Common sense is the genius of humanity. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe This quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is significant because he was a genius. Experts have estimated his IQ was over 200. Obviously, this brilliant literary mind placed great value on common sense, as did my own dad. My father always differentiated between what he called "book sense", meaning formal education, and common sense, by which he meant the ability to figure things out and function in the real world. As the Pearl from several days ago suggested, the United States of America would probably not exist as a nation, if it were not for Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Simply stated, common sense is very underrated. … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 24 May 2015
March 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Familiarity breeds contempt - and children. -- Mark Twain Once upon a time, my wife and I had two young children at home aged 8 and 3, and a border collie named Maggie who loved to herd the munchkins. One night Maggie got a little too excited while following her instincts and nipped at one of our daughter's friends, so my wife and I took our most excellent little sheepdog to obedience training. The lady at obedience school told us, "One problem is that your dog doesn't respect your children." To which I honestly replied, "Most of the time, we don't either." The trainer seemed to think that was a significant contributing factor to our dog's bad behavior. … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 23 March 2015
March 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Some super-calculating intellect must have designed the properties of the carbon atom; otherwise the chance of my finding such an atom through the blind forces of nature would be utterly minuscule. A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question. -- Fred Hoyle Sir Fred Hoyle was probably the most brilliant scientist of the 20th century who never became world famous. He was the man who coined the term "big bang" to describe the small, incredibly hot beginning of the universe. However, Sir Fred was ridiculing the theory because he rejected the Big Bang. Hoyle didn't believe an origin of the universe was possible, probably due to his atheism. Even after the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation supported Hubble's observations of redshift, which indicated the universe not static, but expanding. In the quote above, Hoyle is referring to his prediction about the carbon 12 atom, which was an extraordinary accomplishment, for which fellow physicists William Alfred Fowler and Chandra Wickramasinghe won the 1983 Nobel Prize in physics. Hoyle was famously snubbed and excluded from sharing the honor he so richly deserved, allegedly because he alienated and annoyed so many of his peers with his more controversial opinions. Author Simon Singh wrote the following about Hoyle: After ten … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 22 March 2015
March 22, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need. – Khalil Gibran David Piccioli is a man without pride. He wants a $30,000 pension -- for working one day as a substitute teacher. One day. This will be in addition to two other pensions Mr. Piccioli is already collecting, each in excess of $30,000. The private sector taxpayers in the state of Illinois are being robbed blind by union thugs like Piccioli. The state of Illinois currently has $331 billion dollars in unfunded pension liabilities. Largely due to the greed of crooks like David Piccioli. … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 21 March 2015
March 21, 2015 by 1 Comment
Character is much easier kept than recovered. -- Thomas Paine Thomas Paine wrote the famous pamphlet titled Common Sense that fueled the inspiration for the American Revolution, publishing it on January 9, 1776. Six months later, the Declaration of Independence would be signed in Philadelphia, starting the war between England and its American colonies. In plain language every colonist could easily understand, Payne challenged the authority of the British crown to rule over America and inspired the revolution in doing so. Founding Father John Adams even said, "Without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain." The interesting thing about common sense is that it never goes out of style, nor stops making sense. Even today, his quote about character remains quite relevant. Monica Lewinsky found this out the hard way. When Bill Clinton had an affair with her while occupying the White House, it was her reputation that was destroyed, because Bill was a popular president. But Monica wasn't exactly innocent -- media reports suggested that she was a seductress who pursued the affair with Clinton. More problematic for her reputation was the fact that she lied in a sworn affidavit in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case. The scandal led to the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, but Monica became the punchline for an endless stream of mostly tasteless jokes. Bill Clinton emerged from the scandal largely unscathed, however. Once the Senate acquitted him of perjury and obstruction of justice charges, he … [Read more...]
