Making a Change for the New Year

Last week we discussed Luck. Is an event that happens to us Good Luck or Bad Luck?

The Yin and the Yang are opposing forces in the universe, in balance regardless of how Humans perceive things.
The Yin and the Yang are opposing forces in the universe, in balance regardless of how Humans perceive things.

In the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a film filled with references to the balance of the universe (tao), a character is asked that exact question.

Was this event good luck or bad luck?

Continue reading “Making a Change for the New Year”

Good Luck? Bad Luck? Who knows?

Once there was a farmer whose frail old horse ran away. The farmer was unable to plow his fields without that old horse. All the people in town were concerned for the old man and his family, asking how he’d be able to handle his bad luck.

The farmer responded, “Bad Luck? Good Luck? Who knows?”

Later in the week, that horse returned with a pack of wild horses. The townspeople were excited for the old man’s fortune.

The farmer responded, “Good Luck? Bad Luck? Who knows?”

The following month was spent breaking the wild horses to work the farm and to sell. During this time, the farmer’s son fell off a horse and broke his leg.

By then everyone knew the farmer’s answer. “Bad Luck? Good Luck? Who knows?”

While the son was healing, the nation went to war. Every able-bodied male was conscripted to fight. The son with the broken leg was allowed to stay home while the neighbors’ sons went off to war.

Good Luck? Bad Luck? Who knows?

Is a flat tire Good luck or Bad luck? Photo "Changing a Tire" by Don O'Brien, Flick, CC-By-2.0
Is a flat tire Good luck or Bad luck?
Photo “Changing a Tire” by Don O’Brien, Flick, CC-By-2.0

We often see life’s events in terms of Good or Bad (or maybe even Good vs. Evil). Continue reading “Good Luck? Bad Luck? Who knows?”

God’s Debris by Scott Adams
Book Summary

True, simplicity is not proof of truth. But since we can
never understand true reality, if two models both explain the
same facts, it is more rational to use the simpler one. It is a
matter of convenience.

"God's Debris" by Scott Adams
“God’s Debris” by Scott Adams

Scott Adams’ book God’s Debris introduces us, the reader and first-person narrator, to the world’s smartest person sitting in a rocking chair, Avatar.

You (the narrator) and Avatar hold a wide-ranging conversation about God, religion, science, and probability.

And it’s persuasive.

Join us for a book summary on PRL!

Continue readingGod’s Debris by Scott Adams Book Summary”

Why I Don’t Have Free Will (and Neither Do You)

You are free to make choices, but you have no freedom in the matter.

Sam Harris presents this idea in his 2012 book, Free Will. Harris argues that we’re all products of our genes, our luck, and our experiences.

Free Will is an Illusion.

Continue reading “Why I Don’t Have Free Will (and Neither Do You)”