Science is a way of thinking

ByHeather

“Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time — when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”

— Carl Sagan, astronomer and author (1934-1996)

What is the purpose of an economy anyway?

What is the purpose of an economy anyway?

ByHeather

I heard a reporter on a recent Economist podcast say that, in light of the growing UK economy, creating jobs is a good thing.

It seems to me that creating jobs is not only a good thing, creating jobs is the thing. What other purpose is there for an economy?

Here’s what I mean. An ‘economy’ is kind of a meta-thing that emerges whenever two or more people get together and decide that working together to meet everybody’s needs is more efficient than everyone trying to each meet 100% of their own needs (like, say, some kind of off-the-grid survivalist). Economies emerge in all kinds of places: prison economies, school-yard economies, national economies, global economies.

Eleanor Roosevelt’s 3 (+1) rules for happiness

ByHeather

Someone once asked me what I regarded as the three most important requirements for happiness. My answer was: A feeling that you have been honest with yourself and those around you; a feeling that you have done the best you could both in your personal life and in your work; and the ability to love others.

But there is another basic requirement, and I can’t understand now how I forgot it at the time…

A Stolen iPad — Not: A Cascade of Judgment Errors

A Stolen iPad — Not: A Cascade of Judgment Errors

ByHeather

I have an active mind — sometimes too active. On a recent trip to the local Apple Store I got caught up in the elevated buzz that surrounds the release of new iPhones. When I discovered that my iPad was missing from my purse I compounded a cascade of errors in judgement to end up looking and feeling like a fool. Upon reflection, I learned a lot, not the least of which was to not jump to conclusions. Doh!

D•R•Horton

ByHeather

We went to our first HOA meeting this week for our new home in Carillon Forest. It was great to meet some of our new neighbors and we learned a lot. Mostly we learned that there are still lots of requests pending with the original developer who built all the houses in the neighborhood a few years back. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be responding to our requests.

It occurred to me that buying a house from DR Horton is like buying a band instrument from Professor Harold Hill. The Music Man comes to town, sells you a shiny new band instrument, and then moves on. Once he’s gone, he’s gone!