Who and What, We Are

Who we are must surely be connected with what we are a part of. This article talks about speculation regarding galaxy formation. Jan Cox stressed that the sincere seeker always pushed both for self-knowledge and knowledge of the world (he used the word cosmology.) Both are necessary for personal evolution and I suspect he would have approved of the idea these paths converge: psychology and cosmology. And we are always facing the unknown.

The Antiquaries

Before there were modern historians, there were antiquaries. From 1400 to 1800, in Europe, these scholars discovered and  examined carved stones, architectural features, old books. They had no idea how these things might be connected to answer questions about the builders, carvers, painters whose products they examined. Their own universe was firmly planted and considered timeless. Their finds were a source of interest, amazement, and reflected a collector's zeal and preservationist's scruples. 

A similar intellectual landscape prevails in modern science. Without questioning, mostly, their positivistic bearings, these figures point out exciting strange phenomena and refuse to consider questions of boundaries, of gaps, of edges. 

A difference is that the antiquaries did not pretend their research answered all the important questions.

Oh Bosch!

This story about the Bosch accreditation board certifiying another Bosch could remind one of the difference between the mind and the body. What matters is not what happened, it is what the Board says happened. Yeah, kind of.