Study and Observe

To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe. - Marilyn vos Savant

If you are not studying, observe.


(Other posts on Learning)

The American Culture

A wise man looks upon men as he does on horses; all their caparisons of title, wealth, and place, he considers as harness. – Richard Cecil


Thank your forefathers for not harnessing you with title, wealth and place. You are free to seek your fortune and enjoy it with others being none the wiser.


(Other posts on Money)

Be Wiser Tomorrow

He that never changes his opinions, never corrects his mistakes, and will never be wiser on the morrow than he is today. – Tryon Edwards


Please show me the errors in my thinking - but show me those errors with reason and logic.


(Other post on Mistakes)

Not Grace; Thanks

Today we set aside time to thank those around us, and who have gone before us, for the luxuries we so easily take for granted. Thanks to the men who tamed fire and the wheel and those firemen and policemen who today keep them from returning to their wild state. Thanks to the men of the mind who envisioned how men could best live together in peace. To the Washingtons and Jeffersons and Franklins who risked their lives so we may be free to create and hold the elements of prosperity and pass them on to those who go after us. Thanks to those whose names we do not even know who have protected us from those who would do us harm. Thanks to all those whose shoulders we stand on; who form the pavement of the road from the primordial ooze to the stars.

Progress is Natural

All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income.
  - Samuel Butler


Politicians understand this best.


(Other posts on Progress)

Know Your Directions

The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving. - O. W. Holmes


That is where all the conflict comes from; which direction to go.


(Other posts on Progress)

Unseen Effort

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence. - Abigail Adams


Not only is learning not attained by chance, it is not attained by birth. When you meet a very learned person stand in awe of the unseen effort involved.


(Other posts on Learning)

Restricted Freedom

Absolute liberty is absence of restraint; responsibility is restraint; therefore, the ideally free individual is responsible to himself. - Henry B. Adams


Hate to see a man of letters make such a mistake. Absolute Liberty is absence of all governmental control. Freedom is seldom if ever absolute. I am free to run around to bars with loose women but I restrain that freedom because it is not right. Words do make a difference.


(Other posts on Liberty)

Criticism vs. Praise

Few people have the wisdom to prefer the criticism that would do them good, to the praise that deceives them. - Francois de La Rochefoucauld


Don't let others use this against you.


(Other posts on Criticism)

No X, No Y

No pressure, no diamonds. - Thomas Carlyle 


What a much better way than saying "No pain, no gain."


(Other posts on Words)

Graceful Wrinkles

When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age. - Victor Hugo


You will also find wisdom where grace is joined with wrinkles.


(Other posts on Wisdom)

BIG Government

A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have. - Gerald Ford.

If and when we get socialized medicine it will be big enough to take everything you have, even your life.

(Other posts on Government)

Augmented Post

Sometimes I have more to say.

I recently watched a "reality" series called The Colony. The setting was LA after a deadly virus had wiped out most of the population. The story was of 10 survivors who end up in a giant warehouse and scrap yard. Of course there are no utilities; no water; no electricity; no working sewers, etc. They are left on their own to survive however they can with what they've got. Occasionally they would be "attacked" by roving bands of bad-guys so security was one of their priorities. There first priority was water of course. Their only source was from the LA "river" which was pretty bad. They built a filter system and boiled the water to sterilize it. This worked well until they ran out of propane for boiling. In the meantime they had rigged up some solar cells which charged a bank of car batteries so they had plenty of electricity.One of the guys remembered that water could be sterilized with ozone so he built a Tesla coil to create a spark and then collected the ozone generated and bubbled it through the water. The only problem they had then was getting water from the river back to their warehouse without being attacked by the wandering gangs.

Occasionally, good people would come by looking for handouts. This caused dissension among the members of the colony. Some insisted that it was their moral responsibility to give these unfortunates water. Others thought that if you gave a few water, pretty soon you would be overwhelmed, and perhaps overrun, by the needy. Not one of the cast came up with the solution which is moral and will lead to peace - it has been used since the beginning of mankind*. It is trade. In a situation like the Colony one could say "Bring me 10 gallons of river water and I will trade you for one gallon of clean water." The needy can provide a valuable part - security for the Colony,  in exchange for clean water. Water could be traded for food, or fuel, or weapons, or even protection from bad guys. There is no moral dilemma as long as both parties are agreeable to the trade. The traders are free to put whatever conditions they think are needed on the trade. They could say "If you steal the river water from someone then we will no longer trade with you."  Much more effective than preaching!

Today, common thought about trade is somewhat convoluted. On the one hand it is considered somehow dirty. It is only dirty if it is not free trade. On the other hand it is somehow considered evil to put conditions on your trade. You must treat everybody equally - no matter how immoral they might be. I consider this to be evil because it is no longer free trade.

Free trade is the great peace keeper between people, tribes, cultures and nations.

* Perhaps the ability to trade defines mankind. A tiger will never offer you a trade - it will either kill you or let you go.

Talented

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius. - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


Be sure one of your talents is to recognize mediocrity.


(Other posts on Talent)

Beautiful and Thoughtful - Wow

The reason that the all-American boy prefers beauty to brains is that he can see better than he can think. - Farrah Fawcett


Need a better reason to teach your kids to think?


(Other posts on Thinking)

Go Where There Are No Signposts

There are no signposts in the sky to show a man has passed that way before. There are no channels marked. The flier breaks each second into new uncharted seas. - Anne Morrow Lindbergh


There is a difference between being a pilgrim and a pioneer.


(Other posts on Achievement)

Concentrated Energy

Goals provide the energy source that powers our lives. One of the best ways we can get the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is what goals can do for us; concentrate our energy. - Denis Waitley


Choose your goals wisely but choose them. You can always change them later.


(Other posts on Goals)

Hitting Your Mark

It is not enough to aim; you must hit. - Italian Proverb


Do not try to do good - do good.
Do not try to be honest - be honest.
Do not try to be a good spouse - be a good spouse.
Do not try to not rob banks - just don't rob banks!
- You are in charge of your actions.

Human Limitations

There is no limit to human beings ability to harness energy in nature for its' own purpose. What there is a limit to is what man can do when bound by the shackles of government. The limitation is not mans' mind it's mans' government not performing its' proper function. - Alex Epstein


There is no limit to what good man can do given liberty.


(Other posts on Liberty)

Talking to Dolphins

It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English -- up to fifty words used in correct context -- no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese. - Carl Sagan

It just means Dolphins are not smart enough to teach. If anything, this tells us that in order to teach you need greater intelligence than to learn. Never let anyone convince you animals are better than humans.

(Other posts on Learning)