philosophy - Sherwin James

Focus on Thought

December 1, 2011 by Sherwin James | 0 comments

I have always had a strong interest in the mechanics and process of thought, particularly on how it relates to communities, groups or masses. We all have thoughts – most we keep to ourselves; some we share; a few we scream to the world. We often think that our thoughts are completely unique. On the edges they may be, but at their core they are very much like the thoughts of those near or far from us.

About a year ago I decided to start a little online experiment that is centered on thought (particularly shared thought). I created a web site titled Think.as.MANY. The site currently has two components (or apps), Think.like.ME? and Think.of.a.STORY. Here’s a screenshot of the main page:

Think.like.ME? enables a visitor to enter a thought (a statement, question, anything – excluding profanity). In return the visitor is presented with other thoughts that have been entered prior that are similar. This is all done anonymously. The visitor can also browse through existing thoughts, and traverse through similar thoughts (thought tree). The idea is to see how thoughts are alike (or not). As more thoughts are added, the experiment becomes more realistic. Also, I have built a simple Android app for this. You can find it in the Android Market with the name think.like.ME?.

Think.of.a.STORY is about building a continuous story. Each visitor contributes part of the story on each visit. It’s a concept that has been done often in the past, but I thought it might be fun and interesting to visual the result across the vast Internet.

With both of these apps, the more participation the better. I encourage you to visit, participate and share with others.

I like oranges

October 25, 2010 by Sherwin James | 0 comments

I like oranges, how about you?
If you like oranges, then I like you.
They are so good, you can’t help but like them.
I know you will, if you try them.
If you don’t like oranges as much as I do,
Then I must say that there is something wrong with you.

I don’t like plums, how about you?
If you don’t like plums, then I like you.
They are a bit distasteful, and looks shady to me.
If you take a quick try, you will also see.
Don’t tell me you like plums, because if you do,
I really can’t help but not like you.

I hate avocados, how about you?
If you hate avocados, then I like you.
They are the worst of the bunch – no good at all.
I’m sure you will agree that they make your skin crawl.
If you don’t hate avocados – unlikely as is seems,
Then you must be crazy – and not just in your dreams.
If you like avocados – I don’t quite see how that could be true,
Then, without question, I do hate you.

Is it possible to be truly absolutely selfless?

August 4, 2010 by Sherwin James | 0 comments

The very title of this post implies two ideas which I do not believe in – truth and absolute (see my previous posts) – so you can guess what my answer to that question would be – No.

As with everything else in life, the measure of selflessness among us humans (I can’t really speak for the animals; shouldn’t speak for all humans either, but I will be so bold as to try) falls somewhere between (but not on) the two extremes – absolutely selfless and absolutely selfish. More-so, I believe that the innate instinct of humans for self-preservation pushes that measure much more towards the selfish extreme. There are moments when individuals or groups may slide significantly towards the selfless extreme – if only to satisfy our selfish need to feel good about ourselves – but that visit usually doesn’t last very long. And there are also times of stress and despair that individuals bunker-down on the selfish side of life – sometimes for too long a time.

It’s OK though. Absolute selflessness can only really work if absolutely everyone is absolutely selfless. In this “conceptual” state, I believe we reach what some call Nirvana. On the flip side, absolute selfishness by absolutely everyone can only lead to complete destruction.

So, the best that we can do is to strive for Nirvana, although it is unlikely we will ever get there. And we should capitalize on those rare moments that push a large number of us towards the selfless extreme.

A Common Enemy

March 24, 2010 by Sherwin James | 0 comments

I think I have figured out why we humans seem to always have conflict – we are lacking a common enemy. I suggest that we make that common enemy the black hole.
Let us blame the black hole for …

our hunger,
our diseases,
our joblessness,
our evils,
our misfortunes,
our greed,
our ignorance,
our hatred.

Let us ALL HATE the black hole, for it is the bane of our existence, and nothing else. I long for the day when the damn black hole no longer ruins our lives and cause us to turn on each other. Let us work together to solve this black hole problem of ours.

We shall hunt them down together. We shall plan and strategize their demise together. We shall eradicate them from existence together. And when the very last one of those stinking black holes is gone forever, we shall rejoice together.

And then we can get on with the business of true living … together.

A singular existence

December 27, 2009 by Sherwin James | 3 Comments

A moment alone

Ever stop to think about what it would be like to be someone else? How amazing it is that every single individual in this world has a completely different, super massive, limitless, self-aware bag of thoughts. What if you could fully connect with another individual, to be immersed in their thoughts. If that were possible (and maybe it is), I think all our lives would be so much simpler – free of lies, deceit and other such masquerades of perceived truth.

But we are a collection of singular existence. And the best we can hope for, at this time, is a level of communication that can paraphrase those pure thoughts – however inefficient, inexact, error-prone and troublesome that may be.

Maybe one day …

the truth about truth

May 2, 2009 by Sherwin James | 2 Comments

Much has been done in the past, and will continue to be done in the future, in the pursuit of truth. For such a small word, it has a lot of impact.

I claim that there is no such thing as truth.

This notion of truth is really just our individual and group perceptions of the energy in and around us. Along with that premise, the concepts of fact, reality, and lie melt away as well. What is left is the understanding of perceptions.

If you really think about all the things you are convinced are true, you will see that they are merely your perception – once you start breaking that thing down to its lowest elements. You will also realize that so-called truth is layered like an onion, without anything in the center. You, most likely have never been to the moon, but you may be convinced that it is true that the moon exists. You believe the history books, documentaries and interview about astronauts that have visited the moon. And when you look up at night you can see it in the sky. But are the history books truthful? Is what you seeing in the sky a solid mass of rocks, or just extraterrestrial particals or energy that bend light in just the right way to affect 99% of people on the planet earth? Is the sky blue? What about those individuals that are color-blind – what is true to them?

A key influencer of our vast network of perceptions that form our reality, is belief (or faith). Without belief, our reality becomes extremely flat and limited, and we cannot grow as human beings.

There’s a lot more to think about here, but for now remember this.

Truth is nothing – perception is everything. We must strive to understand the perceptions and beliefs of others in order to find what believe is truth.

the ultimate invention

April 26, 2009 by Sherwin James | 0 comments

The world wide web was invented in 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee. Ernő Rubik brought the Rubik’s Cube into existence in 1974. Remote controls got their start in 1898 with Nikola Tesla. The gun made its way to the stage in the 900s in China. Music got its start in prehistoric times. So when was time invented?

Well, I wasn’t there (at least I have no recollection of it), so I can’t really know. But I do have a theory (not based on any specific scientific or mathematical facts – but a theory non-the-less). Time is but a symptom of change. If nothing changes, then time becomes irrelevant, and therefore non-existent. When I speak of change, I mean the infinitely smallest measure of change on the infinitely smallest object of change.>/p>

Before I continue, let me again remind you that these are just thoughts that have swum around the synapses of my brain, leaked through my fingers and made it way to this blog.

Back to change… At the point where change creates time, we no longer have matter (or the stuff that we see, hear, taste, smell, or touch) – instead we have pure energy. This is the energy of life, the energy of spirit, the energy of dreams. So, to answer the original question of when was time invented, we must first answer when did change begin. And to answer that question on change, we need to ask (and answer) the question of when energy created.

It is widely known that energy cannot be created (by man or anyone/anything man knows). So the answer must be God. I believe that God is the creator of energy, which is the start of it all.

God -> Energy -> Change -> Time -> Life (as we know it).