Quote of the day: Sex education

"There is a pawnish settlement in the south in which they do not teach their children anything of sex.  It is kept a great mystery.  The belief of this sect is that this ignorance will keep their children from harm.  As a result, they value virginity highly and it is virtually unknown among them."
- The True Game, Sheri S. Tepper

Pawns are those used by the big players in the Game.

I wonder if Tepper had some real-life places in mind when writing this.  Most of us are certainly pawns of many in Washington and on corporate boards.

Use and misuse of words: theory and hypothesis

"'I am taking what you have told me, and what is in this book, and what I have seen and heard, and making an imagining from them.'

"'A hypothesis,' I said, 'That is what Windlow called it.  A hypothesis; an imagining which might be true.'" - "The True Game: Wizard's Eleven", Sheri S. Tepper

How often have you heard an idea is "only a theory", for example, evolution?  Often others retort that gravity is only a theory, but don't walk off a cliff.

All of us should learn to use each word in its proper context.  A hypothesis is an idea that has some basis in facts, but not enough facts are known yet.  A theory is an idea that has a preponderance of facts to substantiate it.  The "four corners of the earth" was a hypothesis based on limited geographical knowledge.  A round earth is a theory based on so much evidence that few of us question whether the earth is round or not.

How many of us are going to use "hypothesis" instead of "theory"?  My hypothesis is that few of us, including me, are going to use these words properly.

Quote of the day: History and Religion

"I tell you, lad, that men will believe if one says, 'The Gods say…'  They will believe if one says, 'I had a vision…'  They will believe if one says, 'It was told me on a tablet of hidden gold…'  But if one says, 'History teaches,' then they will not believe."

"The True Game: King's Blood Four", Sheri S. Tepper

And men do not believe what their historical heroes say if it does not fit their own notions.  The Revolutionary General, George Washington, warned of "overbearing military" but men want the biggest military in the world.  Adam Smith wrote of the importance of labor but men want to only believe about his "invisible hand".  Abraham Lincoln spoke of "government of the people, by the people, for the people" but men only want to believe in "government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations".

The truth shall make you free but "THE TRUTH" can imprison you

The truth is a never-ending quest that leads to more knowledge and sometimes wisdom.  For example, many people discovered chemical elements that they thought were indivisible.  Then others discovered that the elements were composed of protons, electrons, and neutrons.  This led to greater understanding of compounds.  Then yet others discovered that there were many more sub-atomic particles than these three.

Governance is another truth that many are discovering.  Once it was thought that kings ruled by divine right; how else could they have become kings?  More and more people are discovering that democracy can be a much better form of government.  Now we need more and more people to discover how to make it work better.

On the other hand, "THE TRUTH" can lock people into a very limited view of the world.  For example, "THE TRUTH" that the Sun revolves around the Earth gave very limited ability to predict celestial events, knowledge that was needed to make accurate calendars.

"THE TRUTH" can divide people based on religious or other differences.  If we still held "THE TRUTH" that women are inferior to men, would we have some of the scientific, literary, musical, and political ideas we now have if only men were deemed capable of complicated thought?

I got another view of the distinction between the truth and "THE TRUTH" reading Sheri S. Tepper's "The Visitor".  Most of it takes place centuries after "The Happening" when some astronomical object struck the Earth and wiped out most of the population.  One group of survivors considers themselves "The Spared" and believes that the only other beings are demons.  This belief gives inordinate power to a few, and as Lord Acton said "Power corrupts".  If you decide to read "The Visitor", be forewarned that the powerful deal in gratuitous violence.

A couple of interesting quotes

The first is from the panel, appointed by and funded by Toyota to look into its safety problems.  The Star Tribune, 2011-05-24, Business quoted the panel that Toyota noted its success in saving over $100 million by negotiating a limited recall of all-weather floor mats".  The Strib wrote this as "an example of what the independent panel called the automaker's view of regulation as an 'adversarial process' that considers blocked regulations to be 'wins.'"

Gosh, too bad more complainers of government overregulation aren't caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

The second is some words of wisdom in Sheri S. Tepper's "The Visitor", a post apocalypse science-fantasy: "You asked for wisdom?  Hear these words.  Nothing limits intelligence more than ignorance; nothing fosters ignorance than one's own opinions; nothing strengthens opinions more than refusing to look at reality."

The problem is what is reality: we are spending too much or we are not investing enough?