BluePuzzle.org Comments

Expressing ideas, the act of communicating, is behavior.

Some people seem to understand this well. Others … not so much.

What do you see?

Ends are never really ends, are they?

So it’s beginnings that must justify our means.

Given that, how should we live, if beginnings must justify our means?

The secret to escape a finger trap is to understand it first. Insight into the mechanisms that trap us leads to solutions that actually work. What we believe about the mechanisms of our world make a huge difference in our ability to live freely—or to feel pinched tightly in a giant finger trap.

Read the rest of the essay (in a new window) …

I like to use conversations about simple arithmetic to illustrate some interesting behaviors. Math as metaphor: does it make sense to you?

(Read all the conversations. Or open them in a new window or tab.)

2+2=3? Or 2+2=5? Which untruth do you prefer?

Is 3+1 somehow better than 1+3?  Don’t they both add up to four?

Got a problem with 8?  Why?

Do I stand corrected? Or do I step right over new information?

Answers, observations, demonstrations, and other related thoughts at my “math as metaphor” page …

A summary, an observersation:

From outside the circle, we can see inside the circle. We can observe the observers. We can see their blind spot.

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Is it wise to ignore warning signs?

I think not.

What do you think?

I recommend water.

Many folks seem to prefer to even more fire, though.

What are the effects of our own behavior?

How should we behave if we care about the answer?

Read this piece in its original context (or open it in a new window or tab)

• Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think,
  by George Lakoff
• The Fifth Discipline,
  by Peter Senge
• Ishmael,
  by Daniel Quinn

And a frame that contains these pieces: Most models are wrong, but some are useful.

Good stuff by well-known names such as Kurt Vonnegut and less-known but deserving writers such as Ray Vukcevich.

See the whole list (in a new window or tab)