27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
Gratitude for the Scientists Who Saved Lives
When I was a boy, a popular literary genre for children was the heroic biography of a medical pioneer such as Edward Jenner, Louis Pasteur, Joseph Lister, Frederick Banting, Charles Best, William Osler, or Alexander Fleming. On April 12, 1955, a team of scientists announced that Jonas Salk’s vaccine against polio—the disease that had killed thousands a year, paralyzed Franklin Roosevelt, and sent many children into iron lungs—was proven safe. According to Richard Carter’s history of t... 1 
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notes28 DEC 2016 by ideonexus
The Staggering Amount of Progress Made in Recent History
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'Millennium' is full of gratitude for the staggering advances of 1,000 years
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One of the most bracing aspects of 'Millennium' is the breadth of factors it covers, from food production to sanitation conditions to the Christian Church Militant to the development of firearms to radical changes in transportation of both people and products.
By Steve Donoghue NOVEMBER 24, 2016
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notes22 MAY 2013 by ideonexus
Representative Juan Mendez Atheist Prayer
Most prayers in this room begin with a request to bow your heads. I would like to ask you not to bow your heads. I would like to ask that you take a moment to look around the room at all of the men and women here, in this moment, sharing together this extraordinary experience of being alive and of dedicating ourselves to working toward improving the lives of the people of our state.
This room in which there are many challenging debates, many moments of tension, of ideological division, of fr... 1 notes
notesGiven as the opening-prayer for the start of the Arizona Legislature.
11 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Life of a Scientist
I have had a fairly long life, above all a very happy one, and I think that I shall be remembered with some regrets and perhaps leave some reputation behind me. What more could I ask? The events in which I am involved will probably save me from the troubles of old age. I shall die in full possession of my faculties, and that is another advantage that I should count among those that I have enjoyed. If I have any distressing thoughts, it is of not having done more for my family; to be unable to... 1 notes
notesQuoting Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier. Who appreciates that his reputation will live on and he will die with his mental faculties, but regrets not having spent more time with his family.
17 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.
The bell ringing for church, we went thither immediately, and with hearts full of gratitude, returned sincere thanks to God for the mercies we had received: were I a Roman Catholic, perhaps I should on this occasion vow to build a chapel to some saint, but as I am not, if I were to vow at all, it should be to build a light-house. 1 notes
notesBenjamin Franklin relating he thoughts after avoiding being smashed on rocks in a vessel.
28 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
The Virtue of Gratitude
We have no difficulty reminding the 4-year-old to “say thank you” when Grandma hands her an ice cream cone, but in other situations—especially when a religious turn-of-phrase is generally used—we often pass up the chance to teach our kids to express gratitude in naturalistic terms. Instead of thanking God for the food on your table, thank those who really put it there—the farmers, the truckers, the produce workers, and Mom or Dad or Aunt Millicent. They deserve it. Maybe you’d lik... 1 notes
notesWe have real people all around us to be thankful to.
26 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Games that Turn Humans into Rats in a Skinner Box
The box also taught us two fundamental lessons, one of which had ramifications that extended far beyond Skinner's experiments. Humans are hardwired to respond to primary reinforcers, just like any other animals. And while primary reinforcers have a diminishing effect once we're satiated, secondary reinforcers, like money or social status, exist outside our biological needs, and these never hit a satiation point. In other words, we are hardwired to seek approval from our peers, and we can neve... 1 notes
notesGames like Farmville and Angry Birds tap into the reward mechanisms in our brains, administering doses of dopamine to us for repetitive tasks.
16 DEC 2011 by ideonexus
Mother Teresa as Campaigner
Mother Teresa has a theory of poverty, which is also a
theory of submission and gratitude. She has also a theory
of power, which derives from St Paul's neglected words
about 'the powers that be', which 'are ordained of God'.
She is, finally, the emissary of a very determined and very
politicized papacy. Her world travels are not the wanderings of a pilgrim but a campaign which accords with the
requirements of power. Mother Teresa has a theory of
morality too. It is not a difficult theory to c... 1 notes
notesHitchens outlines his perspective on the future saint.
01 JAN 2010 by ideonexus
Nature is the Word of God We Should Study
Could a man be placed in a situation, and endowed with power of vision to behold at one view, and to contemplate deliberately, the structure of the universe, to mark the movements of the several planets, the cause of their varying appearances, the unerring order in which they revolve, even to the remotest comet, their connection and dependence on each other, and to know the system of laws established by the Creator, that governs and regulates the whole; he would then conceive, far beyond what...Folksonomies: spiritual naturalism
Folksonomies: spiritual naturalism
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notesThomas Paine's beautiful exposition on the fascination and greatness of the natural world as a source of spiritual sustenance.
