Second and Third Thoughts
But don’t let yourself off the hook, never forgive yourself, for not caring or not trying.
via Seths Blog: Forgive yourself.
I seem to be in a motivational mood for some recent posts. But I’d add “… for whining and not taking responsibility.” I’ve done these too often.
I want to live my life taking the risk, all the time, that I don’t know anything like enough yet. That I haven’t understood enough. That I can’t know enough. That I’m always hungrily operating on the margins of a potentially great harvest of future knowledge and wisdom. I wouldn’t have it any other way, and I’d urge you to look at […] those people who tell you, at your age, that you’re dead until you believe as they do. What a terrible thing to be telling to children. And that you can only live by accepting an absolute authority. Don’t think of that as a gift, think of it as a poisoned chalice. Push it aside however tempting it is. Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty and wisdom will come to you that way.
— Christopher Hitchens, 2010
Another chuckle from the Jesus & Mo archive—the punchline is somewhat telegraphed, but I still laughed out loud.
The article, The Fine Art of Bullshit: Killed by Google, appeared in my inbox this morning from Medium. It has a quite amusing conceit and is a fun read for the 2–3 minutes it takes. The author tries to show the difference that smart phones and 24×7 Internet access makes to conversation. The “discussion”? Someone suggests that Steven Tyler and Mary Tyler Moore are brother and sister. In 1994, there is no conclusion. An argument rages; the protagonists try all kinds of ways to find out, but fail. And they spent quite some time doing this.
Contrast 1994 with 2014: someone offers the possibility of this sibling relationship. Everyone immediately goes online and, within seconds, confirms that it’s not true. That, as far as this author is concerned, is the end of it. In my opinion: not the case.
What happens these days is that disputes about fact can indeed be quickly resolved. However, that does not kill the conversation. It broadens into other areas; maybe about MTM’s best movies, or Aerosmith’s worst songs, or something entirely different. Today’s instant access to information may kill the bullshit, but it does not kill the conversation. It enriches it.
I’ve just started reading Hitch 22: A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens. I was very taken by the sentiment in this paragraph.
If there is anybody known to you who might benefit from a letter or a visit, do not on any account postpone the writing or the making of it. The difference made will almost certainly be more than you have calculated.
Freddie completes the single and shakes the hands of the umpire. For a man of his talent, it’s a modest bits-and-pieces game. And yet still, Freddie has almost won the game. He almost sucked the victory into his orbit. Just by being there. Freddie is a marvel, even when he isn’t. It was finals day, he wasn’t even supposed to play, and even on the losing side at the non-striker’s end, he is the story… … Freddie is still the hero. But it’s not his time.
via Freddie’s final | cricket with balls.
Another lovely piece of cricket writing by Jarrod Kimber about the final of the T20 Blast.
Further to my post, a few days back, on the Freedom of Thought report, the World Humanist Congress, which has been meeting in Oxford over the past week has issued The Oxford Declaration on Freedom of Thought and Expression. The full text is reproduced below.
I’ve been reading the report, Freedom of Thought 2013 published by the International Humanist and Ethical Union:
Freedom of Thought 2013 is the first report to look at the rights and treatment of the non-religious in every country in the world. Specifically, it looks at how non-religious individuals—whether they call themselves atheists, or agnostics, or humanists, or freethinkers or are otherwise just simply not religious—are treated because of their lack of religion or absence of belief in a god. We focus on discrimination by state authorities; that is systemic, legal or official forms of discrimination and restrictions on freedom of thought, belief and expression.
A couple of articles drew my attention recently: Religion Takes Offence Too Easily in the Urban Times and a short note on the debate in the House of Lords, International compliance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights concerning freedom of belief.
From the Lords’ debate:
… Lord Singh of Wimbledon: ‘Religions do not help themselves by claims of exclusivity or superiority. This simply demeans other members of our one human race and suggests that they, the others, are lesser beings. We all know what happens in the school playground when one boy boasts—it is usually boys—that, “My dad is bigger or stronger or cleverer than your dad”. The end result is fisticuffs. My appeal to our different religions and the leaders of religion is to stop playing children’s games.’
From the Urban Times piece:
… offering my two cents. I wrote that therein lies the bane of religion. When confronted with fact, the religious deem it a mockery of their beliefs. They expect their irrational points of view to be treated with the same respect as all facts, neglecting the FACT that their claims have been proven unable to stand up to rational, realistic, or critical scrutiny. [On second thought, they demand that their points of view be treated better than facts, because you can make fun of facts, but you apparently can’t make fun of theological assertions.]
Both of these remarks seem to me to make entirely valid points. In the UK, society is certainly becoming more secular, and the suggestion that religion is needed to maintain morals and standards of behaviour is not acceptable. The argument that use of the scientific method and the requirement for evidence is some form of bullying is no less sound. I realise, of course, that not everyone will change their views despite overwhelming evidence—anthropogenic climate change, creationism/intelligent design, vaccination, the Decision Review System.
oddrops 