Wisdom obtained and lost..........

[enjoy the ride]

In my many years, I have heard some words of wisdom that have stuck with me and still keep learning.
One of the best was given to his class by a teacher of intelligence and care, and he probably had it from someone like before him-

In the far past, a group of people living primitively without reading or writing, was going about their business of farming when suddenly the sun started darkening in the middle of the day. They were scared- if they lost the sun, they would starve.
The people ran to their village wiseman. He told them to start beating all their drums to drive away the horrible creature eating the sun.
So, prompted by their great fear, all the village drums where brought out, along with anything to make noise- the villagers pounded as hard as they could. And it worked- the sun started coming back and was soon normal.
Their lesson that they kept in their hearts for generations was to use the power of the drums for safety.

Of course the eclipse was going away anyway.................

The teacher's lesson was to be very careful assuming cause and effect.

 

[me&thegals]

Great story to explain errors in reasoning and logic. This world is so complex that I bet things are rarely that clearly cause and effect.

I've been enjoying 2 books recently: Plato and the Platypus Walk Into a Bar and Aristotle and the Aardvark Go to Washington. They are both hilarious explanations of reasoning and logic, the errors we and others make and how to work things out correctly. VERY funny!

You see this type of logic in politics all the time: Politicians taking credit for things that have 100s of variables or blaming the other party for things that, again, have 100s of variables.

 

[enjoy the ride]

One statement that I never truely understood til recently was the famous FDR quote about having nothing to fear but fear itself.
Having watched people panic about the current ecomony and run after anyone who seems to have a handle on the situation without thinking hard about what they are being told has made the wisdom of that very clear.
Would you buy a car from a stranger who just shows up at your door without checking into it? Then why buy what anyone on the internet or news media has to say without very careful thought?
There are a whole lot of people who make good noises without a whole lot of thought on their part. A lot of these people make money by having websites or such, stirring up a lot of tension so people get worried they are missing something important in order to have them keep coming back and back. Of course the owners of these sites make money from advertising everytime their site has more hits. They have something to sell so a little bit of caution is required.

 

[patandchickens]

One statement that I never truely understood til recently was the famous FDR quote about having nothing to fear but fear itself.

The famous (well, used to be anyhow) Pogo quote is also relevant here: "We have met the enemy, and he is us"

Schools need to teach critical thinking a whooole lot better than they do. Also a lot of people would benefit from a better gut-level understanding that however absolutely certain they feel that they're right, they does not actually mean they necessarily are.

Pat

 

[me&thegals]

Fear is infectious. And, afraid people don't do a great job of taking a close look at the situation, especially if it is a complex one that they don't really understand. I think some people get a little bit of a "high" from fear. After all, there aren't many other times a person feels quite so alive :/

 

[enjoy the ride]

The famous (well, used to be anyhow) Pogo quote is also relevant here: "We have met the enemy, and he is us"

Schools need to teach critical thinking a whooole lot better than they do. Also a lot of people would benefit from a better gut-level understanding that however absolutely certain they feel that they're right, they does not actually mean they necessarily are.

Pat

I so agree- too many educators rely on the latest study to implement "systems" of teaching that soon lose their shiney glow and are replaced with the next thing. And if something doesn't quite fit in with this system, then it is ignored.
I am thinking that standardizing can be an affliction- I lived a lot of places during my undergraduate years and the best teachers I can remember were the ones who really insisted I learn something, no matter what style of teaching they used.
I'm old enough that I can actually remember a teacher who started teaching prior to the turn of the century- that's 1900 not 2000. She was in her late seventies and taught circles around most others because she really liked children and insisted they do what needed to do rather than want to do.

 

[farmerlor]

One statement that I never truely understood til recently was the famous FDR quote about having nothing to fear but fear itself.

The famous (well, used to be anyhow) Pogo quote is also relevant here: "We have met the enemy, and he is us"

Schools need to teach critical thinking a whooole lot better than they do. Also a lot of people would benefit from a better gut-level understanding that however absolutely certain they feel that they're right, they does not actually mean they necessarily are.

Pat

In my opinion it's not so much that just because someone feels like they're right, they may not be but more just because someone feels like they're right doesn't mean that someone else isn't ALSO right. Take religion or politics for example. The Dalai Lama once said that all religions are "right" if it makes someone live a righteous life. That God in his wisdom created many different paths that would appeal to many different people at different times and places to lead them to him. Sort of like politics. We all want the same things, we just want to take different paths to achieve those ends. If people would look at their similarities instead of constantly finding the adversity we'd all be better off.

 

[patandchickens]

In my opinion it's not so much that just because someone feels like they're right, they may not be but more just because someone feels like they're right doesn't mean that someone else isn't ALSO right.

I think you're right

(no, really, I do )

Pat

 

[SKR8PN]

We all want the same things, we just want to take different paths to achieve those ends. If people would look at their similarities instead of constantly finding the adversity we'd all be better off.

farmerlor....That is one of the wisest things I have heard in a long time. Thank you very much.

 

[FarmerChick]

One statement that I never truely understood til recently was the famous FDR quote about having nothing to fear but fear itself.
Having watched people panic about the current ecomony and run after anyone who seems to have a handle on the situation without thinking hard about what they are being told has made the wisdom of that very clear.
Would you buy a car from a stranger who just shows up at your door without checking into it? Then why buy what anyone on the internet or news media has to say without very careful thought?
There are a whole lot of people who make good noises without a whole lot of thought on their part. A lot of these people make money by having websites or such, stirring up a lot of tension so people get worried they are missing something important in order to have them keep coming back and back. Of course the owners of these sites make money from advertising everytime their site has more hits. They have something to sell so a little bit of caution is required.

I like this thread. So smart to kick back and take all this loose information and don't give it so much truth.

So many spout off in forums and on the internet and say it is the truth....most times it is just opinons and not to be taken as fact definitely.

Sensationalism keeps one interested...and so many can push any issue to be sensational.

The basics in life won't ever change...it is all the radical noise we must sort thru to make our journey safe and fun!!