First Blog

  Nature and Thomas A. Edison We consider a quote from Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) and a natural consequential commentary. “Nature is what we know. We do not know the gods of religions. And nature is not kind, or merciful, or loving. If God made me — the fabled God of the three qualities of which I spoke: mercy, kindness, [and] love — He also made the fish I catch and eat. And where do His mercy, kindness, and love for that fish come in? No; nature made us — nature did it all — not the gods of the religions.”   Thomas A. Edison Do you agree? Myself? I have opinions but on this one, I am unsure. But consider… It may have taken a countless number of big bangs to create a Universe capable of life. It is said our particular universe has embedded within it just the right array of constants, unexplainable by any theory, that makes life as we know it possible. This is commonly called the “fine-tuned universe.” And this is aligned with the Universe of philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632

Some of us live by maxims of the famous luminaries, past and present. Yet, it is upon us to understand just what is correct, actionable, and sensible. Let’s consider the lie from the inside and out. For us grown-ups Let’s begin with the maxim from Fyodor Dostoevsky , “Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” This lofty admonition sounds almost Utopian, with dire consequences for violation. The self-lie is wrong.   For the kids. We have “The Little Engine that Could,” a story used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. This means to try hard regardless of doubt, also to be viewed as a possible self-lie. Dostoevsky instructs us not to, but most of us do try. Does this mean we lie to ourselves?   Yet, from another past luminary Thoma