Death of Hypatia®

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  • Know Thyself #100

    Know Thyself

    After writing 200 daily blog posts (including 2x’s a day for the first few weeks), I now know myself well enough to know that for the next 200, I wish to write them every other day.… more “Know Thyself #100”

  • WIBCI Post #99

    WIBCI the brightest minds of our time thought KNOWLEDGE was worth dying for?

    According to Living the French Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment S1E3:

    “One book embodied the project of the Enlightenment more than any other. It was called the Encyclopedia. This was a massive project. The Encyclopedia would run to 28 volumes: 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of illustrations. It took over 20 years to complete, from 1751 into the 1770’s. Encyclopédie was the work of at least 139 authors and 66 artists; including; Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau and had over 72,000 entries.”

    That is A LOT of authors, a boat load of artists, and two decades is a long time. Sick persistence. Crazy if you think about it.

     

    Want to know what was crazier?

     

    “The Encyclopedia had ambitious goals. If you look up the word ‘encyclopedia’, in the E volume, you would learn that this book aimed to ‘collect all the knowledge scattered over the face of the earth, to transmit this to those who will come after us, so that our children, by becoming more educated, may at the same time become more virtuous and happier’. But, this attempt to systematize knowledge on behalf of human progress was also illegal.”

    1. Crazier cause that this massive project was FOR POSTERITY. Could you imagine 205 authors and artists coming together in 2025 for nothing more than the fulfillment of future generations, aka, zero chance of movie/reality TV deal, no royalties, and no credit/subscribers/likes/fans/attention. They believed new knowledge could bring about progress and improve society.
    2. Crazier still cause not only are none of the over 200 people spending multiple decades of their lives on a project for zero financial return, but you could go to jail y’all. Not just any jail, but sixteenth century French Bastille jail…. where dying isn’t odd. The Encyclopedia’s main editor, Diderot, had already served time in prison for things he wrote. Not to mention the Encyclopedia was full of political/religious snubs; under Eucharist all that is written was the cross reference: (see Cannibalism). Therefore, all 72,000 entries had to be written in secret, smuggled out of France, published secretly in Switzerland, and smuggled back into France and throughout Europe.

    Can you imagine risking your life for the good of humanity and zero personal gain? Can you imagine anyone? Would be cool if…… more “WIBCI Post #99”

  • Know Thyself #99

    Know Thyself through CONSIDERATION:

    Time:

    In YOUR opinion, do you arrive:

    • always early
    • impeccably on time
    • always late

    In YOUR FRIENDS/FAMILY’S opinion, can they expect you:

    • inappropriately early
    • impeccably on time
    • so late they lie to you per start times

    What do YOU think this says about you?… more “Know Thyself #99”

  • WIBCI Post #98

    WIBCI INDIVIDUALITY were championed more?

    Next time you are near/in traffic or a parking lot, notice the color of the cars. I’ve noticed this for a while and can report that the following appears to be true North/South/East and West of the US: 95% of all cars are either White, Black, Grey/Silver, Red, or Dark Blue, with the vast majority being White, Black, or Grey/Silver. It is numbing once you begin to notice.

    I read a book that was published a few decades ago, on the subject of being aware of the world around you.  One of the ‘exercises’ was to look for sunrise beige cars. This proved to be an excellent lesson in how narrow our notice can be. But today this doesn’t work. Apparently all car manufacturers are taking a page out of Teslala’s book and reducing our choices in car colors to 4. Cars used to be little microcosms of YOU, individual and unique. Are we being commercialized into robot consumers with no personality?

    I saw someone driving an Orange car today, I instantly liked her.

    What do YOU think?… more “WIBCI Post #98”

  • Know Thyself #98

    Know Thyself through MONEY:

    If I won a monster lottery, I would give away 4/5ths of it. Anyone who knows me wouldn’t think twice about that statement. I don’t feel that way because I want to be seen as a saint of philanthropy, in fact, I wouldn’t want anyone to know. There are two reasons why I would give most of it away:

    • I bet it feels pretty good to give money away
    • Money seems to make people dickheads
    … more “Know Thyself #98”

  • WIBCI Post #97

    WIBCI we knew the History of our Holidays?

    Per Wikipedia: Halloween, aka All Hallows’ Eve, aka All Saints’ Eve, is a celebration observed in many countries on 31st of October, the beginning of the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the Christian liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints(hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. In popular culture, Halloween has become a celebration of horror and is associated with the macabre and the supernatural.

    One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced by Celtic harvest festivals and believed to have pagan roots. Irish and Scottishimmigrants brought many Halloween customs to North America in the 19th century, and through American influence, various Halloween customs spread to other countries by the late 20th and early 21st century.

    The word Halloween or Hallowe’en comes from the Lowland Scots form of All Hallows’ Eve (the evening before All Hallows’ Day): even is the Scots term for ‘eve’ or ‘evening’, and is contracted to e’en or een; so (All) Hallow(s) E(v)en became Halloween.

    More saints than days in the year, in 835ce November 1st became ‘All Saints Day’. The Allhallowtide custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for all christened souls has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating.  As early as the 15th century groups of poor people, often children, would go door to door during Allhallowtide, collecting soul cakes in exchange for praying for the dead, especially the souls of the givers’ friends and relatives. This was called “souling”. In the Middle Ages Christian minister Prince Sorie Conteh linked the wearing of costumes to the belief in vengeful ghosts: “It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints’ Day, and All Hallows’ Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. In order to avoid being recognized by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes.

     

    … more “WIBCI Post #97”

  • Know Thyself #97

    Know Thyself through DREAMS:

    Are you the kind of person why remembers their dreams? I was told as a kid that you can remember your dreams in the morning until you touch/rub your head and the best thing you can do is immediately write down what you remember. Per Wikipedia: Freud believed dreams were the window to the unconscious mind; ‘serving as a means to fulfill repressed wishes and desires. …containing both manifest content (the literal storyline) and latent content (the hidden psychological meaning) that can be interpreted to gain insight into a person’s inner thoughts and conflicts. I have recurring nightmares and dreams. In the nightmares I’m walking on a college campus when a fellow classmate asks me where I was for the final exam that has now concluded. From here there is racing across a confusing campus, trying to find a classroom whose number and location have eluded me, I cannot remember my locker combination, and sometimes find myself not wearing any clothes. This can easily be interpreted as an anxiety dream and often happen before I’m to do something important.

    My recurring dream involves me in a wide-open field. When I run really fast I can jump into the air and ‘fly’. Maybe flying isn’t the right verb, it is more like bounding. The faster I run, the further and higher I soar horizontally with arms outstretched like wings on an airplane. I control the speed, altitude, spins, turns, dips and dives before gently returning my feet to the ground where, still running, I can leap once again into the air. I float controlling my altitude, trajectory, and speed. It feels amazing….free. I think these are my potential dreams, and oddly enough, they often happen before I’m to do something important.

    What do YOU think your dreams say about YOU?… more “Know Thyself #97”

  • WIBCI Post #96

    WIBCI we really knew HISTORIC FIGURES?

     In WIBCI #90 I quoted a description of an individual and told you I would reveal them in this post.

    Aristotle was the greatest of all polymaths, said to have transformed every field of knowledge that he touched, was the founder of Logic, his system of thought resulted in the modern world of science, and according to Paul Strathern, ‘his originality remains unparalleled in the history of philosophy.’

    This unparalleled genius was, born in 384bce he was the student of Plato, who was the student of Socrates and are thought of as the most important triumvirate in philosophy. He was Alexander the Great’s tutor and founded the Lyceum, (a rival school to Plato’s Academy that Aristotle opened years after Plato’s death when Aristotle was NOT appointed head of the Academy). 142 years later, when the Academy closed, this is considered by many as the end of Hellenistic thought.

    Unbelievably such an important human somehow seems to have been a great guy with a sense of humor. His will famously begins with the humorous words: ‘All will be well, but in case anything should happen… In Paul Strathern’s Aristotle in 90 minutes, he sums him up as follows: ‘In this we are fortunate, for Aristotle seems to have been a good man. He saw the goal of humanity as the pursuit of happiness, which he defined as the actualization of the best we are capable of…In Aristotle’s view, reason is man’s highest faculty. Therefore “the best (and happiest) man spends as much of his time as possible in the purest activity of reason, which is theorizing.’… more “WIBCI Post #96”

  • Know Thyself #96

    Know Thyself through YOUR BODY:

    Freeze your body exactly how it is right now. Notice your shoulders, don’t move them, just notice them. Are they stressing or chilling? Are they scrunched up about your ears? Can you feel the muscles across them and your neck working when they shouldn’t be? You are just reading a blog post, not taking a test, so why the stress? When you put your body and mind through the anxiety of worrying you are doing yourself a disservice, twice. Stressing our before something MAY happen, will definitely age you, yet almost never helps you handle it if it does happen. So why do it? Lose/Lose. Try this; check in on your shoulders every once in a while. If you find them not in their proper state of rest, ask yourself if it is worth the wrinkles, lower your shoulders, roll them around, and move on.… more “Know Thyself #96”

  • WIBCI Post #95

    WIBCI you could recycle recycled paper towels?… more “WIBCI Post #95”

  • Know Thyself #95

    Know Thyself through PRESENTS:

    I take gift giving very seriously. No one could accuse me of having a good memory, but for some reason I remember every gift I have ever been given and who it came from. To me, the gifts someone gives me says a lot about that person as well as shows me what they think of me, ex.: what they think I would like, where they think my interests lie, what they think I would want to receive.

    When it comes to receiving gifts, sometimes I feel there is an inverse relationship between money spent and thought put into it. Not all the time, but some of the time.

    For me, there is a direct relationship between the amount of time and energy that someone took out of their life thinking about me and how much I appreciate the gift. My scale goes from gift registries to handmade.

    How do YOU rank as a gift giver?… more “Know Thyself #95”

  • WIBCI Post #94

    WIBCI we celebrated Teachers?

    Are there better people….really?

    I’ve spent the better portion of my life surrounded by teachers. Their livelihood, their fulfillment comes from helping others’ reach their potential. Is there a more selfless occupation? Summers off is not compensation for the aggravation, worry, frustration, and undervaluation.

    WIBCI each year communities had a ‘Teachers’ Day’ where those that are teaching join those that have taught and walked in a parade? They could strut past the community/former students and be applauded for all they did for us. The parade could culminate at a picnic (what teacher doesn’t love a picnic?) where you could sit and tell them how they impacted your life, look at old class photos and leave them with letter that they will cherish forever. Imagine how good it would feel to make their lives knowingly appreciated and valued.

    Mr. Wartman, wherever you are, you were the best. My classmates missed your dry humor, but it wasn’t wasted on me. Thank you for scaring me into LEARNING, the love of my life. Thanks for introducing us.

     

     … more “WIBCI Post #94”

  • Know Thyself #94

    Know Thyself: PDA

    I found myself considering what I think of Public Display’s of Affection.

    I learned that positive/negative/indifferent feelings were dependent on four factors:

    • Setting (notice your audience and where you are): child’s birthday party, bouncy house…nope. Christmas party, beneath Mistletoe…yep.
    • Intensity (Motion Picture Association Film Ratings): PG13/R seem a good bar.
    • Duration (really?):  No need to breath in/out of the nose for survival, cute. Someone(s) is/are timing you, why?
    • Disruptive level (degree to which PDA interferes/suspends and/or influences the enjoyment of other humans): Private Gondola ride slipping through the canals of Venice at sunset…doesn’t bother me. Adjourning seat on any mode of transport….bothered. Also bothersome: on-line, while operating heavy machinery, physically touching anyone not involved, and/or in the direct sightline between a stage and a ticket holder.

    Where’s your bar?… more “Know Thyself #94”

  • WIBCI Post #93

    WIBCI today’s heroes were better?

    Remember the phrase ‘Don’t be a Hero’? Per thefreedictionary.com it defines this idiom as follows:

    don’t be a hero

    cliché
    Don’t put yourself in harm’s way in order to save other people.
    I ask if you remember this phrase because, I feel it isn’t as commonly used as it once was.
    Maybe because lately, no one needs to be warned away from selfless acts that put yourself in danger?
    What do YOU think?

     … more “WIBCI Post #93”

  • Know Thyself #93

    Know Thyself by Noticing:

    I was standing outside in a hushed space, ready to notice something beautiful. The area I was in was the perfect blend of open areas and screening fauna, where you felt unnoticed in the open. The nagging voices in my head that bully fun away, can be quieted in places like this.

    A huge gust of wind swirls through and mini cyclones of leaves rain down thick as snowflakes for an elongated moment.

    In that moment I noticed and felt connected; for a moment I was truly awake and alive. (In Your Eyes is obviously still on my mind).

    Try it for yourself; find time, and go outside until you notice something.… more “Know Thyself #93”

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