In “That Ol’ Black Magic,” in reference to the Ol’ Black Magic of love, Robbie Williams says he’s loving the spin he’s in. Love isn’t of course, the only “Black Magic,” that puts people in a spin. In the U.S., we’ve grown increasingly aware of the “spin” used by major corporations and politicians to influence politics and consumer behavior. “Spin” is basically a biased interpretation. While some form of “spin” has undoubtedly been with us throughout human history, the “father” of modern political spin is usually thought to be canaries in cages down in coal mines so that, when the . . . → Read More: The Spin I’m In
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 Comments are closed  Blog  Agent Orange, bats, bees, birds, bomb, bombs, butterflies, canaries, canary, clear the airway, coal, coal mining, Coca Cola, Coke, corporations, deforestation, Edward Bern's, global climate change, GMO, Good Samaritan, health, insecticides, ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, Lincoln, long-term problems, Mandy Patinkin, Miami, Mideast, military and civilian first-aid, Monsanto, natural gas, neonicotinoids, North Vietnamese, oil, Ol' Black Magic, politicians, public relations, Robbie Williams, sea-level rise, short-term thinking, Spin, Stephen Colbert, stone age, stop the bleeding, The Late Show, trees, Vietnam War, walking dead, well-being “Evolution” refers to change occurring over time, typically in a positive direction. As Darwin envisioned it, species changed (gradually) over time to enhance their ability to survive. These days the word is commonly used for any change that seems to be for the better. Not everyone, of course, agrees on what’s “better.” When President Obama says that his views of gay marriage are evolving, he means that he is becoming more tolerant and accepting. Not everyone, including members of the Westboro Baptist Church, however, would agree that’s a change for the better. One of my favorite writers, Steven Pinker, . . . → Read More: Evolution Comments are closed Blog abortion, Angels, Beowulf, Better Angels of our Nature, change, Christ, Christians, Copernicus, crops, Epic of Gilgamesh, equal protection under the law, evolution, fracking, Galileo, gay marriage, Gaza, gerrymandering, global climate change, GMO, gospel, gospels, herbicides, Homer, ideas, Iliad, insecticides, Islam, Islamists, John, justice, King David, King Solomon, Luke, manuscripts, Mark, Mathew, Mideast, Muslims, Obama, Odyssey, Onan, oral tradition, peace, plantations, reality, same-sex marriage, scribes, slave, slavery, Steven Pinker, Ukraine, vested interests In some ways this blog entry ties back to my previous posts on Choice Points: “Forks in the Road” and Evidence Procedures. One of the things I have been noticing about recent political debates is how often people, and perhaps especially politicians, seem to be absolutely sure of so many things. Bell Curve In statistical terms, when we measure most populations on most scales (such as height, weight, IQ, education, age at death, etc.) the result is the familiar bell shape of Pareto’s Law. It make sense: Some people are really tall, some are really short, and . . . → Read More: Yes, No, or It Depends? Comments are closed Blog absolutist, advanced civilization, age of the earth, antibiotics, bacteria, bell curve, bimodal distribution, burning issues, certainty, choice, choice points, climate change, complexities, double down, evidence, evidence procedures, extremes, failure, forks in the road, gambling, genetically modified organisms, GMO, ideas, insecticides, investment, modern life, new, NLP, opinions, Pareto, Pareto's Law, pesticides, possibilities, question, Richard Bandler, solutions, statistics, success |
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