tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132955912024-03-13T06:30:27.535-07:00The Art of Apologetics"I want to fight for Jesus…To win for him souls without number"Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.comBlogger388125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-65204201217495420022013-12-31T22:20:00.003-08:002013-12-31T22:20:45.749-08:00Hayek and the Conceit of Reason<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The connection between constructivist rationalism (the construction of morality from scratch) and socialist thought, Hayek argues, is that they both flow from conceiving order as arrangement and control on the basis of accumulation of all the facts. But, as Hayek earlier showed in his landmark 1945 essay, "The Use of Knowledge in Society", the extended order could not be such an order, for accumulation of all the requisite facts is simply impossible. Now he asserts that, similarly, the practices of traditional morality not only do not, but cannot, meet the requirements or criteria demanded by scientism. Hence they are necessarily "unreasonable" and "unscientific". Hayek insists, though, that this is not "news", for David Hume (1711-76) observed centuries ago that "the rules of morality are not the conclusions of our reason".</div>
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And this is not simply the case with traditional morals (including God, sex, family, and — particularly of interest to Hayek — private property, saving, exchange, honesty, truthfulness and contract), but "is also true of any possible moral code, including any that socialists might ever be able to come up with". Hence were we to pursue this perilous path — as "all versions of scientism have advised" — we would soon "be back at the level of the savage who trusts only his instincts". No argument about morals, therefore, can legitimately turn on the issue of scientific justification, because it cannot be achieved, so nothing can be gained-but everything can be lost.</div>
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<a href="http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/5372/full">http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/5372/full</a></div>
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Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-55185456730945076732013-11-20T19:32:00.000-08:002013-11-20T19:37:09.169-08:00Feminism good, Patriarchy bad? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Patriarchy is a system that gives incentives (i.e. privilege) to men so they will be motivated to invest in women and children. Ultimately it is a win-win-win-win system for both men, women, children and society. If not then why are women less happy now then when America had a functioning patriarchy? Is it better now that children raised in single parent homes has doubled in the past 50 years?</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1189894/Women-happy-years-ago-.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1189894/Women-happy-years-ago-.html</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/the-number-of-children-living-in-single-parent-homes-has-nearly-doubled-in/">http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/the-number-of-children-living-in-single-parent-homes-has-nearly-doubled-in/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Female head of household (matriarchy) have skyrocketed in the last 40 years but why does this also overlap with inequality and childhood poverty in America? </span><br />
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<a href="http://cafehayek.com/2013/11/inequality-in-two-graphs.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://cafehayek.com/2013/11/inequality-in-two-graphs.html</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am not saying that feminism didn't have some positives (like the freedom for women voting and being able to choose to go into the workforce). I am also not saying that patriarchy didn't have negative aspects and abuses but come on. My grandfathers on both sides were coal miners. They were underground most of the day risking their lives so that they could provide for their wives and families. Now who was more oppressed? My grandmothers that were home raising children or my grandfather's miles underground digging coal? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have a wife and four daughters. My worries for my daughters is not that they will not have freedom and opportunities but that they will be unable to find worthy men that will have the incentives to begin the journey to lay down their lives for their families like Christ did for the Church. </span></div>
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Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-33121897259923041682013-10-04T12:09:00.003-07:002013-10-04T12:16:23.662-07:00Punic Wars: Historical Context for the life of Christ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here is a great historical series on the wars between Roman and Carthage. They happened a couple hundred years before the time of Christ. They give a feeling for the culture of Rome and I think it also gives some context for understanding the Gospels. Rome had control of Israel during the time of Christ. The Jews wanted to be free of Rome and this is the politics that surrounded Jesus and was the backdrop of his crucifixion. Anyway, if nothing else the series is very entertaining. <br />
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Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-86548416446402581862013-09-26T06:14:00.001-07:002013-09-26T06:14:23.036-07:00Fr. Barron comments on Misreading Genesis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-21627551157483664672013-09-26T06:08:00.001-07:002013-09-26T06:10:08.078-07:00Art of War Meets Genesis: Know Yourself and Enemy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">you will succumb in every battle” </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">― </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1771.Sun_Tzu" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Sun Tzu</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3200649" style="color: #666600; text-decoration: none;">The Art of War, Special Edition</a></i><br />
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The truths and strategies presented in The Art of War hold true for the spiritual warfare that the Church Militant now faces. To know who we are we need the data from Divine revelation. The book on Genesis starts to answer the question of who we are, our place in the universe, where we came from, and it points to where we are going. <br />
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God created mankind in his image;</div>
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in the image of God he created them;</div>
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male and female he created them. (Gen 1:27)</div>
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To be made in the image of God means that we have intrinsic worth and dignity. Practically speaking it means that like God we have an intellect. We can know reality but in a limited way. It also means that like God we have free will. It means that like God we can create. Putting all these things together it means that like God we can love. God is love (1 John 4:8). Love in this context is not fundamentally an emotion. It is possible to love and not have good feelings. Love means to want what is best for the other and to do it. To win the war we need to be about love. </div>
Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-59540073880787380602013-09-24T17:12:00.001-07:002013-09-24T17:12:47.964-07:00A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-51015689184200085112013-09-23T19:28:00.001-07:002013-09-23T19:28:44.630-07:00THE MERCHANT OF VENICE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The quality of mercy is not strained.<br />
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven<br />
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:<br />
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.<br />
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomes<br />
The thronèd monarch better than his crown.<br />
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,<br />
The attribute to awe and majesty<br />
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,<br />
But mercy is above this sceptered sway.<br />
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings.<br />
It is an attribute to God himself.</blockquote>
(William Shakespeare)</div>
Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-64479252843702602252013-09-20T06:18:00.000-07:002013-09-20T06:18:07.891-07:00Comments to a Follower of Ayn Rand: Selfishness and Sacrifice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="author " style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; display: inline; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 9px 0px 0px;"><a class="g-hovercard yt-uix-sessionlink yt-user-name " data-name="" data-sessionlink="ei=5Eg8UvSqKaqkkQLznoGoDw" data-ytid="UCspvxgCheKO4f0wR4uXv3SA" dir="ltr" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/passdanoose" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">passdanoose</a> </span><span class="time" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.youtube.com/comment?lc=qcwifIlSIoK7DzYAw73EVM_gMevNvOzMjdG3CMokQog" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #999999; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">1 day ago</a></span></div>
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This lecture has a lot of false dichotomies: Bill Gates vs. Mother Teresa, selfishness vs sacrifice, feelings vs. reason. The tension of both extremes is required for a good life.</div>
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Is prostitution with its win/win exchange superior to marriage with it’s mutual sacrifice?</div>
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Is it ever rational to die for country, friend, spouse, son or daughter?</div>
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<li class="comment child channel" data-author-id="uErSr7xeR763BzTJL7yJ7A" data-id="qcwifIlSIoIDsneYb3W_JMETJns4d7VrBre9JwimCow" data-score="1" data-tag="upload" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 24px 60px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><button aria-activedescendant="" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" aria-pressed="false" class="flip close yt-uix-button yt-uix-button-link yt-uix-button-size-default yt-uix-button-empty" data-button-has-sibling-menu="true" role="button" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; box-shadow: none; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; float: right; font-size: inherit; height: auto; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: normal;" type="button"><span class="yt-uix-button-valign" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; display: inline-block; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; visibility: hidden; width: 0.5px;"></span><span class="yt-uix-button-icon-wrapper" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-size: 0px; margin: 0px; max-height: none; max-width: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><img alt="" class="yt-uix-button-icon yt-uix-button-icon-comment-close" src="https://s.ytimg.com/yts/img/pixel-vfl3z5WfW.gif" style="background-image: url(https://s.ytimg.com/yts/imgbin/www-hitchhiker-vfljeiEOc.webp); background-position: 0px -42px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; height: 17px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.8; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 17px;" title="" /></span></button><a class="yt-user-photo " href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Under21convention07" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-decoration: none;"><span class="video-thumb yt-thumb yt-thumb-48 g-hovercard" data-ytid="UCuErSr7xeR763BzTJL7yJ7A" style="background-color: #f1f1f1; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-size: 0px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 48px;"><span class="yt-thumb-square" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 48px;"><span class="yt-thumb-clip" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; bottom: -100px; left: -100px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: -100px; text-align: center; top: -100px; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><span class="yt-thumb-clip-inner" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; height: 248px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 248px;"><img alt="The 21 Convention" data-group-key="thumb-group-1" data-thumb="https://gp6.googleusercontent.com/-ZEtWannOJjA/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/0CEBMUrYfxQ/s48-c-k/photo.jpg" src="https://gp6.googleusercontent.com/-ZEtWannOJjA/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/0CEBMUrYfxQ/s48-c-k/photo.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; display: inline-block; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="48" /> <span class="vertical-align" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; display: inline-block; height: 248px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"></span></span></span></span></span></a><div class="content clearfix" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 60px; padding: 0px;">
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<span class="author " style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; display: inline; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 9px 0px 0px;"><a class="g-hovercard yt-uix-sessionlink yt-user-name " data-name="" data-sessionlink="ei=5Eg8UvSqKaqkkQLznoGoDw" data-ytid="UCuErSr7xeR763BzTJL7yJ7A" dir="ltr" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Under21convention07" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The 21 Convention</a> </span><span class="time" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.youtube.com/comment?lc=qcwifIlSIoIDsneYb3W_JMETJns4d7VrBre9JwimCow" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">20 hours ago</a></span></div>
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Hey</div>
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I don't think you understand the ideas being presented clearly. Ayn Rand wrote a lot of non-fiction books that would clear up most of your questions for you.</div>
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In addition, saying tensions of both good and evil are required for a good life is a glaring, bizarre contradiction. True sacrifice is destructive to all human life. There is no upside. It is destroying a higher value for a lower value; a loss 100% of the time. Also, marriage is absolutely not a mutual "sacrifice". A disturbing idea.<span class="author " style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #999999; display: inline; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 9px 0px 0px;"><a class="g-hovercard yt-uix-sessionlink yt-user-name " data-name="" data-sessionlink="ei=5Eg8UvSqKaqkkQLznoGoDw" data-ytid="UCspvxgCheKO4f0wR4uXv3SA" dir="ltr" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/passdanoose" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">passdanoose</a> </span><span class="time" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-size: 11px; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.youtube.com/comment?lc=qcwifIlSIoK4wTst5lE--8yNVRDW3hJiU1_lZ1jYW5E" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">15 hours ago</a></span></div>
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<span class="author " style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #999999; display: inline; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 9px 0px 0px;"><a class="g-hovercard yt-uix-sessionlink yt-user-name " data-name="" data-sessionlink="ei=5Eg8UvSqKaqkkQLznoGoDw" data-ytid="UCspvxgCheKO4f0wR4uXv3SA" dir="ltr" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/passdanoose" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">passdanoose</a> </span><span class="time" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.youtube.com/comment?lc=qcwifIlSIoK4wTst5lE--8yNVRDW3hJiU1_lZ1jYW5E" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">15 hours ago</a></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Changing the definition of commonly used words do not amount to some great insight. When people use the word selfish they don’t use it to mean rational self interest that betters the world but self interest at the expense of others. And when someone tells a Marine, “Thank you for your sacrifice” she doesn't mean thanks for making the world worse off. Someone in the game of chess and baseball do not mean that they are purposefully trying to lose when making a sacrifice play.</span><br /><button class="start comment-action yt-uix-button yt-uix-button-link yt-uix-button-size-default" data-action="reply" role="button" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; box-shadow: none; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; height: auto; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 9px 0px 0px; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: normal;" type="button"><span class="yt-uix-button-content" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reply</span></button><span style="color: #999999; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span class="separator" style="background-color: transparent; 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border: 0px; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The 21 Convention</a><span style="color: #999999; font-size: 11px;"> </span><a class="comment-action comment-action-showparent" data-action="show-parent" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfhIp26vSwY#" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">(Show the comment)</a></blockquote>
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Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-46637273763040842802013-09-12T16:22:00.000-07:002013-09-12T16:22:13.400-07:00Fempocalypse!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Some really good videos on feminism:
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/vp8tToFv-bA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/w__PJ8ymliw/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/w__PJ8ymliw&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/w__PJ8ymliw&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-81781018568697368762013-09-11T17:31:00.002-07:002013-09-11T17:37:22.129-07:00What is it to be a man?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The great changes to our society lead by feminism has produced widespread confusion about what it means to be a man. It is a sign of our times that there are websites about how to be a man that provide <a href="http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/09/09/quotes-about-manliness/comment-page-1/#comment-449337">quotes about what it is to be a man</a>. Here is a quote that I think is spot on with what it means to be a man with one change:</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-0a47b786-0f92-c791-f985-a57cb5a80636" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“As I've mentioned, a large part of my father's legacy is the lesson he taught his sons. He brought us together and said, 'The measure of a man is how well he provides for his children.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">― </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/45141.Sidney_Poitier" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sidney Poitier</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1659143" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The thing that I would change about the quote is the word provides. In modern culture, it is not difficult to provide for the physical needs of one’s children. What is hard is making the personal sacrifices as a man that is necessary for what is best for one's children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Man is perfected in Christ. The simultaneous priest and victim that Christ personifies. As a father, it is a daily event of being a priest and sacrificing and become a victim for the sake of my marriage and my children. It is like Abraham going off to sacrifice his son with faith in God’s promise that if I sacrifice my childish self, like a grain of wheat, it will produce much fruit and fulfill what God is calling me to do. </span></div>
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Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-56125641866085399442009-07-22T12:16:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:18:26.151-07:00Blackalicious : Make You Feel That Way<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yMbYOkU7LyI&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yMbYOkU7LyI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Money Quote...<br /><br /><blockquote>All up in her vibe something coming over me<br />Summer days more likely that you notice breezes<br />Winter days more likely that you notice heat<br />When I'm warm more likely that you notice me<br />In the dark it's more likely that you notice light<br />In the light more likely that you notice night<br />Hungry more appreciation for that meal<br />Dead broke more appreciation for that grill<br />A bad day'll make you really notice ones that's good<br />And that'll make things a little better understood<br />Times I feel I wanna shout, man it's real that way<br />When I think of things that make you feel that way<br />Make you feel that way...(<a href="http://www.metrolyrics.com/make-you-feel-that-way-lyrics-blackalicious.html">Blackalicious</a>)</blockquote>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-38994619179325147812009-07-13T17:38:00.000-07:002009-07-13T17:40:49.723-07:00Logic and Relativism<blockquote>But one would have to believe in the <em>objective standards</em> of sound reasons and effective inquiry – i.e. “logic” – to advance such an argument in the first place. But the only way one can believe <em>in</em> such a standard is to also be convinced of its <em>value</em>. Which is to say, logic as a <em>cognitive</em> standard can only be rationally judged to be of any <em>value</em> if one is rationally satisfied that one <em>ought</em> to reason in such a way. But any claim of “ought” is ultimately an <em>ethical</em> claim. Any claim that one “ought” to reason logically is a claim about the <em>Right</em> thing to do, the <em>Good</em> form of reasoning, the <em>Valuable</em> method of inquiry.<br /><br />Lest there be any lingering doubt, the above argument does indeed place various <em>ethical</em> propositions at the very foundation of even the possibility of reasoned inquiry. Before there can be science, before there can be logic, before there can be any concern for truth at all, there must first be an accepted axiom that such things are <em>good</em>. So any attempt to quarantine relativism to “merely” an ethical claim is doomed to have that quarantine shattered by the rational necessity of an <em>ethical</em> commitment to the truth. <a href="http://www.scientificblogging.com/inquiry_inquiry/blog/moral_inquiry_1_case_against_relativism" title="Click here to view Gary Herstein's profile.">Gary Herstein</a> </blockquote>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-90533423031230499172009-07-13T17:06:00.000-07:002009-07-13T17:10:02.659-07:00Patty Wickman, A Thief in the Night<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://theaestheticelevator.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/patty-wikman-thief1.jpg?w=460&h=284"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 460px; height: 284px;" src="http://theaestheticelevator.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/patty-wikman-thief1.jpg?w=460&h=284" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Patty Wickman, A Thief in the Night [1996], oil, 72 x 115.</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">HT: <a href="http://theaestheticelevator.com/">The Aesthetic Elevator</a></div></div>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-38618088620756874832009-07-06T20:39:00.000-07:002009-07-06T20:41:17.365-07:00Gang Starr - Discipline<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J8Ytfus0obE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J8Ytfus0obE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Money Quote...<br /><br /><blockquote>And just because I want to it don't mean I will<br />And just because I'm angry it don't mean I'd kill<br />And just because she looks good, it don't mean I'd hit it<br />And just because I'm horny, it don't mean I'm widdit<br />Just because I make records, don't mean that I'm gassed<br />And just because I'm rappin, don't mean I chase ass<br />And just because I'm whylin, don't mean I can't stop<br />I got discipline baby whether you do or not<br /><a href="http://www.asklyrics.com/display/Gang_Starr/Discipline_Lyrics/131827.htm">Gang Starr</a></blockquote>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-52488396272728655422009-06-19T12:08:00.000-07:002009-06-19T12:23:19.299-07:00<object width="400" height="230"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5082155&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5082155&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="230"></embed></object><br /><br />The video is a artistic depiction of hell and then heaven as seen on a elevator ride. It's interesting how people's view of heaven is often hellish. In the video there is not much difference between heaven and hell. Case in point is that Arnold Swarchenegger has a prominent place in both. Anyway this stuff is fun to think about.Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-61365984290998078242009-06-12T22:01:00.000-07:002009-06-12T22:05:07.677-07:00"Scientists" Concealing Information<blockquote>The "studies thus far find that between 8 percent and 21 percent of homosexually parented children ultimately identify as non-heterosexual," the psychologist wrote. "For comparison purposes, approximately 2 percent of the general population are non-heterosexual. Therefore, if these percentages continue to hold true, children of homosexuals have a 4 to 10 times greater likelihood of developing a non-heterosexual preference than other children."<br /><br />However, those researchers who found such differences "nonetheless declared in their research summaries that no differences were found," the report said. <a href="http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=100593">Bob Unruh</a> </blockquote><br /><br />HT <a href="http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2009/06/not-nature-not-nurture-what-is-it.html">Creative Minority Report</a>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-20668301534654055612009-06-12T21:42:00.000-07:002009-06-12T21:45:30.809-07:00The Church and the Fiction Writer<p> </p><blockquote><p>Henry James said that the morality of a piece of fiction depended on the amount of "felt life" that was in it. The Catholic writer, in so far as he has the mind of the Church, will feel life from the standpoint of the central Christian mystery; that it has, for all its horror, been found by God to be worth dying for.</p> <p> To the modem mind, as represented by Mr. Wylie, this is warped vision which "bears little or no relation to the truth as it is known today." The Catholic who does not write for a limited circle of fellow Catholics will in all probability consider that since this is his vision, he is writing for a hostile audience, and he will be more than ever concerned to have his work stand on its own feet and be complete and self-sufficient and impregnable in its own right. When people have told me that because I am a Catholic, I cannot be an artist, I have had to reply, ruefully, that because I am a Catholic I cannot afford to be less than an artist. <a href="http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10476">Flannery O'Connor</a></p></blockquote><p></p>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-45185541234417331882009-06-11T16:20:00.000-07:002009-06-11T16:31:35.271-07:00Leonardo DaVinci’s Last Supper<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://imagecache.allposters.com/images/pic/ARIPOD/40071024%7EJesus-and-Apostles-from-Leonardo-s-Last-Supper-1498-Posters.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://imagecache.allposters.com/images/pic/ARIPOD/40071024%7EJesus-and-Apostles-from-Leonardo-s-Last-Supper-1498-Posters.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Some interesting commentary on Leonardo DaVinci’s Last Supper. <blockquote>The painting is a demonstration of how the brain works and a revelation of how belief conditions our senses of reality. It is not an attempt to illustrate one moment in time. That apparently was too simple for Leonardo. If you approach the work with the idea that it illustrates the words ‘one of you shall betray me’ all the figures in the painting assume poses that clearly respond to those words with shock honor and revulsion. One of the principles of Renaissance communication was that the position of a figure revealed character and emotion.<br /><br /> On the other hand if you shift the message you hold in your mind to the institution of the Eucharist, “Take this and eat: this is my body,” the meaning of the apostles’ gestures change before your eyes in response to this first call to communion. Think of it, two completely separate ideas in two different moments in time being simultaneously conveyed. <br /><br /> The mural is filled with irreconcilable contradictions. The table is too large for the space its in, yet too small to accommodate the apostles. Christ is enlarged (astonishingly this is almost never observed) so that seated he is as tall as Matthew and Bartholomew who are standing. Because Leonardo is interested in saying two different things at the same time, the painting can be read left to right where the apostles on our left have only heard the announcement of betrayal and those on the right are responding to the theme of the Eucharist. On the other hand, Christ is also speaking directly to us with his dual nature expressed in his two hands, his nervous right simultaneously referring to the treason dish and a glass of wine, his left offering redemptive self-sacrifice. It’s important to understand that the apostles are not aware of the entire gesture. They, after all, can only see Christ in profile. Only we can see how all the forms in the painting converge on the triangular form of Jesus to represent his divinity.<br /><br /> Of course for us the question is why would the most lucid mind in human history introduce so much ambiguity in a work that intends to affect its viewers? Ambiguity incidentally is a military term that means to be attacked from two sides at once. The answer may have to do with the way we process information. The human brain is a problem-solving organ, a characteristic that probably is at the center of our dominance over other species. The brain frequently remains inert until a problem is presented to it. In the case of The Last Supper, the profound ambiguity it contains alerts and stimulates the brain into action. DaVinci clearly believed that ambiguity was a way of arriving at the truth. As a result, the painting moves us in a deeper and more profound way than any direct statement. (<a href="http://miltonglaser.com/pages/milton/essays/es2.html">Milton Glaser Inc.</a>) </blockquote>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-464153488997269492009-06-02T20:21:00.000-07:002009-06-02T20:33:47.815-07:00Unintended Consequences Wolverine Style[FYI... this video is gruesome and drops the F bomb]<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-vQ2RVqJCNM&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-vQ2RVqJCNM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />This video is what I think of when I hear people being excited about the coming singularity between humans and computers.Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-55317038372883998972009-06-02T20:01:00.000-07:002009-06-02T20:08:52.499-07:00Holy Shroud Dating<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/pontifications/imgs/Shroud%20of%20Turin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 568px;" src="http://blog.beliefnet.com/pontifications/imgs/Shroud%20of%20Turin.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:78%;">Shroud of Turin</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uKuvYKbzlro&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uKuvYKbzlro&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />New transparent carbon dating testing should be done.<br /><br />HT <a href="http://markshea.blogspot.com/2009/06/not-that-it-ultimately-matters-but.html">Mark P. Shea</a>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-77038726817358682512009-05-28T17:03:00.000-07:002009-05-28T17:07:42.427-07:00Andy McKee - Into the Ocean<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Cvar4ZsqsEo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Cvar4ZsqsEo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />I hope to create a life that is as beautiful to God as McKee's performance of this song is to me.Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-8446960832945285682009-05-28T16:58:00.000-07:002009-05-28T17:03:09.708-07:00Literary Gaming<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01398/dante_1398984f.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 220px; height: 293px;" src="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01398/dante_1398984f.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />Dante's comedy goes pop...<br /><br /><blockquote>Yes, in 2010, as the frankly mad-looking trailer for Dante’s Inferno has it, you too will be able to “Go to Hell”.<br /><br />Anyone expecting a faithful interactive representation of the Commedia’s sorrow and pity will be somewhat taken aback. Made by the developers of last year’s outer-space zombie shooter Dead Space, the game recasts Dante as a muscle-bound anti-hero, carving his way through the Nine Circles with a scythe and a cross to liberate his girlfriend from Lucifer.<br /> <br />As he lies around, “punishing” or “absolving” the damned souls surrounding him, the disembodied voice of Virgil provides instructive quotations from the poem. The creators have even promised to recreate the topography of the Inferno, an uncannily good fit for the levels of a computer game. In short, it sounds like amazingly good fun. <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/5291671/Endpaper---Fiction-reaches-a-new-level.html">Tim Martin</a></blockquote>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-48948189890408899142009-05-28T16:53:00.000-07:002009-05-28T16:56:47.799-07:00Meaningful WorkThis article really struck a cord with me. <br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">A good job</span> requires a field of action where you can put your best capacities to work and see an effect in the world. Academic credentials do not guarantee this.<br /><br />Nor can big business or big government — those idols of the right and the left — reliably secure such work for us. Everyone is rightly concerned about economic growth on the one hand or unemployment and wages on the other, but the character of work doesn’t figure much in political debate. Labor unions address important concerns like workplace safety and family leave, and management looks for greater efficiency, but on the nature of the job itself, the dominant political and economic paradigms are mute. Yet work forms us, and deforms us, with broad public consequences.<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=6&em">Matthew B. Crawford</a></blockquote>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-39236973305335128322009-05-28T16:48:00.000-07:002009-05-28T16:52:55.409-07:00Emotion and RationalityHere is a quote in regards to an error in the economic understanding of rationality. <br /><br /><blockquote>The word "emotional" has overtones of irrationality, but actually emotion is at once a form of telescoped thinking (it is not irrational to step around an open manhole "instinctively" without first analyzing the costs and benefits of falling into it) and a prompt to action that often, as in the case of investment under uncertainty, cannot be based on complete or even good information and is therefore unavoidably a shot in the dark. We could not survive if we were afraid to act in the face of uncertainty. <a href="http://www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=52b85827-c5fe-43ee-9625-1149aa14c070">Richard A. Posner</a></blockquote>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13295591.post-52393756625141870062009-05-20T19:02:00.000-07:002009-05-20T19:04:38.366-07:00Washed AwaySome more old school for ya... <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ebnZTJjx254&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ebnZTJjx254&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Money Quote...<br /><br /><blockquote>Why we let them wash it away ?<br />Why are we allowing them to take what's good ?<br />why don't we teach our children<br />what's real ?<br />Why don't we collect and save what is real ?</blockquote>Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492394706855254913noreply@blogger.com1