Intelligence is a fragile thing. In individuals, it can produce great results but be unstable. In a society, it can be fatal. With intelligence comes the problem of having a brain that does not easily power down. Like the engine on a race car, it likes to go at full-speed all the time. If you [...]
Posts under ‘Socialization’
Isolato
One reason this society is like standing in a cold rain storm: there is no agreed-upon way to be a good person, short of that weird form of politeness that consists in deference to all except when there is personal gain immediately at hand. Modern politeness is this strange sado-masochistic role in which the correct [...]
Alienation
In a time without a goal, where the demand for equality of people has forced out any idea that some choices might be more realistic than others, the most common emotion is rage. Anger at the world pervades our society. From the delight people take at cutting each other off in line and pretending they [...]
Emotions
What use are emotions, anyway? I have spent a lot of time, pondering this, because there has always seemed to be something about men, displaying, and making decisions based upon, emotions, that somehow wasn’t quite right. We have probably all noticed the female predisposition to be emotional. To respond to things emotionally. To speak of [...]
Design and dysfunction
Like many microwaves, ours is not new or old. It fits in the comfortable middle that we normally exclude from our thinking, between the extremes to the point where we feel uneasy about assigning it either trait. It certainly isn’t old, but in the intervening seven years, many newer models have emerged. The newer vintage [...]
Working hard
In the post-1789 regime, “working hard” is our religious sacrament. Whenever someone succeeds, we are quick to praise them for having worked hard. If we need to be motivated, we are told to work hard. Yet most work is like cheap bread: light, spongy and with many large pockets of air. For example, at your [...]
Jesus
We all know about Jesus, don’t we? Or do we? Ladies and gentlemen: please return your seats to the upright position, and fasten your safety belts. There may be severe turbulence ahead… Was Jesus the one-and-only Son Of God? If he was, then he was perfect. Was Jesus perfect? A perfect being would not need [...]
Honesty
There has been a lot of talk, in recent days, about honesty. It must be in the process of becoming a high priority, at least for some, made evident by its extreme lack. Where did it go? Why did it go? How to get it back? We can’t ‘get it back’. Not in the instant-gratification [...]
Wisdom
The wise man was always wise. He simply didn’t know it. Many people specialize in labeling other people ‘stupid’. This is a very odd phenomenon, but it must be a way to allow the stupid people, to feel less stupid, themselves. The stupid man has this characteristic outlook: If he hears, or reads, something he [...]
The good leader
The good leader is one who has discovered the tools necessary to lead himself. Being well-led, he then concerns himself with providing these tools to others, that they may also lead themselves. Leadership is necessary to men. Their minds and bodies require direction, lest they fetch up on reefs and shoals. The mind makes a [...]
