19 Sep, 2023
A recent discussion with a friend made me think of a saying: intelligence is a curse (eg, see quote below). There is indeed some truth in that saying. In his famous poem of 1742, Thomas Gray suggested something similar: "[..] ignorance is bliss [..]". Is our intelligence really to blame?? My friend is an intelligent woman. She is determined that things must go as...
6 Sep, 2023
Growth refers to many different topics: body, brain, business, cancer, climate, economy, ethics, inflation, politics, population, and the Universe. We use many different adjectives to describe growth, like: absolute, actual, historical, marginal, projected, relative. A decline is even negative growth. Source: Our World in Data The population diagram for 1750-2100...
5 Sep, 2023
My blog title has been on my list of topics for some time. I didn’t know how to address it. The recent news about a nurse, being a Female Serial Killer (eg, Guardian, 24 August), changed my perspective. This excerpt bothered me though: “babies who were grievously ill”. Most known serial killers are male, while only few are female. Guardian-2023: Female Serial...
15 Aug, 2023
Recently, I noticed a Big Think newsletter on the theory of stupidity by German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945). In his view, stupidity is worse than evil. Ironically, it was Nazi evil that took his life on 9 April 1945. Hence, I wonder if he would have changed his view - if he could. “Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may...
31 Jul, 2023
Recently, a Kenyan acquaintance posted the following: "Alone is not always loneliness. Alone is getting to find myself. [..]" In my view, she meant solitude. Hence, I replied by stating: "Solitude and loneliness are two very different concepts, despite being alone in both." She agreed. Several days later, I noticed a quote by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), a...
28 Jul, 2023
Introduction LO: Several decades ago, I heard or read the advice below. The key message was that jewellery are for women; not for men. I felt it made sense and have never worn items again, like a tie clip. That advice was, however, also a reason to start focusing on wrist watches, which became an expensive hobby. In 2010, most of my watches were stolen; probably due...
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