Author: Fred Rothganger
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COVID Conspiracy Theories
If we lived in a world where acting on a false belief led quickly to one’s death, most humans would be methodical about choosing their beliefs. As it stands, we have a number of mental weaknesses that make us vulnerable to nonsense notions. It takes training and mental discipline to overcome them, and then never…
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True Patriotism
I read a news article about pockets of people who are ready to kill in the name of Trump. This is chilling and dystopic, but I have to remind myself that it doesn’t mean the entire conservative half of our country is about to turn violent. There’s a whole gradation of opinion, and I believe…
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Institutions
Institutions exist because people believe in them. Take for example the Supreme Court of the United States of America. Why does this institution have power to do anything? It’s just 9 people sitting in a room. Why should what they say matter to anyone? It matters because hundreds of millions of people believe in that…
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Civil Discussions
I was just reading a thread on social media about COVID, masking, etc. Some of the messages were from people who believe this should only be about science, and yet the messages turned into personal attacks, accusing the other side of being selfish and willfully ignorant. It used to be that we keep comments like…
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Crystal’s Teaching Experience
Crystal and I have been dealing with shock and anger all weekend. She has been in a student-teaching placement since the start of the fall term at a local high school. This last Monday her placement was terminated by her mentor teacher. That was totally unexpected, but in some way a relief, because Crystal has…
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Lemonade Stand
During an election year our longstanding policy disputes come to the fore. Many of these boil down to how we distribute the benefits of our economic system. I find the arguments and positions confusing, so I formed a thought experiment on the matter … Billy discovers a way to sell lemonade for $5/cup. He opens…
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Empathy
Trying to understand people who don’t understand is a kind of mind-trip. I believe it’s important to empathize with others and try to see things from their point of view. But some people lack empathy and don’t accept other points of view. How can I understand this way of thinking? The very act of trying…
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The relationship between Humans and Nature
Some of my favorite quotes regarding natural consequences: “In the law of God, there is no statute of limitations.” — Robert Lewis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde “Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and…
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The Ultimate Cell Phone
A couple of days ago, Crystal asked me to come check the clothes washer. It was making some unusual clacking sound. I told her not to worry about it, figuring that she’s was being oversensitive to every little possible problem. Finally went to investigate. Sounded like a rock was in with the clothes, so I…
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COVID update
What a loss it is that high-school seniors this year won’t have a graduation ceremony. This is really the only rite of passage in American culture, and all they get is a bag with some stuff in it. IMHO, part of healing from COVID should be to have belated ceremony some time in the near…