Robbie Bednark

Axioms of science

Science has it’s place, but it has it’s limitations, too.
It’s interesting to see what axioms science is based on. Here are some that
I have come up with that I started back in 2001:

Axioms of science:
a) Things can be measured.
b) If A causes B, then A will always cause B.
c) Single things are a part of a class of things. Abstraction tends to be forgotten. So, for example, all humans are treated alike, because they are all human.
d) The future can be predicted.
e) Statistics and probability apply to the real world, and can be used to predict the future.
f) It is possible for people to be objective.
g) People are motivated to seek objectivity to alleviate their anxiety, fear, and tension. [Philip Slater]
(this is not really an axiom of science, but it is interesting)

Now it’s interesting to look at each of those axioms and see how
they might not be applicable. For example…

“If A causes B, then A will always cause B”. What if the universe is in flux?
What if there are anomolies? What if there there are more variables than we
can possibly know or keep track of?

Probability has always fascinated me. It doesn’t see like it should
be of any practical use. Flipping a coin for example. Probability
says that 50% of the time will be heads and 50% tails. But it’s possible
to flip 100 heads in a row. Or even 1 million heads in a row. How does
probability deal with that?

Why does this interest me? Because it seems like science is only a small
subset of reality. There is much more to reality than what science can show
us. It also bugs me that science is as effective as it is. It just doesn’t
quite make sense to me.

-Robbie

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”
-Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910)

Science and belief

What is the relationship between science and belief?

A friend of mine mentioned that try as he might, he just can’t believe in homeopathy, that
it just doesn’t make sense, and therefore he is disinclined to try it. This immediately
aroused anger in me, which I didn’t make known. And I’ve come to learn that whenever I
get angry about something, that there is some unresolved issue in me that I need to
address.

What difference does it make whether or not you understand it? If it works for others,
isn’t it worth a try? I guess there must be some part of me that also needs to understand
how things work before I’m willing to try them. Homeopathy is no problem for me. It’s
cheap, and there’s no harmful side effects. So what things am I not willing to try, even
though it works for many other people? I can’t think of anything right now. I will have to
ask my wife, who’s always better at spotting those things than I am.

Is there a relationship between science and belief? Is science merely a pattern of
cause and effect? If I believe in science, and people have established a pattern that
A causes B, then will I try A, even if I don’t believe in it?

This one could use some more thought, examples, and clarification.

-Robbie

“The function of the imagination is not to make strange things settled, so much as to make settled things strange.”
-G.K. Chesterton, essayist and novelist (1874-1936)

Random thoughts

Mon Jun 28 09:48:47 PDT 2004
10 minutes to blog. What to blog about? Something I care about? Something to boost my ego? Something to show how cool I am? Smart I am? Nice I am? Warts on the web? Flowers in the hole? Minutes for rice. Look at my flowering teapot. A mountain with an igloo. Drink the wine and climb the vine. Vote for Kerry but look like Larry. War in Iraq and a monkey on the back. Fall down in the well but make it look like a spell. Get me outta Lola Brigita. Come over to my place, have you seen my bathtub? A startling revelation from the book of Dvininations. Unedited, unquoted, unpolished, like a diamond in the ruff ruff. Have you seen the sky lately? Is it growing? Bluer than your tooth? Come over to my place and we'll eat some grass. Lie on our . Tank up the trucks, the nukes are coming. See the teapot by the tree? See? See? Mr Ducky just got lucky. Follow my lead and bring the ladder. Over to the cliff where it doesn't really matter. Spit on the vine and I'll spill the wine. Walk under the traintrack. Over by the blue yonder. Up by the rainbow. Over the branch with the stream of consciousness oozing out. Sit on the bus and look for monkeys. Free the imprisoned employee from her cubicle. Walk by the river and walk across the turtle backs. Look for 3 lions by the door, and you will be sure to see the horizon over the rooftops. Not too high, not too low. Everybody needs a way to go. Can you feel the breeze? Softly blowing on your face? Making your eyelashes sway to and fro. Don't forget to wear your Bro. Or if in Tangiers, than wear your manzierres. Hop on the pony with the swaggering trot. Get off by the bistro wear the coffees always hot. Shoot in the breeze until the bullets fly on. Hop on a cloud and grab on the reins.
Mon Jun 28 09:58:13 PDT 2004
-Robbie

Politics and religion should not be taboo topics

Why don’t people talk about politics and religion? It is a common
notion in our culture that we should stay away from these topics with
friends, family, and at gatherings. And yet, these are two of the
most important things that we should talk about. If we don’t talk about
them, how are we going to learn about ourselves and others? How are we going
to grow from what we believe now and not remain stagnant in our beliefs?
How are we going to learn why our “enemies” feel the way they do?

It’s time to stop making politics and religion taboo subjects.
Next time you are with somebody and don’t know what to talk about, here’s some starters:

Who do you like for president this Fall, Bush or Kerry?
What do you think we should do in Iraq?
I’m looking for a religion. What do you recommend?

Add your beliefs and why you believe what you do, but make sure to ask
them why they believe what they do. Get to the reasons behind the
beliefs. If they say make sweeping generalizations and stereotypes,
ask them why they feel that way.

I could keep going on and refining this, but my 10 minutes for
today’s journal entry is up!

-Robbie

10-minute blog

Today I start my journal. For months I’ve thought about starting this
journal, and have spent so much time thinking about it that it’s ridiculous.
So much wasted energy. If I spend so much time thinking about something, I should
just do it instead of wasting my energy thinking about it. So here it goes!

I’m going to try to spend 10 mins each day blogging. It’s not going to be
polished, it’s not going to be profound and pretty. Just off the cuff,
straight from my head.

Why do I want to do it? I would like to become a better
writer. I would like to talk out some of my ideas. I would like other people
to read my stuff. I would like to get to know myself better. (“Hi Robbie, how are you? I’m fine, how are
you? Fine, thanks!”) I would like to learn to be more spontaneous.

What am I afraid of? Afraid of not being perfect. Afraid of spending less time doing something else (whatever
that is, very amorphous), and using that time to blog.

My 10 minutes are nearly up. Amazing how little I can get done in 10 minutes! Ha! :-)

Faux Fun

What things are fun for me.
Faux fun vs real fun
(“faux” is French for “false”)

faux fun helps you ignore problems, real fun helps you face problems
faux fun gets boring, real fun never gets boring
faux fun you regret, real fun you never regret
faux fun makes everyone feel worse, real fun makes everyone feel better
[from May 2002 “Oprah Magazine” pp 224-227 “The Clue is in Your Funprint” by Martha Beck http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/200205/omag_200205_beck.jhtml]

My faux fun list:

I do NOT enjoy watching TV
I do NOT enjoy listening to music
I do NOT enjoy reading
I do NOT enjoy email
I do NOT enjoy working on the computer
I do NOT enjoy too much sweets / desserts
I do NOT enjoy surfing the web
I do NOT enjoy listening to the radio
I do NOT enjoy thinking
I do NOT enjoy being isolated
I do NOT enjoy electronics
I do NOT enjoy shopping
I do NOT enjoy music concerts
I do NOT enjoy buying CD’s
I do NOT enjoy buying books

My fun list:

I enjoy playing drums, guitar, piano
I enjoy going for walks
I enjoy spending time with my wife and son
I enjoy spending time with animals
I enjoy being outside
I enjoy throwing/catching/kicking/hitting balls
I enjoy hiking
I enjoy open spaces
I enjoy the ocean and the beach
I enjoy massages
I enjoy yoga
I enjoy talking with people
I enjoy surprising other people with kindness
I enjoy sunrises and sunsets
I enjoy thunderstorms
I enjoy snowstorms
I enjoy autumn
I enjoy spring
I enjoy Fridays and Saturdays
I enjoy helping others
I enjoy meditating
I enjoy reading my favorite quotes
I enjoy high places (mountains, roofs, trees, lookouts)
I enjoy running
I enjoy making paths in the woods
I enjoy complimenting people
I enjoy writing with a pen more than typing on a computer
I enjoy getting rid of things more than keeping things
I enjoy reflecting on what surprised, touched, and inspired me today
I enjoy creating metaphors/analogies
I enjoy writing documents
I enjoy writing software
I enjoy getting up early in the morning
I enjoy taking naps
I enjoy teaching others
I enjoy learning
I enjoy doing off-the-wall things to surprise people
I enjoy cleaning and organizing
I enjoy making other people happy
I enjoy singing
I enjoy taking showers
I enjoy mowing lawn
I enjoy dusk and dawn
I enjoy hearing birds sing
I enjoy leading meetings
I enjoy creating contests
I enjoy problem solving

-Robbie Bednark (originally written June 6, 2002)