Is Meditation Dangerous?
Meditation can perfectly go hand in hand with warm and alive feelings. This may require some caution. Many things have been called ‘meditation.’ If you are sitting on a cushion with eyes closed, nobody knows what you are doing. It’s also difficult to talk about. Are you meditating in the way your Zen teacher intends Read the full article…
A.I. Will Be Singular
We tend to see human intelligence as what ‘intelligence’ is all about. Many humans each have intelligence. Of course, A.I. will not be bound by this. “If A.I. simulates human intelligence, is this then real intelligence, or only a simulation of intelligence?” This appears to be a merely philosophical question. It will soon be much Read the full article…
Transforming Stress into Challenge.
A challenge is something you can fight FOR. You can fight to achieve it. (Di)stress is the result of a fighting-AGAINST. Going from latter to former is a change of fight. When stress becomes negative, there is always a ‘fighting against’ involved. Some examples: A child has examination stress because it fears being punished for Read the full article…
Stress is about Deeper Meaning
Negative stress can be seen as the direct consequence of a lack of deeper meaning. Many people – including physicians – see stress as some kind of blob. To have or not to have… And then: to have it to a certain degree on a scale from nil to X. “Yesterday I had a lot Read the full article…
About Tolerance
One cannot be tolerant to something one doesn’t know. So first comes Listening. Otherwise ‘tolerance’ can be quite in-tolerant. “You must be tolerant.” is of course a paradox. Is tolerance then selective? It appears to be so. You could even define tolerance as being intolerant to intolerance. There is – at first sight – no Read the full article…
Do People Seek Negative Stress?
May stress be a major goal of ‘running the rat race’ rather than the result? According to statistics, almost everybody is ever more di-stressed, including kids and elderly people. So, it’s quite logical to look for causes. But what if stress – whether positive or negative – is ultimately the goal? Causes become means… Then Read the full article…
Double-Blind in the Balance
Double-blind studies are under siege and rightly so. Let’s heighten the standard. See also my scientific article: Serial Treatment Assumption Testing (STAT) Towards Better Evidence for Evidence-Based Medicine. A double-blind study compares a group of people undergoing an active medical treatment with a group that – apart from the therapeutic effect – receives an almost Read the full article…
82. ‘It’ will never work
People in search of ‘it’ or ‘he who does it’ to work for them: the picture exists already for thousands of years, maybe even very much longer. It’s about a shamanistic quality, the shaman being the one who mediates between people and the gods, his clientèle being people in search of ‘it’ to work for Read the full article…
81. The war on terrorism is fought in the heart
OK folks. Let’s face it. We are, at the dawn of the third millennium, living the Third World War. As in every other World War, there is of course an enemy. Or at least we think so. Do we? ◊◊◊ Yeah! It’s the war against terrorism! Or is it against terrorists? Should it not be Read the full article…
80. The Battling Sexes
Man, woman, and the eternal question: are we of the same species? The same world? The same universe? Is the so-called battle between the sexes really a ‘war of worlds’ between aliens? Or is it all an illusion? ◊◊◊ Illusion? ◊◊◊ If you ask me, ‘illusion’ is indeed a keyword in it all. This doesn’t Read the full article…
79. Sildenafil: more than a quack’s erection?
Sildenafil (known for instance as Viagra): who needs it? The real question is: does it work at all in physiologically enabling an erection? ◊◊◊ I don’t know. What I do know, is that nobody knows. ◊◊◊ Really. Nobody knows. Hasn’t it been tested then? Of course it has, but never properly! Let me explain. But Read the full article…
78. This can’t be real!
I’m sorry, but I’m also talking about you. ◊◊◊ The ‘place we humans live in’ seems to grow bigger and bigger at an enormous pace. It used to be only a tiny flat part of this globe called ‘earth’. Then it became bigger and bigger and rounder too. Then we soon found out we are Read the full article…
77. Of cause!
Patients often think that medical reasoning is mostly causal reasoning. Doctors often think so too. This is not the case. And that’s too bad, because it would make things so much easier… ◊◊◊ Still, we better don’t rely on wishful thinking. ◊◊◊ Causal reasoning is a myth that can easily be deconstructed. Therefore, we have Read the full article…
76. The curve of a woman
This Sticky is dedicated to all attractive women. Of course, the sticky-ness in this is meant platonically, but that may be profound… ◊◊◊ Sex-appeal (the subject of this text) is a mind game. Look at ‘suggestive clothing’. The sex-appeal lies in what is suggested rather than in what is shown. Now you may or may Read the full article…
75. Religion with no object
What’s in a name? Nothing. In some cases, even much less than nothing. ◊◊◊ In this world, many things are called ‘religion’ that clearly have nothing to do with what it can mean. Obvious: religion is not about believing that it will rain tomorrow (Is there a 20% chance? 60%?). Likewise, religion is not about Read the full article…
74. What’s in a book?
Believing in the bible, is not the same as believing in God. It’s believing in the ones who say the bible comes directly from God. Then the question is: why should anyone believe those guys? Because they have good marketing support? Because they have pointed ears? Because they believe in other guys who believe in Read the full article…
Open Religion = Poetry
Respect is due to all people, but not to anything just because it’s called ‘religion.’ Open religion = poetry. Let’s just say: religion = poetry. I’m not talking about words, rhythm and rhyme, although poetry of course can also be cast as such. It’s also much wider: the poetry of any art, the poetry of Read the full article…