First Blog

  Uncertainty is Certain G. Donald Allen 12/12/2024 1.       Introduction . This short essay is about uncertainty in people from both secular and nonsecular viewpoints. One point that will emerge is that randomly based uncertainty can be a driver for religious structure. Many groups facing uncertainty about their future are deeply religious or rely on faith as a source of comfort, resilience, and guidance. The intersection of uncertainty and religiosity often stems from the human need to find meaning, hope, and stability in the face of unpredictable or challenging circumstances. We first take up the connections of uncertainty to religion for the first real profession, farming, noting that hunting has many similar uncertainties. Below are groups that commonly lean on religious beliefs amidst uncertainty.   This short essay is a follow-up to a previous piece on certainty (https://used-ideas.blogspot.com/2024/12/certainty-is-also-emotion.html). U...

  Doubt is the beginning of knowledge . It suggests that you will not accept anything without substantiation. Doubt forms the cornerstone of all sciences. The genius who thinks of the great idea begins with doubt on their journey to prove it, to use it to predict, and to harness it in leading the way to further discoveries. Self-doubt is as essential as self-confidence.   Doubt is the enemy of the demagogue. It says, “You can’t pass this one off on me with just a few words.”   Doubt is a form of uncertainty  - but a constructive form. .  Self-doubt is as essential as self-confidence.   Doubt is the main tool of the detective who seeks to solve the crime.   Doubt is the constant worry of parents about whether they are doing the best for their children.   Doubt, or more precisely, reasonable doubt, is the cornerstone of establishing verdicts within the corpus of the Law.   Teachers use doubt to measure whether their students are und...

A big term these days is “Uncertainty.” This means people are not sure of what’s happening. Another big word is “Manipulation.” This means some quantity is altered on command. Adding one and one, we have “Manipulated Uncertainty.” And this means some agency is manipulating the uncertainty.   It applies to trade, to stock prices, to war, to politics, to materialism, and even to climate. Massive gains are available, as are massive losses. Causes: Too much money, too much polarization, too much hate, too much emotion, too much greed, too much profit, too much power, and too darn easy. Think it new?  Nope. Ancient.

Plasma Partisans We have achieved a new and advanced state in devotion to alternative political viewpoints.  All of us know the  partisan  has allegiance to a given party.  The next level up is the  hyperpartisan , which means extremely partisan, sharply polarized in fierce disagreement with the opposition. Hyperpartisans are generally uninterested in compromise.  We'll call the next level the  plasma partisan  where all the (political) bonds of allegiance have been stripped away, leaving an ionized substance with an increased polemic political temperature. It is a dislocation of molecular-like bonds of normal political discourse, even to the hyperpartisan.  The plasma partisan, while appearing to want their presence within a party, is substantially beyond their normal controls.  Such could be likened to free radicals, those causing cancerous cell growth within. They often have a well defined, call it plasmatic, cause or...