The Grandfather Paradox

"Will time travel ever be possible?" is one of the controversial questions/topics which has prevailed on man's mind from over a century ago. The grandfather Paradox argues that travelling back in time is impossible, however it does not state it is impossible to travel to a future time period. In 1943, Rene Barjavel, who was a French journalist and science fiction writer spent a lot of time thinking about the possibility of time travel,  and came up with this theory. In his book Le Voyageur Imprudent the main argument presented  was imagine that you build a time machine. It is possible for you to travel back in time, meet your grandfather before he produces any children (i.e. your father/mother) and kill him. Thus, you would not have been born and the time machine would not have been built, therefore, a paradox. One of your parents would not have been born so therefore you would never had existed. Another time travel paradox is Robert Heinlein's classic short story All You Zombies. Doesn't Time travel defy the laws of physics? In the space of matter and time how could it be possible? This theory has several gaps in it, but it could be accurate, maybe. There is no evidence that time travel is or isn't possible, but why should we try to alter what is meant to be or rather change what helped to shape and influence our present and future? Couldn't that have serious consequences?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6RjjaEy59I

References:

http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/grandfather_paradox.html

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Grandfather_paradox.html

Cartoon of The Day

Never hold an argument without thinking before speaking and ensuring you have the best evidence and facts. You sound brilliant that way. ;)  

World peace? These are the only 11 countries in the world that are actually free from conflict

I read the Article entitled World peace? These are the only 11 countries in the world that are actually free from conflict. I found it to be interesting to read however in a few instances it seems to be inaccurate. What is peace? Peace has many definitions, some definitions by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary are:

•  peace is freedom from civil disturbance (
• a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity
• harmony in personal relations

The Global Peace Index chart for internal conflicts, showing the countries defined as having 'no conflict' in dark green (IEP)
The image above I find to be inaccurate because the US constantly suffers from internal conflicts such as still prevalent acts of racial discrimination/the occasional Neo-Nazi/KKK Outbreak, the problem of many incoming migrants, school shootings and the granting of human rights. The Democrats and Republican politicians are always 'bashing' each other (I find it amusing).The US has not learnt as yet how to deal with such conflicts successfully.
I do agree with the point that possibly in the near future Brazil will encounter civil unrest, especially after such a devastating defeat at the FIFA World Cup 2014 in their home country and as the host. From my understanding, personal and shared knowledge, football is life in South and Central America. This will likely affect their economy and crime rates to an extent.

Personally, I do not think any country is fully at peace-free of disharmony. There will always be an opposing force, whether it be a sect, "terrorist"/radical or an idea. Is there such a thing as peace generally speaking?

Picasso Art

I always found Picasso an interesting artist to study and read about. I conducted a research project on Picasso at my previous and original secondary institution in grade 9.I thought he was a bit odd and troubled, but I of all people have no right to even think that. I like Picasso's works and I know that this painting is Guernica. I know what the painting is about but putting aside my shared and personal knowledge of what the painting means, I will look at it as if seeing it for the first time in my life. I associate black and white with death and destruction (to an extent) and that is the main base of this painting. Picasso has made the faces and body parts distorted, painful and crowded- conveying feelings of hopelessness and the man to the far right is on his knees and the composition makes me think of beginning for mercy or praying for some tribulation to be over soon. Picasso uses deformed and mythical looking beasts of burden, to convey the horrors that are going on in the painting. He makes every living creature look terrorized in the painting. I find Guernica captivating and it presents quite a strong historical message as well.

Mapping Emotions On The Body: Love Makes Us Warm All Over

Today I read the article Mapping Emotions On The Body: Love Makes Us Warm All Over. I found it moderately interesting to read. My favourite part of this article is the beginning, how it starts. "Close your eyes and imagine the last time you fell in love. Maybe you were walking next to your sweetheart in a park or staring into each other's eyes over a latte.Where did you feel the love? Perhaps you got butterflies in your stomach or your heart raced with excitement." The last time I felt like that I felt the butterflies, racing heartbeat, everything became alive, like the love map and similar to the happiness map. Everything felt warm, almost dizzying. This is a good example as Emotion As A Way of Knowing. My physical and emotional being tells me I love this individual.This person is my dear friend as well and they're one of the few who can make my day so that's probably why. I may be one of the few who can strongly feel  other emotions (?) in my arms. I feel fear, surprise and anxiety along with the expected anger map in my arms as well as other parts. In my mind these feelings are somewhat similar and connected, and I use my arms when expressing any form of discomfort or displeasure, I cannot control it. Emotions and feelings are a complex set of mechanisms-which I do not like to get into.  Most times I wish I could always feel neutral. That's the most stable "emotion" that one can feel while thinking clearly.
 

This video and the mapping exercise carried out in class has really surprised me, it has made me realize that a lot of the things I had been taught over the years, was not accurate and we students have been greatly mislead. I always thought that the maps I have used in Geography were very accurate, and I had been doing map work accurately and precisely. But now these activities have enlightened me that a lot of these maps are heavily biased based on preference, imperialism, etcetera. Normally humans accept what we are taught and told, without questioning whether or not it is false, true, real or an illusion. We see or believe what we want to see, and believe whether or not it may be so. Ms. C.J. Craig in the video asks where she is after she has been enlightened, and now I also ask, where am I?

I am commenting on the article 'On Reality and Sugar Cubes':

"It’s nothing like what we think it is."

Humans perceive what they want to know or see and not what something actually is. We have a tendency to accept what is told to us and regurgitate this "factual" information to others in our circles. Most times we do not question whether or not what we are told is factual, and how do we really know what is factual? This article states that nothing is as it really seems, it's all an 'illusion', smoke and mirrors. I enjoyed reading this article, but in some instances I was left puzzled, especially when the article stated that there are million billons of nothingness in an atom. I learned that everything is made up of matter and the article states every human being on earth and more can fit inside an ice cube without any complications when all the 'nothing' is extracted from us. This goes to show that nothing is as it really seems and that we humans in most cases do not know what we think we know.

Emotion as a Way of Knowing

What are Emotions? I found that defining the term emotion wasn't that easy. According to the Oxford Dictionary, an Emotion is a strong feeling deriving from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others. On Thursday (yesterday) in The Theory of Knowledge's Class we held constructive discussions in our groups and class on 'Emotion as a Way of Knowing'. I disagree to a certain extent with this definition. Emotions are not necessarily "strong" feelings. I can have opinion about something without having strong emotions.We all discussed whether emotion and logic were separate entities or combined forces. We need our emotions to survive (such as keep safe) and respond to the actions and other living organisms.  I personally believe that emotion and logic/reason work together; they are combined forces. We need to use some of our emotions to reason. Do I prefer one over the other? I honestly do not know.We also watched a clip from the 2006 FIFA World Cup final match France against Italy when Zinedine Zidane head-butted  Marco Materazzi of Italy. I remember that day clearly when I watched 2006's World Cup. We debated whether or not Zinedine was being ruled by emotions or logic, and or both and if we were in his position would we have done so. As a footballer/contact sports player, I, of course would have head-butted  Materazzi if he provoked, tripped or swiped me. I am not sure who started it, but if Zidane did I would have fought him. That is a signal that you want to fight me and an insult. There is no other option but to fight. I know that we Footballers and other contact sportspersons can get very emotional during a game and logic normally goes out the door. In Zidane's case I think he was being emotional and his reasoning became limited, it was his last World Cup match so I guess he thought, why not?
Several problems can arise when we use Emotion as a Way of Knowing. When emotions get too high they can overrule logical thought or reasoning causing us humans to act or respond irrationally to the events or others around us. This can have grave consequences in our relationships. It can be very biased or possibly wrong when we try to use emotion as a way of knowing because it is really an assumption, not proven, not a fact. Such as when we judge someone based on first impressions. Sometimes we do not really know someone, even when we think we might know every fiber of their being and we definitely don't know someone unless we make the effort to get to know them.

Information Links of Philosophers

• Galileo Galilei <3

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/224058/Galileo
http://www.netplaces.com/philosophy/the-renaissance-period-leaving-scholasticism-behind/galileo-galilei.htm

• Bertrand Russell

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/russell/

• Confucius <3

 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/confucius/
http://www.iep.utm.edu/confuciu/

• Plato

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/464109/Plato

• Socrates

 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/551948/Socrates
http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/socr.htm

• Aristotle <3

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/
 http://www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/

• Avicenna

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/45755/Avicenna

• John Locke

http://www.iep.utm.edu/locke/

Banksy the Great

Banksy is a pseudonymous graffiti artist, painter, political activist and film director based in the United Kingdom. His artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.

I did a little research on Banksy and viewed some of his pieces. I rather like his dark humour, satirical works of art and epigrams. This is one of his quotes that stood out to me:


"We can't do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves."

— Banksy, Wall and Piece

 

I love this quote by Banksy for I do not support the ideologies of Capitalism (most of them) and it is quite humorous.

 

 Banksy once characterized graffiti as a type of underclass "revenge" or guerilla warfare that allows an individual to snatch away power, territory and glory from a bigger and better equipped enemy. His work has displayed a desire to mock centralised power, hoping that his work will show the public that although power does exist and works against you, that power is not terribly efficient and it can and should be deceived.

 

Banksy's works have dealt with an array of political and social themes, including anti-War, anti-capitalism, anti-fascism, anti-imperialism, anti-authoritarianism, anarchism, nihilism, and existentialism.

Although I like some of his ideas, I disagree with his views on anti-authoritarianism and anarchism.

A Summary of Luna S. Kristic

I am Luna S. Kristic and Marie Gabay The Logical Pagan. Two different persons  in one.

I know how to:

• Play Field Hockey, Cricket, Rugby, Football and Softball.
• Feel deeply while thinking and conversing rationally.
• Understand the many different perspectives.

I know that:

• Everything comes with a price.

My biases are:

• I believe that EVERYONE should have equal rights on the basis of religion, race, sexual orientation and gender. (This is not really a bias to me- your religious beliefs/practices should not affect another person or peoples who have no interest in it whatsoever.)
• I am a revolutionary- everything should be changed for the better whether or not some disagree.
• I believe that people are given too much choices-that's why we have so many problems-we try to please others instead of doing what needs to be done for the better of everyone.
• I am in support of there that there should be a separation of religious ideas/beliefs from the state. I think religious control leads to outrage, it is unfair and opinionated.
• Michelangelo and Galileo are brilliant.
• The only males that I like are my teammates/the bros and my family. The rest annoy me.
• My experiences.

Reflection On Whether I Am Tim Or Storm

I was thoroughly entertained by Tim Minchin's Storm the Animated Movie. I believe I am more like Tim. I know that people are living longer due to advances in technology, medicine and science, there is an increase in Life Expectancy in the modern world. More people are living longer due to these advances, and less people are dying before 40 due to ill health. A lot of pharmaceuticals are derived from natural remedies or plant extracts, such as antibiotics which are derived from fungi. I am like Tim in other ways, I believe in physics, matter and the big bang theory, and a lot in scientific facts. However I do agree with Storm in a sense that pharmaceutical companies are greedy and that there are SOME natural remedies that are better than what these companies put on the market. I do not believe that science has an explanation for everything that happens in our universe, some things cannot be explained. As for fortune telling, I don't really have an opinion on whether or not it is actually true and it depends on the type. It may be. I am a strong believer in knowledge and enlightenment, but I also believe in the supernatural to an extent. But I think that faith can blind people from seeing what is actually going on, I agree that faith can cause the denial of observations so that belief can be preserved and it can control what the population thinks. There is nothing wrong with having faith in a supreme being, each to his own. Most humans have the desire to believe and have hope in something- as for whether or not it may be true who knows? Faith is a controversial issue, and most are biased and opinionated when discussions about faith start. I am a strong believer in Science and more like Tim than Storm, but I will not dismiss that there is no supernatural or a deity(s). Who really knows?

Glossary For Theory Of Knowledge

Knowledge - Knowledge is facts, skills, information gained from enlightenment or through experience. Knowledge can also be the practical or theoretical understanding of a task or subject.

Cynicism - The term Cynicism is derived from a group of ancient Greek philosophers known as the Cynics who believed that people are motivated by self-interest and not for honourable or unselfish reasons or motives. Cynicism is this belief.

Skepticism - Skepticism is the theory that certain knowledge or truths is impossible or false.

 Skeptic- A Skeptic is a person inclined to question or doubt accepted opinions.

Relativism - Relativism is the belief that knowledge, truth and morality exist in relation to society, culture and/or a historical context and are not necessarily valid.

Relativist - A Relativist is a person who believes that knowledge, truth and morality exist in relation to society, culture and/or a historical context and are not necessarily valid.

Philosophy - Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered  an academic discipline.

Personal Knowledge- Gained from your experiences.

Shared Knowledge- It is obtained through gathered information, made collections and from multiple people.

Socrates Ideologies

Socrates was a Greek philosopher who was considered the "(Western) Father of Philosophy" and he lived around 469-399 B.C. I admire Socrates greatly, he was ahead of his time and a brilliant philosopher. One of my favourite quotes by Socrates is  "what I do not know I do not think I know". Socrates was saying he was very aware that he did not know many things, and that wrongdoings were committed due to a person's or people's unawareness or ignorance. I am not sure whether or not I agree with Socrates on the latter, I think I agree and disagree to an extent. People can be oblivious to doing wrong, while they may be very aware of their wrongdoing and still continue to be arrogant and sinister. It all depends on the situation where this quote is being applied to.
Most Athenians did not like Socrates, his philosophical ideologies went against everything they believed in. When Socrates was jailed and stood on trial he preached that the most important thing for families' loved ones was their soul/mental/emotional well being and not occupations and titles. That was a very bold and liberal statement, especially during that time period.  I agree with Socrates on this because a high-paying job does not ensure someone's happiness. Happiness comes from within a person. Socrates was a strong advocate for building oneself rather than focus on materialistic things and I know from personal experience that these materialistic things do not ensure one's happiness.