- Written by: Liz McGuire
- Category: Ponderings
- Hits: 5658
There are certain things a person just shouldn’t say, and yet, we all do it. No, I’m not taking about things that are rude, vulgar, or otherwise uncivilized. I’m thinking of self-negating commands or advice (usually in the form of cliches). Personally, I think it’s the fact that they’re cliches which is at fault. If they weren’t so common, everyone who hears them might tilt their head to one side, squint, and think, “Say what?”
- Written by: Liz McGuire
- Category: Ponderings
- Hits: 5711
We live in a world where everyone wants rewards: rebates, prizes, freebies, handouts, and so on. More and more, people want rewards for less effort. We don't want to work for our income. We don't want to buy something before winning a prize. We want excuses to get us out of punishment. Consequence is a dirty word. Some reading I've done of late, and a realization I had some time back have finally come together into the understanding that we're getting rewarded all the time. We just don't realize it (and a lot of us aren't going to like it when we finally do realize it–which is inevitable).
- Written by: Liz McGuire
- Category: Ponderings
- Hits: 7584
One day, a coworker said to me (having no clue what he was about to inspire), “I tried that, but nothing happened.”
“That’s impossible,” I replied.
When I started my reply, I simply couldn’t believe that the suggested approach wouldn’t have yielded any change. But by the time I finished, I realized I was stating a fact: It’s not possible for nothing to happen. The instant nothing happens, it ceases to be nothing and becomes something.
I pondered for a moment and then explained this to my coworkers. This launched into a now infamous series of discussions about nothing.
- Written by: Liz McGuire
- Category: Ponderings
- Hits: 5000
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...
The author of this proverb probably didn't know anything modern science has discovered or theorized about how the human brain functions, but he didn't seem to need modern science to draw the same conclusion.
Over the years, I've learned four specific discoveries or theories about how the brain functions and they've got me thinking about consequences...
- Written by: Liz McGuire
- Category: Ponderings
- Hits: 4498
There are few contests that go on for very long. Generally speaking, if a winner isn't clearly established within a few decades, the contestants get bored and decide to go for a pizza instead. There is at least one contest, however, that seems like it could last forever. That may be because the contestants aren't mortal. They're not even immortal. They're mindless properties that seem able to enlist everyone and everything to their respective causes: inertia and momentum.