If you’ve got a religious belief that withers in the face of observations of the natural world, you ought to rethink your beliefs — rethinking the world isn’t an option. –PZ Myers, biology professor (b. 9 Mar 1957)
November 20, 2017
Society Like a Stew
Society is like a stew. If you don’t keep it stirred up you get a lot of scum on the top. –
–Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989)
November 4, 2017
Evidence of the Bamboozle
One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back. –Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996)
October 20, 2017
The Universe
The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. But the combination is locked up in the safe. –Peter De Vries
October 1, 2017
General Shinseki on Change
“If you don’t like change, you’ll going to like irrelevance even less.”
– General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
September 20, 2017
Saving our Environment: One Step at a Time
It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment. –Ansel Adams, photographer (1902-1984)
August 27, 2017
A Good Listen: Our Changing Words
The topic of words and reading rarely bores me and this On Point Program about the changing nature of the English Language and usage is a terrific discussion of our dynamic usage.
If you are looking for a great podcast to tickle your word fancy please visit and support A Way with Words. They know their stuff but are never stuffy or uptight but rather always come across as curious and open to people’s ideas and interpretation of the English Language of today and yesterday.
August 20, 2017
Love in Action
Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams. Love in dreams is greedy for immediate action, rapidly performed and in the sight of all. Men will give their lives if only the ordeal does not last long but is soon over, with all looking on and applauding as though on the stage. But active love is labor and fortitude, and for some people too, perhaps, a complete science.
–Fyodor Dostoevsky , The Brothers Karamazov
August 10, 2017
Wisdom of the Ages: Susan B. Anthony
I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because
I notice it always coincides with their own desires.
–Susan B Anthony, reformer and suffragist (1820-1906)
August 1, 2017
Modern Death: a Listen and a Read
Dr Haider Warraich is interviewed by Terry Gross about how ignorant we are about the modern ways of dying and the great toll this lack of experience costs our culture daily in so many ways.
How much is too much CPR? What age is CPR not recommended because a patient will have no quality of life afterwards? How do doctor’s cope with the various wishes of patients in crisis situations? How can we as a culture be more aware of death as a fact of life and the great cost of hope that is not matched my realism?
This is a terrific interview and may take you to an independent bookstore to buy his book.
A great listen with family and friends to elicit a profound discussion about end of life care and your wishes for just the end you most hope to have.
The Curious Autodidact 
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