The following is a note I sent to a friend this morning on this topic. best, bob As it happens, I have thought a lot about the way in which our degree of choice influences happiness, and why it seems that to an extent at least, the more choice we have, the more unhappy we…
I am in a contemplative mood today. This likely has to do with the fact that work and family life have been frenetic for months, and while the pressure is still high, today it has backed off enough to allow breathing room. The weather reflects my outlook. As I look out my office window, rain…
Steve Farmer (see http://www.safarmer.com/Farmer.Beijin…) is a former Harvard prof who uses a complexity based computer program to help date ancient documents. He has told me that he thinks he may be able to shed new light on when the B of M was written. I am aware of another similar complex pattern finding system that is…
Let us celebrate our heroes, and empathize with the vast majority of our social groups (including, even, religious leaders) who have no realistic chance when pitted against their social forces. These thoughts were stimulated by my reading of a recent article posted at http://www.edge.org. I have mentioned, perhaps too many times, that this is one of…
I have been intensely busy at work for the last little while, and accordingly not either posted or read much here for several weeks. However, I had the opportunity to read a few threads this morning, and wrote my first extended post in weeks on the “a lost Elder” thread. As I was finishing it,…
I just finished listening to an excellent CBC presentation with regard to the current state of culture, and a number of the factors that will influence where we go from here in that regard. You can find the program at http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/spi…. Today is a work day for me, but I will jot down a few thoughts…
I am in the midst of making a significant career/business decision, and was struck last night by how different this process feels this time around as compared to how I experienced while Mormon. This is the first time I have made a decision of this kind since leaving Mormonism. While Mormon, a significant part of…
If this were a Mormon testimony meeting, I would stand up, start with the obligatory “brothers and sisters, I want to bear you my testimony that I know this is the one and only true church on the face of the earth blah blah blahâ€, and then get into what I really wanted to say…
One of my friends is a successful clinical psychologist with a background in theology. He is one of the sharpest people with whom I regularly deal when it comes to understanding the academic psychological literature, and practically applying it. Here is part of a note he sent to me and a number of other people…
Part II – The Gospel is Perfect? I did a google search as well as a search of the www.lds.org data base of two phrases: “The Church is Perfect†and “The Gospel is Perfectâ€. I noticed an interesting pattern. By and large, faithful Mormons do not say “the Church is perfectâ€, and the lds.org data…