A Heartfelt Thank You

To All Readers/Commentators/E-mailers

I wanted to take a bit of time to express my gratitude to everyone who has been following these posts and have taken their time to write comments and e-mails. In the last few weeks the blog has gotten really good comments and I have received a number of private e-mails from very thoughtful people. I was reflecting on these comments this morning and how many of them have prompted me to think more deeply about the issues.

In keeping with the name of the blog, Question Everything, I have so many questions about why the world is the way it is. Occassionally I find some feasible answers and have published my thoughts on these. Inevitably, however, answers generally lead to more questions. And that is what many readers have produced.

My gratitude is based on the fact that these questions, and statements/challenges/etc. keep me thinking and rethinking about the issues. They have helped me clarify some of these ideas and that is "fodder" for future blogs!

My motivation keeps me always asking whether my understanding of how things work is approximating reality closely enough to draw useful conclusions about possible actions. I try very hard not to settle on any one view (everything is always provisional) just because it sounds good at the time. I think it is important to keep an open mind. Your questions and challenges always keep me aware of this fact.

So thank you one and all. I appreciate your presence here (and the e-mails) deeply.

George

Comments

[Jason]

Well George may I be the first to say -- thankyou back. The work you're doing is an important resource for me and I'm sure for many. It is excellent, serious work. Thanks for doing it, and for being charming enough to be grateful your readers!

In this time, in this medium, you never know what deep public thinking might spark in a random reader; this matters.

All best wishes.

[Shoudaknown]

I'd second that, you've been provocative and clear in posing many of the tough questions which might indeed be "the answer".

I've been thinking more about how to tell the difference between ideas and realities, and realizing that it's not in the information you gather, as that's all been made into ideas. I think it's in the gaps in your information that prompt you to go back to your raw data and unexamined parts of the physical subject for answers.

Does that mean it's in the hunt more that the spoils?

[Matthew Watkinson BVetMed MRCVS FLS]

I will third that. I am new to this blog, but I have found more open-minded critical thinking here than anywhere else on the internet thus far. For my own part I wake up every day and try to prove myself wrong (some days I try harder than others obviously). I keep coming back to the same conclusion - namely that morality has very little to do with reality - and I don't agree with some of the things written here, but it is impossible not to learn something from all contrary opinions and I must commend you on promoting this concept. Critical thinking is vital because criticism is infinitely more useful than praise. Keep up the good work.

Kind regards

Matthew

[George Mobus]

Jason, Shouldaknown, & Matthew,

Thanks for the feedback. It keeps me motivated!

George

[Robin Datta]

As Ray Kroc (the founder of the McDonald's restaurant chain) said:

"None of Us is as Good as All of Us."

Thanks for being a "Ray Kroc".

[Florifulgurator]

What Jason said. Thankyou back!

[GaryA]

To echo other folk on here george Thank you for your efforts and cerebral stimulation! Others may find that one problem is keeping up with the flow and quality/intensity of ideas...giving justice to your efforts with our own in return. Mine are piecemeal and have to fit around job workload, leisure persuits and looking after a two year old..he will inherit the ideas eventually and i reckon for his generation they will be more than academic exersises on a PC!
Our challenge should be to come up with something George either hasn't thought about or knows about I've managed this (demmugage currency) but thats not exactly unique...original thoughts-some kind of ultimate?!

[George Mobus]

Robin,

I'm still scratching my head about the comparison to Ray Kroc. Either my thoughts are like hamburgers (fattening) or like a focal point for others to home in on. I'll assume the latter ;^)

GaryA,

Shouldn't be much of a challenge though. There is so much I wish I understood or even thought that I should understand! All comments keep me on my toes. You got me on "demmugage" currency! Hint please?

George

[GaryA]

One annoying feature of typepad is that if you click on a link you have posted you loose everything you have spent 20 min typing in!
Grrrrr

Sorry George, this is the link it is almost self explanatory

http://www.mindcontagion.org/worgl/worgl1.html
Demurrage currency is no academic theoretical concept; it works by linking money to cyclic ecological processes rather than linear accumulation- the root of its 'evil'
Typed much more, but its gone....
Sigh

[Robin Datta]

Ray Kroc was acknowledging the role of others in helping him. But a point of difference was that he provided food for stomach rather than food for thought.

[Larryshultz]

Thank you George!
Your research and posts are valuable. I do hope that sapience will be selected for more in the future. I wonder how much of the decrease in loss of life by war as a percentage of the population is just because of the one time shot of easy energy?

[Kevin DiVico]

This blog was recommended to me by a friend of mine in Australia. I have been following it for sometime now via Google reader. My life would be poorer if I did not read your words. thank you and please keep posting. You are an inspiration and a much needed relief from the bombardment of marketing influenced spin that comes at us everyday.

[George Mobus]

GaryA,

Understand the problem. It has happened to me more than once.

Afterward I got to thinking that you meant demurrage. In fact, didn't you bring it up once before? I remember scoping out Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demurrage_(currency).

I like the idea of tying the currency value more directly with commodity value, of course. But only if the commodity has intrinsic value (like food). And, of course, my preference would be to tie the value all the way back to the emergy value of the commodity - how much energy was expended in obtaining the commodity in a usable form.

I'll have to research this some more.

Robin,

Got it. I was being a bit facetious in the question. BTW: I appreciate your e-mails, I just am so backlogged that its hard to get time to follow up.

Larry,

Haven't got any answers about war (though I remember reading something about WWII and Hitler's clear focus on obtaining energy resources that Germany lacked as a basis for invasions.

Thanks for the kind words.

Kevin,

Thank you too. Hope you continue to find value and share value with us all.

George

[t0wnp1ann3r]

Alright. I'm finally caught up. It took 2 months, but now I've read all your blogs and all the background papers on the university site.

Now I just need to go back and reread the blogs and actually read everyone's comments this time.

[Matt]

http://beastinblack.blogspot.com/

Im not the most articulate of people, but I am very hooked on this topic. I have posted several blogs relating to it. I havent done much research into the fine details, most of my posts have just been my own personal insights to how I view the world. Great posts here, it is just a shame alot of my left wing associates cannot eat a bit of humble pie ;)

[George Mobus]

T0wnp1ann3r,

And you are still sane????

George

[George Mobus]

Hi Matt.

Read your blog: About Me. Seems like you are well on your way to self-discovery. Congratulations.

George