khands

[khands]

An Unsettling Scenario

I’ve been reading how the infiltration of artificial intelligence entities, robots, into the public sphere has the potential, as AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, to undermine the free and open exchange of ideas necessary to a democratic society.Algorithms, as anyone who consumes social media knows, feed the reader more of the same. The potential for these entities to harbor hidden agendas,…

[khands]

Science and the Humanities

I’ve been reading, lately, about the distrust science elicits these days from diverse segments of the populace. Apparently, the condemnation isn’t coming only from the religious right who might, I suppose, have a problem with the dismissal of dogmatic beliefs toward which empirical investigation tends to lead, but also from certain intellectuals who see science as reductive explanation for the…

[khands]

Populism

Political populism appears to be in the ascendance these days.  The idea the ‘power’ is in the ‘people’, the ‘people’ being those rightfully in control, dismisses the opposing views of the minority.  Opposition is unacceptable, lost elections must be the result of fraud, theft; criticism the purview of ‘intellectual elites’.    Populism simplifies, views differences in terms of power, who’s in…

[khands]

Unlimited Possibilities

I’ve been thinking lately about the youthful exuberance, that, these days, when encountered, tends to send me in search of the nearest exit but as I contemplate such behavior, I have to admire the beauty of youthfulness, their sense of an unfettered, unlimited future. Even as early elementary friendships metastasize into the social pressures of junior high most children anticipate a positive…

[khands]

Pseudo-Realities

I’ve been reading about the sophisticated Virtual Reality apparatuses available these days, effective enough, sometimes, for the participant to lose perspective, sometimes needing assistance to extricate herself from the pseudo-reality. As exhilarating as these experiences may be, I have to wonder whether a druglike ‘fix’ may take hold of the compulsive user to such extent reality is lost amid…

[khands]

My Good Friend Al

[khands]

An Impractical Dreamer

I’ve been reading, lately, about the common man, the 99% of the population that make up the social milieu and wondering what exactly common men have in common. I’m guessing these folks (well, us folks) are mostly of middle-of-the-road social and economic status, probably have limited educational accomplishment, likely adhere to some sort of religious beliefs and most certainly rely on a social…

[khands]

Seeing Things for What They Are

I’ve been relying on the news feeds on my phone to keep track of current events, but lately it’s become apparent to me these sorts of news conveyance are duplicitous, intended to convey a message beyond the simple facts of the news. It would appear the need to reach the largest audience possible has developed a media culture that produces a narrative in sound bites intended to ignite strong…

[khands]

Favorite Things

I’ve been thinking about John Coltraine’s riff on ‘Favorite Things’: sixteen minutes of musical invention that captures the complexity of human emotion. That’s what struck me the first time I heard it, but it occurs to me now that the way I am moved, the way the complexity of sound communicates a depth of meaning beyond words that I find so astounding, must in some way define the human…

[khands]

Experiencing the Other

How can we be limited to what we grasp through our senses? I have a desire to reach beyond simple reality. The laws of nature can’t be enough to explain the beauty and complexity of the sensual world. Yet, as I think this, I know my intellect demands rationality. What must I do to accept the existence of both the sensual and super-sensual? Many thinkers much brighter than me have, as…

[khands]

The Nature of Romantic Love

I’ve been thinking lately about the nature of romantic interest. It’s pretty clear to me that the idea of ‘being in love’ has an awful lot to do with sexual attraction. The idea of ‘love at first sight’ suggests an hormonal impulse that feeds a normal heterosexual need to pair up, an action dominated by passionate desire that has little to do with intellectual of emotional compatibility. The…

[khands]

Finding God

Here in the wilds the breeze is moving through the trees rippling the water, providing a soft music, an accompaniment to the sensual feel of the wind. We experience individually, our interpretation is our own, it is a personal failure to reduce what is before us to a simple explanation of natural law.

[khands]

Going Viral

I’ve been thinking lately about our social natures, how compelling it is to share and have others appreciate what we think and do, producing, as we do, memes, an endless parade of memes on social media in the hopes of receiving attention. Our interest must be to attract an audience, to perform before (thousands?) more than just our immediate acquaintances in order to solidify acceptance within…

[khands]

Streaming through Soundbites

I’ve been thinking lately about my daily consumption of the news. Anticipating, as I do, the discomfiting nature of what I’m likely to hear I rely on the feeds I get through my phone each morning. I’m realizing my perspective on things is being tainted by the sensational nature of these media soundbites. As troubling as I find this realization, I will continue my sound bite consumption because I…

[khands]

Morbid Thoughts

Something about autumn, nature’s impending hibernation, that has me thinking about ‘the long sleep’, contemplating my ultimate demise. I heard recently about a man who, before his recent death, directed his family to have his cremated remains scattered about a favorite hiking location while a song of personal significance was piped into the woodlands. It seems to me a nice idea. It has me…

[khands]

Dystopia

I’ve been thinking about the idea of a post-apocalyptic dark age: the economy has collapsed, goods of any sort are scarce, hostile elements, equally desperate, seek to exploit the Other, survival depends on courage and wits. It’s the time of year, I guess, that seems to elicit premonitions of immanent disaster. What else can explain Halloween and the Day of the Dead? Add to these events the…

[khands]

Truth

The richness of recognized beauty defies simplistic explanation. No ‘eye of the beholder’ or theory of color and form is sufficient to address beauty’s underlying truth. What other subjective truths are there? Are our intuitive beliefs a reaction to fear of the Other? What can harm us if we stay in touch with the Truth the natural world provides?