The word “pundit” comes into its contemporary English usage from Sanskrit via the British Raj in colonial India.  According to the Wikipedia, “the term originates from the Sanskrit term pandit, meaning “knowledge owner” or “learned man”. It refers to someone who is erudite in various subjects…”

We refer to a pundit as someone who self-identifies as wise or knowledgeable and who shares his or her wisdom and knowledge with the world through newspaper columns, blogs, podcasts, or broadcast commentaries.  The Wikipedia article lists Al Franken, Bill Maher, Bill O’Reilly, Geraldo Rivera, Greta Van Susteren, Lou Dobbs, Rosie O’Donnell, and Rush Limbaugh as examples of pundits, which doesn’t make me want to trust pundits.

Anyway, the pundits, whoever they are, say that next year’s presidential election is most likely to pit the current incumbent against the most recent previous incumbent.  Not that we should believe all the pundits say, but if what they say is right, I have it easy.  My vote is already decided. No to both. Never the one and never the other. Continue reading →

I suppose it is a variation on the tree falling in a forest question, and I have to ask it of myself:  If I don’t post a photo of it on social media, is the sunrise still beautiful?  If you follow me on social media, you know that many of my posts consist of various photos of the sun rising over our neighborhood when I am out for a morning walk.  The method behind my sunrise madness has something to do with providing an alternative to secondhand opinions left and right or Baby Boom nostalgia (yes, I remember when phones had dials and Mick Jagger was young).

But I also post those morning photos because the sunrises really are beautiful and the extrovert in me needs to let somebody know.

I thought I showed remarkable restraint when I did not post a photo of the sunrise earlier this week.  Not as spectacular as some, nevertheless it was beautiful, and, besides, now I get to post it here.  It would have been a beautiful sunrise even if I never posted a photo of it.

You can google the tree in the forest question and find more answers than you want. Scientists tend toward the “yes” side of things, so long as they can define “sound,” and philosophers seem to gravitate toward “maybe.” Continue reading →

First an apology to any non-Baby Boom readers who don’t recognize Sgt. Joe Friday of the LAPD or my play on his famous line.

In fact, Sgt. Friday asked for “Just the facts, Ma’am” and in every episode of the 50s TV show Dragnet he used those facts to prove who dunnit, whatever it was.

I thought of Dragnet and just the facts when I saw an ad for a set of free videos offered by a well-known Christian organization. We were encouraged to accept the offer and “get equipped with the facts and history that prove the Bible is true.”

Apparently, the presenter in the video series is a former police detective who uses his investigative skills to “prove” the truth of the Bible. Except that you can’t. Facts don’t prove the truth of the Bible. You know, that stuff about the conviction of things not seen.

Apologetics is a branch of theology that seeks to defend and explain Christian faith and its basic tenets as reasonable and reliable. Early apologists include Origen and Tertullian, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Augustine of Hippo. We might add C.S. Lewis, R.C. Sproul and Tim Keller from our time to the list. Continue reading →

This time of year, I am out for a morning walk about the same time the sun comes up.  The school kids are out to catch the bus.  There are a couple of buses that rumble through the neighborhood – it looks like one picking up the elementary-age students and another for the middle and high school kids.  The buses make several stops and when they do, their red lights begin to flash and the stop sign arm pops out.

No one likes following a school bus with its stops and flashing red lights. If you’re on your way to work and behind a school bus, it might delay your arrival by, who knows? – two minutes.

Earlier this week I was out for my morning walk when a school bus pulled up to the stop sign at Bear Creek Pass and Kodiak Trail.  The bus turned left on Kodiak Trail, normally the fastest way out of the development. The pickup truck behind the bus, however, made a short stop at the intersection and accelerated quickly as it headed straight down Bear Creek Pass. He was betting he could beat the bus. Continue reading →

Malaria parasite infecting a red blood cell (From Word and Deed)

We think all the time.  One study says we have 6.5 thoughts per minute or about 6,000 per waking day. I can’t keep track of all my thoughts, and that is probably a good thing. While I forget most of my thoughts, some of those I remember seem to fall into the “oh yeah” category – I need to remember to lock the front door before we go to bed, it’s time to have the car’s oil changed, I told my friend I’d be praying for him.  Other thoughts may have to do with processing what I’ve just seen or heard – really, they’re putting black siding on the new house down the street (they really are, and I find it disorienting), she said she’s thinking of quitting her job, what a beautiful sunrise.  Sometimes we just think about petty desires of all kinds, fantasized scenarios of glory or shame, or a shopping or “to do” list.

My thoughts seem to come and go and it is a good thing that I forget well over 5,000 thoughts per day.

Thinking, however, is more than just a collection of the random thoughts that flit in and out of our minds 6.5 times per minute.  Thinking is a particularly human act, one that finally cannot be replaced by algorithms and a digital digest of data. Continue reading →