Solar panels: Our car runs on the sun

The world today is hooked on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels drive 80% of the world’s economy. And yet these energy drivers are inherently dangerous to the planet’s health and our health. So what can one do about it? Here is our story.

Book Review: The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis

I am afraid to say that I would probably not rate The Undoing Project very high. I know it details the life of a Nobel prize winner and I should not be critical of something that I know so little about, but here goes anyway.

There appears to be one huge flaw that rides throughout the volume. There seems to be no acknowledgement of the vast differences that exists among people. Tversky and Kahneman keep talking about how the “people” would evaluate, decide and react. And who are these “people”? The average person in a conglomerate of people no doubt. Though these results may apply to group of people (assuming that you have a statistically correct sample), when considering individual actions, the results can be hopelessly flawed, since they do not distinguish among people who may be neurotic, bi-polar, psychotic, schizophrenic – or just plainly very confident persons, or on the other hand very dependent individuals.

Discipline: What happened to it?

In earlier days, discipline was imposed upon us. We needed discipline to survive. Life was tough, resources were scarce. Only the disciplined survived.

Now many of us live in an affluent bubble. We are surrounded by freedom, huge privilege and endless temptations. There is far less external pressure to exercise discipline. It must now come from within, if it is to come at all.

Religion: Reflections on Jesus

The parables, sayings and teachings of Jesus are moving and penetrating, but if it were not for the way that Jesus died we would probably not be still reading these stories today. There were many wisdom teachers wandering about the Middle East in his day. Much of his sayings and teaching can be found in other sources. He was also not unique in being a wisdom teacher with a band of followers, though the manner in which he put the old stories together and presented them was obviously forceful. He was also a healer though even in this he was not unique. Many healers plied the land, for organized medical services were rare then and people had to rely on itinerant healers when they passed by.

Israel – Palestine Conflict: A way forward

It is the world’s perpetual problem and it is in the news again. 

To look at this problem, it is helpful to separate facts from opinion.

Media: Checking the critics

One must beware of one’s tendency to overestimate the accuracy of critics. They themselves do not always get it right and also need to be corrected.

Religion and US politics: The collapse of evangelical Christianity in the post-truth age

During the US presidential campaign Donald Trump

-        Verbally abused many (Mexican immigrants, Muslims, the disabled)
-        Denied the reality of human activity causing climate change
-        Habitually lied
-        Made promises that he won’t/can’t keep
-        Boasted of sexual assault

Despite all of this 70% of evangelical Christians in the US voted for him.
How could this be?

It seems like these evangelical Christian completely abandoned their supposedly moral principles and voted for him for very worldly reasons.

Obesity: A harbinger of societal collapse?

A small fishing boat in the night sees the Titanic heading towards an iceberg. The fisherman has a radio connection and thinks that he should warn the ship’s captain. But the ship’s passengers are having such a good time on board so that he doesn’t really want to disturb them. What should he do?

At present the US statistics on weight gain show that 70% of all Americans are overweight (BMI> 25) and of these 35% are obese (BMI>30). If present trends continue, in 2030, 60% of all Americans will be obese. Canada as usual is not far behind in these trends. What should we do?

Smart electrical meters: Why they are installed

I have just made a short five-minute YouTube video to explain why smart electrical meters are being installed. 

You can find this by Googling “why install smart electrical meters youtube” or just click on the link 

Why install smart electrical meters

Any comments on this are welcome. If you have friends who have doubts about smart meters, feel free to pass this on to them.

Carry on exploring,