Sunday, September 27, 2009

Braintenance: Nature Abhors a Vacuum, et. cetera

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Dear Friends:

I am fond of the aphorism,  actually based on physical fact, that "Nature abhors a vacuum."

It's silly, but I am also fond about the word "abhors," used to personify Nature...just because the word "abhors" sounds so darned funny. But I deviate from my purpose in writing this.

Of course, a vacuum, in practical terms, is an empty space (whether cosmologically or intracranially) which is, in its fashion, an attractant for something [anything] to fill it. It is inanimate, but yet this basic tenet of the Laws of Physics, unlike the "Inalienable" Rights once defended in the Constitution of the United States, almost  appears to have an osmotic "drive" to rectify itself. It is not unlike the owner of a vacant motel screaming for guests -- in fact, for any specie of guests bearing any type of credit card; he's not particular...he's desperate.

It is as if the vacuum were sentient, and that it hungered for occupancy.

In the young, uneducated, impressionable minds of society, and in the case of the feeble minds of society, the intracranial vacuum (absent knowledge, standards, ethics, principles and other "occupants" normally placed there through education and experience) "sucks in" whatever it is offered, regardless of how untenable, stupid or downright dangerous. Minds must be given nutrition -- lest they scrounge around for garbage to fill the hungry void.

Seen in these terms, we realize:
  • how important education truly is;
  • why some people will believe any propaganda delivered by the media;
  • the manner in which ghettos, poverty and violence perpetuate themselves, generation after generation;
  • the mechanism through which knowledgeable persons take advantage of the uninformed;
  • the way in which learning is so different from most matter/energy experiences -- while a black hole of superdense matter and gravity in space will absorb everything (even photons, which probably don't taste that good) and keep it foerever, the vacuum of a mind doesn't steal anything...it absorbs without theft.
Knowledge, when used to fill the intracranial vacuum, continues to exist at its source. If you teach me something, I can learn it -- yet, you will still know it. This is, in a special way, miraculous. Think of the possibility of giving a gift of something to someone, and yet still having it. Now, visualize this potential exponentially.

In nature, knowledge behaves like a virus - except it benefits and improves both the carrier and the host, and all of those whom are blessed to come into contact with either that carrier or that host.

The mind's hunger must be fed, generation after generation, with knowledge if society is to ever evolve to a new level of peace and prosperity. Education is a virus that preserves civilization. It requires compassion, vision, and does not entail any sacrifice.

Think about this. Please.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
DOUGLAS CASTLE
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*Also:
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*Contact the author at
douglas.castle@yahoo.com .

Thursday, September 24, 2009

BRAINTENANCE: THE PARADOX OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

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This is a specially revamped version of an article posted on one of my other blogs for the purposes of creating a Braintenance
exercise at
http://Braintenance.blogspot.com . In the context of this particular exercise, the issue is not really "Political Correctness".  It is presented as  an exercise in visualizing outcomes based upon trends at their outset. One of the greatest skills that an individual can possess is the ability to project what the future will look like (the effect) if a certain current trend (the cause) is permitted to continue unchecked and without deviation. The ability and willingness to act upon that knowledge to either 1) change the trend (by modifying its trajectory in some manner) or to 2) positively exploit the anticipated outcome are ultimately just as important. Unapplied knowledge is a terrible and potentially damaging waste. What good is having an intellectual tool which we do not put to use? If we look up at the window seven floors above us and see a flower pot (usually filled with geraniums) teetering on the ledge, we would be foolish not to move from its anticipated path and avoid a terrible headache.

I will confess that I am no longer a proponent of Political Correctness, for reasons which are enumerated in the article, which is a bit sardonic in its tone.

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
- by Douglas Castle (http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/) , who is a proud Featured Columnist on THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. Receive a free subscription at http://twitlik.com/OK


I cannot say enough about political correctness. Were I to do that, I would be, in fact, "politically incorrect." It is actually politically incorrect to critically discuss the notion of political correctness.

Here are my observations about the notion and practice of political correctness:

1.     You must be a subjectivist in every aspect. There are no measurable standards of quality. One thing is never better than another...they are always equally valuable, equally good, and merely "different," which is wonderful because it supports the notions of celebrating diversity (I fulfill my obligations here by going to the local 7 - 11, filling up at the local gas station, phoning the Dell computer service hotline, and mismatching my shoes) and of being totally nonjudgmental. If you have an opinion or an objection, you are being judgmental. I have, on many occasions judged things -- but now I think that this could be corrected with the proper dose of Soma, longer hours of watching reality TV and a quickie prefrontal lobotomy.

2.     You must go out of your way not to excel in any form or fashion, because that could create a feeling of reduced self-esteem in someone else.

3.     You can never answer a question, except with an inert, innocuous, response like any of the ones listed below:
  • That's an excellent question!
  • That's certainly something to think about!
  • My goodness! (also nod your head up and down)
  • Could you please repeat that question?
  • Wow. I wonder what our studio audience (or callers) will want to say about that?
I've tested them all, and they all work.

3.     Never describe anything. Adjectives are perception-based, and will take you into dangerous political territory.

4.     Embrace mediocrity, accept all explanations, and eliminate expectations, standards and goals.

5.     Grin, dress nicely, wear plastic wristbands (and pins about all manner of disease eradication and environmental or ecological preservation), and look up the meaning (before all the books are burned) of the term "Lowest Common Denominator."

I am thinking about writing a song to be titled "Living in the LCD". Your ideas are welcome.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

p.s. I believe that I'm getting the hang of it...I've just noticed that I'm drooling!




DOUGLAS CASTLE
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*Also:
Take a look at the following sites ---
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*Contact the author at
douglas.castle@yahoo.com .

INTRANASAL INTELLIGENCE

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GET INFORMED. BE PREPARED. SUCCEED.

Get this widget and always sound (and feel) like the smartest person at the meeting. http://twitlik.com/Newspicker  Generates site traffic too.




Don't let the name fool you. It is an amazingly concentrated consolidation of news intelligence from the most reputable sources in the world. 20 minutes a day, and you'll be up-to-the-minute. While it is admittedly tasteless, it is a cold-death achievement resource. Get this widget and put it on your websites, blogs, homepage, newsletters...everywhere. The widget is free, with no obligation. Use it for a week, and let us know what you think. 

*** Send us your comments, questions and suggestions ( and hopefully an idea about a better name)  about
THE NATIONAL NEWSPICKER™ to mailto:info@thenationalnetworker.com . Please include the words "NEWSPICKER COMMENTS" (we're actually quite serious here) in the subject line of your correspondence.


Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

*Follow BRAINTENANCE on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Braintenance .
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http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/ .
*Follow DOUGLAS CASTLE on Twitter at
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*Also:
Take a look at the following sites ---
HUMANITAS MAXIMUS, TAKING COMMAND!, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS BLOG, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS WEBSITE, THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE.
*Contact the author at
douglas.castle@yahoo.com .

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Douglas Castle Is Away - But He'll Be Back...He Promises.

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Douglas Castle Is Away - But He'll Be Back...He Promises.

I'll be out of town until 9/17 and will not be able to post, check email or telephone messages until then. Faithfully, Douglas





*Follow BRAINTENANCE on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Braintenance .
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http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/ .
*Follow DOUGLAS CASTLE on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/douglascastle .
*Also:
Take a look at the following sites ---
HUMANITAS MAXIMUS, TAKING COMMAND!, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS BLOG, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS WEBSITE, THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE.
*Contact the author at
douglas.castle@yahoo.com .

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Estimating the Truth

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Dear Friends:

Q: is there an absolute truth?
Q: is the notion of "one truth" a myth?
Q: can the truth be arrived at by observation?
Q: can the truth be arrived at by concensus?
Q: can two separate truths co-exist, without each invalidating or negating the other?

Truth is a tough subject, indeed.

Here are is a reprint of a post to http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/ about the notion of at least "agreeing, via an organized and accepted practice, upon the truth. I smilingly call this the Estimated Truth. Please read on...

A FORMULA FOR "ESTIMATING" THE TRUTH...

Douglas Castle is in the process of developing a scientific mechanism for collecting, evaluating and weighing the subjective (and varied) perceptions of the same situation by a group of individuals to compute the best "estimate" of the actual truth.

This is a daunting but necessary challenge. People only report their perceptions of reality, and not of reality, itself. If there is, in fact, no concrete or absolute reality or truth, it would still be useful to have a means of collecting subjective data from groups of significant statistical size and and distilling the most likely truth.

The applications of this process would include market research, news reporting, conflict resolution, creating optimized definitions and strategic planning.

The disciplines involved in developing this model would entail applications of statistics, probability, and test design. There would be, of necessity, experimentation and trial-and-error -- but I believe that the resulting formula and the data generated through its proper and consistent utilization would be highly worthwhile.

Lastly, the value of this particular measurement (i.e., the outcome of the process) would be incalculable. It would at very least provide us with a form of "perception by conscensus," if not the elusive truth, itself. The mind boggles at the number of "working definitions" which could be created via a simple data collection and concensus approach.

Of course, being a lingovator and megalomaniac of some note, I would propose to call this formula the "CASTLE PERCEPTUAL CONCENSUS PROTOCOL," and the resultant statistic the "CASTLE COLLECTIVIZED PERCEPTION," or, more simply, the "CCP VALUE."

Wouldn't it be a fascination to use this approach, when duly-refined, to find CCP VALUES or CCP DEFINITIONS for such things as:

  • Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Competence
  • Integrity
  • Validity
  • Quality...
The potential list would be endless.

Think about it, please, so perhaps I won't have to.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

p.s. Own your free subscription to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. Click on http://twitlik.com/OK 

p.p.s. Please visit some of my other sites of interest:

AboutDouglasCastle                                
http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/
Braintenance                                            
http://braintenance.blogspot.com/
Humanitas Maximus                               
http://humanitasmaximus.blogspot.com/
Douglas Castle – Internal Energy Plus   
http://douglascastleiep.blogspot.com/
The Global Futurist                                 
http://theglobalfuturist.blogspot.com/
Taking Command!                                  
http://takingcommand.blogspot.com/
The Internationalist Page                       
http://theinternationalistpage.blogspot.com/


DOUGLAS CASTLE
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Labels and terms: CASTLE PERCEPTUAL CONCENSUS PROTOCOL, CASTLE COLLECTIVIZED PERCEPTION, CCP VALUE, lingovations, The National Networker Newsletter, truth, subjective interpretation, statistics, probability, test design, mathematical modeling, Douglas Castle, perception, collective, weighing factors, approaches to measurement, AI, Artificial Intelligence, predictions, competence, integrity, validity, character, Bruce Klein, Scott Gingold, metrics, surveys, polls, TNNW, Relationship Capital, The National Newspicker, information, intelligence, agreement, GetGlobalEdge, Speedlight Pro Kit, quality, blogs, delegation, Author Ann Sloan, visionaries, order out of chaos.


#TNNW_BUZZWORKS, #TNNW, #IEP_VOICE, #Braintenance, #GetGlobalEdge, #SpeedlightPro


 http://twitlik.com/EstimatingTheTruth


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http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/ .
*Follow DOUGLAS CASTLE on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/douglascastle .
*Also:
Take a look at the following sites ---
HUMANITAS MAXIMUS, TAKING COMMAND!, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS BLOG, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS WEBSITE, THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE.
*Contact the author at
douglas.castle@yahoo.com .

THREE GREEN BALLS - A Helpful Hoax

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Dear Friends:

In the last post, we observed three green balls. Our focus was to find what was different about them and what was the same. The question is very nebulous, very broad, and can open the door to infinite answers.

The balls were all generated (of identical size and color) from the same algorithm. They were each identical in appearance, except that they were positioned differently on the page. This is a very, very simple response to a question that actually means different things to different persons -- the more that you "read into it," the more exercise your associative intelligence and imagination develop.

The purpose of the exercise was simply to have you engage in a focused meditation for the improvement of your intellectual and perceptual powers. The answer (or answers), is of almost no significance. Your interpretation of what appeared to be a trick question, and your search for suitable answers was of tremendous significance.

Put in crude terms, I might have tricked you into thinking.

Rest assured, colleagues in cognitive growth, that I may well pull a stunt like this one again.

Never, ever stop wondering. Never, ever stop thinking!

Respectfully, with your minds on mine constantly, I am,

Douglas Castle


*Follow BRAINTENANCE on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Braintenance .
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http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/ .
*Follow DOUGLAS CASTLE on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/douglascastle .
*Also:
Take a look at the following sites ---
HUMANITAS MAXIMUS, TAKING COMMAND!, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS BLOG, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS WEBSITE, THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE.
*Contact the author at
douglas.castle@yahoo.com .

Thursday, September 3, 2009

THREE GREEN BALLS - Braintenance Challenges You.

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Over to the right-hand side of this page, you will observe three green balls. What do they all have in common? What is distinctly different about them? Hint: After looking at the three objects, close your eyes and ponder these two seemingly simple questions.
Faithfully,
Douglas Castle
*Follow BRAINTENANCE on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Braintenance .
*Follow DOUGLAS CASTLE's Blog at
http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/ .
*Follow DOUGLAS CASTLE on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/douglascastle .
*Also:
Take a look at the following sites ---
HUMANITAS MAXIMUS, TAKING COMMAND!, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS BLOG, INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS WEBSITE, THE NATIONAL NETWORKER, THE GLOBAL FUTURIST, THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE.
*Contact the author at
douglas.castle@yahoo.com .

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