“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
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“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”Albert Einstein
Archives For November 30, 1999
“Great spirits have always been violently oppressed by mediocre minds.” ~Albert Einstein
I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. -Albert Einstein
When I came across this Einstein quote it almost made me shudder. Even though I have heard it before it struck me this time. We are advancing technologically at an astounding pace in recent years. Integrated circuits are in just about every device we now buy. Artificial intelligence is being used for so many things today. Unfortunately because the Pentagon budgets take the biggest bite out of our discretionary spend technology is at the forefront in our ability to kill those we currently don’t like for one reason or another.
Our killing machines are becoming so advanced that we can now kill thousands of times more of the “enemy” than we could even fifty years ago. With all this in mind I know that Albert was saying that our next world war would likely destroy worldwide civilizations such that the one after that would be amongst the few survivors that are left.
We seem to alway have an enemy that we want to destroy. In the past it has been the dreaded communists. In the present it is those who have a radicalized view of their religion. For one reason or another we have been at war with each other throughout our history. Do we stand a chance of not having a World War III? I just don’t know but I selfishly don’t want to be around when or if it happens as it will likely truly be the “was to end all wars”.
Thanks Albert for bringing this to our attention. I only pray that I am not the only one to shudder at the possibility of your words…
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe. ~ Albert Einstein
Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ~ Albert Einstein
If a cluttered desk is that of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk? ~ Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was one of my first heroes in life. His biography was one of the first “really long” books I read in my early life. I always felt an almost kindred relationship with him. I think maybe I am an “ignorant” version of him. From his early life he, like me, was always asking “why?”. If he were a kid today I’m sure he would be diagnosed as ADD; I’m sure I would have too. So, with this post I want to bring up a few of his quotes that inspire me. Continue Reading…
I am thankful to all those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I did it myself. –Albert Einstein
After collecting a number of Einstein quotes he is becoming one of my favorites and this is one of the best ones. I know in my life I have always asked “Why is this like ….” I often get the equivalent of “no” as a reply or maybe more accurately “this is the way we have always done it…” or some such as that.
Those refusals to take seriously my “why” has made me stronger over the years. It is one of the things that has enabled me to cope with my deafness. I won’t fall into the box that people want to put those who cannot hear. The “deaf and dumb” label is still alive today.
My asking why and then having to go about finding out why myself has made me stronger. One case in point is when I questioned my religious leaders about why we seem to ignore Jesus’ words today I was pretty much told that we are just worthless people who can’t do that but he loves us anyway. That answer just didn’t play with me. Since I could get no answer that made any sense I went about finding out the answer myself. I spent years studying the words of Jesus and the history of religion. As a result I now have my answer that my religious leader either didn’t want to tell me our just didn’t know himself. What is the answer? To find that out join me on the journey of the history of the church over at RedLetterLiving in the coming months to find out. The answers just might surprise you 🙂
Don’t ever stop asking questions and don’t ever take “no” or “that is the way we have always done it” for an answer especially in todays political environment. Thomas Jefferson’s quote the “a democracy depends on an informed electorate” is more urgent today than it has ever been. Continue asking questions and seeking answers; don’t just sit back and accept the spin that others put on the story.
But what do I know….
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself – Eleanor Roosevelt
I have sure made my share of mistakes but haven’t we all? Sometimes I don’t but I like to believe that I learn from my mistakes and try not to make them again. But some mistakes creep up on me and I stubbornly refuse to admit that they are mistakes at all. Instead I blame them on circumstance or outside factors or just plain dumb luck. Let’s admit it, no one likes to admit mistakes.
Eleanor Roosevelt was as most of us know the wife of our 32nd president. Franklin Roosevelt, FDR as he was common called, was the only president to serve three terms in office. Well almost three, he died in office before the end of his third term. He was president during World War II. The conservatives around today absolutely hate him as he was the president to start many “liberal” things such as Social Security, the minimum wage and other humanitarian stuff. He died in office just before the end of the war.
But I am getting off track here, Eleanor his wife was a very unique First Lady. She, unlike many women in her day, had much to say about many things. Eleanor had a somewhat contentious relationship with her husband. Here is what Wikipedia says about that:
Despite its happy start and Roosevelt’s intense desire to be a loving and loved wife, their marriage almost disintegrated over Franklin’s affair with his wife’s social secretary Lucy Mercer (later Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd). When Eleanor learned of the affair from Mercer’s letters, which she discovered in Franklin’s suitcases in September 1918, she was brought to despair and self-reproach. She told Franklin she would insist on a divorce if he did not immediately end the affair. He knew that a divorce would not reflect well on his family, so he ended the relationship….
Although the marriage survived, Eleanor emerged a different woman, coming to the realization that she could achieve fulfillment only through her own influence…
And indeed she did achieve fulfillment through her own influence. She was probably the most active First Lady in our nation’s existence and stayed active for years after her husband’s death.
Getting back to the quote at hand. We all need to learn from others mistakes. But that doesn’t seem to be happening much anymore especially in the political sphere. Those guys in Washington seem to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. This brings up another quote from one of my heroes Albert Einstein:
insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
But that is a topic for another post…
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