http://theflyingcrossbeam.comReason, spirituality and how the Sica would address the modern world.en-usTue, 01 Jan 2008 21:57:11 GMTGNU makehttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rsshttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essay&barg2=20070102&quote=falseAll religions have a closed-minded ideological component but some religions have fostered free-thinking, innovative sects. While Islam and Buddhism have produced a rich history of out-of-band innovation, why has Chistianity been so stodgy?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070102.htmlJulian S. TaylorTue, 02 Jan 2007 12:00:00http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070107&quote=falseI have single handedly turned two devout Christians from Christianity. It wasn't intentional! It's just what happens when intelligent people try to justify the product of pure faith.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070107.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 07 Jan 2007 19:58:26 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070113&quote=falseThe Sica see the actions of people as natural phenomena. A Sica would no more flip off an aggressive driver than he would an unwelcome Spring shower during a picnic. Is this the lazy man's route to serenity?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070113.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 13 Jan 2007 18:30:02 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070120&quote=falseThe Sica refer often to the "Failure of Perception" as the key problem leading to error. This is a reference to the Sica belief that the experienced mind is largely populated by walls that hide rather than lamps that illuminate. Are the walls the proper construction of experience or are they the root of delusion?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070120.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 20 Jan 2007 18:18:56 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070127&quote=falseWherein a wise man answers a disturbing question with silence.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070127.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 27 Jan 2007 15:39:05 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=200702035&quote=falseA recent encounter on Book TV reveals Michael Crichton's mastery of the moment. Fortunately, the Sica understanding of the moment is very different. The moment does not abandon the future.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070203.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 03 Feb 2007 12:00:00http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070211&quote=falseThe Sica hold that virtue is founded upon three principles. They refer to these at the moral primitives. Here we will contrast the ethics of the Bush Administration with these fundamental building blocks of virtue.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070211.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 11 Feb 2007 17:32:39 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070217&quote=falseThe Sica assess tragedy in the same way that they assess everything: as a joyous encounter with the divine. Tragedy does not require an explanation any more than beauty or boredom. Death is an expected transition and does not require the assignment of some mystic significance, even when its arrival is untimely. We review Senator Obama's recent claim that the lives of US soldiers have been wasted in this light.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070217.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 17 Feb 2007 18:31:15 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070225&quote=falseSica is about simplicity. The Sica don't like complex solutions. They believe that even complex problems are best resolved with simple solutions. To achieve the simple solution, the simple center of the problem must be clearly perceived.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070225.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 25 Feb 2007 18:32:02 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070303&quote=falseSica is about simplicity. The Sica don't like complex solutions. They believe that even complex problems are best resolved with simple solutions. To achieve the simple solution, the simple center of the problem must be clearly perceived.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070303.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 03 Mar 2007 18:31:15 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070310&quote=falseWe've all had discussions that simply made no sense. I was fortunate enough to figure out at least one discussion pathology in a talk with an engineering director. The Sica would say that honesty is basic to all communication. My talk with the director led me to believe that there's a very specific requirement for an honest discussion.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070310.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 10 Mar 2007 17:43:16 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070317&quote=falsePreconceptions are the hidden levers that clever people use to turn off our minds.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070317.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 17 Mar 2007 20:47:53 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070325&quote=falseWhy do politicians use fear to control their constituents? We are told to fear terrorism to the exclusion of all other concerns. Holding in abeyance the loss of the Middle Class, the loss of the U.S. industrial base, the loss of individual freedoms, how does fear alone hide these towering issues? The Sica would recognize this instantly as primitive Political Engineering.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070325.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 25 Mar 2007 17:42:41 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070401&quote=false"Sustainable Growth" was introduced widely into the public vocabulary during the Reagan administration implying that economic growth could be sustained indefinitely as long as it was managed properly. Who still believes this and how would the Sica see it?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070401.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 01 Apr 2007 17:42:41 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070408&quote=falseAn alarm that is always on is merely an annoyance. An annoyance when carried to an extreme makes the captive compliant. Is the pious guilt of the Christian merely an alarm that is always on?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070408.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 08 Apr 2007 23:58:30 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070414&quote=falseAl Franken wrote a book "Lies And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them". It was an entertaining book listing all of the various falsehoods for which the Neocons had been responsible. I have begun to suspect that they have not been lying.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070414.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 14 Apr 2007 17:35:53 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070421&quote=falseThe Sica have a great respect for the word "anything". We might say that anything is better than nothing. The Sica claim that anything is actually better than something. We could have used a little anything last week.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070421.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 21 Apr 2007 20:27:39 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070428&quote=falseWestern religion suffers some of the same disadvantages as western medicine. The failure becomes most clear when confronting crisis.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070428.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 28 Apr 2007 21:36:11 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070506&quote=falseObjectivists, those who adhere to Ayn Rand's literary rebellion against the Soviet State, tell us that if the market is allowed to function without hindrance (Laissez-Faire Capitalism) then the self-correcting self-regulating engine of prosperity will bring wealth and comfort to all who work for it. This claim appears to be in error.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070506.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 06 May 2007 19:46:13 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070513&quote=falseWhat is your purpose in the scheme of things? On a cosmic scale, if you don't mean anything, why are you still here?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070513.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 13 May 2007 04:05:29 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070520&quote=falseNothing is just a theory. Theories are fantastic. Nothing is just semantics. Semantics is the basis of understanding. We use the word "just" to imply that something is trivial. We use it to kill the discussion before it starts.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070520.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 20 May 2007 17:37:13 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070526&quote=falseLike the various popes who are now recognized as infallible based upon their own proclamations, President Bush has apparently proclaimed himself the unassailable leader of the U.S. (as soon as he wants to be). Why does this keep happening?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070526.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 26 May 2007 23:28:28 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070603&quote=falseBoys will be boys and so will middle-aged men. We hear their childish cries when women assert their power.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070603.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 03 Jun 2007 00:37:48 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070609&quote=falseIn which Dr. McNamara makes the word "meaning" the fluffy nougat center of a sentence.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070604.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 09 Jun 2007 19:20:58 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070616&quote=falseI can't get over the rigid definition of religion posed by Dr. Thomas McNamara at this year's Conference on World Affairs. He defines religion in terms that only a moron would find meaningful; and yet, I myself have an existence proof of a non-moron who is religious.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070616.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 16 Jun 2007 19:14:34 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070624&quote=falseRalph Nader says that the corporation lives in perpetuity. I see evidence that he is incorrect.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070624.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 24 Jun 2007 02:01:52 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070630&quote=falseThe circus freak presents us with an opportunity to belittle from a safe distance, those who are not a part of our tribe. One would imagine that this is a primitive phenomenon, limited to gawking Arkansas farm folk. In fact, the freak show has simply been gentrified and brought to the city.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070630.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 30 Jun 2007 21:41:53 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070707&quote=falseWhen playing a game against a machine there is neither justice nor injustice; even if the game is something you perceive as life.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070707.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 07 Jul 2007 16:09:48 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070714&quote=falseWherein politics is elevated to the lofty principles of persuasion and beer.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070714.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 14 Jul 2007 05:06:43 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070721&quote=falseWherein Janette Taylor draws a distinction between Ahh and Aha.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070721.htmlJanette K. TaylorSat, 21 Jul 2007 17:32:45 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070728&quote=falseWhy is the iPhone the coolest thing to come out of U.S. industry in five years? Is American engineering on vacation?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070728.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 28 Jul 2007 01:07:50 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070803&quote=falseThe ancients believed that words were magical. We still believe that today.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070803.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 04 Aug 2007 19:09:51 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070812&quote=falseThe well-oiled machine that is the Republican Party is having maintenance problems. This could be fundamental to the nature of a well-oiled machine comprised of humans.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070812.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 12 Aug 2007 17:22:55 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070818&quote=falseRecent cases seem to indicate that Genetic Engineering is a bit like Computer Science. The word "Engineering" is included just to hide the fact that nobody knows what they're doing.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070818.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 18 Aug 2007 17:38:21 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070825&quote=falseCan the religious be swayed? Can the bound be unbound? We consider how that can be done.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070825.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 25 Aug 2007 19:43:50 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070901&quote=falseAn appeal to the timid politician. People are not imbeciles. They may yet be swayed.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070901.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 01 Sep 2007 19:56:48 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070909&quote=falseWherein Dawkins' book, The God Delusion, is considered. Is God the problem or the side effect?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070909.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 09 Sep 2007 05:02:57 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070915&quote=falsePants on fire all over Washington DC, and my wife is in the middle of it!http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070915.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 15 Sep 2007 23:09:40 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070922&quote=falseObserving the news, almost none of the provided explanations regarding the current world make sense. Is the world this complex or is there a different and more obscure world that does make sense?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070922.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 22 Sep 2007 22:09:51 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20070929&quote=falseWhen power is isolated from remorse it is tyranny. Is tyranny held in place by the fear that recognizing the crime will bring suffering?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20070929.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 29 Sep 2007 17:17:19 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071007&quote=falseMaybe the human problem with violence is our misunderstanding of the word "aggression."http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071007.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 07 Oct 2007 03:54:22 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071013&quote=falseMan is held to a higher standard than other animals because his brain allows such astounding dominance that special responsibility is required. Man is not separate from Nature, though. To believe so leads to tangible damage.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071013.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 13 Oct 2007 17:19:38 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071020&quote=falseIs the administration publicizing its torture protocol solely to assure that opponents would rather die than surrender? Is this part of a larger plan to extend the conflict? Does the fact that I only recently figured this out indicate that I need an emergency infusion of Brain Age?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071020.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 20 Oct 2007 23:11:16 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071027&quote=falseThe Sica say that the moment unifies the past and the future. It is the only handle for grasping those concepts and that makes the moment very unwieldy.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071027.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 27 Oct 2007 18:48:20 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071103&quote=falseRecently I've been puzzling over the allure of the afterlife. It is not fundamental to the teachings of Jesus (see the Gospel of Bernard) but it ended up in Christianity fairly early on. Why?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071103.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 03 Nov 2007 15:57:45 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071110&quote=falseThe term testicular (and surely ovarian) fortitude is an homage to the hormone ... as is this posting.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071110.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 10 Nov 2007 17:23:15 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071117&quote=falseRemembering a good dog and the profound experience of unity.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071117.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 17 Nov 2007 19:17:34 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071124&quote=falseGeorge H. W. Bush, while speaking recently on current politics, has broken out in tears at least three times. For the love of God, stop crying and kick that kid's ass!http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071124.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 24 Nov 2007 22:41:11 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071202&quote=falseHierarchy appears to be a natural phenomenon. Animal groups tend to be organized in top-down hierarchies with a dominant animal leading the others. Democracy turns hierarchy upside down. It is fundamentally unnatural.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071202.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 02 Dec 2007 20:28:30 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071209&quote=falseAll diets and all religions work, but for what?http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071209.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 09 Dec 2007 18:33:30 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071216&quote=falseGreat people claim glory and honor by doing great deeds. Society provides a shortcut through the tribe.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071216.htmlJulian S. TaylorSun, 16 Dec 2007 20:47:54 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20071222&quote=falseA holiday toast!http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20071222.htmlJulian S. TaylorSat, 22 Dec 2007 19:21:30 GMThttp://theflyingcrossbeam.com/cgi/display.py?subTitle=Archive&dataFile=printEssay&sarg1=../essays&barg2=20080101&quote=falseFare well for now. I'm onto another project and this year of blog-essays will sit undisturbed for a while. Many thanks for the your thoughts and comments.http://theflyingcrossbeam.com/pl/20080101.htmlJulian S. TaylorTue, 01 Jan 2008 21:35:59 GMT