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The Most Important Books I Read Last Year in 2012 (MIBIRLY 2012)

By on January 8, 2013 in Recommended Reading, Ruminations

It’s that time of year again!  My 2nd Annual (hopefully) down and dirty reviews of the Most Important Books I Read Last Year in 2012. Like last year, I spent most of the summer biking to lovely places to sit and read, and yet again, I usually found myself reading non-fiction. Although I did manage to get in the first and second installments of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead novels, [easyazon-link asin=”B004VMV49Y” locale=”us”]The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor[/easyazon-link] and [easyazon-link asin=”B007RMYDMK” locale=”us”]The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury[/easyazon-link]. While I loved both of those (I’m a pretty big TWD fan), my annual review of the Most Important Books I Read has a different purpose (see the MIBIRLY 2011 for last year’s reviews). Best, favorite, most important… all very different meanings. I wouldn’t claim that novels about zombies are important (though there is much to be learned and discussed from a philosophical perspective about survival and the evolution and then breakdown of culture/society), but the books that made my list this year are books I think should be read by every student of the world. These books expanded my understanding of how the world and how humans work in some way. They dispel conventional wisdom, and use science as their foundations to build a more complete or changed view of human nature. My reviews won’t be lengthy because I’d rather you see this list and then go and read these fabulous books for yourself! I realize that most of these choices are not new releases. That they were not all published last year makes them no less important.  I hope you enjoy and more importantly, that you check one out!

 

[easyazon-image align=”left” asin=”0374275637″ locale=”us” height=”110″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41OYtkxKAoL._SL110_.jpg” width=”74″][easyazon-link asin=”B00555X8OA” locale=”us”]Thinking, Fast and Slow[/easyazon-link] by Daniel Kahneman

This book should be a standard among anyone in any analytical profession. Kahneman is a psychologist who earned the Nobel Prize in Economics. His brilliance shines through in the density of the book which illustrates the two basic ways that all human beings, regardless of intelligence level, think: Fast and Slow. Our “Fast” thinking can be best explained by thinking of our intuition, or muscle memory types of thinking. We make quick analytical judgments that take little effort. This type of thinking kept us alive while being chased by the myriad of predators on the African plains. In many ways this thinking is astonishing, but it fails us when we use it to make conclusions that require our Slow thinking drive. Slow thinking is the kind of thinking we use to solve complex mathematical equations. Its hard. It takes energy. We can only do it for short periods of time before it drains us. Kahneman illustrates the dangerous outcomes that can occur when we substitute our Fast Thinking for tasks that require Slow Thinking. And he highlights that we do this far more often than we should, even when (or especially when) we consider ourselves expert in an area. Making decisions based on intuition isn’t always bad. If you’re driving on the highway and a car swerves into your lane, it’s best if you allow your Fast Thinking brain to kick in and swerve out of the way. But if you’re drafting economic, scientific, military, intelligence, financial, etc etc etc… policies that have wide impacts, using your Fast Brain is about as useful as allowing a monkey to conduct analysis. As an analyst myself, I see lazy thinking all the time. Until we understand the strengths and weaknesses in how our brains work, we’ll continue making analytical errors that have grave impacts on how we live together in society.

 

[easyazon-image align=”left” asin=”B000QCTNIM” locale=”us” height=”110″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416%2BaMQs3tL._SL110_.jpg” width=”71″][easyazon-link asin=”B000QCTNIM” locale=”us”]The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature[/easyazon-link] by Steven Pinker

One think I love about Steven Pinker… he is not afraid to stare conventional wisdom in the face and tell it to go away. And he has the evidence to prove it. The Blank Slate aims to shove aside decades, if not centuries, of conventional wisdom that has told us we all begin as a blank slate with no preconceived biases, ways of thinking and behaviors. Our environment alone shapes who we are. It is society that is the evil influence, and must be fixed. Through his understanding of psychology, linguistics, history, and other sciences, Pinker shows how simplistic that view is and how much it can harm progress in understanding human nature. He commonly cites twin studies to show how much evidence there is that genetics shapes us the most, then shared environment, then unique environment. If you want a more nuanced look at why we behave the way we behave, what the gaps in our understanding are, and why it matters to know the truth, this is a great read. If you want to continue to blame all our ills on the nebulous, evil “society” or “bad parenting” or even 100% on genetics, then don’t. You’ll be disappointed to learn the truth shaded in grays, that we have much more to learn, but that we know more than what we’ve been taught in anecdotal life lessons.

 

[easyazon-image align=”left” asin=”B000VDUWMC” locale=”us” height=”110″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516CtJiKwwL._SL110_.jpg” width=”82″][easyazon-link asin=”B000VDUWMC” locale=”us”]Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies[/easyazon-link] by Jared Diamond

I don’t like to list any book on my list above the others. This is why I don’t put them into any particular order, however, if I had a gun to my head and were forced to choose one book to read the entire year, this would be it. It’s dense. Filled with details from just about every niche in science, all to prove (convincingly) how all humans from all societies are fundamentally able to achieve great things, but that the balance of power from the domestication of plants and animals to the present is shaped almost entirely by environment. Some cultures rolled the dice and ended up in the fertile crescent while others ended up in mostly infertile, barren Australia. His well told story amazingly and clearly proves that through science, the humanities can be better understood and tested. All humans have essentially the same genetic tools and capabilities (our differences are fewer than those of different breeds of dogs). Race is officially an antiquated concept that needs to stay forever on the bottom of the rubbish pile of ideas. That doesn’t mean some societies haven’t adapted better than others. Some have, but often those adaptions were shaped by environment rather than some inherent superiority of the people.

Other lessons I took away from this amazing book filled with too many lessons to list in a short review are that free markets and more bottom up (instead of strict top down) control and planning are the best way to improve the lives of large societies. It’s not necessity that is the mother of invention. It is sheer numbers allowing greater specialization and freedom for curious minds to wander and then share their ideas with the masses. Closed societies never learn as much as open ones. And the federal system is better than a one size fits all strong central government. It’s not in any way Diamond’s central theme, but through his ridiculous quantities of evidence and his amazing ability to synthesize disparate data, that conclusion rings loud and clear. Don’t believe me? Read this book!

 

[easyazon-image align=”left” asin=”B006IDG2T6″ locale=”us” height=”110″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mPcj7zKCL._SL110_.jpg” width=”78″][easyazon-link asin=”B006IDG2T6″ locale=”us”]Free Will[/easyazon-link] by Sam Harris

I wish I could write as clearly, eloquently, and intelligently as Sam Harris. Last year, his brilliant The Moral Landscape made my “Most Important” list. While Free Will doesn’t quite live up to that standard, it is an important compendium or follow-up to the ideas brought forth in it. Harris’ background as neuroscientist is on full display in Free Will. The question “Do humans have free will or are we shaped by destiny” is as old as philosophy itself. In America, a country dominated by Judeo-Christian/Western ideals, it is almost a foregone conclusion that humans have free will and the ability to 100% shape their own future. The influence is seen in our work ethic and in our judicial system. Should we always be held responsible for our actions? If we have free will, then the answer is a resounding yes. If we don’t, its more complicated. In a surprisingly short book, Harris is able to prove through recent breakthroughs in neuroscience how people will act before they consciously think about acting. He doesn’t go so far as to say that we are not responsible for our actions. His analysis and conclusions are far more nuanced than his critics will likely give him credit for being, but he does raise groundbreaking and serious questions about the way we view crime and punishment and whether or not people deserve second chances. Why do we choose to act the way we act? And can we do anything about it? Harris will make you re-think what you’ve always believed the answers to those questions are without claiming he has the answers himself.

 

Caveat:  I wrote some of these reviews many months after I read the book because I did not have my act together at the time I finished it. Apologies for any minor errors, but please let me know if you find any!

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Grading Myself as Blogger; Wimpy with a Side of Gutless

By on December 19, 2012 in Ruminations

I haven’t quite figured out what this blog is, or more specifically, what type of blogger I want to – or should — be.

Some of you may know this is the third incarnation of my attempt to join the blogosphere.   Most of the meager volume of my earliest posts came from those sites.  For a time, I had two sites going simultaneously for reasons that really don’t matter.  I finally decided to consolidate here for a few reasons:

  • Running multiple blogs sucks
  • I like making new stuff
  • I felt like I was being a coward with the other sites

Regarding that last bullet, when I made Persephone’s Path, I did so knowing that using my PersephoneK pseudonym could lead people who know who I am in real life to learn my thoughts, controversial and mundane.  I had been using the name, or variations of it in various places like Twitter for a while.  A few people who know me follow me there, so I knew it was only a matter of time.  Prior to the presidential election, I made the calculated choice to post a link to my blog about about the proposed Gay Marriage Amendment to my Facebook page.  I felt like I had something important to say on the matter from a specific perspective I hadn’t really seen from others, and it was an important enough issue to me that I decided to take the chance.  Obviously, from then on, all hope for anonymity was lost.

I’m conflicted by having people who know me read these posts.

On the one hand, I would love if it opened more dialogue and discussion with people I already care about in my life, or maybe expanded my small circle of close friends to others who I only consider acquaintances.  But the converse result to sharing is the risk of alienating existing friends.  As much as I hate it, I deeply care about what others think of me.  Sometimes in life I move forward and express my thoughts despite that, leading some to believe I don’t care at all what the perception of me is, but the truth is, I care more than is probably healthy.  It consumes my thoughts daily.  I hate it, but its reality. And I know that fear (it’s really a fear of being rejected or thought of as stupid or ignorant) would lead me to censor my thoughts, and thus not be true to the spirit of this blog.

Persephone’s Path… I chose that name partly for the alliteration of my pseudonym, but mostly because it best expressed what I want this place to be.  I’m constantly tweaking my world view by learning new ideas, and throwing out old ones that don’t fit in with my values, don’t make sense to me any longer, or simply aren’t as good as newer ideas.  I don’t think I’m wishy-washy.  I’ll hold onto a belief that makes sense to me until something better replaces it, but the person I am today will not be who I am next year.  Who I was last year, or ten years ago, or especially twenty years ago, is not who I am now…  But I am most definitely on a lifelong journey informed by reason, science, and logic, and framed and adjusted by the knowledge and perspectives of others I meet along the way. 

For me, and I suspect for many writers, writing is therapy (and sometimes why we need therapy!).  But blogging is about connecting with other humans through written (or graphical) ideas.  Sharing and learning from each other.  If I simply wanted the catharsis of writing, I would merely keep a private journal on my nightstand.  I want to be heard and hear others.  I want dialogue.  But if I’m not expressing fully genuine ideas and emotions, the words are empty fabrications.  I don’t want you to waste your time with me, any more than I want to waste my time playing it safe. 

So far, I give myself a grade of a solid C.  And that is unfortunate.  I want to be able to lay my soul bare here, but I’m not sure if I ever will be able to.  I want to challenge myself and be challenged.  But I also don’t want to float in between two vibrant worlds, not really living in either.  That’s what I’m doing now as a blogger.  I guess it helps very few people actually read these posts, but that could change.  I both welcome possible change, and fear it.  Maybe that’s how it should be.

So, let me end by asking you to share your thoughts.  I want to know, would you risk real world relationships in order to deliver honest content, or would you censor yourself and hold back in certain areas you know will be sensitive points for those you care about? Please share!  Persephone’s Path is nothing without dialogue.

 

Cheers,

PersephoneK

Comments { 5 }

Better Angels, Triumphant

By on December 17, 2012 in Liberty & Freedom, Ruminations, US & International Affairs

What can anyone say after a tragedy like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that is remotely adequate?  For me, there was almost so much to say that I had nothing at all to say.  Simply no words were sufficient.  Horrific might be the single best word, but even that grossly pales.  Last Friday, the nation glimpsed the worst of humanity, and we wept.

Inevitably following such an event, social and mainstream media, and everyone around the water cooler has been a-buzz with discussions about gun control (for and against), mental illness, the degradation of society, the loss of god in our culture/schools, and countless other proposed reasons to what’s “wrong with our society” and how to fix it, how to prevent such a terrible act from ever happening again. 

Instead, I find myself thinking over and over again about something else entirely.  I keep thinking that I feel lucky to be alive, in this country, in this point in time of human existence.  I keep thinking about how good life actually is right now, right here.

Our justified condemnation and outrage over an atrocity like children and teachers being murdered in the classroom tells me how far we have come as a species, a culture, and as a nation.  Our reflexive response tells us how rare an event this truly is, and how much we value the lives of children and the adults who want to protect them.  I’m sure as a result of what happened, our political leaders will rush to create new laws and limits on our freedom, and generally the people will support that reaction.  How could we not?  It’s to protect children, right?  Anyone speaking out against it risks being labeled insensitive, or stupid.   I do not intend for this to be a political discussion.  I think there are plenty of valid points on all sides of many of these debates.  From my perspective, creating new laws – at least immediately – is completely unnecessary, and is another nail in the coffin of liberty, and the reason for America’s existence.  Each one risks pushing our society backwards towards eventual despotism.   Knee-jerk responses to create more laws are unnecessary because by any reasonable standard, the world is getting better, partly as a result of increased liberty.  Often our emotional rush to action creates many more unintended consequences that are problematic (Department of Homeland Security, anyone??).  What I wish is before any decision is made about what actions to take is for us to take a collective breath and reflect on how wonderful our lives and society actually are.  

Recently I started reading the brilliant Steven Pinker’s “[easyazon-link asin=”B0052REUW0″ locale=”us”]The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined[/easyazon-link]”  The title is a nod to Abraham Lincoln’s beautiful sentiments in his First Inaugural Address in 1861.  Pinker’s book is thus far so extraordinary, that I recommend you stop reading this blog right now, and go read his book for yourself.  Pinker more eloquently states, with gobs (that’s the scientific term) of data, what I (and countless others before Pinker) have observed and believed about humanity for years: 

By almost every measurable standard, life is better now than it was in our past (recent and distant) for almost every human society, even the poorest among us.  And violence is undoubtedly on the decline. 

It’s sometimes difficult to believe those truths.  Some people willfully deny them despite there being ample evidence to the contrary.  Human society is more peaceful than it has ever been.  

Compared to the age of the earth and even compared to the time modern humans have walked on earth, our life spans are short (though getting longer all the time).  A generous one hundred years next to 200,000 is miniscule.  The blink of an eye.  We have an extremely difficult time comprehending times longer than a few decades, much less those on the scales such as these.  So, we get wrapped up in the here and now and compare something like what happened in Connecticut on Friday against our typical daily existence (which is usually quite peaceful, and relatively easy, especially in the west).  We are barraged daily by the media about the threat of terrorism, America’s homicide rate, and this atrocity and that one.  The news is littered with stories about murders, rapes, kidnappings, wars, and we think, what have humans descended to?  When will the violence end?  Surely, it wasn’t like this in the good ole’ days!  The truth is that more than ever before, humans are showing an ascendance of virtue.  We just have a natural tendency to remember the irregularities over the far more prolific prosaic experiences.

And the good ole’ days weren’t really that good after all.

Humans most certainly have a dark side.  Violence has always been a part of our species’ existence.  The capacity to commit violence has been evolving in us for millions of years along with other traits like competitiveness, ambition, empathy, compassion, and love. But consider this:  Only 2000 years ago, the greatest civilization in the world – the Roman Empire – regularly entertained themselves in great arenas by watching animals and humans rip other animals and humans to shreds in regular bloodbaths. This was their sport of choice. Gladiators were the Champions and heroes, the rock stars of their day.  People would spend an entire day eating, laughing, drinking while unbelievable carnage happened in front of them.  Today, in America, our bloodlust is channeled into the “violence” of football on Sunday afternoons, and into violent, but fictional, video games and movies. 

The Romans would have thought we are a weak society with those notions of violence.  They are welcome to that opinion.  But it is notable to consider how far we’ve come.  The Romans – the epitome of advanced and civilized society for their day – would have thought nothing of a game of football that resulted in mass homicide for one or both sides.  Simply for entertainment.

We have progressed.  We continue to do so.

We are fooling ourselves if we believe violence will evolve out of us anytime soon, (millions of years from now, perhaps) if ever. I’m often frustrated when people talk about the decline of our “culture.”  What this usually means is the loss of morality defined by religion.  Or the loss of some sort of repressed “Leave it to Beaver” style existence of post World War II America.  The fact is the murder of children, adults, sacrificial animals, is repeated over and over again within the bible (particularly the old Testament), and other holy books.  Violence was a far more acceptable and expected in everyday life for our ancestors than it is for us today.  Thankfully, we are moral in spite of some of the lessons taken from our holy books.  We are able to rationalize away, modify, or outright ignore those terrible stories of our religions’ (while retaining our religious beliefs) because we know that human suffering – especially the suffering of children — is bad.  

Through our intellect, capacity for reason, and the power of civilization (which despite popular belief to the contrary is the driving force of our mundane, peaceful lives), most of us are able to suppress the violent tendencies of our nature, ignore the casual and prolific violence of most of our history and our myths, and even decry with outrage when those tendencies are expressed in a rare event like Sandy Hook.  The better angels of our nature are far more prevalent today than they ever have been in our history as a species.  The atrocity of Friday, December 14, 2012 should not propel us to take emotional, and unnecessary actions that could be a step backwards from the progress of freedom and liberty that have helped bring those angels out to play far more than ever before.  At least not right now.  Not in the immediate wake of destruction when emotions are running high, and our rational sides are suppressed.  

We should mourn the loss of life.  We should remember them and cry over the lives shortened by the unspeakable evil that struck down so many before their lives had even really begun.  We should honor the heroic efforts of the protectors who died trying to save them.  We should support the families and friends of those lost.  We should try to figure out if anything reasonable can prevent another terrible day like that one, and talk about it without demonizing each other.  We should continue to progress and strive to eradicate violence from our nature, despite it being a fool’s errand.

But most of all, we should remember that life is precious.  Life is short.  Life is beautiful.  And this kind of evil is not who most of us are.  Not anymore.

 

Peace,

PersephoneK

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The Five Most Important Books I Read in 2011

By on February 29, 2012 in Recommended Reading, Ruminations

Before getting too deep into 2012 (ok, we’re a little deep, but I started drafting this a month ago), I wanted to make sure I tell you about some of the most important books I read during 2011, the same year I got a Kindle!

I read many great books as a result of that simple piece of technology and a commitment I made to myself to devote time reading each week.  Reading became more of a therapeutic meditation time for me last year than ever before, especially on beautiful summer weekends where I would bike ride and read by the several small lakes near my house.   I hope to make book reviews a regular part of this blog, since they’re an important part of my path of life.

So, while many books I read last year were fantastic, there were a handful that stuck out as not only enjoyable, but important.  Important, as in, every human should read them, without exception.  Not all of them were written last year, but last year is when I got the chance to read them.  Here are the five books (not in order of importance, but more in order of suggested reading), and some of my brief thoughts about each one:

1)     [easyazon-link asin=”0805091254″ locale=”us”]The Believing Brain, by Michael Shermer[/easyazon-link]

2)     [easyazon-link asin=”1846942721″ locale=”us”]The Religion Virus, by Craig A. James[/easyazon-link]

3)     [easyazon-link asin=”0060859512″ locale=”us”]Misquoting Jesus, by Bart Ehrman[/easyazon-link]

4)     [easyazon-link asin=”B006W3YQTK” locale=”us”]The Moral Landscape, by Sam Harris[/easyazon-link]

5)     [easyazon-link asin=”B005N0KL5G” locale=”us”]Lying, by Sam Harris[/easyazon-link]

 

The Believing Brain, by Michael Shermer simply and clearly explains how humans’ propensity for believing in superstition is driven by an evolutionary need to make quick decisions or end up as food, and how not believing in superstition was probably weeded out of our ancestors.  His story of an early primate who hears a rustling in the high grass having to make a decision about whether he hears a predator or just the wind is a pure genius, yet its a simple way of explaining why we see shadow monsters in the night.  Understanding this evolutionary ingrained intuition is the first step for humanity in moving past basing our decisions and societal structures on that false “patternicty,” as Shermer defines it. People believe their own brains far more than they should, and that has gotten us into a lot of trouble over the millennia.  Shermer nicely sets the foundation to understanding how all man-made myth and superstitions came to be.

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The Religion Virus, by Craig A. James is the next step beyond The Believing Brain, taking why we’re prone to superstition into the reason why religion continues to this day, despite our development of the scientific method, and virtual disproof of most religions that exist today.  Beginning with the history of Yahweh, the God of the Israelites who would develop into the “all powerful” god Jews, Christians and Muslims know today, and then explaining how the meme’s — or stories — of religion stuck with each generation and evolved just as a virus, (or a good joke), does.  James also explains how animism turned into pantheism then to monotheism.  This book erased any doubt I may have had about the historical evolution of the idea of gods and god and did so with personal reflections, historical fact, wonderful metaphors, and brutal clarity.  With my own religious background being that of a Christian, now more than ever I am confounded by my former believing self for not seeing how the god of the old testament is clearly not the god of Christianity.  And if that is true, what among the Abrahamic religions is there to believe in?  Thank goodness, my answer is “nothing supernatural.”

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Misquoting Jesus, by Bart D. Ehrman, dives into the specifics of one of those religious meme’s — the spread of Christianity, and specifically, how the books of the New Testament were written, and altered by regular humans, each with their very human agenda’s, biases, and flaws.  Ehrman explains that there are more mistakes — whether by intention or inattention — than there are words in the New Testament!  Most people know that the books of the new testament were written starting around 30 years after the death of Jesus Christ, and none of the books were written by people who ever had met Jesus, but what’s more astonishing is the idea that the earliest known texts contain more errors and discrepancies than the later versions, primarily because earlier scribes who would hand copy texts were untrained laymen, members of their congregations copying texts in their spare time, while later as Christianity spread, scribes were professional and devoted to accuracy.  Mis-quoting Jesus puts into plain words how the new testament contradicts itself in profound and important ways, and how biblical scholars, including clergy, have known this for at least a couple of centuries, but do not teach these well accepted understandings to the masses.  Beyond the errors, Ehrman outlines the different variations of early Christianity, and how each sect’s disputes with each other and their pursuit of converts impacted what eventually became the winning doctrine, and that the winner may not have been close to what Jesus’ mission actually was about. He proves that this is not some conspiracy theory from modern scientists, but historically supported concepts. The bible does contain significant flaws, and anyone believing current Christian doctrine does so while ignoring truths that in virtually every other area of human study would cause most people to dismiss their devotion to flawed thinking and ideas.

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The Moral Landscape, by Sam Harris, is by far the most important book I’ve ever read in my life.  As a former Christian, one of the things that pained and concerned me as I gravitated towards atheism was how to justify morality without God. I knew there were right and wrong answers, and that misery should be avoided and happiness should be increased, but I couldn’t articulate for myself or my Christian friends how to convey that morality can exist without a higher power dictating what the rules are.  Enter Sam Harris and BAM!  Everything was clear.  Harris doesn’t spend time detailing what behaviors are good or bad, but his main thesis is that there are one or more right ways to live and one or more wrong ways to live.  The right ways are those that maximize human well-being, and the wrong ways are those leading to human misery.  He likens these ways to peaks and valleys on a landscape.  There could be multiple high peaks and multiple routes to take to get to them, just as there are for the valleys.  There doesn’t have to be one right way to live, but Harris takes it a step further to say that morality can be scientifically understood and studied, at least to a point.  Right and wrong can be objective, even if studied through subjective data gathering methods.  There are wrong and right answers to our questions of well-being, whether or not we can ever know them.  It is on this point that I believe he loses many people, but why that is is a mystery to me.  He likens the concept to birds in flight.  Right now, there are a specific, finite number of birds in flight on earth.  There is a right answer to that question.  Whether or not we can know the answer (we can’t), does not change the fact that a specific, correct answer exists.  So it goes with morality, maybe.  Whether we can definitively know the answer does not mean we cannot study the question scientifically.  Everyone knows there is human happiness and there is human suffering. Sometimes it’s difficult to maximize happiness, without causing some suffering.  That is the difficulty of these questions, but that doesn’t mean we should forfeit that responsibility to a deity that makes it his business to watch us suffer rather than clarify such important questions for us.  If Harris left me with one idea, it’s that the single most important goal of our species should be to maximize (all) human well-being and minimize (all) human suffering.  And that responsibility rests within each of us, not with “god.”

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Lying, by Sam Harris and Anika Harris is a lovely conceptual footnote to The Moral Landscape, though not at all a sequel.  It is a short essay more than a book, so you have no excuse to not read it.  It will take you an hour max.  While I’m not sure I completely agree with the thesis, no book has stirred my thinking on a deeply personal level like this one did.  I previously believed that there are times when lying is ok (like not wanting to hurt someone’s feelings).  After reading “Lying” I’m not so sure anymore.  Harris makes a compelling argument for why lying is never good because every single lie erodes the fabric of trust between those involved. Eventually that trust leads to less deep relationships, and eventually all kinds of societal ills.  While not lying may be hard, and even uncomfortable (“no, I never wear that sweater you got me for Christmas, grandma, because its hiddeous.”), it is nonetheless pivotal to human growth and a better society, and better world to try.

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So, there you have it… My list of the most important books I read during 2011.  They took me on a journey of human historical, psychological, and ethical understanding that I wanted to share with you in the hopes that you might have a similar experience and chance to grow as a result.  These authors and their ideas certainly helped me take a few steps closer to being the person I want to be, and part of a society I want to live in.  Since I cannot come close to doing their books justice, I suggest you let them tell you in their own words what they have to say.  Check them out!

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Killing the Procrastination Bug!

By on January 24, 2012 in Ruminations, Writing & Creativity

[This post was originally published on my old blog site, underworldgoddess.com.  I hope you find it well here.  The published date here reflects the original publication date].

So, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to write or create something every day.  I made it full well knowing I wouldn’t be able to create something every day (stuff at my real job doesn’t count), but I wanted to shoot for it nevertheless.  It didn’t have to be much – a paragraph, a piece of a webpage, a PhotoShop collage.  It didn’t matter what it was, just that I was creating something.

Needless to say, I haven’t lived up to the goal, as you can see from my last post on December 22.

I started this blog because I have a lot to say. I have a SpringPad page full of blog topics as diverse in subject matter as my gap in posting is long.  So what’s the problem?  I’m worried about not really saying what I want to say.  In short, Procrastination.  That’s the crux of my problem.  Sure, laziness is there, too, but if I had to choose one barrier to achieving pretty much all of my goals, but especially creative goals, its procrastination.  They say knowing is half the battle… We’ll see.

Why procrastinate? Simple.  By writing and publishing, it’s out there.  Not just set in stone  More permanent. My ideas, thoughts, ramblings, mistakes will be on the internet pretty much forever. Even stone weathers away eventually, but not the web.  I started my blog because I wanted to share my ideas, and in doing so, I wanted to constantly reshape my own thoughts about a lot of things, ideally through feedback from readers, by mutual enrichment.  This wasn’t about writing the next “Great American Novel.”  This was meant to be more campfire chat.

So, why should I let procrastination impact me at all?   I guess because I still want  everything I write — to sound awesome.  I need to get over that.  I’m going to change my mind.  In fact, I hope I change my mind if it makes sense to do so.  There will be times when I make little sense.  I’m probably never going to sound like Twain or Hemmingway.  I’m not a brilliant thinker; I’m no Einstein, Kierkegaard, Plato, or Socrates.  I don’t have unlimited time to research perfectly before I post.  I may get things wrong and make mistakes (which I hope you’ll call me on), and sound ineloquent.  I may have faulty thinking on a topic, or not think things all the way through.  It’s going to happen (as this post proves).

I’m only human.

But I have things to say, and goals to achieve, and letting procrastination control my life must end. My resolution was to create or write every day, not to be amazing at it.  Not right away.  So, I’m not reading through this one more time (already have twice); I’m just going to post and send this to the ether.  Carpe diem.  It’s only a blog!

Here’s my shot at achieving that resolution, and kicking procrastination’s ass, at least for today.

Cheers,

PersephoneK

 

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Merry Christmas from the Godless Goddess (and What Christmas Means to Me)

By on December 22, 2011 in Atheism & Skepticism, Ruminations

[This post was originally published on my old blog site, underworldgoddess.com.  I hope you find it well here.  The published date here reflects the original publication date].

I had hoped to get a few more posts under my belt before diving into this particular subject, but the calendar stops for no one, so I must forge ahead.  I am an atheist.  In some later post, maybe I’ll discuss the irony of this fact considering I have named myself after a Greek goddess.  This blog is not meant to be entirely atheism focused, but it will likely be a significantly discussed topic because it is an important part of who I am.  And in a later post still, I will probably go in depth into why I’m an atheist, and what atheism means to me.  Most people reading this blog who know me personally with a handful of exceptions will likely find this to be shocking news.  I am not widely known to be “out.”  That is also a topic for another time, and the ramifications for announcing that news here will be dealt with later.  Today, I want to focus on what Christmas means to me as an atheist.  To do so I’ll have to touch a smidge on my back story.

I was raised a Protestant Christian, and for a time in my teens, I was deeply committed to pursuing an understanding of God’s truth and following my interpretation of his wishes for how I lived my life.  I was not a fundamentalist.  I didn’t believe in the inerrant Word of the Bible, but I did believe in its essential truth (and Truth), and I think it’s fair to say, I was one of the most religious kids in my class.   And worse, I was a goodie-goodie.  In other words, I was BORING, and way too serious.

In those years, as a Christian raised in Lutheran tradition, but one who hadn’t pledged allegiance to any specific denomination’s dogma, for me Christmas was all about honoring the birth of Jesus Christ.  That might seem like an obvious statement.  Of course, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ.  Everyone knows that.  But at the time, this was the most fundamental principal of Christmas to me.  I didn’t completely divorce myself of secular traditions. I had no beef with most of them provided they didn’t interfere with or pervert the essential Holiness of the holiday.  But in my most religious years, I did start to find the commercialism and consumerism of the season particularly crass.

What offended me more than that, however, was when “lukewarm” Christians, or “Christmas and Easter Christians” decided now was the time to go to church despite not bothering to do so the remaining 50 odd Sundays of the year.  I felt they tarnished the spirit of the season far more than anything else.  They were the group who believed in Jesus, but helped perpetuate the notion that the season is about “Peace on Earth” and “goodwill towards men” above honoring our Lord and Savior, which should always take precedence.    It’s not that I hated the message — I just found it less important than spreading the news that Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary in a manger in Bethlehem surrounded by sheep and goats and visited by three wise men bearing gifts, guided to the birth site by a bright star.

Looking back on my former self, I am saddened for her.

Now, as an atheist who does not believe in the supernatural birth of Jesus, in the Judeo-Christian god, or any gods, I have a love for this holiday season that doesn’t compare to what I used to feel for it.  I’m able to more fully appreciate the secular messages of the holiday, like peace and goodwill.  I live in a northern state in the US, where Christmas usually means a beautiful snowflakes falling to earth on a black night, coating trees in blanket of pure white, and muting sounds in a blissful softness.  I love all of the holiday lights magically dancing and twinkling in the trees and on homes.  I allow myself time to truly appreciate the smells of hot cocoa and apple cider and a roaring fire.  Even the Christmas music (religious and secular) on every overhead speaker, the boughs of holly, the endless loops of “Elf,” “A Christmas Carol,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Rudolph,” and “A Christmas Story” playing on multiple channels, and the kitschy holiday TV specials and homage’s warm my heart.

Some vocal atheists out there are intent on disturbing the holiday to prove various points about separation of church and state, or fairness or whatever the case may be.  I’m sad for them as well.  You can completely remove the religiosity of the holiday (in fact I recommend you do), and it would still be worth preserving.  Even though it is rooted in a myth, it doesn’t change what it is today.  It’s a beautiful time of year when people’s greatest worry is how they can find the perfect gift for people they love.  Is that crass consumerism?

Po-tay-to/po-tah-to.

I know when I shop for gifts, I’m far more concerned with finding something I know my friends and family will love, than I am about how much money Best Buy is making at my expense.  And if that means I have to suffer through stores competing for my attention with crazy advertisements and ridiculous sales, then that is fine to me.  It is that consumerism and commercialism that allows me to live in one of the most prosperous nations the earth has ever known.  It is that prosperity that brings the entire world a little closer to peace and goodwill.  Sure, there may be a tacky fight in the line to get the best deal on Black Friday as a consequence.  But when it comes down to it, I love wishing you all a Merry Christmas.  This year, like all years, I’ll be fortunate enough to spend the day with my family.  We’ll play a game on Christmas Eve that we’re all probably a little tired of, but that we all want to play nevertheless.  We’ll drink some punch, crack some nuts, turn on the Yule Log, eat some wonderful food, go to bed, open presents and bask in each other’s presence and insanity.  It’s going to be the best Christmas ever.   I am alive and well.  My family, even my sister and my nephews will be in town.  Life is good.  I am one lucky human.  There is no better time than Christmas to reflect upon that.  Thank you Jesus!  (Heh!)

I’m so giddy with the holiday spirit that I’m tempted to quote Tiny Tim as well, but instead I’ll simply say have a safe and joyous Christmas, and have a Happy New Year!

~PersephoneK

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