It's been a while

There has not been a post for a while. This is unsurprising. Wisdom is in short supply! When any endeavour  struggles it sometimes helps to go back to basics. What are basics? In science the basics are maths (of course) and physics. Central  to physics are the laws of thermodynamics and the issue of entropy the details of which are well beyond me. The core issue is that we need order in our lives and there are many more ways of things being disordered than well ordered. To get things  the way we would like them we need to do work.  This is true in physics and equally in life. To get things done we need to do useful work. We need to study, develop our skills and do the right things. Modern society  seems to have stepped  back from this and politicians  have responded by promising the voters something for nothing. Read the physics books. It does not work. Elect people who will help us do this and reject those promising magical solutions or success by stealing from others.

Conclusions

Most conclusion most of us come to most of the time are wrong. There are many more ways of being wrong than there are of being right and anyway mostly there is no conclusion at all.  Most issues are open ended and anything we have to decide on is at best provisional, temporary and always open to revision in the light of new information. Let us not therefore cling tightly to our conclusions.

Whose Body is it Anyway?

I try to give you guides to life which are universally true. (I am not however a philosopher). Today there is endless confused and nonsensical debate which we can bypass with one simple observation. Your body is your own.  Surprised? Don't be! Your body is your own and you can do with it what you choose - on your own or with others. What you choose. Message ends. This brings an end to all forms of interference from everyone and his brother telling you what you can and cannot do. Forget it.  Your body is your own and you can do with it what you choose.
I should add that medical science has a body of knowledge which might offer some advice. Some of the things you might choose to do are irreversible - tattoos and piercings for example, and some have potentially undesirable side effects. If in any doubt seek advice before proceeding.
However you can now firmly reject all forms of instruction on what you cannot or must not do.
Take care of your body and it will last a lifetime.

Wise After the Event

This common phrase is what the literati would call an oxymoron - a phrase which contradicts itself.

 The concept of wisdom is about making decisions which will improve  our future. Critical commentary on past decisions does not in any way qualify as wisdom.

Notwithstanding this self evident proposition there are whole professions devoted to this futile pursuit and claiming wisdom as their enduring quality.

These include journalists and their allies the critics, auditors and some historians.

Most historians are hard at work trying to unravel and understand the past and present  their findings to inform our decisions about the future. This work is essential. 

There are some however who approach their work with different agendas. They scrutinise the past and select and describe their findings, decrying most and praising their selected few, solely in order to defend and protect their current paymasters and their intellectual  antecedents. The bookshops bulge with history books defending and extolling assorted dogmas political or religious. We may safely disregard their conclusions. Wisdom is elsewhere. 

Beware of -isms

We are surrounded by  -isms. Capitalism, Republicanism, Monarchism, Socialism, Baptism, Catholicism, Nationalism to name but a few of the worst. Each -ism has its -ists and a sorry lot they are. All these -isms start from the notion of  a great idea which if you take it up and follow it will solve many or perhaps even all of life's problems. Not so, not so! Life is not that simple. There is no single grand prescription. Life is complex and difficult. We need to consider each issue as it arises and look to make the best decisions we can by using experience guided by experiment where possible, by pursuing our collective objectives and ambitions and by the power of reason. We each need to do this as individuals and when we join with others on  bigger issues. Follow individuals with a similar approach, elect them, advise them and get them to govern making big decisions on the same basis. Out with all the -isms. Or perhaps keep one - for what I have described is something close to Pragmatism!

Belief: Part 1

We hear all the time about belief, beliefs, believers and so on. But what does it mean when we say we believe in something? I can tell you all the things I believe in but what does that tell you anything about me? Are beliefs just that or do they mean something? My beliefs are of value to you only if they affect what I do. The same is true for everyone. When we deal with one another we need some sense of how the other person will react to assorted situations. Beliefs which mean something will help determine future behaviour and if stated publicly will help others to respond. Beliefs which do not affect future actions and behaviours are in essence meaningless. A person can bang on forever about what they believe but if it has no effect on their actions it is of no value. How would we recognise a real meaningful belief?
Try this: I believe that the principles of aerodynamics are true and useful. How do you know? I am willing to sit in an aircraft at the end of the runway and go hurtling down to certain death if my belief is false! That is a genuine belief.
Try it out. What do you think you believe? Would you willingly put yourself in a position of possible real harm if it turned out that your belief was false?
Most practical beliefs will pass the test. Most beliefs that involve supernatural elements will fail. People regularly tell us they believe in this and that supernatural phenomenon but these beliefs are for all practical purposes useless. They do not help us understand and thus predict how that person will act in a given situation.

Experts

We need them. We want things that work. We buy cars, phones, computers cookers and all manner of devices which work. They do so not by accident but because they are made by people who know what is what. Experts. We would not have it any other way.
So why do we get so upset about expertise in other areas of our lives? In social matters experts get a bad press and every journalist or politician seems to know better the answer to every problem we encounter. They don't of course and so we muddle on doing things badly and making painfully slow progress. It can be different. We can find people who do know what is what and we can employ such people to design and construct mechanisms for dealing with the myriad of problems we face. Yes they will be experts just like the people who designed and built our devices and no, we must not disregard and denounce them for that very expertise. There are better ways of doing things and we can take much of what we need out of the political arena and make it work easily and uncontroversially. Let us all listen to our own voice, encourage others, seek out experts in all sorts of issues, set them the task and heed their advice. We will be rewarded. It is currently broke and we do need to fix it!