There are many fascinating phenomena, but the marvel of the mind, in my opinion, is one of the most intriguing.
With our minds we can travel, create, solve, disrupt, challenge, fear, and worry, to name just a few expressions that this constant motion picture in our head can perform. It also allows us to avoid or embrace, someone or something, and much more.
I am currently reading "The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials, Book Three", written by Philip Pullman. He has been compared to J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, as "one who invents a world filled with strange divinations and wordplays". Lyra Silvertongue is introduced as the central heroine in "The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials, Book One", and returns in "The Subtle Knife: His Dark Materials, Book Two", followed by Book Three mentioned above. Colorful figures are introduce along her journey.
Generally speaking, Pullman's mind has created mysterious adventures through the supporting characters who support different worlds, and their presence changes the paths that Lyra travels on during her journey of exploration. Behind the facade of this imaginative fantasy, he provokes the mind to consider the mystery of life from a different perspective.
Each one of our lives is a mystery. I am suggesting that we begin to think of our lives more as an adventure going forward, just as Pullman has portrayed Lyra's journey. Perhaps we will find life to be more fulfilling, meaningful, and rewarding. Perhaps our efforts to seek solutions, using our innate creativity, could produce a change for the better.
I am not suggesting that this is a new thought or approach, only reminding us all, as Pullman has done in his literary triad, that it may be a forgotten option.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
When I filled out my profile the last question was a random question: What reason do you have to believe the earth is flat?
This question made me think of another question, one that I was actually more interested in: In general we, on this earth, are critical. Is this by nature or by design? Has this evolved from a natural curiosity or a need to understand no matter what the consequences?
Then I realized that this question may be iinterpreted and answered in different ways depending on which side of your brain is dominant.
So, I ask you to answer this question, post the answer. Then go to the Hemispheric Dominance Inventory Test which can be found by typing the following into your web browser address bar: http://brain.web-us.com/brain/braindominance.htm
Once you have taken the test, please log back in and share what you have learned about how you think. I am sure that your answers to my question and your results to the test will prompt further discussion.
Based upon this last comment, do you think I am right or left dominant?
This question made me think of another question, one that I was actually more interested in: In general we, on this earth, are critical. Is this by nature or by design? Has this evolved from a natural curiosity or a need to understand no matter what the consequences?
Then I realized that this question may be iinterpreted and answered in different ways depending on which side of your brain is dominant.
So, I ask you to answer this question, post the answer. Then go to the Hemispheric Dominance Inventory Test which can be found by typing the following into your web browser address bar: http://brain.web-us.com/brain/braindominance.htm
Once you have taken the test, please log back in and share what you have learned about how you think. I am sure that your answers to my question and your results to the test will prompt further discussion.
Based upon this last comment, do you think I am right or left dominant?
Saturday, January 17, 2009
I just finished reading "Simple Genius" written by David Baldacci. Besides being a world reknown storyteller, Mr. Baldacci, along with his wife, co-founded the Wish You Well Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts. His books are well crafted puzzles designed to challenge the mind to explore the avenues of problem solving through the written word.
The idea for "Simple Genius" was derived from his readings about the Beale Ciphers.
According to Wikipedia, "The Beale ciphers are a set of three ciphertexts, one of which allegedly states the location of a buried treasure of gold and silver estimated to be worth over 30 million US dollars in the present time. The other two ciphertexts allegedly describe the content of the treasure, and list the names of the treasure's owners' next of kin, respectively. The story of the three ciphertexts originates from an 1885 pamphlet detailing treasure being buried by a man named Thomas Jefferson Beale in a secret location in Virginia in 1820. Beale entrusted the box containing the encrypted messages with a local innkeeper named Robert Morriss and then disappeared, never to be seen again.[1] The innkeeper gave the three encrypted ciphertexts to a friend before he died. The friend then spent the next twenty years of his life trying to decode the messages, and was able to solve only one of them which gave details of the treasure buried and the general location of the treasure. Since the publication of the pamphlet, a number of attempts have been made to decode the two remaining ciphertexts and to find the treasure, but all have resulted in failure."
If you are interested here is the link to a copy of the original pamplet content and the 3 ciphers: http://www.myoutbox.net/beale.htm
The idea for "Simple Genius" was derived from his readings about the Beale Ciphers.
According to Wikipedia, "The Beale ciphers are a set of three ciphertexts, one of which allegedly states the location of a buried treasure of gold and silver estimated to be worth over 30 million US dollars in the present time. The other two ciphertexts allegedly describe the content of the treasure, and list the names of the treasure's owners' next of kin, respectively. The story of the three ciphertexts originates from an 1885 pamphlet detailing treasure being buried by a man named Thomas Jefferson Beale in a secret location in Virginia in 1820. Beale entrusted the box containing the encrypted messages with a local innkeeper named Robert Morriss and then disappeared, never to be seen again.[1] The innkeeper gave the three encrypted ciphertexts to a friend before he died. The friend then spent the next twenty years of his life trying to decode the messages, and was able to solve only one of them which gave details of the treasure buried and the general location of the treasure. Since the publication of the pamphlet, a number of attempts have been made to decode the two remaining ciphertexts and to find the treasure, but all have resulted in failure."
If you are interested here is the link to a copy of the original pamplet content and the 3 ciphers: http://www.myoutbox.net/beale.htm
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