1. Hard work. The Conscientious person is dedicated to work, works very hard, and is capable of intense, single-minded effort.
2. The right thing. To be Conscientious is to be a person of conscience. These are men and women of strong moral principles and values. Opinions and beliefs on any subject are rarely held lightly. Conscientious individuals want to do the right thing.
3. The right way. Everything must be done "right," and the Conscientious person has a clear understanding of what that means, from the correct way to balance the checkbook, to the best strategy to achieve the boss's objectives, to how to fit every single dirty dish into the dishwasher.
4. Perfectionism. The Conscientious person likes all tasks and projects to be complete to the final detail, without even minor flaws. (A punctilious person?)
5. Perseverance. They stick to their convictions and opinions. Opposition only serves to strengthen their dogged determination.
6. Order and detail. Conscientious people like the appearance of orderliness and tidiness. They are good organizers, catalogers, and list makers. No detail is too small for Conscientious consideration.
7. Prudence. Thrifty, careful, and cautious in all areas of their lives, Conscientious individuals do not give in to reckless abandon or wild excess.
8. Accumulation. A "pack rat," the Conscientious person saves and collects things, reluctant to discard anything that has, formerly had, or someday may have value for him or her.
by John M. Oldham and Lois B. Morris (1995) in "The New Personality Self-Portrait: Why You Think, Work, Love and Act the Way You Do," New York: Bantam.
Cross-ref: http://www.ptypes.com/conscientious.html
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Stones alone do not make a house...
Science is facts; just as houses are made of stones, so is science made of facts; but a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts is not necessarily science.
~ Henri Poincare
~ Henri Poincare
Monday, June 09, 2008
the Causal explanation..
All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions.
Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.
~ Gautama Buddha (400 B.C.)
I.D.
The theory of intelligent design (ID) holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause rather than an undirected process such as natural selection. ID is thus a scientific disagreement with the core claim of evolutionary theory that the apparent design of living systems is an illusion.
In a broader sense, Intelligent Design is simply the science of design detection - how to recognize patterns arranged by an intelligent cause for a purpose. Design detection is used in a number of scientific fields, including anthropology, forensic sciences that seek to explain the cause of events such as a death or fire, cryptanalysis and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). An inference that certain biological information may be the product of an intelligent cause can be tested or evaluated in the same manner as scientists daily test for design in other sciences.
ID is controversial because of the implications of its evidence, rather than the significant weight of its evidence. ID proponents believe science should be conducted objectively, without regard to the implications of its findings. This is particularly necessary in origins science because of its historical (and thus very subjective) nature, and because it is a science that unavoidably impacts religion.
(Source: http://www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org/)
In a broader sense, Intelligent Design is simply the science of design detection - how to recognize patterns arranged by an intelligent cause for a purpose. Design detection is used in a number of scientific fields, including anthropology, forensic sciences that seek to explain the cause of events such as a death or fire, cryptanalysis and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). An inference that certain biological information may be the product of an intelligent cause can be tested or evaluated in the same manner as scientists daily test for design in other sciences.
ID is controversial because of the implications of its evidence, rather than the significant weight of its evidence. ID proponents believe science should be conducted objectively, without regard to the implications of its findings. This is particularly necessary in origins science because of its historical (and thus very subjective) nature, and because it is a science that unavoidably impacts religion.
(Source: http://www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org/)
Human behavior!
Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this, e.g., no dog exchanges bones with another.
~ Adam Smith
~ Adam Smith
Which came first - O2 or CO2?
Modern science now knows that there was no free oxygen in the early atmosphere, so that plants and trees HAD TO exist before any of the others, BECAUSE plants and trees GIVE OFF OXYGEN into the atmosphere. It is also now known that the early atmosphere could not have stopped most of the deadly incoming ultraviolet and cosmic rays from getting to the Earth's surface. So land-based animals would certainly have soon died. It was possible for fish to arise and to multiply and fill the seas, because the water protected them from that radiation. (The oxygen given off by plants and trees had first gradually gotten dissolved in the water by waves and such.)
(Source: http://mb-soft.com/believe/text/argument.htm)
(Source: http://mb-soft.com/believe/text/argument.htm)
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
by Franklin Delano Roosevelt
FDR's Four Freedoms (January 6, 1941):
1. Freedom of speech and expression-everywhere in the world.
2. Freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-everywhere in the world.
3. Freedom from want;economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-everywhere in the world.
4. Freedom from fear-anywhere in the world.
SOURCE: America - Our Next Chapter (C) 2008 by Chuck Hagel (ISBN: 978-0-06-143696-3)
1. Freedom of speech and expression-everywhere in the world.
2. Freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-everywhere in the world.
3. Freedom from want;economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-everywhere in the world.
4. Freedom from fear-anywhere in the world.
SOURCE: America - Our Next Chapter (C) 2008 by Chuck Hagel (ISBN: 978-0-06-143696-3)
A maturing democracy
The following are excerpts from the "America - Our Next Chapter" book:
1. The results have been of the greatest foreign policy fiascos in the history of our republic, thehemorrhaging of our national treasure and the sacrifice of thousands of young lives. Those who died gave their lives for the noble purpose of defending America. It was their leaders who failed them by committing them to a strategy that was flawed in its premises and botched in its execution.
2. Dialogue and engagement are the only way to strengthen the forces of moderation in a very complicated and dangerous world, the only way to convert mistrustful strangers into neighbors who-while they may not love each other-can at least coexist.
3. The administration adopted a unilateralist policy, pushed it through a politically cautious Congress, and sold it through the lens of fear to the American people, who were inclined to trust their elected leaders in the aftermath of nine eleven. Like most of the nation, Washington was caught up in the pervasive sloganeering. Congress was told to support our commander-in-chief. Don't ask questions; line up behind the president. Some of us in Congress who dared to question the president's policies were vilified as unpatriotic, as traitors, and of course as disloyal Republicans.
4. Lest we judge too harshly, we would do well to remember that nations develop in stages - just as American democracy advanced in stages: Less than 100 years ago American women did not have the right to vote, and until the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act (1960), African American citizens had limited rights.
5. The more I have traveled, meeting with world leaders and everyday people, the more I marvel at our system of government. There is no way that the Founders could have known that the Constitution they put in place would lead to a society of unlimited productivity and opportunity. How could they? There was no precedent. What they did know was that freedom under the rule of law is the basis for a society that is both just and dynamic.
6. Sitting by and passively enjoying the priviledges of citizenship in a free society without in some way serving the common good is the first step down the path to the decline of any republic. We are put on this earth to do something. In the words of Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing."
7. The Founders of our nation and authors of the Constitution conceived a beautiful, workable, and accountable system of government called "checks and balances." Sometimes we must check in order to balance. Members of the Congress take the same oath of office that the president does: to uphold and defend the Constitution of the US, not the president's (or anybody's) poll numbers. We all carry sacred constitutional responsibilities to protect America's individual liberties enshrined in the Constitution.
8. We can no longer take it for granted that our country will automatically continue to prosper if we do not plan for significant and wise investment to maintain the capabilities of our people and the infrastructure that has served us so well. After all, our infrastructure, as well as America's unique free-market economy, was built through investment.
9. While US freshman and sophomores in high school ranked near the bottom one-fifth in applying math concepts to the real world, a recent survey found that American youngsters spend more time watching television than they do in school. In 2005, 6 ouf of 10 corporate patent recipients in the US were not US companies. For 60 years, an enlightened immigration policy attracted the best and the brightest to our shores.
10. The money Congress spends is not the government's money. It's the people's money. They earned it. They worked for it. It's up to us to spend it wisely and responsibly. The impending retirement of the 70 million-strong "baby boom" generation will impact every aspect of our economy, government, and society.
11. There is a vacuum waiting to be filled. It will be filled, but whether it will be filled by good leaders or bad leaders-that is the issue. Leadership is an instinctive recognition. It is much more than world leaders or how they deliver them. Many politicians have a gift for language and eloquence, but they are not necessarily leaders. Nor does it have to do with just brainpower. Granted you need to have some intelligence, but there are many more intelligent people than there are leaders.
SOURCE: America - Our Next Chapter (C) 2008 by Chuck Hagel (ISBN: 978-0-06-143696-3)
1. The results have been of the greatest foreign policy fiascos in the history of our republic, thehemorrhaging of our national treasure and the sacrifice of thousands of young lives. Those who died gave their lives for the noble purpose of defending America. It was their leaders who failed them by committing them to a strategy that was flawed in its premises and botched in its execution.
2. Dialogue and engagement are the only way to strengthen the forces of moderation in a very complicated and dangerous world, the only way to convert mistrustful strangers into neighbors who-while they may not love each other-can at least coexist.
3. The administration adopted a unilateralist policy, pushed it through a politically cautious Congress, and sold it through the lens of fear to the American people, who were inclined to trust their elected leaders in the aftermath of nine eleven. Like most of the nation, Washington was caught up in the pervasive sloganeering. Congress was told to support our commander-in-chief. Don't ask questions; line up behind the president. Some of us in Congress who dared to question the president's policies were vilified as unpatriotic, as traitors, and of course as disloyal Republicans.
4. Lest we judge too harshly, we would do well to remember that nations develop in stages - just as American democracy advanced in stages: Less than 100 years ago American women did not have the right to vote, and until the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act (1960), African American citizens had limited rights.
5. The more I have traveled, meeting with world leaders and everyday people, the more I marvel at our system of government. There is no way that the Founders could have known that the Constitution they put in place would lead to a society of unlimited productivity and opportunity. How could they? There was no precedent. What they did know was that freedom under the rule of law is the basis for a society that is both just and dynamic.
6. Sitting by and passively enjoying the priviledges of citizenship in a free society without in some way serving the common good is the first step down the path to the decline of any republic. We are put on this earth to do something. In the words of Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing."
7. The Founders of our nation and authors of the Constitution conceived a beautiful, workable, and accountable system of government called "checks and balances." Sometimes we must check in order to balance. Members of the Congress take the same oath of office that the president does: to uphold and defend the Constitution of the US, not the president's (or anybody's) poll numbers. We all carry sacred constitutional responsibilities to protect America's individual liberties enshrined in the Constitution.
8. We can no longer take it for granted that our country will automatically continue to prosper if we do not plan for significant and wise investment to maintain the capabilities of our people and the infrastructure that has served us so well. After all, our infrastructure, as well as America's unique free-market economy, was built through investment.
9. While US freshman and sophomores in high school ranked near the bottom one-fifth in applying math concepts to the real world, a recent survey found that American youngsters spend more time watching television than they do in school. In 2005, 6 ouf of 10 corporate patent recipients in the US were not US companies. For 60 years, an enlightened immigration policy attracted the best and the brightest to our shores.
10. The money Congress spends is not the government's money. It's the people's money. They earned it. They worked for it. It's up to us to spend it wisely and responsibly. The impending retirement of the 70 million-strong "baby boom" generation will impact every aspect of our economy, government, and society.
11. There is a vacuum waiting to be filled. It will be filled, but whether it will be filled by good leaders or bad leaders-that is the issue. Leadership is an instinctive recognition. It is much more than world leaders or how they deliver them. Many politicians have a gift for language and eloquence, but they are not necessarily leaders. Nor does it have to do with just brainpower. Granted you need to have some intelligence, but there are many more intelligent people than there are leaders.
SOURCE: America - Our Next Chapter (C) 2008 by Chuck Hagel (ISBN: 978-0-06-143696-3)
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Research, commerce and progress
Protecting that future starts with understanding that much of the wealth in this country (USA) comes from scientific research and technological innovation. Translating science into commerce has opened up vast new fields of endeavor and has raised the standard of living in America. The country that is on the cutting edge of developing new technology is the country best positioned to benefit from that new technology.
A clear example is biotechnology. The U.S. is a leader here, and is able to capitalize on its pre-eminence with disease-resistant crops, anticancer drugs and much more. By developing a strong understanding of the basic science that underlies advances in biotechnology, we are also creating a good training ground for a future generation of scientists and innovators.
But America cannot simply assume its lead in science will continue. In recent years the science community has been starved of the resources it needs. Young, new, energetic scientists are the seed corn of nearly all new scientific development. However, our schools, laboratories and granting agencies all, in one way or another, discourage launching a career in the sciences. There are few grants to live on; and both schools and laboratories have long since lost the sense of joy we remember from our younger days. Science can be exciting and attractive. But convincing bright students to become scientists requires a lot more than we are now providing.
A young university scientist today spends much of his or her time scouring up funding rather than wrestling out the secrets of nature. And the young are not so young. At the National Institutes of Health, the average age of a first grant is 42 for a Ph.D. and 44 for an M.D. We need policies that nurture excellence and give scientists independence at a younger age. And we need to make American science attractive to both those who were born here and those who were born abroad.
Source: Wall Street Journal, Thursday, April 17, 2008, pp. A 18
Cross-ref.: http://www.thedigitalghost.com/Brad/blog/?p=5130
Photo source: http://interestingby.isaias.com.mx/pm.php?id=9596793@N04
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