For this interested in the long story, see the thread at http://www.aimoo.com/forum/po….. The thread was started by the observation that a prominent scientist said at a recent conference that she found that ditching free will was itself immensely “freeing”. That is, she felt that be adopting a deterministic mindset (that all of her actions were determined…
History is never certain. However, some things are far more certain than others. We have a pretty good idea, for example, as to the nature of most of the important facts related to the dropping of the Hiroshima bomb, and much less reliable information about Jesus Christ. There is some evidence connecting Rigdon to the…
I finished reading this book this morning, having heard Dr. Goodenough speak at a conference last weekend, and having had the chance to chat with her. She is one of those rare people who project both a sense of personal power and make those in her presence feel both valued and safe. And her book…
A friend just forwarded this to me. Since it is relevant to our discussion regarding the merits of different forms of spirituality and belief in God, I pass it along. Click Here For Original Link Or Thread. I found your discussion of spirituality interesting and useful, and during my trip with my son did some reading…
The following is a summary of some of the principles of social behaviour that make it difficult for insiders to accurately perceive their own behaviour. Cognitive Dissonance Cognitive dissonance is at the root of denial. Fear is at the root of cognitive dissonance. The extent of our fear is determined by our general tendencies in…
The widest angle lens I have found while trying to understand my experience on the way out of Mormonism was handed to me by a friend as I was going through some of my darkest moments of that birth canal. She referred me to comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell. I found him and others like him…
One of my favorite nephews just got engaged. He is 21, a recent RM and has been dating his now fiance for about 6 months. They plan to marry in August. The classic Mormon RM story. She comes from a wealthy background. He is just starting school and has no idea what he will do…
I had just returned from watching our 22-year-old son’s intramural basketball game. Wonderful game, by the way. Those kids do things – and do them beautifully – that my buddies and I did not dream of 25 years ago when I was playing seriously. After the game I chatted for a while with an RM…
That should sound familiar. It comes, more or less, from the D&C. I don’t have my copy handy, so someone will have to fill in that blank for us. I ran across this phrase while reading today. It is part of William Blake’s work. He died in 1827. This is believed to have been written…
My wife and I toured a local museum yesterday, and found the following African proverbs that I found enlightening enough to record and share: – To not know is bad; to wish not to know is worse. – Choose the neighbor before the house; the companion before the journey. – He who can’t dance says…