Many people are suggesting that there’s a war on “truth”, for whatever “truth” they happen to believe in.
I think that’s a gross over-simplification. I think the problem goes much deeper than that.
Confirmation Bias is a Bitch
We love confirmation bias; you know, the fact that we more readily believe those things that confirm, rather than challenge, our existing beliefs.
We love it when we can use it to explain the behaviour of others, or our inability to persuade them to our way of thinking. “Oh, they’ll only listen to things that they agree with.”
But we have a blind spot:
Deep Thought
I sometimes wonder if we’re becoming less and less capable of what I’ll call deep thought.
And by “we” of course I mean “I”.
We Are All SO Different
I often like to tell people that I love my coffee but that I can stop any time … because I’ve done it before.
Some years ago I elected to try reducing my coffee intake to zero, and did so cold-turkey. What amazes most people is that I did not experience headaches as a result. Honestly, it was more of an “oh well” experience. (And, for the record, I tend to drink strong, caffeinated coffee). Similarly I’ve been known to have a cup of said strong brew … and then take a nap.
Thick Skin Required
Had someone call me an idiot and a moron yesterday for my Galaxy Note 7 piece. (Don’t look for it in the comments, it was an emailed reply.) Apparently he had a beef with Samsung.
Whatever.
Why Public?
One of the first questions I asked myself about doing this whole daily thing is “why make it public”? Why am I doing this on a public blog where anyone can come along and read … and judge?
Because of course judge, they will.
A couple of reasons came to mind.
An Exercise in Focus, Writing, and Gratitude
In 321 days I’ll turn 60. One of those arbitrary, round-number birthdays (though a friend often argues our “real” birthday’s are 280 days earlier). Nine years ago I did a “what I believe” post on my 50th, and I kind of expect to do the same again.
Between then and now I want to model one of the people I admire – Seth Godin. Seth posts something on his blog every day, and I’ve recently learned that he often doesn’t know what it is he’s about to write until he sits down to write it.
This appeals to me personally for a few reasons:
This was never the goal….
This was never the goal, but when it became clear that it was within reach, it became a “stretch goal”. I wanted to be able to say I’d lost 70lbs. 256 to 186. Over a quarter of my max body weight. It’s interesting – there have been several stops along the way on this journey. … Read more
Lucky 13
As I do each year about this time, in honor of the anniversary of Ask Leo!, it’s time to share the weird, the odd, and the sometimes funny questions that I get. However this year I have a dilemma! So few to share? Traffic’s steady (Ask Leo! gets ~1,000,000 visitors each month), and there’s no … Read more
Today’s Amazement and Wonder
As you may or may not know, my parents were immigrants, arriving first in Canada after leaving The Netherlands, and then settling here in the United States just a few years later. With all relatives nearly 5,000 miles to the east, communication consisted primarily of hand-written letters that took anywhere from a week to ten … Read more
Dagmar Spring Update
It’s been awhile since I posted an update on Dagmar’s chemotherapy, so … No news is very good news. Dagmar finished her chemotherapy a couple of weeks ago and all is well. As I was telling our regular vet just the other day, aside from the original discovery, and one trip to the ER, and … Read more
The Important Opportunity Missed in “Disrupt Aging”
Disrupt Aging: A Bold New Path to Living Your Best Life at Every Age by Jo Ann Jenkins Before I step into my concerns I want to be very clear about something: this is an excellent book. The concept of what it means to “age” is rapidly changing. To quote the book: Today most of us … Read more
I Thought the Internet was Supposed to Make Us Smarter? What Happened?
The internet has been billed as a great equalizer, bringing information and the promise of improved education and knowledge to all. The results so far aren’t quite what we expected.
Dagmar Update
Since the last post was all about Dagmar’s ER visit, I didn’t want to leave that as the most recent post here on my blog. Short version: chemotherapy continues, but she’s doing really well. Ever since the events that lead up to the ER visit (and the errors made by the vet there), we’ve been … Read more
Dagmar at the ER vet….
(Originally posted on Facebook, moved here for easier access for friends not on Facebook….) Dagmar’s at the emergency vet [Thursday], and may be there for a day or so. (Update: she’s home! See updates below.) After Monday’s chemotherapy she started to take a somewhat expected dive yesterday morning, refusing food. (Never a good sign in … Read more
Life is Suffering
The first of the four noble truths, as articulated by The Buddha, depending on how you translate it, is simply this: Life is suffering. In recent months it seems that in an above-average number of my circle of friends and acquaintances there has been an above-average amount of what can only be termed suffering. From … Read more
One Dozen Down
Has it really been 12 years since I started Ask Leo!? Holy… well, holy something. (I’ve found that someone will get offended at whatever I put there. Sigh.) Anyhoo… as is my tradition here are some of the odd, strange and off-the-wall questions I’ve received over the course of the last year. All in their unedited … Read more
I waited a year to take this screen shot….
One year ago I made a decision.
A decision to do something that, in the past, I truly believed was impossible for me to do.
And yet here I am.
Making Windows 8 Work for Radios
Ever since Windows 8 came out life has not been simple for folks programming radios. The problems were many:
- The Windows 8 tiled interface bothers a lot of people.
- Drivers for USB programming cables wouldn’t work in Windows 8.
- Programming software for some radios wouldn’t recognize Windows 8 as a supported operating system.
At least, those are the problems I’ve encountered and heard of.
As of today I have them all solved for my little corner of amateur radio and more.
The 80% Solution
Earlier this year I stumbled into a very serendipitous series of news reports. And I spent a few minutes visiting a new web site. And I made a new friend.
More importantly I made a decision.
As a result, I have become my own 80/20 rule.
Vague enough? OK, here’s what happened.