Tag: the human mind

Not quite religion, not quite self-help: welcome to the Jordan Peterson age of nonsense

Unintelligible as it is, new book is part of a ‘manifesting’ trend offering the young and spiritually lost an illusion of control Martha Gill What links these two news stories? The first: “manifesting” has been declared Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year. The self-help practice, based on the magical belief that mental rituals can move the… Read More Not quite religion, not quite self-help: welcome to the Jordan Peterson age of nonsense

Dilip

The exodus from X to Bluesky has happened – the era of mass social media platforms is over

Platforms come and go, but this feels different: the final death of the idea that social media could ever be the internet’s town square, a global meeting place for ideas that would broaden all our horizons. Now, the future of social media looks increasingly segregated for users’ safety, like rival fans at football. X for… Read More The exodus from X to Bluesky has happened – the era of mass social media platforms is over

Dilip

After their son came out, this conservative Christian couple went into a closet of their own

NB: A tragic yet beautiful story a gay boy and his conservative parents; and of Divine scripture. To me, it signifies nothing less than this: If God does not mean love, God means nothing. Maybe we can yet learn from such real life stories. The most telling lines in the story below are these: “There… Read More After their son came out, this conservative Christian couple went into a closet of their own

Dilip

The Coming Second Copernican Revolution

“Today is not your first arrival here.” — Hongzhi Zhengjue, 1091-1157 CE Astrobiology is rewiring our understanding of the intimate connection between life and planets as they appear in the universe. By Adam Frank Across 15,000 generations, human beings have looked out at the sentinel stars and felt the pressing weight of myriad existential questions: Are… Read More The Coming Second Copernican Revolution

Dilip

The Strangeness of Zero

In some ways, zero is just like any other number on a number line. But a new study suggests that the mind may treat the symbol for absence differently. Yasemin Saplakoglu Around 2,500 years ago, Babylonian traders in Mesopotamia impressed two slanted wedges into clay tablets. The shapes represented a placeholder digit, squeezed between others,… Read More The Strangeness of Zero

Dilip

Far-right governments seek to cut billions of euros from research in Europe

Anti-immigration parties are pushing policies that are hostile or indifferent towards science. David Matthews A surge in far-right parties entering governments across Europe is raising concerns for science. The parties, whose focus is typically immigration, care little about research, say policy experts. In the Netherlands — where the Party for Freedom (PVV), led by the… Read More Far-right governments seek to cut billions of euros from research in Europe

Dilip

Eruption of Truth: An Interview with Raimon Panikkar (1918-2010)

NB: An important thinker, Fr Pannikar combined compassion with thoughtfulness; and sought dialogue as a means of addressing the worlds problems. I empathise with him, and am sorry to note (for my part) the absence of divine compassion for the innocents of Gaza; not to mention the millions of innocents who suffered and died in… Read More Eruption of Truth: An Interview with Raimon Panikkar (1918-2010)

Dilip

Aboriginal Dreamtime

The Dreamtime is a commonly used term for describing important features of Aboriginal spiritual beliefs and existence. It is not generally well understood by non-indigenous people. First Nations Peoples believe that the Dreamtime was way back, at the very beginning. The land and the people were created by the Spirits. They made the rivers, streams,… Read More Aboriginal Dreamtime

Dilip

Walter Benjamin and The Angel of History

Paul Klee, Angelus Novus (1920) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Klee%2C_Angelus_novus.png?20130120065947 Paul Klee, Angelus Novus Walter Benjamin: Thesis 9 in The Concept of History (1940) My wing is ready to fly / I would rather turn backFor had I stayed mortal time / I would have had little luck Gerhard Scholem, Angelic Greetings There is a painting by Klee called… Read More Walter Benjamin and The Angel of History

Dilip