Free To Be...

"They're going to take away our freedom,"

says the guy who spends ten hours a day at a job he dislikes bookended by two awful one-hour commutes.

"They're going to take away our freedom,"

says the gal who gave up a career in medicine to marry her college sweetheart and have two kids by the age of twenty-six.

"They're going to take away our freedom,"

says the morbidly obese guy who avoids going upstairs these days because stairs.

"They're going to take away our freedom,"

says the guy who spends three hours each evening arguing online about gun rights.


You keep going on about freedom when all you've ever done is voluntarily give yours away.

Equation of Geodesic From Lagranian Equations of Motion

From Schutz (A First Course in General Relativity, Second Edition) we have:
Eq. 6.7 and Eq. 6.8

$l=\int_{\lambda_{0}}^{\lambda _{1}}\left | g_{\alpha \beta }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\alpha }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda}\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\beta }}{\mathrm{d}\lambda }\right |^{1/2}d\lambda $

$l=\int_{\lambda_{0}}^{\lambda _{1}}\left | \vec{V}\cdot \vec{V}\right |^{1/2}d\lambda $

We'll also need Eq. 6.32 from Schutz:

$\Gamma ^{\alpha }_{\mu \beta }=\frac{1}{2}g^{\alpha \beta }\left ( g_{\beta \mu ,\upsilon } +g_{\beta \upsilon ,\mu }-g_{\mu \upsilon ,\beta }\right )$

We need to end up with Schutz, Eq. 6.51 as our result (geodesic equation):

$\frac{\mathrm{d} }{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\left ( \frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\alpha }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda } \right )+\Gamma ^{\alpha }_{\mu \beta }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\mu }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\beta }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }=0$

We'll start with the Euler-Lagrange equations:

$\frac{\partial L}{\partial q_{i}}-\frac{\mathrm{d} }{\mathrm{d} t}\left ( \frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{q}_{i}} \right )=0$,

where L is the integrand fuction of Eq. 6.7, ${q}_{i}$ are the generalized coordinates of L, and t =$\lambda$

$L=\left | g_{\alpha \beta }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\alpha }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\beta }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\right |^{1/2}$, and let
$F= g_{\alpha \beta }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\alpha }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\beta }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }$

switching from Leibniz notation to Newton dot notation... $\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\mu }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }=\dot{x}^{\mu }$ and calculating derivatives:

$\frac{\partial L}{\partial x^{\mu }}=\frac{F}{2\left | F \right |^{3/2}}*g_{\alpha \beta ,\mu }\dot{x}^{\alpha }\dot{x}^{\beta }$

$\frac{\mathrm{d} }{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\left ( \frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{x}^{\mu }} \right )=\frac{\mathrm{d} }{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\left [\frac{F}{2\left | F \right |^{3/2}}*g_{\alpha \beta }\left ( \frac{\partial \dot{x}^{\alpha }}{\partial \dot{x}^{\mu }} \dot{x}^{\beta }+\frac{\partial \dot{x}^{\beta }}{\partial \dot{x}^{\mu }}\dot{x}^{\alpha }\right )\right ]$

using $\frac{\partial \dot{x}^{\alpha }}{\partial \dot{x}^{\mu }}=\delta ^{\alpha }_{\mu }$ and making the appropriate substitutions into the Euler-Lagrange equation gives:

$\frac{F}{2\left | F \right |^{3/2}}*g_{\alpha \beta ,\mu}\dot{x}^{\alpha }\dot{x}^{\beta }-\frac{\mathrm{d} }{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\left [\frac{F}{2\left | F \right |^{3/2}}\left ( g_{\mu \beta } \dot{x}^{\beta }+g_{\alpha \mu }\dot{x}^{\alpha }\right )  \right ]=0$

the derivative on the L.H.S. includes two subterms with a factor of $\frac{\mathrm{d} F}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }$, but since $F=\vec{V}\cdot \vec{V}$, then $\frac{\mathrm{d} F}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }=0$ and we have:

$\frac{F}{2\left | F \right |^{3/2}}*g_{\alpha \beta ,\mu }\dot{x}^{\alpha }\dot{x}^{\beta }-\frac{F}{2\left | F \right |^{3/2}}\left ( g_{\mu \beta ,\alpha } \dot{x}^{\alpha }\dot{x}^{\beta }+g_{\alpha \mu ,\beta }\dot{x}^{\alpha }\dot{x}^{\beta }+g_{\mu \beta }\ddot{x}^{\beta }+g_{\alpha \mu }\ddot{x}^{\alpha }\right )=0$

Almost there... canceling like factors in each term of the L.H.S., using the symmetry of $g_{\alpha \beta }$, and relabeling dummy indices, we end up with:

$g_{\mu \beta ,\alpha }\dot{x}^{\alpha }\dot{x}^{\beta }+g_{\alpha \mu .\beta  }\dot{x}^{\alpha }\dot{x}^{\beta }-g_{\alpha \beta ,\mu  }\dot{x}^{\alpha }\dot{x}^{\beta }+2g_{\alpha \beta }\ddot{x}^{\mu }=0$

Making a substitution into this equation using Schutz Eq. 6.32 and going back to Leibniz notation exclusively for the derivatives gives:

$2g_{\alpha \beta }\Gamma ^{\mu }_{\alpha \beta }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\alpha }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\beta }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }+2g_{\alpha \beta }\frac{\mathrm{d} }{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\left ( \frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\mu }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda } \right )=0$

which obviously becomes:

$\Gamma ^{\mu }_{\alpha \beta }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\alpha }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\beta }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda }+\frac{\mathrm{d} }{\mathrm{d} \lambda }\left ( \frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\mu }}{\mathrm{d} \lambda } \right )=0$    Q.E.D.

No Dragons to Slay

You belong.
Or, at least they say you do.

You don't belong here.
Or, at least they say you don't.

Would you chase the dragon?
Or, would you slay it?

In your darkest hours you reached out, you seeker of solitude, abandoner of worlds...
They gave you water to slake your thirst, and greedily you drank.

Do you dare look over your shoulder now?


photo credit

Product of an Antisymmetric Tensor and a Symmetric Tensor

A well-known homework problem from General Relativity and Tensor Analysis textbooks asks the student to prove that:

$A^{\alpha \beta }B_{\alpha \beta } = 0$,

if A is an antisymmetric $\left ( \frac{2}{0} \right )$ tensor and B is a symmetric $\left ( \frac{0}{2} \right )$ tensor.

Now, this problem will do your head in if you treat the above equation as a matrix product. Remember that we're looking at Einstein Summation Notation here and all will be fine. If we sum on repeated indices, we can work things out in the following way:

$A^{\alpha \beta }B_{\alpha \beta } =-A^{\beta\alpha}B_{\beta\alpha}$ (antisymmetry of A and symmetry of B)     (1)
$=-A^{\mu \nu }B_{\mu \nu }$ (relabeling dummy indices)    (2)
$=-A^{\alpha \beta }B_{\alpha \beta }$ (relabeling dummy indices again)    (3)

Now, if you're not comfortable at this point with just relabeling indices, it's instructive to work out the expressions on both the L.H.S. and the R.H.S. of the equation:
$A^{\alpha \beta }B_{\alpha \beta } = -A^{\beta\alpha}B_{\beta\alpha}$    (1)

L.H.S.: $A^{\alpha \beta }B_{\alpha \beta } = A^{11}B_{11}+A^{12}B_{12}+A^{21}B_{21}+A^{22}B_{22}+\cdot \cdot \cdot$
R.H.S.: $-A^{\beta\alpha}B_{\beta\alpha} = -A^{11}B_{11}-A^{21}B_{21}-A^{12}B_{12}-A^{22}B_{22}+\cdot \cdot \cdot$
Rearranging terms and factoring out a negative one on the R.H.S. gives us:
$-A^{\beta\alpha}B_{\beta\alpha} = -1\ast \left [  A^{11}B_{11}+A^{12}B_{12}+A^{21}B_{21}+A^{22}B_{22}+\cdot \cdot \cdot \right ]$
Which shows that:
$-A^{\beta\alpha}B_{\beta\alpha}=-A^{\alpha \beta }B_{\alpha \beta }$

So, now we go back to (3) above:
$A^{\alpha \beta }B_{\alpha \beta }=-A^{\alpha \beta }B_{\alpha \beta }$
$\Rightarrow 2A^{\alpha \beta }B_{\alpha \beta }=0$
$\Rightarrow A^{\alpha \beta }B_{\alpha \beta } =0$    Q.E.D.

A Profoundly Unsophisticated Approach to Life

If there's anyone who should write a book with the above title, then it's this guy right here...

Admitting the gamble

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone about to board a plane who would say with complete confidence that there was absolutely zero chance of that hunk of metal machinery falling out of the sky during that flight.
"Hey, you could be killed just walking out your front door in the morning, right?"

"Yes, and you could be killed in your sleep the night before."

Not admitting the gamble

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who would say that getting divorced is no big deal.
"Hey, sometimes you've got to do tough things; if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out, right?"

"So, you'd get married with the belief that it might not be for life?"

"No. of course not; marriage isn't something to be taken lightly."

"What if your future spouse were to cheat on you?"

"I'd get a divorce, no question about it. But, I wouldn't marry someone I couldn't trust completely, so..."

"But, could you guarantee, 100 percent, that your future spouse wouldn't cheat on you?"

"Like I said, I wouldn't marry someone who I thought might do that."

"But, it is possible for them to do so, right?"

"So, what do you suggest, not getting married at all because there's a risk?"

"I'm not suggesting anything... So, you're admitting there's a risk?"

"Well, I guess... I mean, we're just having a hypothetical conversation aren't we? If I actually thought there was a chance of my partner cheating during our marriage, I wouldn't marry that person."


And, so it goes...

A Dream to Last Decades

What does anyone know about good and bad, right and wrong?

Thrust a lit torch into the darkness and a way can be seen. Thrust a lit torch into a man's face and he may be blinded or killed.

Fire.
A ball of fire over a million kilometers wide can render some planets barren and lifeless, but can also give life to billions of organisms on others.

The difference between what is believed and what is known, for most, is far too great. Beliefs can help us to do great things, but they can also bring us to ruin.

Can the truth, on its own, bring one to ruin? Are there some things that are best left unknown? Should we seek to know the truth no matter the risk to our mental well-being?

"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream."
-- Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

Always Be...

We know who coffee is for. The bigger question is, Is coffee the end or the means? Or both?

Before I have my first morning cup, it certainly is seen as a means. The end? Well, that amounts to something like the avoidance of absolute carnage. However, somewhere between the consumption of two-thirds and three-quarters of that first cup I start to think things like, This is all I need. What else is there? And then, of course, coffee seems like the end.

It's funny that many of the same people who say the journey is more important than the destination will often say that the result is more important than the method used to achieve it.

Or as Gretzky (maybe it was Gretzky) put it, They don't ask 'how?'; they ask 'how many?'.

Some might make mention of the idea of putting one's soul at hazard or selling one's soul when discussing such things, but knowing that personalities can change dramatically and core values can be changed completely, if someone were to say to me, Pity, you having sold your soul like that, I would simply say, That's alright; I've got a new one these days.

Here's an entertaining read

A Fishbowl or a Mirror

Every day, every hour, every minute...

Every moment.

Every moment brings a chance for self-betterment.

Looking at the world as if it's a fishbowl is what isolationists do. Outside looking in, not feeling a sense of belonging and actually finding the idea of belonging to be a repulsive one... It's easy to do. You observe and all you see, hear, and touch is shallow, stupid superficiality. Afraid of being tainted, you withdraw.

Try looking at the world as if it were a mirror; the behavior that disgusts you, is it just what the image in front of you does, or is it a true reflection of what you do yourself? In some cases, if you're truly honest with yourself, you'll see your own shortcomings. And, hopefully, you'll get to working on them.

The code you live by can be a rigid one, but hopefully it was flexible, creative thinking that allowed you to construct it in the first place, testing and retesting beliefs and suppositions. Making minor adjustments to the code from time to time is quite beneficial; making wholesale changes repeatedly means you're just not thinking things through...

Note: I write these posts with the command, Physician, heal thyself in mind.

Fair is Fair

This is a very entertaining and enlightening TED talk by Frans de Waal. It's only about 17 minutes in length, so if you've got that much time free, here's a nice way to fill it.


Credit: The Origins Project --> The Origins of Violence --> Biological Basis

The Seventieth Fifteenth of August

Seventy years ago today, the surrender of Japan was announced and World War II officially came to a close. Seventy years ago today, in some places there were celebrations and some danced with abandon in the streets, while in other places there was silent reflection and many of those still drawing breath wondered if it was much of a good thing at all.

101 years ago this month, the first of the 20th century's two big dances was just getting underway, and when it was over four years later, many believed it had been the dance to end all dances. But, apparently it had not been enough, and two decades later, the second and final big dance of the century was just about to kick off.

And, when that dance was over, many wondered how long it would be before the next big event came around. Indeed, for seventy years the band has been rehearsing, and there were times when we held our breath waiting for the emcee to take the stage and bid us to move to the music.

And in a sudden turnaround, Yamato has once again secured the right to buy a dance ticket...

Susceptible By Design

They walked leisurely along, the sand beneath their feet still wet and firm from the recent high tide, the sun hanging low in the sky leaving a golden, glittering path out to sea toward the horizon. A strong breeze suddenly slapped them in their faces and they instinctively turned away, though no sand was kicked up. They both noticed, simultaneously, the flicker of light reflected from something silver resting on a large rock a few meters away. They looked at each other, and then started toward it.

The taller one picked it up and examined it. "A beautiful pocketwatch, it is," he said. "Still working, too. What time is it according to yours?"

"Ten past five."

"Hmm... exactly three hours behind."

The shorter man turned back to face the setting sun. "I read once that just as the watch must have had a watchmaker, the universe itself, being infinitely more complex, must have had a designer."

"So then, design is top-down. Someone created the watch, and something created that someone... that's it then?"

"Basically, yes."

The taller man slipped the watch into his jacket's breast pocket. "I guess that leaves the obvious question of who created the something that created the someone who created the watch."

"I suppose..."

"Well then, it never ends, does it?"

"I'll tell you what I think; the universe created that watch, and I don't need to know about, nor do I care about, what created the universe."

The taller man furrowed his brow. "I'm trying to get my head around what you're saying..."

"Well, to put it simply, over the countless years following the creation of the universe, and that act of creation is of no concern to me as I've said, simple forces at work have brought about the complexity in the universe that we see today, one aspect of that complexity being the product of evolution we know as homo sapiens, who eventually came to create things, like watches."

"And, here we are."

"Yes. Here we are."

Image credit

Göbekli Tepe and the Great Cultural Bifurcation

One can imagine...

The group, having found some stability in a region,... an animal population that replenishes itself often enough feeding on plants and grasses in the area that also come back quickly enough to keep the herd from moving too far away... decides to establish a small settlement. Members who dedicate themselves to activities outside of hunting and gathering find more time for creative endeavors, children can be looked after and educated while mothers and fathers are out in the fields and groves procuring food for everyone. Everyone in the group, that is.

One can now imagine...

A more powerful group comes into the region and realizes quickly that the available animals, plants, grasses, etc... may not be sufficient for the survival of two groups. So, the original, weaker group is driven out. For the group that lost its hold on something that seemed to be a gift from whatever god or gods they worshiped, despair is likely to follow. And, in the lean months or years, they might come close to dying off completely.

But, then, one can imagine...

A small group of scouts from the larger, wandering group follows some tracks in the dirt and mud around a small mountain ridge, and in the valley below an amazing sight presents itself. The scouts rub their eyes in disbelief for a moment, and then unrestrained excitement ensues. Uncountable numbers of animal herds are spread out across the most fertile grounds they've ever encountered as far as their eyes can see.

And, they know that the game has changed.

Probability and the Boogeyman

For those who wish to be honest, there’s only one reality when it comes to human rights, and that is that there are none. Universally speaking, all lifeforms have the same basic right, which is the right to try to survive and thrive in whatever situations they find themselves in. Each and every one of us is entitled to nothing but a death. For those of us who drew a lucky card and were born into a life full of opportunities to thrive, we are usually imbued with a sense of gratitude, though we are aware of the fact that many are born into suffering. Only deranged thinking allows one to believe that some divine power blessed them with a good life while condemning others to enter the world, live short, painful existences and then be forgotten as easily as they were conceived. So, gratitude is not the best word to use in this context; it should be appreciation. If this appreciation leads to altruistic behavior, all the better.

Of course, explaining this all to a child is a challenge. No one in his or her right mind would have the following exchange with their five-year-old:

“Mommy, I’m afraid of the dark. I think there’s a monster in my closet.”
“Whatever gave you that idea?”
“Timmy was talking about it today.”
“Maybe he was just trying to scare you.”
“So, I’ll be OK? There are no monsters”
“Well, there are no monsters, but there are people in the world who do terrible things to others, even children. There may even be such a person in our town; he may be driving the streets right now, looking for a house to break into, a child to take away somewhere to torture and kill…”
“Mommy, you’re scaring me!”
“Don’t be afraid, there are so many houses out there that the possibility of the bad man choosing our house is so small, it’s not worth worrying about…”

However, encouraging beliefs in fairy tales isn’t the best approach either. Saying things like “God loves you and will protect you” seems ridiculous when your child is bound to learn that some other children in similar communities, whose parents have said the same thing to them, fall ill, suffer and die. And, to say then, “Well, the Lord works in mysterious ways” is likely to be seen as a cop out by many kids. Moreover, it could lead a child to think, “Geez, maybe I should try harder to be good, so the Lord doesn’t work any of his mysterious ways on me!”

Clearly, children need important people in their lives, like parents, other family, and teachers to guide them in their moral development. Teaching them critical thinking, and allowing them to come to their own conclusions with a minimal amount of bias should be the main strategy used. Endless explanations and repeated admonishments without attention given to making sure a child understands what it all means is likely to create moral deficiencies.

Let Me Guess What's On Your Mind

Everyone has an innate desire to feel special, a need to build self-esteem, which is likely part of the built-in need to thrive. There's a certain level of self-satisfaction that comes with a sense of belonging, of being a recognized member of the in-group. Sometimes the recognition comes from others in the group who heap praise on us for some good deed or another. Sometimes it comes from a rubber stamp; 'Congratulations, you're now an official member of the XXXX Fan Club! Enclosed you'll find your certificate of membership and a courtesy bumper sticker.' And, in one of the most important cases, your membership to a club is granted by virtue of being born; it's interesting to think that something one had no control over could instill in one such a swollen sense of pride.

We all seek acceptance. It validates our existence, makes us feel important. Building good personal relationships is one of the main ways we gain the needed acceptance. And, just as the need to feel special is inborn, it seems that the ability to empathize is as well. What better tool to have than one which allows us to slip into someone else's mind, find an itch that needs to be scratched, and then offer some relief, thereby gaining a measure of positive recognition from that other. Such manipulation is managed even by the very young...

Yet, there’s evidence that infants will favor altruistic behavior around strangers as long as they don’t feel threatened by them. This is interesting in that it could show the innateness of empathy. In one study, for example, half of toddlers tested spontaneously got up and opened a door for a stranger who was trying to open it but was unable to manage it due to having both arms full. Somehow, these toddlers recognized not only what the stranger wanted to do, but also that the stranger would likely react in a favorable way toward a person who helped him to do it. It’s also interesting to consider that the toddlers likely recognized that by pleasing the stranger, they would be accepted by him, leading to a feeling of increased self-importance. So, it would seem that altruistic behavior is conducive to fostering self-esteem, but not because we feel good about ourselves for having done something perceived by us to be good, but because it is perceived by others to be good, which should lead to their approval of us if they were to be made aware of our ‘good’ behavior.*

And, with this, we can begin a discussion on moral development.

*Excerpted from the book I'm currently working on

The Self You Worship

The sidelong stare, the apparent sneer, the laugh as they pass out of sight in the opposite direction... These things don't quite boil the blood, but they do cause sparks. A look over the shoulder reveals no further information as both their backs are turned. They round a corner and are gone.

Why does it rankle so?

Who you see yourself as (the idealized self) and who you really are (the real self) couldn't be two more different characters. You've done a smashing job, though, of not recognizing this. Most of the time, anyway.

Blame it on your upbringing, blame it on society... At the end of the day, it's still your problem. And, it will bring you low eventually if you don't get it together.

Start seeing yourself for who you are. Try this: next time you're on a train or a bus, look around for someone with nearly the same posture as the one you have. Maybe his hands are folded resting on his lap, or maybe she's leaning against a support rail. Now, try to guess where they're going, what they're going to do there. Imagine the conversations they might have with others, the feelings they might feel. Don't fantasize. Be realistic.

What's your impression of this person? Whatever it is, you might just understand yourself a little better afterward.

A Life Less Meaningful

"You don't believe in God, you don't believe we were created to live here on this beautifully designed world... In fact, you believe that humanity has no divine purpose and could disappear in a very short time, and the universe would be hardly changed at all... So, tell me, what motivates you to get out of bed in the morning? I mean, what are you living for?"

"I get out of bed in the morning, because the brewing coffee down the hall in the kitchen smells rather good, and I should quite like to have a cup or two with a bagel and cream cheese. I enjoy having my first meal by the window of my breakfast nook and looking out on the front lawn, seeing the squirrels run about while hummingbirds drink from the feeder hanging on a branch of the tree in the middle of the grass."

"You're not being facetious, are you?"

"I live for long hikes in the forest and slow walks on the beach, Scotch whisky by the fire on cold winter nights, the pleasure of lying with a beautiful woman, the thrill of discovering something new..."

"Yes, yes, I see where you're going. But, is that enough?"

"Enough for me, yes."

Taken by the Prevailing Winds

Where my thoughts go, so do I.


Your last thought, you know not from where it came. But, come it did. And so it goes for your next thought, and the one after that. Like a river flowing, they sweep you along and direct you from one point of your life to the next. You believe that they define you; indeed they guide your actions, and others define you by those actions, so in a way, you're correct.

Most of the time, anyway.

There are times when it occurs to you that rather than be guided by your thoughts, it's better for you to actively guide them. Studying, learning, putting ideas into practice... these activities make it much more likely that you'll make optimal decisions in certain contexts.

This is the closest thing we have to free will. You can decide now to act in such a way that at some point in the future you'll most likely arrive at a place that is closer to your desired destination than one you would've arrived at had you not decided to guide your thoughts at all.

In a short-enough time frame, free will all but disappears. In a long-enough one, free will is a lot less fuzzy.

Those dark thoughts you've been having, you wish they'd go away, and sometimes they do. But, they come back eventually. Is it a chemical problem? An environmental one? Is it something else? Shouldn't you at least try to know the answer?

To Survive, Perchance To Thrive

One's raison d'etre is exactly one's own. I'm reminded of a time when I was at a friend's home and his sister complained about not knowing her purpose in life. to which her father responded sharply, "Your purpose in life is to not die. Everything else is gravy."

Gravy...

To reduce it to the most basic level, human beings seek to survive and to thrive. Indeed, faced with an inability to thrive on his or her own terms, one might contemplate suicide. We know this from being observers of humanity. Of course, 'on one's own terms' is key here. I've been told on several occasions that my spartan lifestyle is quite unappealing. I, of course, find it satisfying, but I can accept that it wouldn't be for most.

We're binary thinkers by nature, yes or no, right or wrong, good or bad, one or zero... But any rational human being should accept that these are relative concepts, not absolute, universal ones. Still, we'd like to put it in some kind of mathematical framework if we could.

Understanding survival is simple; there are two states: life and death. You're either in one or the other as far as we can tell from our human viewpoint. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that the following is true:

Signs of death or strong indications that a warm-blooded animal is no longer alive are:

• Cessation of breathing - a
• Cardiac arrest (no pulse) - b
• Pallor mortis, paleness which happens in the 15–120 minutes after death - c
• Livor mortis, a settling of the blood in the lower (dependent) portion of the body - d
• Algor mortis, the reduction in body temperature following death. This is generally a steady decline until matching ambient temperature - e
• Rigor mortis, the limbs of the corpse become stiff (Latin rigor) and difficult to move or manipulate - f
• Decomposition, the reduction into simpler forms of matter, accompanied by a strong, unpleasant odor - g

We can then say that if none of the above conditions are met for a certain person, then that person is alive, meaning he or she is surviving.

So now, again for the sake of simplicity, let's define a state of death where only if all of the above conditions are true, then there is a state of death. And, let's call this state 'non-survival.' Sounds silly, but it makes things simple. We can represent this as a variable x, where x is a state function, x(a, b, c, d, e, f, g). If any of the conditions a, b, c, d, e, f or g are true, we assign that condition variable a value of 1, and if not true, a value of 0. For example, if a person is still breathing, a = 0, and if they're not breathing, a = 1. So, if we have x(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1), we have a state of death. We can define a general life/death state as

                                    $\delta\left ( x \right ) = \begin{Bmatrix}
                                    0, & x(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)\\
                                    1,& x\neq x(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
                                    \end{Bmatrix}$

where $\delta \left ( x  \right )= 1$ means survival, and
$\delta \left ( x  \right )= 0$ means non-survival.

Can we construct a similar function for thriving? And, if we can do that, can we construct a single, combined function that expresses the two (survival and thriving) mathematically?

Priests of the New Enlightenment

Take this. You'll need it.

All that you can and can't live without... 

You'll know it before you know the face of your mother.

And that...

That map is out of date, my child.

Use it at your peril.

When you lose your way, approach the nearest temple and with your senses follow the eastward-moving star.

And know that it has always followed you.

Abandon the Watchtower

Save the world.

Point your finger and paint them black.

Outward, onward, feel the cracking of bones under your feet.

Reach the void and pull up short. Listen closely for it on the wailing wind. Close your eyes to the darkness before you and listen.

Listen.

Can you hear it? 

No?

Then, open your eyes, reach out and take my hand.

The Cradle

There are 3 million moving parts in a Boeing 777. Three million little (or not so little) things that you don't control.

Who's your daddy?

There are thousands of food processing plants in your country, with several hundred thousand employees working night and day to ensure that there's food on your table tonight.

Come give momma some sugar...

He edged slightly forward, every muscle straining. Unconsciously, he held his breath. It was time to add to his own burden while laying down that of another.
Under his foot a dry leaf cracked, and that was all it took. The chance was gone, and it would likely be a few days before another came. His stomach rumbled and he closed his eyes.

And he prayed. Prayed for a blessing, a gift from the heavens... anything that would ease the endless suffering.

Photo credit

This Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

But, it is food for thought.

Do we come from the universe, or does the universe come from us?

Or just me?

Coherence

Look up at the night sky and tell me what you see.

When the difference of what can't and can be known is so large as to seem infinite, nothing means anything and anything means nothing.

Return.

You've been here before, you know it. Feel it. But, something has been corrupted. This poisonous feeling... escape from it. Fly.

Return.

Acquiesce.





*worth a look

Disintegration

Roll down the window and let your hair be whipped around by the inrush. Cotton candy strewn across the morning sky. Wanderer take warning...

Scan the spectrum and hold your breath. Do it thrice. Exhale.

Grip the wheel tightly and lay on the throttle. When you see the red coming, make a lucid choice. It may be the last one.

Search the horizon, left to right, right to left. Bring your focus back just a little and try again. If you can't, then reach beyond the horizon. Take your hands off the wheel.

Transcend.

Still Staying Strangers

When the sky was brilliant, blinding blue

And the song of the birds was deafening

I knew you. Needed you.

When I stepped out of the past and traveled forward in time, I took your guidebook with me.

These days, I know you from what was written on those pages, which is to say, I hardly know you at all.

I've thought about filling in all those blank pages myself. You know,... just in case.

Just in case.

The Face of the Reptilian Father

When I was but a babe, his weakness was exploited and I was betrayed.

Help Me.

But the word 'fairness' never crossed my lips.

When I was overpowered and nearly lost my light, their bad luck became my good fortune.

Fly.

But the words 'thank God' never crossed my lips.

When I made ties, they cut them.

Keep Going.

But the word 'justice' never crossed my lips.

When I took their light, my heart grew heavy.

Breathe.

But the word 'regret' never crossed my lips.

When we made the contract, my power retreated.

Help Me.

And the word 'Father' crossed my lips for the first time...