A few weeks ago, two people asked me if I meant conscience rather than consciousness in my draft blog. No, I did not. In my view, there is a clear distinction: all people have consciousness but some people appear to have no conscience (eg, criminals, psychopaths, sociopaths). Both conscience and consciousness have something in common: we know that we do not know...
Knowledge
Nothing to lose
7 Feb, 2023
Some four years ago, a friend in Belgium died on the same day that I bought my house near the Belgian border. I had hoped visiting her more often. My friend had been worried about her imminent death. She feared missing her (grand)children. I suppose that most of us fear losing something. Back then, I asked her if she still prayed. She did not. I told her about the...
Interdependence
6 Feb, 2023
Recently, I had a discussion with a friend on interconnectedness and interdependence. In his view, interdependence ranks higher. We agreed that our discussion might be rooted in semantics. He proposed that I write about this topic. A related topic is causation, or cause and effect. The subject of causation is annoying (to me and others) as we often confuse cause and...
On the Leaks of a War With China (GPF)
5 Feb, 2023
GeoPolitical Futures title: On the Leaks of a War With China By: George Friedman Date: 31 January 2023 “Over the past few days, two senior U.S. officials – Gen. Mike Minihan, the head of the U.S. Air Force Mobility Command, and Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee – predicted that a war with China could erupt by 2025. I have been on...
The age of the grandparent has arrived (Economist)
4 Feb, 2023
The Economist title: The age of the grandparent has arrived The Economist subtitle: The ratio of grandparents to children is higher than ever before. That has big consequences Date: 12 January 2023 "The most saccharine song of 1980 was “There’s No One Quite Like Grandma”, performed by the St Winifred’s School choir from Stockport, England. It shot to the top of the...
The more you know, the less you understand
3 Feb, 2023
My title is borrowed from the Tao Te Ching (c.400 BC), written by ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi (a.k.a. Lao Tzu). Usually, his assertion is true; especially in matters of the heart (see song below). Recently, I noticed an exception at a macro level: the more you know, the more you understand. At a micro level, we tend to get bogged down in the details....
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