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

 More specifically, why are sciences (physics, chemistry, engineering, et al) so well-trusted while other subjects (sociology, economics, politics) tend to be less trusted?   What is asked would require a book chapter or even an entire book. What I’ll give is an answer furnished by the philosophers, but rarely applies to philosophy itself. It is the notion of Justified True Belief ,* or JTB. This means you can justify your assertion (i.e. prove it based on accepted knowledge and logic), you establish it is true (thus not refutable), and you believe it. This is not quite how it is discussed in philosophy discussions. In most, one begins with the belief, then proves it’s true by some justification, which has a broad interpretation. What we have presented is how JTB works in the classroom. There we are presented with the truth (e.g. proposition), followed by its justification (e.g. proof, experiment), and finally, the student believes it. In scientific research, the process often begins

Currently, professional writers and actor guilds are on strike against the Hollywood studios. Among the many issues are those concerning Artificial Intelligence (AI). The writers argue that the Studios should not be permitted to use AI to write or revise scripts. AI can do it in minutes, or less. This pushes writers out of employment. Their creative force is diminished. So, it becomes a contest as to who will use AI, the writers before the fact or the Studios replacing the writers. This is not the chicken and egg paradox. It is which chicken gets to eat the egg.   Another AI problem is that it can now use images of actors in animated/realistic presentations. Another John Wayne movie? Bogie, maybe. The actors want to prevent this, as well they should. On the other hand, AI   could write a new Mozart concerto or a Beethoven symphony. That could be welcome. Let’s see how that works. Of course, many other issues are on the table in this strike.

 I love Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, cranberries and all. I love stuffing. But only on holidays? And so much work? And so many dishes? So, we reinvent the wheel, Thanksgiving style, with this recipe.  Thanksgiving Dinner in 20 Minutes 1 box stove top stuffing or any kind. 1 corn on the cob. Slice off the cob. Fresh corn is best. 1 or 2 chicken breasts - cooked and cubed. Or a turkey breast, cooked and cubed. Boil corn for a few minutes and set aside. :Prepare stuffing by directions on the box. Combine all three into a bowl and season to taste.  Alternatively place in a casserole and bake for 10-15 minutes.  (Add in a  cooked and  cubed potato or two - additionally.) Sides include gravy and cranberries, and anything else you want. Total time: < 25 minutes. Makes a lot of food. Inexpensive.

 In this chapter, we take up the character of the problem-solver. Their task is not a simple one. First, we look at 11 traits of the problem-solver, from being analytic to decisive, from being resilient to open-minded, and so on. (Section 2.)  Yet, the story is not as simple as that. There are pitfalls and risks owing to bias and other forms of subjectivity. (Section 4.) Remarkably, some of these are new on the scene in both psychology and philosophy. Even the way the problem is presented can affect the outcome and solution. In between we take up the paradox of incompetence – a massive problem we live with day after day, year after year. Introduction Characteristics of the Problem-Solver The Problem-Solving Paradox What Can Go Wrong? Conclusions. Link. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/g-donald-allen-420b0315_characteristics-and-pitfalls-of-the-problem-solver-activity-7081938526518317056-QzGm?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

 Super Power and Super Forces + Violence Did you know that 99% of all top-grossing American movies use special effects of some kind.  About 14% of all American movies feature super heroes. An extra 5% of American movies feature super powers of some sort. Thus 19% (or 1 in 5) of all American movies exhibit super-something as one of their key components.  About 94% of the top-grossing movies in the United States from 1985 to 2014 featured at least one violent scene. Of those movies, half involved a gun. Just for the record 73% of the top 100 grossing movies in 2017 contained at least one instance of foul language. Of them 43% used the F* word. Other percentages?  sh*t (33%), a**hole (26%), and damn (25%).

Does ChatGPT Have Imagination? We all have imagination, but precisely what it is depends on the definition. Here are a few ideas about the concept in the large scope. Logic, faith, belief, emotion, or any specific basis of thought are optional. Examples include: ·        Intuition – based on knowledge ·        Inspiration – based on knowledge but more spontaneous ·        Innovation – based on knowledge but guided by thought ·        Dream states and daydreaming – seemingly random ·        Thought experiments – highly controlled imagining More basically, imagination is simply associating ideas and concepts together. It doesn’t have to make sense, like a dream or idea. Imagination can be about ideas, objects, situations, or events. Imagination often occurs spontaneously, seemingly random, sometimes about what you’re doing or thinking at the time. Taking this as a definition, we can certainly program imagination. Simply write a program to randomly consider two or more conce

  Dream States. We now  delve into the great known unknown, the mind’s secret weapon, the dream.  Therein lies a power most certainly unknown, and scarcely studied. Let’s begin at the movies. What happens when you watch an intense movie late at night?  Your mind is absorbed in the pictures, dialogue, and sounds of the film.  Your mind still dwells on these, computing, digesting, and ruminating on all of these even into sleep. In your dreams, your subconscious mind recalls all these thoughts but convolutes them as only dreams can. Maybe you wake up with yourself a part of the distortion. Maybe, you make it through the night of restless sleep but you wake troubled. Dreams fade quickly, happily.  Has this happened to you?  To me, many times. As a pre-teen, my dad took me to the movie,  The Man with the Atom Brain .  The imagery and plot of that movie stayed with me for years. I know this was a childhood fantasy, scientifically unrealizable even now, but a remake of the movie titled, The