You will read again and again in popular scientific articles that we human beings are not very good at handling probability.  It has become almost an article of faith.

John Kay, respected economist and academic, writes in the Financial Times (as noted here): “We do not often, or easily, think in terms of probabilities, because there are not many situations in which this style of thinking is useful."

Really?  Is that true? More...

Faced with a problem, should we focus on symptoms or on the fundamentals that generate those symptoms?

What does your common sense tell you?  In practice, we know that it is often a difficult choice. 

THEE was developed with the belief that a scientific identification of fundamentals in personal life was possible.  It differed from the usual social science approach in making the focus of observation (and validation) people in the midst of committed action.  A person who is committed is an entirely different being from a subject in a psychology experiment or a random respondent in a social survey. More...

Those who blow the trumpets for spirituality seem to be a dangerous breed.  Perhaps because we are all suckers for charisma.

I suppose it's like smoking.  Obviously unhealthy in my eyes from the day I was exposed to it as a child, it took decades till others recognized that.  Charisma is as easy to recognize as tobacco smoke.  So just see it for what it is.

Spirituality is a vital component of human functioning.  When spirituality works, it enables us to be fully human in a very ordinary, everyday sort of way: we know who we are, we are aware of what goes on around us, we contribute, we care about others, we take responsibility for ourselves, we say 'yes' to life, we realize that we are each part of something bigger and greater than ourselves, we see through flattery and shrink from corruption.  And so on and so on. 

When spirituality is cut off More...

Q: What is a “thing”?

A: A “thing” is something that “is”.  From a systems perspective, for a “thing” to “be”, it must have a “content” which has a “context”.  A context constrains and influences the content.  In the world, any Thing + its Context combines to be perceived as a new Thing which then has its bigger, more encompassing Context and so on.  Eventually every Thing is included.

Q: What is the context for Everything?
A: Nothing.

Q: Is Nothing some-thing?  (Because, if it is, then it needs a context.) More...

Most people are good (virtuous) most of the time.  The world would not work if they were not. That's an encouraging thought.

Life continues daily with each and every one of us producing goodness in small or large actions.  The good is expressed in our words, appears through the realization of our intentions, and shows up everywhere in fleeting non-verbal communications.

If we open our eyes to see the good as we walk down the street, we will see it.  The question may be asked as to why we do not routinely bother to look and remind ourselves that life is good and people are good. More...