world has a different world view, there will be conflict. And since humans are easily manipulated and prone to influence, there will always be a group out there that will stand up and fight for what they believe in. It has happened since the dawn of human intellect and it will continue to happen until the extinction of the human species. A world conflict free is a world without life and/or a world run by robots… and if those robots have the ability to think for themselves, they will have conflict just the same.
Warfare is the byproduct of individual thinking. It is the telltale sign that we as humans actually can rationalize and comprehend… so it’s because of this that we will always have warfare, it is not because of this ability that we will rid the world of conflict. The best we can hope for is to live within a community that has strong barriers but an open heart.
Let me know what you think, I’d be glad to hear.
How To Live Impeccably Above Yourself
The Dalai Lama once said the following after being asked what surprises him the most.
”Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he doesn’t enjoy the present; The result being he doesn’t live in the present or the future; He lives as if he’s never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.” – Dalai Lama
A little while ago I came across something on the internet that contained a list of ways to make your life impeccably above average. Don’t look at this as one of those silly “self help” posts or therapy sessions. Most everything on the list is something every human being in the world can rather easily improve upon. This list I wrote down on 2 pieces of paper and have posted above my computer desk so that I can see them every day. Make sure to read through all of it and remember that it’s not about making you better than everyone else, but about making you better than yourself.
- Exercise daily.
- Get serious about gratitude.
- See your work as a craft.
- Expect the best and prepare for the worst.
- Keep a journal.
- Plan a schedule for your week.
- Know the 5 highest priorities of your life.
- Say no to distractions.
- Drink a lot of water.
- Improve your work every single day.
- Get a mentor.
- Hire a coach.
- Get up at 5 am each day.
- Eat less food.
- Find more heroes.
- Be a hero to someone.
- Smile at strangers.
- Be the most ethical person you know.
- Don’t settle for anything less than excellence.
- Savor life’s simplest pleasures.
- Save 10% of your income each month.
- Spend time at art galleries.
- Walk in the woods.
- Write thank you letters to those who’ve helped you.
- Forgive those who’ve wronged you.
- Remember that leadership is about influence and impact, not title and accolades.
- Create unforgettable moments with those you love.
- Have 5 great friends.
- Become stunningly polite.
- Unplug your TV.
- Read daily.
- Avoid the news.
- Be content with what you have.
- Pursue your dreams.
- Be authentic.
- Be passionate.
- Say sorry when you know you should.
- Never miss a moment to celebrate another.
- Have a vision for your life.
- Know your strengths.
- Focus your mind on the good versus the lack.
- Be patient.
- Don’t give up.
- Clean up your messes.
- Use impeccable words.
- Travel more.
- Honor your parents.
- Tip taxi drivers well.
- Be a great teammate.
- Give no energy to critics.
- Spend time in the mountains.
- Know your top 5 values.
- Shift from being busy to achieving results.
- Innovate and iterate.
- Speak less. Listen more.
- Be the best person you know.
- Make your life matter.
If you so wish, add more to your own list, or comment about what you see in this current one.
The Complete and Total Atrocity of Religious Indoctrination: Video
I’m going to keep this brief so you can get to the video… indoctrinating children into ANYTHING (let alone religion) is one of the worst atrocities known to man. It belittles human intelligence and forcefully strips away any and all freedoms one might have at a point in time when they are incapable of making decisions for themselves. NO child is born religious, it is a belief. NO child is born a “Flat Earther”. NO child is born republican. What I must tell those who are parents, soon to be parents or those who are considering parenthood… NEVER. EVER. Under any circumstance, raise your child in a way that teaches them that “beliefs” are “facts”. It’s selfish, cruel, and in religious terms… sinful. If you want to teach your children, teach them many varieties of ideologies and allow them to come to a conclusion for themselves when they are old enough. It’s not by chance that so many Christians are in America, Hindus are in India and Muslims are in the Middle East.
WARNING: This video contains graphic imagery.
Related articles
- The Process of Indoctrination (theperplexedobserver.blogspot.com)
