I am not a stupid person. I am by no means brilliant, but I feel confident,
based on a fairly high level of education and life experience, that I am not
a complete moron. And yet, despite this, I have managed to do A LOT of VERY
dumb things in my relatively short lifetime.

In my effort to figure out exactly why I have made so many obvious mistakes
I have done what any self-respecting, post-WWII generation member would do:
I looked for someone else to blame. What I have concluded is that when I was
learning about the nature of the world around us I was the victim of a
massive conspiracy of self interest which led me to believe things that
turned out to be untrue and that prevented me from accumulating all the
information necessary to formulate an accurate 'worldview" from which I
could make sound decisions. In other words, I was very naïve.

What I have come up with during this painful process of "relearning" the way
things really are, are some of the many, seemingly undeniable, but usually
unstated, realities of American life that I have gleaned through the unique
and often trying experiences of my first thirty-three years on earth. The
knowledge of these "truths," though apparently readily available, was never
actually passed on to me and I was left to find them out the hard way: by
making poor decisions based on false assumptions about the nature of living.
Had someone had the courtesy of "letting me in" on these "dirty little
secrets" of our existence, I am quite sure that my first third of a century
would have been far less painful and much more productive. Wouldn't YOUR
life have been a lot easier had someone bothered to let you know that,
contrary to "popular" opinion..

This may very well be all that there is to life.
While it sure is nice to hope, there is absolutely no solid evidence of an afterlife. While Augusta National, Southern California/Florida, and the Playboy mansion do exist, "Heaven" very well may not. And while there are such things as the DMV, PMS, and the SAT, there may not really be a "Hell," either.
Whether there is an afterlife or not, the majority of American people ACT as if there is NOT.
This seems to be especially true among those who reside in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C.
There may very well not be a "God."
And if there is, there is little doubt that he (probably she) is a confused, insecure, manic-depressive with a very sick sense of humor.
Many of those Americans who believe most fervently in "organized religion"
also tend live in areas that have the greatest deficiencies when
it comes to education, dental care, and indoor plumbing.
There is no Santa Claus, Tooth fairy, or Easter bunny.
No matter how hard the Democratic Party tries to make it so, the world is NOT a "magical" place
where you get great gifts simply for living.
 There is no reliable indication that that ghosts, aliens, or fairies actually exist.
Though it does seem that Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Richard Simmons appear to have been at least partially real.
If real life were a "game,"
it would have inconsistent rules, arbitrary enforcement, ambiguous goals, and inaccurate scoring. It would also lose in the ratings to "Survivor" and "Temptation Island."
Things DON'T always turn out "for the best"
Whoever said that must have been the one in charge).
Everything probably does NOT happen for a reason/purpose.
This is simply a rationalization to help people deal with disappointment. However, there IS an explanation/reason for everything that happens, and it is usually the simplest one possible (except when it comes to figuring out the behavior of
women).
Those who complain the most in life usually get what they want.
Those who don't usually end up paying retail (especially if they grew up as a Catholic).
Any correlation between what you deserve out of life and what you get is almost purely coincidental
(unless you happen to be named Kennedy).
Good things happen quite often to a lot of bad people
(especially if they happen to be rich, famous, powerful, or very good looking).
Almost NOTHING happens exactly as you see, hear or read about it
(especially if what you see comes from MSNBC/CNN, what you hear is from NPR, and what you read is in the Washington Post).
The REAL truth of a story will usually not come out until well after the fact
and after most people have long stopped caring. Therefore, when it
comes to getting away with stuff, the successful delay of the disclosure of
wrongdoing is almost as effective as actually being innocent. Bill Clinton
apparently did his thesis at Georgetown on this principle.
Perception is almost ALWAYS more important than reality.
The way things APPEAR to be is FAR more significant than the way things REALLY are. This is the basis for most of the female beauty industry.
Don't believe anything you hear about a dead person 
They always get the benefit of the doubt, especially if they died "tragically" and were royalty or a Kennedy.
The nicest things anyone will ever say to you or do for you will likely come at your funeral
(unless you are rich, famous, powerful, or very good looking).
EVERYONE is going to die.
If we are lucky, we begin "dying" in our thirties. And how/when we die appears to be "determined" completely at random and could happen at any moment (unless you happen to be a Kennedy).
People always remember events in a positive light.
Even the terrible events. This seems to be especially true of family vacations.
It is perfectly "normal" for your family to completely "screwed up"
People tend to take out their frustrations on family members because, no mater what, they will always be family. consequently, if you are on speaking terms with, and don't despise, everyone in your family you are either very lucky or an orphan.
There are a LOT (far more than we will ever know or want to admit) REALLY weird people in the world.
We will never know the full truth of this because the fundamental mode of behavior is to hide what it is that others won't
like/understand. Some groups of people are particularly good at this (politicians, actors, clergy, talk show hosts).
What women want in a man drives most "adult" behavior.
This may be why much of the world seems to be driving around in circles, confused and in
desperate need of directions for which they are too afraid to ask.
If good-looking women were attracted to "good" men, there would be more "good" men
(or they would at least ACT that way). Fortunately for Bill Clinton, Tommy Lee, Puffy Combs, O.J. Simpson, and many of the Kennedys, this is most certainly NOT the case.
There is VERY little correlation between how much a woman likes or respects you
and how much she wants to sleep with you (unless you happen to be rich, famous, powerful, or very good looking).
When you screw up in life
do so with such magnitude that people won't believe that you actually did it, or it will be too painful for anyone to
remember/bring up and everyone will pretend that it never really happened. This appears to be particularly effective with regard to Presidential scandals, crimes by celebrities, horrible marriages, abortions, large debts,
and really bad sex.
Very few people really have ANY interest in determining why something went wrong and finding a solution.
Ideally, any disasters will be forgotten before blame can be assessed and someone can be held accountable. This seems
especially true for issues related to co-workers and, again, really bad sex (sometimes they are related).
Even though it appears that men do indeed want sex more than women do,
good sex is actually usually more enjoyable for the woman (unless she happened to grow up as a strict Catholic).
Most men will have sex with any woman to whom he is attracted
and who wants to have sex with him without requiring much effort or risk. Most women will only have sex with a man to whom she is very attracted, who she can sleep with and not feel like or be perceived as a "slut" for doing so, who is willing/able to jump through her required hoops first, and then only if her legs are shaven, it is not "that time of the month," she doesn't feel fat, she doesn't have a headache or the sniffles, she is wearing the right type of outfit/underwear, and she doesn't have to get up early the next day.
No matter how great the sex is for the man, it is RARELY worth all the crap that he has to put up with
to get it from a good looking woman (unless he happens to be rich, famous, powerful, very good looking, or staring in a
porno movie. Or that woman happens to be Charlize Theron).
The more you want something the less chance there is that you will get it,
and the less chance that you have of getting something the more you will tend to want it. This is especially true when it comes to sex, jobs, and having a flight be on time.
You will never get more than you ask for/demand from another person
(unless you are rich, famous, powerful, or very good-looking). You will probably get less.
While it is indeed advisable to try to live by the "Golden Rule,"
it is important to also realize that whatever someone is capable of doing onto others they are likely to be able to do on to you as well (especially once they stop sleeping with you). This is why second marriages are a bad idea and have an even higher divorce rate than first marriages.
The most natural human state is to be completely NAKED.
There is NO logical reason to think of nudity or a human body part as being "bad" (ugly maybe, bad no). Despite this, in a nation built on free speech, it is still considered punishable by law to even refer to certain body parts/functions
in a public arena. Yet it is still somehow far more acceptable for a woman to be seen in public dripping wet in a skimpy bikini than to be seen in large, baggy underwear.
The vast majority of America's population is MUCH uglier than those who are allowed on television.
Consequently (unless you are rich, famous, powerful, or very good-looking) your expectations for a mate, through no real fault of your own, will likely FAR exceed reality. This is why there are so many unmarried 35-40 year olds.
The basis of all romantic relationships is an "equality of power"
It is based on both parties perception of their partner's "value" in the "market place" being equal to or greater than their perception of their own "value" in the market place. When something happens to disrupt the "balance of
power" the relationship will usually spiral downward and eventually fail. This is a major reason why Hollywood marriages are more fragile than most.
ALL relationships will end in at least one of four ways:
1. slowly fading away without reason, climax, or fanfare
2. a painful farewell
3. both parties hating each other
4. death.
So make sure the rise is worth the inevitable fall!
It is HIGHLY unlikely that the friends you have in your youth will even have your phone number
(or use it if they do) when you are older. But don't worry about it because most of your friends were total jerks anyway.
If you REALLY like/admire someone,
you probably either don't know them very well, you are ignoring important information about them, or they are
currently having sex with you (or at least you want them to).
Very few people have any idea who THEY themselves REALLY are,
so the chances that you know the TRUE essence of someone else are VERY slim. Any even if you do find out what a person is REALLY like, they will likely HATE you for having "figured" them out and ruined their scam.
Most people are full of shit.
Even most so-called "experts" don't REALLY know what they are talking about. The goal of most people is to just make
you THINK that they know what they are talking about. This is especially true among business consultants, news-media pundits, and weathercasters.
In a world of six billion people, being "special" is highly unlikely.
After all, if you are a "one-in-a-million" individual, there are exactly 6,000 other living humans just like you. Sadly, there appears to be only one of Tiger Woods and Charlize Theron.
You CAN'T really be whatever you want to be.
The only people who actually believe that are those to whom it has already happened and they probably had very low expectations (such as being asked to give a commencement address).
The smartest and most beautiful woman in the entire world
consistently urinates, menstruates, defecates, and has probably faked an orgasm.
The smartest and most handsome man in the world
consistently urinates, defecates, masturbates, farts, burps, and goes completely limp almost immediately following orgasm.
50% of all marriages end in total failure, while the other 50% finally end in divorce.
The failure of marriage is the ultimate example of the "Peter Principle" at work. Sexual attraction is the basis for almost every couple coming together and yet it has almost NOTHING to do with marriage. Getting married to someone because you are attracted to him or her physically is kind of like becoming a teller in a bank because you really
like money.
You will likely find out FAR more about the person you dated/married during the breakup process
than you EVER could have while the relationship was on going (interestingly statistics show that marriages between people
who have broken up are more successful than those that haven't). However, it is HIGHLY unlikely that you will like what you find out, that the two of you will ever have a significant conversation about all that you have learned,
or that either of you will attempt to truly grow from the experience.
It is COMPLETELY illogical for there to be "The One"
person that is meant for everyone to find and spend their lives with (if this is really was the case, who ever is in charge of "fate" is doing a REALLY lousy job). Almost ALL of our relationships (especially the romantic ones) will be dictated FAR
more by timing and circumstance than by any other factor (like choice or fate). However, a man is still FAR more likely to get laid if he can somehow convince the woman that "fate" is somehow at work on them.
There is no such thing as "true love"
While our hormones have a PROFOUND self-interest to convince us otherwise (and often do a damn good job of it), there is probably no such thing as "true love." If there is it is extremely rare. As rare as the person who is STILL "in love" with someone after they are NO LONGER rich, famous, powerful, or very good-looking.
The mating/dating process is inherently one of almost total deceit.
If we knew EVERYTHING about a potential mate the moment we first met, no one would EVER get married or maybe even have sex (unless maybe it was with Tiger Woods or Charlize Theron).
In the vast majority of cases jealousy and envy are silly and unwarranted
because NO ONE has it as good as it may seem (except for Tiger Woods and most male porn stars). However, that WILL NOT stop you from wrongly being absolutely CONVINCED that the person who left you for another was the
greatest thing that ever happened to you and that all your problems would be solved if they just returned.
Getting exactly what you think that you want is very unlikely to make you happy
and just because everyone seems to want something doesn't mean that it is "good" for you. This is why really rich/famous/successful people are so often "unhappy." Once again, Tiger Woods appears to be a rare exception.
Your level of happiness seems to be determined more by your level of expectation
of what you SHOULD have rather than what your life ACTUALLY has. This is why mentally handicapped people usually seem pretty happy and Hollywood Stars often seem so miserable (interestingly, there seems to be little difference between the two groups when it comes to IQ).
A large number of people are "happier" when they DON'T get what they think they want
because they would rather have the "bitching rights" that go with having someone disappoint them. This aliment seems to be particularly prevalent among women in serious relationships.
The only person who REALLY cares about you is your mother.
Even if you are rich, famous, powerful, or very good-looking,person. The REALLY sad part is that it is probably not even her choice to care, and that she will likely do/say things to you that your worst enemy would not.
Most of those who do care about you secretly hope that you FAIL so that can feel better about themselves.
This seems to be especially true among siblings and between female "best friends."
The vast majority of people don't care at all about what happens to you.
Very few things in life REALLY matter.
It is HIGHLY unlikely that your grades in school, your first romantic heartbreak, or anything that happens to your hometown athletic team or on your favorite soap opera will come close to qualifying.
Being nervous is almost ALWAYS irrational and counterproductive
since very few things really make a big difference in the end, And yet, if you aren't at least a little nervous about an endeavor before you do it, it hardly seems worth doing.
People rarely do the "right" thing.
People tend to determine whether or not to do a "questionable" act based on whether they think that they will get caught and whether the risk is worth the potential reward, far more than if the act is actually "right" or
"wrong." This is another potential Bill Clinton thesis topic.
A person's ability to get away with breaking the rules
is directly proportional to how rich, famous, powerful, or good looking they are.
There is no such thing as a "common standard." Life is not fair and was never intended to be.
Loyalty is based on what people think a person might do for them in the future.
Not what people did in the past. So don't count on someone being loyal to you unless you have profound, well-established, leverage over them.
House pets are usually far more loyal/trustworthy than humans.
And usually humans treat them much better than they do other humans. Because cats are able to pull this off while providing almost nothing in return, they seem most likely to take over the universe when humans are finally
erased.
There is NO such thing as a truly selfless act.
There are acts that are more/less selfish than others, but even Mother Teresa did what she did partly because it made her feel good to do the "right" thing and because she thought that it would help get her into heaven. However, there is still no plausible explanation for some of the things that Michael Jackson has done.
We are ALL "whores" to some extent.
Everyone on earth would do something/anything for money, fame, power, sex that they would NEVER think
of doing otherwise. All that really separates us is our price and our preferred method of payment. Those whose behavior seems most dramatically affected by this principle include politicians, entertainers, criminal defense attorneys, and very good-looking women.
The nicer you are to people, the GREATER the chance that they will want nothing to do with you
Being nice is usually perceived as a sign of weakness (especially by people that you want to date), 
(Of course, this isn't true if you are rich, famous, powerful, or very good looking).
Humans are the only animal species that is afraid to admit that it is an animal
(and is embarrassed by its naked body/bodily functions). We are also the only animals that lie, cheat, steal, and kill our own when not needed for survival (even outside of Hollywood).
People are more likely to be a "bad" person if they are beautiful
(despite what Walt Disney has taught us).
And people who are ugly, tend to be "good".
Ironically, the best proof of this comes from the behavior of the residents of Hollywood themselves.
The vast majority of the population is made up of people who are NOT very intelligent,
fervently believe many things that have long ago been proven to be false, and don't have a clue about the way the world really works. And this is even after discounting those who work for the Government.
Despite what the liberal media tries to make us think,
just because more than 50% of people believe something, does NOT make that belief true/valid.
Likewise, just because less than 50% believe something does not make that position false/invalid. In fact, (much like beauty) it is often exactly the opposite. After all, to this day, over 50% of Americans claim to believe in
Creationism, a government conspiracy to cover up of the JFK assassination, that Bill Clinton was (not) impeached for having sex with an intern, and that Barbara Walters is a journalist.
Ignorance is TRULY blissful and most often self-induced.
The vast majority people will always tend to believe what ever it is that they WANTED to believe in the first place and have almost no interest in what the "truth" actually is. This is one of the many reasons that a pure Democracy will never work and why O.J. Simpson was acquitted.
Most people have a short attention span and don't care at all about "important issues."
Even a scandal involving the President getting oral sex from an intern and using a cigar as a sexual tool couldn't hold their interest for more than a few months. Reruns of Baywatch, Pro Wrestling, and "Jerry Springer" get FAR better television ratings than a Presidential press conference.
People will more likely "hate" you for proving that something they believe is incorrect/invalid
(especially if you are already friendly with them). They rarely "thank" you (like they should).
Popularity is FAR greater predictor of "success" than intelligence, hard work, and integrity.
In other words, real life is pretty much just like grade school.
Luck is a FAR greater predictor of "success" than talent.
This explains Larry King, Kathy Lee Gifford, Diane Sawyer, Susan Lucci, George W. Bush,
and Bill Clinton.
Extreme confidence/cockiness (even when irrational) is not always detrimental to "success,"
and extreme humility (even when justified/healthy) often IS such an obstacle to "success."
This seems to be especially true when it comes to romance, job interviews, and getting past security to
someplace you don't really belong.

-- Fear of success is usually FAR more debilitating and destructive than a
fear of failure. This seems to be especially true (at least for men) on the
golf course or in the bedroom.

-- IF you know someone long enough (usually it doesn't take that long), they
WILL lie to you. The more important the person is to you, the better chance
there is that this has/will happen. This is especially true if you have had
sex with that person.

-- Most people not only lie regularly, but also seem to expect you to
UNDERSTAND (if you catch them) that they were lying and to not be upset by
this or hold it against them. Lying has not only become accepted, it is now
often preferred.

-- Those who DO tell the truth the majority of the time do so probably
because they are lousy liars. Even to those who are sincere, telling the
truth is rarely beneficial because even when it REALLY matters and you NEED
to be trusted, those determining your truthfulness will likely be liars
themselves and assume that YOU are lying because THEY would lie under the
same circumstances.

-- Life appears to be far easier to endure (and even prosper in) when you
don't really give a damn about the outcome. Life often favors those who
don't care very much and punishes those who do. But, in the end, if you
DON'T care, it hardly seems worth all of the fuss.

-- No matter how bad things get (or may seem) you will have difficulty even
remembering 98% of the things that seem SO horrible at time (even if you
have a great memory and are trying to remember) and almost ALL of those
things won't make a damn bit of difference in the end.

-- Even though we are in a constant state of denial about the true nature of
man and our existence, life still somehow manages to be well worth living if
you let it be. This seems especially true if you keep in mind the realities
of the previous pages and set your expectations accordingly.

We are glad you joined us life

This is one that makes sense.
If 400,000,000 years ago a tumbling rock had changed the course of the stream that is now the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon might not exist.
A butterfly flapping its wings in China could cause a storm in Florida, if you think over a period of millions of years.
Theories like E=MC² don't seem to make sense, because they lack practical explanations

The Sun's life span is 10 billion years. Oldest living creature on earth, bacteria that was revived after being dormant for 250 million years. Giant Tortoises live 177 years, Fruit Flies live 37 days. Protozoans - Animals that split from a single parent. Do they have live spans? The oldest Human - 122 years old. (Jeanne Louise Calment, 1875 - 1997) Odds of living over 100 - 1 in 10,000 One fly, after 1 year/7 generations, will have spawned 5.6 trillion flies

We are learning only as far as we can see.
We're guessing about the size of the universe. Its just a guess.
We're guessing about whats in an atom. Its a lot of theories.
We seem to relate everything we see to our own life span.
For instance, rocks aren't alive because we can't see them move.
Our lives are too short to observe sun's explode or galaxies expand.
Our lives are too quick to observer lifeforms that evolve quicker than ours.
We are to small to see outside of our universe.
We are to big to see deep inside an atom.
We won't begin to learn about this universe until we are free of our bodies.
Only until we evolve into something like a spirit form, will we have the ability to truely explore this universe.

In the beginning, god was everything.
He existed as a union of both everything and nothing. A single entity. He existed in the form of thought.
God had no mass, energy or time as we know it. His universe was peace.
His was the universe that we would call Heaven.
This was a place where there was no movement, no beauty, no music and no pleasure.
And perfection is lonely. And god said to himself "Is this all that I am. Am I nothing more".
With one thought, god created everything we see.
With the power of a trillion suns, God exploded himself across the universe.
He created polarity.
He created mass, energy and time.
He created the living and non-living systems.
Within the non-living systems:
He encoded subsystems of memory for everything that occured to the form.
He left ways to decrypt the systems existance.
Within the living systems:
-He encoded little memory, ingnorance, the will to survive, to replicate and discover.
-He created the concepts of chaos and order, pain and pleasure, life and death.
-He divided himself into an infinite number of life forms.
-Each entity would view god from their own worlds.
-Each would record a different perspective, to help decide gods next creation.
And with these life forms that god could break the silence of perfection.
These polarities were designed to reform to recreate Gods heaven.
With everything recollected, anything that exists in the universe can be recreated.
God is learning from us. You are a part of him.
We are all the same, but we were born to be ignorant, and to be diverse.
We are here to teach God all of the unreasonable possibilites that can exist.
We are gods children, and we are here to entertain.
Given a life of immortality, given everything that exists, wouldn't you do the same thing?
--- Just a thought ----
Author: Jim Cutlar

1. The mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another.
2. Mental acceptance of and conviction in the truth.
3. Something believed or accepted as true, especially by a group of persons.
None of these beliefs are reasonable:
- Magic, Miracles, God, Heaven, Hell, Wizards, Demons, Ghosts, Spirits
They were created out of greed, and sold to an irrational population.
Most of us have asked ourselves, are any of these concepts logical?
We knew they weren't logical the first time we heard them.
We either trusted those who told us, or were brain washed into accepting them.
By selling these concepts, it gave people power.
These concepts give those that believe, the right to kill, kidnap, rape and steal.
Selling beliefs motivates the world today. It is, in itself, power.
Belief fuels the stock market, controls children. It gives suicide bombers hope.
It has always been about avoiding pain and seeking pleasure.
Through power, we gain comfort.
Perhaps, its long forgotten why these concepts were created. Maybe no one knows who or why they were conceptualized. The designers either knew, or they were insane.
90% of the world's population believes in the above concepts.
Most people either cannot reason, or choose not to reason, that all of the above concepts are seriously flawed.
The inability to reason is called insanity. To see the truth, a person must question all concepts.
Science seeks the truth. Religions, governments and individuals seek power.

Each cell is an individual life form.
Each cells has it's food and it's own parasites.
All of these cells are what makes up you, as a living oganism.
When you look at yourself in the mirror, you see them.
When you die, most of them become energy sources for their parasites.
Only a handful of these cells decide how you, as a living organism, behave.
I believe those cells is what our souls consists of.
I believe what motivates our souls is coded in the DNA.
The DNA would contain the instructions for how every life form must behave on this planet. If this is true, this world then would be acting as single living organism, which like us, consists of all its sub lifeforms.
God must exist in the smallest of things. He is not heavenly. He is small in size, but his numbers are infinitesimal.
The concept of a large life form consisting of smaller individual life forms should not be that difficult to grasp. If tis is the case, we all have a function that fills a need for the whole. The individual skin cell has no concept of the person that hosts it. It simply fulfills its need to survive, and our need to have skin.
I would think we are natures finest invention.

It's important that the scientifically literate person understands and accurately applies appropriate science concepts, principles, laws, and theories in interacting with society and the environment. Here are the concepts.
Change: The process of becoming different. It may involve several stages.
Interaction: When two or more things influence or affect each other.
Orderliness: The sequence which either exists in nature or is imposed through classification.
Organism: A living thing or something that was once alive.
Perception: The interpretation of sensory input by the brain.
Symmetry: A repetition of a pattern within some larger structure.
Force: A push or pull.
Quantification: Numbers can be used to convey important information.
Reproducibility: The repetition of a procedure should produce the same results if all other conditions are identical. It is a necessary characteristic of scientific experiments.
Cause and Effect: The belief that natural phenomena do not occur randomly. It enables predictions to be made.
The Chaos theory has caused some rethinking of this principle.
Predictability: Patterns can be identified in nature. From those patterns inferences can be made.
Conservation : An understanding of the finite nature of the world's resources, and an understanding of the necessity to treat those resources with prudence and economy, are underlying principles of conservation. In physics, the term 'conservation' also has a unique meaning, as in the conservation of energy.
Energy-matter: It is the interchangeable and dependent relationship between energy and matter.
Cycle: Certain events or conditions that repeat themselves
Model: A representation of a real structure, event, or class of events intended to facilitate a better understanding of abstract concepts or to allow scaling to a manageable size.
System: A set of interrelated parts
Field: A region of space which is influenced by some agent.
Population: A population is a group of organisms that share common characteristics.
Probability: The relative degree of certainty that can be assigned to certain events happening in a specified time interval or within a sequence of events.
Theory: A connected and internally consistent group of statements, equations, models, or a combination of these, which serves to explain a relatively large and diverse group of things and events.
Accuracy: Recognizing that there is uncertainty in measurement, this involves the correct use of significant figures.
Fundamental Entities: These are units of structure or function which are useful in explaining certain phenomena. Example: The cell is the basic unit of organic structure. The atom is the basic unit of molecular structure.
Invariance: This is a characteristic which stays constant even though other things may change. Example: Mass is conserved in a chemical reaction
Scale: A change in dimensions. This may affect other characteristics of a system.
Time-space: The mathematical framework in which it is convenient to describe objects and events.
Evolution: The series of changes that can be used to explain how something got to be the way it is or what it might become in the future. It is generally regarded as going from simple to complex.
Amplification: An increase in magnitude of some detectable phenomenon.
Equilibrium: The state in which there is no change on the macroscopic level and no net forces on the system.
Gradient: A gradient is a description of a pattern or variation. The description includes both the magnitude and the direction of the change (Light intensity decreases in a predictable manner as the distance from the light source increases).
Resonance: The action within one system which causes a similar action within another system.
Significance: The belief that certain differences exceed those that would be expected to be caused by chance alone
Validation: A belief that similar relationships obtained by two or more different methods reflect an accurate representation of the situation being investigated.
Entropy: The randomness, or disorder, in a collection of things. It can never decrease in a closed system. Example: When salt is dissolved in water, its particles are dispersed randomly

The measure of intelligence
Take a brain or any information processor, input information (knowledge), check the conclusions (output). The conclusions it reaches is a reflection of the quality of the processor. The information went in, was processed and conclusions were reached. These conclusions tell us about the quality of the processing. This is the essence of intelligence. A brain that has processed the information available to it in a modern civilization and comes to the conclusions that there is a personal, all knowing, all powerful and loving god behind the universe is inferior to a brain that comes to atheistic conclusions. The question of dolphin intelligence
Trapped in Plato's cave
If dolphins had an intelligence anywhere near ours, surely it would be hell, stuck in a kind of Plato's cave, with no hands to construct things, no tools, no telescopes, no microscopes, no ability to research and experiment with reality, no ability to explore the nature of reality, and consequently not knowing about the universe, atoms, etc.
Would a super intelligence be able to work it all out purely by thinking? Deduce the fact of atoms and valence bonding, molecules, evolution, genes, cells, neurons and synapses, the universe, the big bang, black holes, E=MC squared, etc? All is not knowable
I believe the universe is finite and therefore knowledge is finite, but all knowledge is not knowable because it would take a structure with more atoms than there are in the universe just to know the position of every atom in the universe. And then of course there is the Heisenberg uncertainty principle which states that it is not just practically, but fundamentally impossible to accurately know both the position and momentum of a particle. Because human intelligence is limited there is probably knowledge that is beyond the scope (understanding) of even the best human brains. Reason, instinct and intelligence
Rational reason is a sign of intelligence.
One of the factors that is supposed to distinguish man from other animals is the ability to reason. Instincts are genetically inherited programs, i.e. behavior patters shaped by natural selection. A spider builds its web on instinct. Even though a spiders' web is a fairly complex structure, a spider cannot be described as intelligent. Instinctual behavior cannot be described as intelligent. Whenever there is a conflict between reason and instinct, reason should override instinct. By behaving instinctually humans reduce themselves to the level of lower life forms. Territoriality and tribalism are primitive instincts that nowadays manifest themselves as nationalism and patriotism and which are often the root causes of wars. Emotions are instinctual. Breeding is instinctual.

PSYCHOLOGY AND PROGRAMS

I am a sum of programs.
You are born with a few basic, core genetic programs like heart beat, breath, suck nipple, cry, basic movements etc. The way the brain is structured enables it to write and update its own programs. These are learned programs. Most motor function programs are learned programs.
The other day I injured my wrist and had to brush my teeth with my left hand, which led to the realization that I do not have a 'brush my teeth with my left hand' program. This would be a waste of valuable brainspace. Of course this also applies to a myriad of other motor functions like handwriting etc.
Some programs are inherited, some are formed by experience, a few are latent and need to be triggered.
Most psychological problems are caused by faulty programs. A small fault can cause a program to get stuck in a loop resulting in an obsessive compulsive disorder. (O.C.D.)
A child molester might have a faulty sex program, a psychopath has a latent override his/her conscience program that is triggered by lack of affection in his/her childhood.
Addiction is a program similar to the thirst program. Frequent ingestion of the drug causes a chemical dependence which results in the writing of an irresistible desire ( addiction ) program. Speech
Probably the biggest and most complex program is the speech program. Most of our thinking is done in a language. If you could map a dissected brain you would probably be able to tell by the wiring pattern what language that person spoke (and many other character traits for example if that person was fascist or liberal, theist or atheist.)
The visual program is probably the next largest and complex program. Memes and Brain viruses (some info on memes) (more info on memes)
A brain virus is a meme complex that has it own self replicating instructions and has a detrimental effect on brain performance, much like a computer virus has its' own self replicating instructions and has an negative effect on computer performance. Religion is a type of brain virus, it reduces the performance of the brain.
People who do not believe in evolution are suffering from religious virus brain damage. (for an example of R.V. brain damage check out the creation science. website) The Inquisitions are another classic example of the ill effects of a religious brain virus. It caused mass superstition and paranoia resulting in the gruesome murder of millions of people. Traditions are brain viruses. An example of the ill effects of a tradition virus is the brutal removal of millions of women's clitoris in northern Africa and the Middle East. Some differences between a computer and a brain.
Obviously the most noticeable difference between human thinking and computer information processing is human consciousness, awareness of self, awareness of ones thoughts.
Structural differences
In a computer there is a clear distinction between hardware and software. Microchip wiring is fixed. Programs are stored in the hard drive.
In the brain on the other hand the wiring is flexible and constantly changing. Experiences actually change the wiring patterns of the brain. Programs are in the wiring pattern (neural networks). Brains write, install and update their own programs. Dreams
The organic equivalent of defrag?
The sorting and refiling of short term memories into long term memories.
I believe that we have some sort of sense extrapolation program. If you are woken during this refiling process, these often unconnected memories pop into your consciousness, this is when the sense extrapolation application kicks in and concocts a story that more or less makes sense out of these unconnected memories. MEMORY
Memory is the most important function of thinking. When thinking about what a thought is, think first about what memory is. What is a memory? It has to be a stored pattern. It occupies space.
Without memory, thinking cannot take place. Conception requires memory. Because we do not receive information in whole pictures instantaneously, but rather in a steady stream through time, the beginning needs to be remembered in order to conceive the whole picture. This is a very short term memory function. Without this ultra short term memory a word would vanish the instant you received it and you could not link it to the next word. This even applies to the syllables of a word. Memory can be divided into 4 basic functions.
1. The reception. (receiving the information)
2. The placing into storage of the information and maybe some kind of address function, but then you would need to remember the address and that would also require an address and so on ad infinitum . Memories are interlinked so one memory can trigger another. The number of links each memory has to other memories is probably high enough that each memory is only a couple of links away from every other memory. This system doesn't require addressing, thus doing away with that type of filing system. This system also has self organizing properties, the more we use a memory the more linked it becomes the easier and quicker it is to retrieve. Links fade over time, recalling reinforces the links, thus little used less important for our day to day functioning, memories fade away, making space for new more usefull memories. This process is not intellectually controlled, so we trend to store a lot of trivial stuff and lose intellectually important, but not often used stuff.
3. The actual storage.
Computers store memory in a one dimentional binary stream whereas organic memories store the information as three dimentional patterns.
4. The recalling from storage.
Any one or more of these can malfunction. I know what the word 'word' means. I know what the word 'means' means. The word 'memory' is stored in my memory. When speaking a sentence every word has to be recalled from memory. How does your brain know where to search for that word considering that it does not know the word until it finds the word? Cry wolf (only an idiot completely trusts his memory)
Not only have I completely forgotten important things, or my memory has completely distorted things but I have remembered things that never actually happened.
You can read something and the memory can slowly fade from consciousness but still be floating around only to pop up later to be perceived as an original thought. Duplication?
Maybe some or most of our memories are stored at various locations. (many copies) These parallel memories would reinforce each other and it would speed up recall. A malfunction is less likely. Maybe every time we recall a memory another copy is made. Forgetfulness
Because our brains are limited, forgetfulness is a vital brain function. One of the ways we forget is if a memory is not recalled it tends to fade away. The path gets overgrown, the groove fills in. A self organizing system of forgetfulness.
If we remembered every detail of every situation our memories would soon be filled to capacity. Memory compression
Memory is not like a photograph or a video, we only remember some details of a scene the rest is approximately filled in on recall. No wasted space
It is often stated (usually by mystics) that we use only 10% of our brain capacity. Maybe only 10% is used for conscious thinking but the rest does certainly not lie idle. As a thought experiment think about removing 90% of the brain, any 90% in as little sections as desired, right down to individual neurons. Do you really think this would not affect the performance of the brain? Why would our brains have evolved to their present size if only 10% was used? A lot of brain space and energy is used up on our senses and related skills like speaking. A complex thought can be transferred into a complex pattern of pressure waves (sound) that you can pick up with your vibration sensors (ears) and decipher. This is obviously a very complicated operation needing a lot of neurons. A sound wave has a frequency and an amplitude. A particular sound like a word or a dog barking will have a pattern of changing frequencies and amplitudes. Every sound we recognize is stored in our memories as a pattern of changing frequencies and amplitudes. Not only do we recognize probably millions of sounds but we can make our own sounds. So the sound and the instructions to manipulate our voice boxes to reproduce that sound have to be stored, and stored in such a manner that they can be almost instantly recalled. Obviously a lot of brain space is used.
Imagine a Martian scientist observing Homo Sapiens having a discussion. (It could be about the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics, black holes, point singularities, infinity etc., or it could about the weather ) He would detect complex sonic vibrations coming from their mouths. Their thoughts are being converted into sound waves. To know what is going on he would have to decode those vibrations. A very complex task.
Seeing, (converting a certain spectrum of electromagnetic waves into colour) also requires the use of probably billions of neurons.
Every colour, shape, object, substance, landscape etc., that we recognize is stored in our brains. Again a massive amount of brain space. THOUGHTS ON LIFE
"Life results from the nonrandom survival of randomly varying replicators" Quote from Richard Dawkins, ( a prime example of a high quality organic thinking machine.)
"Life is a cancer of matter." Quote from I don't know who.
Life, we take in raw materials, give of waste products and spread our genes. Have a nice day!
Life is a losing struggle against entropy and atrophy. Atrophy is biological entropy. We always lose. The future is death. Death comes in two ways, slowly increasing atrophy (disease and senility) until you are so atrophied that you stop functioning, or sudden drastic atrophy normally caused by external circumstances like a car crash. Keeping fit is a battle against atrophy. Humans start atrophying after about twenty five years but the signs really become noticeable at about thirty five to forty years. If you look in the mirror and see that your skin is wrinkling, you know that it is deteriorating and so are all your other organs including your brain. Death (been there done that!
I don't understand what all the mystery surrounding death is about.
I did not exist before I was born, and I won't exist after I die. The two states are the same. I have been dead for + - thirteen billion years. I know what it is like to be dead.
Life! You don't exist, then you exist, then you don't exist. Evolution stinks ("Mother Nature is a whore." Curt Corbain)
The mess that the world is in with war, genocide, torture, military spending, greed, corruption, hunger, starvation, disease, insanity, genetical deformities, rape, over population, pollution, poverty or even the meaningless 'live to work' life of a 9 to 5 existence, is all a consequence of evolution. Unfortunately this is the only way it could be, life has to be a struggle. The struggle is the evolutionary pressure. The system of evolution stinks, but without it there would be no life, no intelligence, no consciousness and the universe would not be aware of its existence.
I don't blame individuals for the horrific deeds that they commit, I blame nature. Stage two evolution
Up till now evolution has been a process of random mutations subject to blind natural selection. A non-intelligent system which required flukes (the rare random mutations that actually improve the chances of survival) to progress. Billions of years and millions of flukes have resulted in an intelligence high enough to actually consciously/intelligently influence evolution.
Second stage evolution is evolution with intelligence behind it. Technological development is second stage evolution. It is much faster than first stage, survival of the fittest, blind natural selection evolution. Just look at the current pace of computer development. Genetical engineering could vastly improve Homo Sapiens intelligence, but in the end I believe non organic intelligence will prove to be superior because it can evolve far quicker (no generations) and it has the ability of adding on to, and/or improving its current systems. It is far more precise and reliable, and it is not so sensitive to the environment.
Microchips have many advantages over organic circuitry; there is no disease, no death and no suffering. Intelligence will be able to function in much harsher environments; no food or air is needed, a much wider operating temperature range, a much longer life span. (Speed will not be so important when exploring the universe. It could switch of for millions of years.)
In the big picture the preservation of Homo Sapiens is not significant. The preservation of intelligence is, no matter what form it is.
One should see life and man as merely a stepping stone in the evolution of intelligence. True AI
When a computer asked "What am I? Where do I come from?"
I believe that computers that are self aware are just around the corner. Love
As life got more and more complex so the gestation period got longer and more debilitating. It also took longer for the offspring to become self sufficient. In this period of vulnerability, the chances of survival were greatly increased if the male hung around. A coupling mechanism evolved. In Homo Sapiens consciousness this mechanism is called love. Love is a behavior pattern that has evolved (mutation and natural selection) . It is chemically activated. Love is the glue that keeps a couple together thereby vastly improving their offspring's chances of survival. Non loving pre-humans died out.
Love is a genetically evolved, chemically activated brain state, that leads to behaviour that increases the survival rate of the offspring of higher order mammals. On Morals
The core of morals should lie in liking oneself. If you don't like certain behaviors in other people you cannot behave like that, if your are going to like yourself. I dislike liars, cheats, thieves, rapists, murderers, etc. therefore I cannot be a liar, etc. myself. If you don't like hypocrites then you must not be one yourself.
Any behavior that does no harm to others is not immoral. Parenting
The only rational reason to have children is if you find life to be so absolutely fantastic that you want to create more of it.
Can you guaranty that your future child will be happy? Nothing is a bigger waste of time than rearing children who grow up to be unhappy. The last thing this planet needs is more messed up people.
Most messed up children are caused by messed up parents.
It seems to me that the root cause of most of the psychologically messed up people on this planet is defective bond syndrome. Defective bond syndrome needs to be made more prominent in the collective consciousness of society. Any future parents need to know about this syndrome, the causes, the symptoms and the long term effects. Mother you had me I never had you.
You decide to have a child, a child does not decide to be born, this makes you 100% responsible for that child's well being. Parents who think that their children owe them because they had them and provided for them, shouldn't have had children. If you don't consider the child's needs before your own, you shouldn't have had children. A parents first priority should be the happiness of their child, if they don't consider their childs happiness before their own, they should not have had children. Children do not owe their parents anything, parents decide to have children, children don't decide to be born. Breeding
Breeding is a primitive instinct.
Planet Earth is not only going to experience overpopulation in the future, it is overpopulated now. Symptoms of overpopulation are mass starvation, wars, deforestation, pollution, acid rain, the hole in the ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, soil erosion, squatter slums, rampant crime, stress, etc., etc.
Any couple who have more than two children are guilty of compounding a serious problem.
A couple having a child now should realize that when that child reaches fifty there could be up to ten billion people trying to live on this planet. There will be a shortage of resources like land, water, food, clean air, most metals and fuels. Wars will be fought over these resources. Rain forests will have disappeared. There will be catastrophic pollution and poverty. Genetic greed
There is a instinctual need to spread ones' genes, however because of the overpopulated state of this planet it should be viewed as genetically greedy and morally wrong for a person to have more than one child, i.e. two children per couple. Genetic suicide (Be the ultimate rebel)
Rebel against nature, rebel against your genes, step above your primitive instincts, commit genetic suicide, don't breed. This planet is already way overpopulated. Go to Religion and Atheism

Protestant1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 5. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 6. Thou shalt not kill. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8. Thou shalt not steal. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.	King James Bible - Hebrew1. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 2. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make un to thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; And showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments. 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. 4. Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the sabbath in honour of the Lord thy God; on it thou shalt not do any work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 5. Honour thy father and thy mother; in order that thy days may be prolonged upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 6. Thou shalt not kill. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8. Thou shalt not steal. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. Bloch Publishing Company (1922)	Catholic1. I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. 2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. 3. Remember thou keep the Sabbath Day. 4. Honor thy Father and thy Mother. 5. Thou shalt not kill. 6. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 7. Thou shalt not steal. 8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods. Peter Gasparri, "Catholic Catechism" (1932)
Ex. 20: The First Tables of Stone (smashed by Moses)1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. 2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. 3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 5. Honor your father and your mother. 6. You shall not kill. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10. You shall not covet. Adapted from Microsoft Bookshelf 98	Ex.34: The Second Tables of Stone (the words that were on the first)1. Thou shalt worship no other god (For the Lord is a jealous god). 2. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. 3. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep in the month when the ear is on the corn. 4. All the first-born are mine. 5. Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh thou shalt rest. 6. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, even of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the feast of in gathering at the year's end. 7. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. 8. The fat of my feast shall not remain all night until the morning. 9. The first of the first fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. 10. Thou shalt not see the a kid in its mother's milk. K.Budde, History of Ancient Hebrew Literature	Ten Punishments 1. Ex. 22:20: He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed. 2. Lev. 24:16: And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death. 3. Ex. 31:15: Whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 4. Ex. 21:15: He that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. 5. Ex. 21:17: He that curseth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death. 6. Ex. 22:19: Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be putto death. 7. Lev. 20:13: If a man lie with mankind, as he lieth with a w-man, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. 8. Lev. 20:10: And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be putto death. 9. Mark 16:16: He that believeth not, shall be damned. 10. Mal. 2:1-4: And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heartto give glory to my name,...behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces. Jyoti Shankar, Bubbles Online Magazine

In 2000 – 2,403,351 died, that's 6,500 a day.
The Average Life Expectancy was 76.9 years.
Leading Causes of Death:1. Heart Disease
2. Cancer
3. Stroke
4. Lower Respiratory Diseases
5. Accidents
6. Diabètes
7. Flu 8. Alzheimers
9. Kidney Disease