Cultivating a kind of watchful, disengaged awareness isn’t just for special occasions, like when we’re feeling sad or angry; it’s for all our waking hours, regardless of mood or thought content.
Mind wandering is the brain exploring the problem space. It’s where the brain goes when we are not intentionally focusing on something (or, to be precise, when those parts of the brain are not engaged in processes that are experienced as intentionally focusing on things, with the understanding that “experiencing” is also a product of the brain). Problem spaces being what they are, the human animal is not always in a cheerful mood when its mind is wandering.
...the size of the BIG can’t be determined by the expenses of a subset of the whole, or the temporary circumstances of given individuals. BIG should not be conceived as the exclusive remedy covering all contingencies.
We are animals with brains. Awareness evolved because it helped our ancestors survive and reproduce. Brains produce awareness. Awareness tracks attention, most of the time. Awareness is a constantly updated experience of our dynamically changing state of attention. Attention enhances signals and reflects competition among signals in the brain.
While organic farming methods can be as or more productive than conventional methods, for many large scale crops, organic just doesn’t compete. For instance, in the US, organic corn, soybean and wheat crop yields are much lower than conventional yields.
I have questions. Is memory-on-demand proof of awareness? If so, does that mean that with awareness, comes great remembering? And what are we talking about here? Declarative memory, yeah – but what type: visual memory, auditory memory, verbal memory, emotional memory, spatial memory, memory of physical sensations? At least one bit of a memory trace out of the thousands of percepts being experienced every second? Are we also in a state of awareness while we are remembering?
Tropes of Derision are mocking words and phrases used by The Unsympathetic Observer to frame its object as unworthy of respect or compassion. This is the first of an occasional series....Be inconvenienced: implies opposition is based on convenience and people’s unwillingness to give up their comfort and selfish ways (see: An Inconvenient Truth). Those who resist our message are not principled – they’re just spoiled and lazy.
Today the Obama administration officially rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline. As President Obama acknowledged, this decision was mostly symbolic. The existence of the pipeline itself would have made little difference in the battle against climate change, nor would its economic payoffs have been all that great.
"When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad." https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mindfulness
Triumphalism is a sense of superiority and expectation of ultimate triumph, often reflected in exultation about the achievements of one’s religion or ideology (as confirmation of progress towards an ultimate triumph). Granted, triumphalism is an “observer’s category” and is generally used pejoratively. Few people would call themselves triumphalist. Still, the idea of triumphalism captures something that is quite real.
Problem spaces being what they are, the human animal is not always in a cheerful mood when its mind is wandering. Not necessarily unhappy – but maybe a notch or two down on the happy-ometer.
The scientific mind thinks in terms of continua. Fuzzy boundaries rule. Context matters. The ideological mind likes to divide the world into exclusive categories. Purity matters. Yeah, yeah - that's just what I did, what with my "scientific mind" and ideological mind". However, these should be considered"ideal types", which rarely exist in their pure form.
What does it mean to eliminate poverty? Very generally, it means that everyone can afford some basic minimum of nutritious food, housing, clothing, healthcare, and transportation. Guaranteeing every adult a basic income (the Basic Income Guarantee, or BIG) may be one way to eliminate poverty.
Despite this impressive fall in poverty in US, there has been no corresponding increase in intergenerational mobility. This means there has been little social mobility between generations. So, although Americans are less poor than ever, their income ranking tends to be similar to that of their parents. For example, those in the lower quintiles more often than not had parents who were also in the lower quintiles.
...all of us are prone to embrace or ignore evidence according to our pre-existing biases. This tendency is simply stronger if the biases are religious or ideological. As William James noted long ago, the “truth is that in the metaphysical and religious sphere, articulate reasons are cogent for us only when our inarticulate feelings of reality have already been impressed in favor of the same conclusion….”
The Process: identify policy goal; identify obstacles to goal (the problem); explore and become knowledgeable about the nature of the problem (causal factors, moderators, mediators, interactions); explore possible solutions to problem (pros/cons, trade-offs, incentives/disincentives, consequences, impact on other policy goals, etc.); identify the type of data needed to assess effectiveness and desirability of each solution; set up data collection and analysis system; experiment with possible hypotheses/solutions; analyze findings; refine hypotheses; tweak or reject solutions and experiment again with remaining options, ideally in different conditions (as effectiveness may depend on local contexts)....
...scientists are super-busy individuals. Many work 60 or more hours a week. It takes a lot of time, energy and focus to do research and write publishable papers. Given that null results are much more common than positive findings, is it really reasonable to ask scientists to more than double their workload, risking health, career and relationships, for a cause that serves the Greater Good but accrues little personal benefit to themselves?
Shortages are greatest in the skilled trades, both globally and in the US. Skilled trades includes jobs like Carpenters, Electricians, Plumbers, Steamfitters, Pipefitters, Machinists, Industrial Machinery Mechanics, and various kinds of Technicians.
As climate becomes less predictable, we’ll have to develop ways to better conserve, store, and transport water during years of favorable weather to soften the impact of the bad years. More reservoirs and canals would help, as would the development of crops that need less water and use water more efficiently. We would also need to continue the development of increasingly resilient crops able to thrive in variable conditions and continue to improve intensive sustainable farming practices.
Perceived scarcity happens when we want a limited resource that other people want too. Scarcity fuels desire; scarcity leads to suffering. By definition, most people cannot enjoy scarce goods. To me, scarcity is like the first law of existence. Whatever you want, if it's out there and others want it too, then the law of scarcity applies. Bottom line: if what you want is a resource available to others and it is generally desirable, it becomes scarce, with all that implies.