Category: Education

Learning and conventional education problems and solutions.

Science vs Policy

On By Pamala CliftIn Education, SocietyLeave a comment

For those of us who have worked with science or scientists its amazing to think that people take such a religious zealousness over this insane dogma.

Science Dogma

Science is made up of people. People who work hard to get noticed, gain material wealth and just try to survive. The construct of science now is: I will hire you or give you funding if you can prove my theory and make my product sell, or validate me. Gone are the days of “I wonder if I can make this happen or solve this problem.” Huge labs with many people working only on parts of someone’s project, they don’t even know what the final goal is, “Just do your pipets.”

Then you hear of Theranos blood test. So many levels of hidden truths, of taking advantage of those who do not understand but accept the “expert” as being GOD. We all can’t know ALL. We specialize in our own little world and rely on marketing to tell us the truth. OMG, did you just hear what I said? Marketing is truth… (cries in her hands).

As I have watched the internet, “SEE Me, SEE me” mentality, which seems to be all that is valued anymore, I am horrified. How loud shouting, “I am the best. I am the expert. Buy from me.” Is considered right? Your value is now how many views you have or LIKEs. Function is no longer a component of success, noise is.

All that is obviously a sad state of affairs that anyone with more than one generational perspective could tell you. What I want to address is Science vs Policy.

We have this thing saying, “It’s based on Science”. Let me review science. Science is the slow observational collection of data, more data and still more data. Then it is the horrific puzzling out of that data to see if we can find any patterns or rhyme and reasons from it. Science is hindsight! Science is AFTER the facts have been observed. The proper analysis needs to be done, which unfortunately takes time.

Policies are for the future, the forward component, based on science data, which should have been given that horrible component of Time needed for analysis. BUT we don’t have time and are forced to use value-based conjectures. Let me give you an example…

Well I know from accumulated experiments that every time I walk down the hall I trip at the same place… (that is the data. I can add dates and times, what I was wearing, who I was with etc. All this is data) .

So what to do about that data going forward. The policy makers then create “the policy” and chooses according to their values. “Whatever should we do with this data going forward?” We could…

1. Remove the rug

2. Goose step so my feet are high enough that I don’t trip

3. Get glasses

4. Change to a flatter rug.

5. Tape the rug down.

6. Remodel the house and remove the hall.

7. Buy a new house.

8. Kill the cat.

The list can go on… ALL of these options are based on the data of me tripping at that spot. So the government picks one of these value-based solutions and claims THAT is the answer based on science, which is the hindsight of collected data. All of the above options have equal validity because the Time component of data analysis is not available.

So the policy makers who believe no good emergency can be left unmaximinzed say, “Hey, this huge company can make money if we say it is this… and Bam, that selection is forced down throats with the marketing shouts. “Buy a new house this one is dangerous. You can’t argue with us, its based on science!”

The reality might just have been the toe of your slipper catches the carpet. Nothing to do with the house or the cat, but someone has made FORWARD policy decisions based on science.

It is fun actually not to know everything. I spend my life exploring endless thought processes and the psychology of the internet. The internet has gone sideways and I can not foresee a way to backtrack.

Critical thinking has been shouted down.

So following suit… Listen to me! I’m the expert. Stop believing everything you hear!

He he…Enjoy the journey!

Hugs, Pam

BurnOut Millennials

On By Pamala CliftIn Business, Education, Interpersonal Relationships, Philosopher comments on RealityLeave a comment

It is impossible. Don’t believe what you’ve been told. The old ways do not work and the new ways are wrong!

From one baby boomer to the millennials, I have so much sympathy for the position you are in. There is no way to make your life feel right as long as you are trying to duplicate your parents vision. A new culture needs to be created. It will be messy, but if you are going to survive, a new game with meaning needs to be created.

College is not working. Starting life with burdening debt because you have been handed the idea that college equals a satisfactory life, is as much a fairytale as The Three Bears. May I suggest maybe shadowing apprenticeships with online tutors. “Doing” will be more functional than the ancient “Answering A, B, or C” question components.

As a divorced female who was married under the “Fred Flintstone mentality of “men rule”, then left with nothing,” l think I have a glimmer of what you’re suffering. The goal to just survive seems elusive. Where can you live that doesn’t cost more than what you make in service jobs? Service jobs are devalued, but service is to humanity and so our humanity is being devalued!

It is very much like the servitude that the miners had working all the time and owing more to the company store than they made. You are imprisoned! There is no time for you, and when there is a hope of seeing light the game shifts and your expertise has evaporated.

Jobs are less and less human oriented and algorithms are replacing jobs. We have lost humanity! We have devalued mothers. (The essential component for the species to survive) in favor of contributing to this “make money” illusion of value. Get rid of that component first! Money is an illusion (proven by all the blockchain currencies out there).

Since my experience (out of order for the time) was a female in computing I have experienced the social media evolution from the beginning. From the first instant communication programs of Kermit to the mess of the competing “Look at me” apps we have today, they are isolating, not socializing and are again just another illusion.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for stories. Stories are what give life purpose. All cultural stories are illusions, we simply need to create our own and not buy into those Illusions handed to us by those who benefit from our conversion.

I remember when another Agile project manager set me aside and walked me through the question, “What is important in your life?” We made a list. Then he had me list what I was doing with my time. (The one and only nonnegotiable component of existence.) Was the life I was living in harmony with what I thought important? Boy was that an eye opener!

I had been catering and assisting with other people’s goals and ideas thinking that somewhere along the line I would get recognized. (No one mentors any more.) It’s all about “Me”, and since that target is always moving, having helpers is necessary. The best you can do is #2. There is no way being the number two dog in an organization will get you to your goal. It will be their goal.

I can see the evolution that has taken place and society’s shift down the rabbit hole. I have been written off in the current society, but that’s ok…I have written off society.

I now live in my own world of value. Got a minimum income and live with a $300 mortgage, but that was both a miracle and a multi-year project to create, allowing me to ignore most of the societal illusions.

Millennials get rid of your burn outs; make your lists, and create that society that allows you to thrive. Don’t let them force you into misery.

Sorry I won’t be around to help but you have my best wishes for an impactful journey!

Hugs, Pam

Still with Climate Change?

On By Pamala CliftIn Education, Philosopher comments on Reality, SocietyLeave a comment
A part of a universal system

Scientific provability… I don’t know how many of you have actually done a scientific-method experiment, but it requires first to make a hypothesis, then to create a control group and change one item in the experimental group, run the experiments exactly and compare the results to validate your hypothesis.

Someone please show me the control group for the other earth, where there are no human carbon emissions. This is the Only way you can claim it is scientifically proven. Of course, it should be replicate-able by your peer group without fail to become fact.

The social media that keeps saying “98% of scientists agree”, should be a red flag right there that this is gossip not fact. If you put any hundred scientists in a room you will never get that ratio, even if the consensus was only that “The sky is blue.” Scientists are people and people just don’t agree like that. Now if they wanted to have a measure of believability, they should have claimed maybe 68%.

Does that make me an idiot that wants to trash the planet? No, I’m old. I’ve watched climate through these last few score of years, from multiple locations. Fact, climate changes. It changes in yearly cycles, in decade cycles, in million year cycles, etc.

Our science is the best it’s ever been. Yes, and no. We have more tools than ever, but we still can only fractionally measure only a few components with any degree that allows us predictability. (Unless research is paid for by a special interest group)

Predictability is the point here. We are pretty good at saying “when we do this, that happens” After we have done the experiment many times. But, to predict any hurricane’s path, even with our best guess we often fail, simply because we do not have all the components.

I try to be kind when yelled at by those that quote things as final and absolute. (As a philosopher there are no absolutes… ) Did you take into account the fungi rally going on underground? Or the shifting magnetic poles? Our place in the universe and it’s activities? Do we measure every point on the globe and average each day? Or are our measurements only taken mostly in the northern hemisphere next to urban areas? Data is only as good as the instrument used, the manner in which it is collected, the calculations and Spin the research is finally presented as and if it is replica-table. So very many variables.

Does that give us a reason to trash the planet? No! I hate the “rape for profit” mentality that this current culture processes. I hate single use plastic bottles in our oceans. No one should think their actions don’t have impact.

I’m all for making our use of things recyclable, and intelligent use of our resources, but please don’t let the propaganda that “They know all” be your influencer.

What does this have to do with human/computer interface psychology? We get a good portion of our information from online, and the wonderful diversity of opinions, but if we do not think things through and use number-of-likes vs critical thinking, we will all go down the toilet together…at least 98% of us. Lol

Enjoy the journey!

Hugs,

Pam

Define Education?

On By Pamala CliftIn EducationLeave a comment

We are in the dark!

I remember when I was young how totally excited I was to start another year of school! The smell of new paper, pens, pencils and the constant questions to answer!

There is no more of that. Education is in the DARK! No more pondering or questions. You now are only allowed to regurgitate. Sit there and repeat back what someone told you was fact. Then you are patted on your head and told you’re a good person. Repeat back facts the very facts that in 20 years won’t be facts. Repeat them on tests, in writing assignments and say them again… and again… and drone on and on at accepting someone else’s thoughts. NOT yours… you are not to have thoughts.

I picked up a grammar school science book from back in my day. The first few pages I scanned, again filled me with excitement. Not because it taught me anything, but because it asked me questions? It gave me something to do. “Go lie on your stomach in your yard and list all the things you SEE, HEAR, SMELL, TOUCH, and possibly see something you could taste or lick, like water off the grass.” That is exciting! Mostly because no one can tell me that I didn’t see, hear, smell, or touch those things. They were mine to own. My own observations. My own thoughts. I am valuable because I can perceive and share with others what I have experienced.

Now the drones are not allowed to have experiences. Only those we have labeled Great are allowed to state facts. They will never know what I saw while on my belly in my yard… why am I not valuable for MY observations, just as well as they are with theirs? That seems to be education’s purpose now, to remove individual validity.

Proof of validity is only accepted as numbers! Numbers? Really? Numbers are a human language created by humans to try to convince others of the observations they experienced. “I counted 24 sulfate on the slide.” that is a fact. Oh, Wait… maybe that is a separate drop, maybe it is 25? Or those clustered together might just be one droplet? So maybe it is 19?

Aww but we finally make a decision that the count on the slide is 22. Ta Da! Now THAT is a FACT! However, experiential observation and a human’s interpretation were just as much involved as “The sun was shining most of the day.”

A single person’s rendition of an experience, no matter how well articulated is not a fact. It is just anecdotal and dismissed. “You didn’t see that!”, There is no book or PhD that will collaborate your observations, hence you are constantly told of your invalidity.

Now THAT is Education? If you buy that…. 

You are of value. Your observations are valid. Now putting those observations in an unbiased story that you recognize as YOUR story is the purpose of life. Understanding what you have observed and experienced in multiple contexts, that is education.

Enjoy the journey.

Hugs, Pam

(The Roadside Philosopher)

Can’t Answer a Question not Asked!

On By Pamala CliftIn EducationLeave a comment

In and Out…

Education has taken all the fun out of learning.

I personally don’t think I have left the four year old stage of asking Why? How Come? and What if? I love questions.

But education thinks that they should give you the questions and you are supposed to regurgitate the answers for them on a test and WAA LAA… You have now been educated.

Nothing is retained.  Nothing is learned.  But some one, somewhere now has a metric they feel is valid and can claim that now you know something. Wrong! You know how many so called tests you have taken after a hard cramming session the night before that are forgotten right after the test? I would be surprised if you said less than 90%.

Having your own question, that you find the answer to, has a wonderful endorphin effect .

The problem is no one wants to answer the questions YOU have. They want you to respond to their questions. Which of course has nothing to do with making life any more thrilling for you.

Education has to learn to instill questions. Get the “whys?” back in the classroom. You can’t answer a question that has not been asked.  You can’t get the thrills of your curiosity being satiated if you haven’t asked the question.

Watching children unsupervised you see they have curiosity about tons of things, but they want to figure it out by themselves because they want the satiation feeling of success.

This is why self-help books fail to really help. Most of the time no one buys them until they have already messed up and think maybe they know a solution. So they buy a book pretty much knowing what it will tell them.

We humans are horrible that way. “Let me do it myself!” Even if we screw up the experience is more worthwhile than having someone tell us the answer.

Now-a-days it doesn’t even matter if you learn anything. Continue Education credits just means, you pay your money and sit in the chair and now THAT means you are certified. Requirements to waste time, and money is normal and we wonder why our country has gone downhill in actual productivity.

We want to legislate peoples thoughts. We want everyone in our own little box, whether it is right or wrong. Whether what is learned is of value or not.

These requirements restrict those that have wonderful potentialities because you have to spend constantly for all the different certifications in their very narrow boxes when humans are vast complex entities. Life crosses over. No one can keep spending hundreds of dollars on something that only those self-motivated will learn anyway.

The world is full of wonderful delightful questions. You can create and answer your own. Please try to remember to nurture the skill set of creating your own questions. Put life back into learning.

Enjoy the journey,

“No” is Not Bad!

On By Pamala CliftIn Education, Interpersonal Relationships, SocietyLeave a comment

Interesting watching this generation in America, they have never learned to say “NO” or even tolerated hearing it.

“No” is a word that is avoided today. You must say things nicely. Beg for your way so that eventually all will come about with a win/win for everyone.

My friend has started teaching again in a school where “No” has never been said. Adults have no power, no authority, no experience, no respect.

“I will tell my Mom.” is paraded out in front as parents come running to their child’s defense at every perceived inconvenience. The child is always right, because his/her feelings have gotten hurt.

We now have Universities that can’t teach, because someone somewhere may hear a word that makes them feel uncomfortable.

No rules are valid but the child’s desires. 

Where in real life is everything poofy, soft and nice? Why is that expected? We are not preparing this next generation for understanding that life is not cushy and there are consequences. How is that good?

This type of belief causes horrible consequences as children who have never heard anything negative are targeted by a troll online who starts picking on them.  They end up committing suicide. They don’t know how to deal with negativity. They have no internal scales to judge. No restraints on their emotions, no tools to deal with reality, let alone social media. 

Parents spend without considering consequences. No savings just debt, turn on water, electricity usage wastefully… A buy and throw away mentality that says MY needs are more important than anyone else, or the environment. A mindset that when we get to the edge will fall off most drastically.

If there is a God, (for which ‘evil’ is used as proof that their isn’t a God in some minds)…there are pluses and minuses. A lion wishes to eat, you are available to be eaten, hence there will be something negative that takes place for someone. Some believe there can’t be a God cause something negative happens and label it evil.

Consequences equals if you do X than Y may very well occur, but they are ignored. If you jump off the roof, you most likely will fall and break something, has to be taught. We are giving up our freedom, our ability to make decisive decisions because we are afraid to say no.

Instead we fall into the “Somebody-should-have-protected-me mode.” How this has gotten preferential cultural acceptance is truly a mystery. We claim everything is nice and have movies and games that show killing sprees and destruction as a fun hobby. Me is the most important. If I do it, than it is alright. Self indulgences is the focus.

So why is it the gun’s fault? I can have what I want, destroy what I want and you’re not supposed to tell me no.  

Learning NO is imperative! Having respect for those that try to teach you that is vital. 

“Tell the maniac to get on the ground”, doesn’t work in real anymore than it did in the movies. The culture doesn’t teach self-restraint.

The other movie quote most often quoted in my mind, “Life is pain, princess. Anyone telling you different is trying to sell you something.” That is why we have so much horrible spending on a commodity that does nothing… insurance.

We believe insurance will save us…but anyone with actual claims can tell you otherwise. They have learned to say NO, which only increases their pocketbook.

Saying NO, is not a bad thing. It puts up boundaries that only you have control over. You can move those boundaries without someone else’s validations if you have learned the NO’s. Both how to say “No” so you don’t take on more than you should do, spend, or indulge. Hearing No from those that say you shouldn’t go further in debt, have another drink or leave the lights on is a kindness not a constraint.

Other people’s concerns matter, the mess we make in our backyards matter, the debt we create matter, the waste we make for the world matters. Our kindness to others with raising the red flag of NO matters. If you’ve been across the bridge and it is weak, than share the NO with fellow travelers.

No, this thought process is not right. It has created the millenials.

No is part of the journey we must take in stride. The journey has black & white, ups & downs. It will be far more exciting if you know your on a roller coaster vs a flat train ride, preparing for it is the key.

Hugs, Pam

The Roadside Philosopher

No Time to Think!

On By Pamala CliftIn Education, SocietyLeave a comment

We are modern and important. We have LOTS to do. We need to time-manage every moment. There are only so many minutes in a day. The river of life doesn’t slow down for anyone.

These are the precepts of our life these days. No introspection, no free time (unless it is scheduled and then few know what to do with it).

If I wanted to make people sheep this is exactly what I would do.  Make them rush around after false goals. Tell them they are not successful unless every second is managed. Make their so called off times filled with entertainment, music, noise. That way they don’t have time to think, to question the status quo.

Hunger games, 1984, Brave New World, Animal Farm all have heroically pointed out the step-by-step method of dominating a society. Propaganda and more regulations should eventually shove everyone into line. We will be controlled. 

This is all there is to it:

1. Make entertainers positions of idolizing and the media God.

2. Regulate with insurance, taxes and complex laws every ounce of innovation out of the masses, so only those already in control can survive. 

3. Make sure healthcare is controlled so we can decide who lives and who dies. 

4. Fill their minds with stuff that means nothing all the time so they have no time to think. (paperwork that no one reads, but is there just in case someone wants to sue or the law says so; noise, closed in spaces, ratings or data so they can believe something is better than something else and they can fill their time chasing erroneous data projections or the almighty dollar which is a fiction as well.)

5. Fill their food with stuff they won’t let you know about-Monsanto.

6. Keep the people controlled with the unbridled Family courts that even regulate personal relationships.

It is horrible to think with all the information available out there we still don’t think. We don’t know how to think. We constantly look to someone else to think. The Pope, president, scientist says… instead of thinking ourselves.

Vacations have to be filled with amusement parks, Vegas, family demands etc. Not once have I heard, I am taking a vacation to go sit on a rock to think. lol

I have watched kids who have been filled with noise and meaningless activity wither in almost pain because they were forced to sit outside and think.  It is an unknown activity.

The body is not set up to deal with these constant multiple inputs; so we have sleepless nights as our brain works to defrag the day’s events into a cohesive manner it can store in memory. Instead we take pills by-passing memory-saving to the point we don’t remember what just happened and wouldn’t have the resources for proper introspection anyway.

The Roadside Philosopher’s is just a small little organization. Many there have disabilities that prevent them entering the rat race and they actually enjoy examining new viewpoints and thinking. They have time. 

How can we grab those moments back? How can we actually live?

Those who succeed tend to be those artistic kooks, who write, philosophize, make music or art. They are those whose inner being will not be denied. They travel a journey most often close-to-poverty just so they can express the being that is them. To show the world, wonder or a moment of beauty is all that is required.They enjoy the journey. 

Please find time to think and discover your own feelings and thoughts, so you too can enjoy the journey.

Hugs, Pam

The Roadside Philosoopher

When Preparedness Meets Opportunity- Instant Success?

On By Pamala CliftIn Education, SocietyLeave a comment

You often hear the phrase. He/She was an instant success! 

That means they were suddenly brought out of obscurity into the public eye for their expertise.

Did they just develop that expertise overnight? The public eye may have become instantly aware, but the expertise was developed over years and many trial & error struggles.

The railway couldn’t have sent their first train to the west, until many things happened: the idea had to be conceptualized, the land surveyed, purchased, people hired and years of effort made to lay tracks. Were there hiccups? Absolutely, problems were there. Many times changes and compensation for errors had to be made. The success came only after all the work was completed. Only then could the train go over the tracks to the targeted destination.

Developing an expertise or a project is lonely. You’re trying to do something that hasn’t been done before so there is no one to grade you except you when what you envision does or does not solidify.  Many can’t take that. 

People want someone to validate them at every step, hence academia tries to launch self-thinkers by giving them validation with grades and certificates. But many times what they do is just get people into an addiction awaiting fast-food validation. (forever students) A validation that may or may not be valid, because nothing new has been established. The student has just regurgitated back what was already known from another forever student who has spun reality from their vantage point.

Those who get fed up with being told what to do usually leave to create their own reality. Working solo, fighting naysayers, trying to make things workout for the new set of problems that they see. Only after the thought has been envisioned, the research done, the money has been invested, and the years of effort to lay one track after another will the opportunity possibly come for a chance at instant success. lol

So prepare your passion, do your work, don’t care if you’re not recognized for your labor. Most artist, composers, authors and philosophers are not seen as great until after their death.

What you will get is the fulfillment of engaging your life with your passion. That is the blessing. You are contributing something new to the universe, a viewpoint, a creation that most likely will never go viral…or lead to instant success (which has its own difficulties), but has value. Believe in that.

If you’re tired of being just one of the sheep, and have the endurance for the long haul, get started now for your instant success…. possibly decades in the future. lol

Enjoy the journey!

Hugs, Pam

Solidify Reality by Where You Focus

On By Pamala CliftIn Education, Philosopher comments on RealityLeave a comment

One of the hobbies I enjoy is reading books on Quantum Physics. So many unknowns speculated upon and extrapolations made. You can’t help think that philosophy is not dead…just renamed scientific hypotheses. 🙂

The illustrious double slit experiment is spun in so many different ways and used to validate new ideas almost daily. 

So to again try and explain the outcome of a complex experiment with a truncated definition; “Waves and particles only solidify into reality upon observation!”

I am going to leave it at that for this article. There are tons of resources if you wish to research it, but based on that, I have my own key to understanding reality.

Wherever we focus IS reality. Reality is a program where we choose the subroutines of our existence with our focus.

So if i focus on what I am missing in my life, it is a miserable life. If I focus on the beautiful sunrise and the things I do have, I couldn’t be happier.

I am writing the Hiccup Chronicles (will it never end…lol) and its premise is that we are outside of the universe engaged in a simulation program called our physical existence. (a slowing down of the energy waves so things can be solidified)

The physicists speculate that there are multiple worlds. Which I believe is partly correct. The program of this existence has already been written. We are just exploring all desired subroutines of that program. We possibly are creating and expanding the range of possibilities. How would the butterfly effect of “NOT taking that toy truck away from my younger brother actually affect the entire program of the universe?”

People yell at me quite adamantly when I say you choose your subroutine in the program. “I would NEVER have this problem or this illness or trouble if I had a choice. You must be freaking kidding me!”

Well lets look at the things we enjoy. We like to play games. We like to make artificial rules and then try to see if we can win with those limitations. We workout, take on challenges, create and build things.

If this world WAS just a game or an artificial construct, and we knew we existed elsewhere, then the difficulties we have here would be like moving the game from easy to hard. 

If reality is anything we can conceive and we have played this game on easy level, sometimes we will raise the difficulty, lift a heavier weight, run a greater distance.

The interactions of this program only allow us to engage with 5 senses, all of which have been scientifically proven to be foolable, yet we only count those interactions as reality?

There are obviously more senses out there. Animals have all sorts of abilities we do not. (radar, animal-direction sense for migration etc.) So we are limited.

We create measurement tools/math of our own creation and then act as if those are the only definitive truth? 

We try to quantify things and make rules saying “Well it works for A, B, C; so if it doesn’t work for the rest of the alphabet it must be the “things” that are wrong, not our measuring stick?”

In our digital age we try to put all the rest of the alphabet into an algorithm. It can’t be reality if we can’t shove it into our self-declared measuring compartments. 

If we limit our life to ONLY looking at the measurements of our self-created compartments we will miss a very entertaining existence.

Wonder, philosophizing and enjoying the “not knowing” is the journey. 

Focus and slow down on what you WANT to see, experience, choose your subroutines and enjoy the journey. 

Hugs, Pam 

Information Credibility vs State of Being

On By Pamala CliftIn Education, Philosopher comments on Reality, Society, UncategorizedLeave a comment

What is true?

Since I am constantly examining “What is Real?” in the digital environment I have to explore tons of websites that claim credibility.

By what credentials does a website become valid? If I was Google I most likely would go by the USA standard culture of what is right and wrong. That would mean science and data from academia, government sites and traditional medicine would be higher rated…BUT.

I have worked in government and academia and they truly don’t know any more than the man on the street often times. Someone, somewhere collects data from imperfect sources (usually a survey from some regular people) and instantly THAT becomes the final word. Rarely is that data traced back to its source or method. That means that a question asking you to select A or B, or rate something will likely not fit exactly your experience, but that doesn’t matter. Once you have made a selection “Numbers are GOD”. 

Nobody has real access to everyone, even Google. They can access what you choose to say, view and engage with online, but not everyone puts their true thoughts online, many have a facade.

The “State of Being” lecture, which is the volume control of engagement shows that not always do we interact at the same volume. Sometimes we engage disassociatively just for entertainment, sometimes we are grasping at what validates our perspective immersively, and finally we are using our judgement mode to augmentatively add selectively to our frame of reference. All of these modes will vary with the moon, hormones or life experiences.

I worked at a research facility one time on air quality and was accumulating data by a strict criteria to ascertain if the particulates in the electron microscope image were fly ash, sulfates, pollen, or unknown particulates. I worked very diligently to follow the guidelines and report accurately, but at one point I recorded my findings on the back of the picture and came back to it and recounted them later. It was dismally disappointing. My perception of the data was significantly different. The results also at times didn’t match expectations with the professor and so modifications were made to the formula by removing the parenthesis in the algebra? This is what we use as absolute governmental and scientific TRUTH?

At the Roadside Philosophers we have a first person group, which means we share perspectives and experiences one-on-one. The person is right there to question and we encourage cross examination and the “Whys”. It doesn’t take long to ascertain what volume they are engage in by the words they use in their first person account. This is invaluable in deciding their engagement level. Those little adjectives and sentence formation gives us their State of Being. However scientific papers are stripped of such clues. It is not considered scientific so all you see are numbers and graphs and bland documents. Lack of that context information is supposed to make reports MORE truthful?

I witness more and more scientific articles that say things like, “Taking Vitamin C MAY help ward off colds.” The words May or Can or Might is more truth… because they really don’t know. Just like Betty down the street tells you that gargling with salt has helped her sore throat. If you have someone right in front of you, you can bounce your questions off them directly. Experiential first person accounts can be falsified just as easily as modifying a calculation. So what do I consider valid? The right to interrogate. If the website has an email to contact and the person responds with something other than a

form letter, I will seriously consider it to be… An immersive perspective to consider.

We can examine validity all day, but the bottom line is that you need to understand that all perspectives are fluid and none can actually reflect 100% accurately the perspective from where YOU stand. 

So this is my point. You can never take a vacation from thinking or reflecting. Only you can draw the line from what is presented to where you stand in your journey of life. Do not give over your truth just because something claims validity over your experiences, unless you have the right of interrogation.

Enjoy your journey and claim your right to validate.  (Trust, but validate!)

Hugs, Pamala