First Blog

  Happiness is Not Easy If you want to be happy, be . --- Leo Tolstoy Introduction . Whoa! Tolstoy’s counsel is not so easy in our highly conflicted world, with everyone seeking to change us or imposing changes upon us. But our present world has little to do with it. Happiness is a state, though some claim happiness is ephemeral while others suggest it can be permanent. We claim this is too simplistic.   So let’s instead look at states of happiness , not so much as an evolution, not a variable, but mostly constant and immutable. We dismiss the usual forms of happiness , including the hedonic, social, achievement, materialistic, mindfulness, philanthropic, spiritual, health, and creative. These are specific forms from which happiness is sometimes attained. They are subsumed by the general states considered here. We dismiss as well other aspects, or subtypes of happiness including joy, contentment, hope, serenity, gratitude, satisfaction, optimism, fulfillment, amusement, bliss, a

Alfred Lord Tennyson  (1809-1892) was a renowned English poet often hailed as the Victorian era's preeminent representative. Born in Lincolnshire, England, Tennyson displayed his poetic talent from an early age, composing his first verses as a teenager. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he solidified his literary aspirations and formed lifelong friendships with fellow poets like Arthur Hallam. Tennyson's career was marked by a sense of romanticism blended with a keen interest in social and scientific developments of his time. His early poetry collection, "Poems Chiefly Lyrical" (1830), caught the attention of literary circles, while "In Memoriam" (1850), a tribute to his deceased friend Hallam, showcased his mastery of elegiac verse. In 1859, Tennyson published "Idylls of the King," a series of narrative poems that reimagined the Arthurian legends in a Victorian context. Queen Victoria's admiration for his work led to his appointmen

What is Reality? G Donald Allen Introduction . To illustrate specifically an impossible problem, let’s solve one – or try to. “What is reality? [1] ” First, don’t worry if you disagree, as we’ll try to solve the problem in several ways. Books have been written on just this subject.  As well, the solutions offered include most of the standard theories of reality such as realism [2] , phenomenalism [3] , perception [4] , idealism [5] , pragmatism [6] , and constructivism [7] , often in combination – much to the horror of philosophers, I’m sure. Our intent is not to solve this problem, but to establish it probably cannot be solved. See Appendix A for common definitions and Appendix B for types of impossible problems. What is Reality? Solving the Reality Problem . We’ll limit ourselves to six explanations or solutions, though the simulation explanation reduces to another. As well, explanation #5 indicates we can’t do it no matter what. The descriptions are rather brief, and not anywh