480-pound woman dies after six years on couch here's the question - was there a social responsibility to save her? and could anyone have saved her or should she fend for herself?

if we could teleport....

this comes to my mind as i endure the x-ray line at the airport... when will scotty beam us up? imagine if we could get to anywhere in the world in less than it takes to think about it! well the airlines would definitely be out of business - something most people would welcome...

nothing can ever be ruled out.... someone said about a hundred years ago with the discovery of electricity or something that "science is dead - there is no more to know for man has discovered everything"... and of course that statement did not foresee the splitting of the atom, the discovery of DNA and even going beyond the atom and the electron!

tabula rasa?

this is one of undoubtedly many discourses on the topic... is man born preprogrammed to think, learn and act in certain predefined ways?

my impetus for this query was observing so many people that say "math is just not my thing"... or watching some people suffer calculating 16 X 4 ! is there really a brain wired for math while others are wired to suffer at the sight of a divisor?

the major argument in this theory that the nurture camp brings up is that each person is affected by their environment and upbringing.. a weak pedagogical tradition may be to blame or at least i would like to think of it that way. as a vociferous meritocrat i've always wanted to beleive that everyone was given the same chance at success. to see this beleif disproven will be quite disappointing. our brains are simply a matter of luck - yours is bigger than mine therefore i am fated to a lower perch on the ladder or life! (Gattaca comes to mind)

to contradict myself a little - i think there are obvious signs of course like the taller guy or the faster runner or the sweeter singer.. but everyone has something unique that can be rather profitable in some ways...

cogito ergo sum

the confidence of satisfaction...

debates/arguments/conflicts.... drivers of progress? i pose the question and supply a flash of neurons...

the ultimate aim is not to force opinions/beleifs on others but to be so confident in your convictions that you don't care. enough not to care about commenting/mentioning/discussing. it comes entirely from within. can any man or woman achieve it? have they already? if they did we would never hear of it - by definition.

lies, lies and glorious lies!!!

so what makes one lie? i've wondered about this from time to time and it always intrigues me as to how some people can so eloquently and comfortably lie while others will expend all their mental energy to communicate the whole truth and nothing but!

is it genetic? are we fated to be either great liers or honest abes? the argument's too simplistic of course but the main preposition could be valid... its just too easy for some

is it learned? quite possibly it can be argued that lying is a product of one's environment and acquaintances... we are impressed upon over long stretches of time without comprehending it. it is an unfortunate fact that we tend to assimilate the good around us as well as the bad through a slow process of percolation

is it salutary? does it allow the individual to progress further faster to their goals? the answer is probably yes and this probably has to do with a number of factors. the oral tradition - spinning a yarn is always more interesting than the dry truth regardless of the consequences. slyness - the good lier has to be adept at his craft and avoid getting caught lest their career be prematurely snuffed.

is it ever ethical? the general consensus is that any lying is bad. but is that saying that everyone who spices up a compliment or smiles when they're sad is a lier? the point is that lying in certain situations can be helpful and welcome or maybe not. its still an open question.