Renaissance Man

John Dierckx Christchurch New Zealand

This site will be moving to a new place

		Thursday, 30 July 09 - 08:42 PM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in My Journal

More recently I have opened up a new home for the Renaissance Man and other blogs at http://johndierckx.wordpress.com.

For the terapad fans amongst you, this choice has none to do with not being content with terapad, which I still see as one of my favorite content management packages and  have been using it with great pleasure and satisfaction for years now. The reason to shift is one of integration with other services like twitter and flickr, the ability to integrate it with posterous (www.posterous.com) which makes it possible to post via gmail when I see something of interest.

For regular visitors of this blog: let me first thank you for your interest and at times fantastic responses. I hope we can continue this on the new site at http://johndierckx.wordpress.com.

It is noted here that more than this site, the new blog site contains all I am putting out, so it also contains posts that I do on the following blog sites:

• Dierckx & Associates Ltd (http://dierckx.terapad.com)
• ARCIS Fraud Discovery & Exposure Centre (http://blog.arcisfdec.com)
• Expat Health 101 (http://expathealth101), the blog for Arcis Insurance (http://www.arcisinsurance.com)

It automatically keeps up with my fotostream at Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/johndierckx) and what is happening on my twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/john_dierckx).

All in all it makes my life a lot easier in that sense.

In the coming period however I will double up the most important posts and start copying some of the articles from here into my wordpress site under the heading "The Vault".

I look forward to seeing you there and continue the conversations.

 

John

A tormented European Intellectual or a concerned parent?

		Friday, 01 May 09 - 01:45 AM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in My Journal

The Investigate Magazine (s) (http://www.investigatemagazine.com) of the past months have highlighted what every parent should be concerned about: how the state education systems of Western societies are failing miserably and contributing to the intellectual decline of Western nations. In his Eve’s Bite, Ian Wishart compellingly documents the social engineering of generations to the educational system. Having seen the output of current students when writing papers or reports I can not help but feeling a lot of sympathy for these feelings of failure.

I was made privy to several papers of University students made up quotes from copied and pasted using Google. Modern media appears to have become the standard and actual scholarly or scientific literature is something that is probably right for the makers of Discovery Channel or a few nerds, but not for the ‘normal’ student.

Knowledge based learning appears to have been replaced by social conditioning: no thought but which ones am  actually allowed to have in there. Reasoning/arguing a particular perspective, viewpoint or position? Nah, “discussing” a subject in a paper is marginalized to blind and thoughtless quotation of a set of prescribed and one sided articles and books (approved literature) by “approved” authors.

Try to incorporate opposite views and you will hear the that is not going to bring me any points argument. Most of all I was struck about the way in which these prescribed views were presented in these papers: do they not teach the basic skill of writing a sentence anymore? This was almost like reading a collection of text messages or so you wish tweets. Now I am known to make the regular spelling error but this was like nothing  ever saw before. Most of all I am truly worried to see that “thinking for yourself” appears to have actually been drilled out. Combine that with the erosion of parental roles, rights and responsibilities for the benefit of enhanced government control of the past nine years and it becomes apparent how much your child is in danger of becoming the next dumbed down puppet. It becomes apparent how much change and I mean dramatic change is needed.

I guess I can sympathize with Amy Brooke in her May 2009 column in Investigate Magazine:

“… Essentially we’re at war - essentially a kind of social war being waged by the mindless products of a rootless, destructive and immensely ignorant sector of society , including parents and their near barbaric offspring - indoctrinated with the grievances of overblown egos - or simply purposeless and adrift. What we’re now involved in is a social revolution against the very forces which traditionally stabilize Western society - an innate sober conservatism and the ultimate message of Christianity - stressing that man has obligations beyond those to himself or his mere tribe.

… This battleground encompasses our schools and their curricula, their anti religious - i.e. specifically their anti-Christian propaganda; the denigration of what he (Peter Hitchens in his book “The Abolition of Britain”) and the watering down of examinations to cover the attack on actual knowledge - and the decline of educational standards. All this in the name of spreading the gospel of a new society where everyone and everything is equal.”

In our state schools here in New Zealand nobody should be first, you don’t try to win a race, you “participate” and there is no room for first prizes. Individual study ad quiet concentration is replaced by group learning and discussion. In the meantime the lowering of the standards have lead to a decline in output of people that actually don’t have some of the most basic skills to develop as a human being: adequate levels of reading and writing and language skills, basic maths and science skills. The other day, and this is not the first time it happened, my four year old comes home with a picture he made. It was sad to see how a teacher can screw up such an effort by making spelling errors in a basic sentence. The boy had been asked what the teacher should write under his picture ended up with the following sentence:

“The sun is shinning today.”

Wouldn’t it be great if our children were actually taught the basics instead of all these ideology based social engineering programs in which the basics are replaced by mind manipulation and lowered standards for basic skills?

I recently had a great talk with Dr Jay Olivier (http://www.olivierlex.com), someone with a passion for teaching.
He passionately told me about his views on education I realized how incredible it would be for the system to have such driven and knowledgable individuals teach our future generations. At the same time I realized that he would most likely end up being one of those few genuinly knowledgable teachers left, who will have to deal with the “ignorance is bliss” culture of that system. On 14 April he tweeted “Promoting an Exclusive Education Programme in Christchurch, NZ” which most likely will have looked like swearing in church for some.

Count me in Jay! There is nothing wrong with exclusivity for those that do want to break free of the masses and get the best our of themselves. Can we please start with a course in “Thinking for yourself” or “Evaluating what you read and hear” and “basic report and paper writing” as I think they would be a good start to create what they used to call Triple C graduates when I was a student: competent, critical and creative: able to think independently without losing sight for the interconnected and interdependent state and nature of things and affairs and with room for a personal opinion even if it did not accord with that of your professor, that is if you could substantiate your views in a convincing way.

I am now thinking that someone we know would sigh and say: “John you are a tormented European intellectual that does not want to be helped.” I guess I am starting to understand what “help” may very well mean: join in with the ignorance and call it being relaxed. “She’ll be right mate, sweet as…”  In my humble tormented European intellectual opinion, our children are not going to be right at all if things don’t change rapidly and besides that as a parent (yes I refuse to use the word caregiver to describe my role) I think we can substantially contribute in providing a broader scope to what is being taught at primary, high schools, polytechs and universities all within our options and means. Ever since I went on from high school to study music and after that law, I have started to realize the importance of having two parents that opened my world by having books available in the house on any imaginable subject.

While there may have been difficulties with paying the bills at times, there was always room to expand the already impressive collection of books. I remember the days well where I would enjoy reading about the lives and times of the great painters like Van Gogh, Rembrandt van Rijn, Cezanne, Gaugin, great figures of history like Leonardo da Vinci, Gandhi, Napoleon, Lincoln, Washington, and well the lost could go on forever. It must have been in these younger years that I developed that hunger for new knowledge and understanding. Having a primary school where such an approach was highly stimulated only enhanced this experience.  And no we were not are equal, and because of that those that needed extra assistance in certain areas were actually identified and assisted by teachers as well as classmates. Yes there was competition bit at the same time there was a sense of helping out each other since lowering the standard was not an option.

I remember well my warm welcome as a twelve year old at the Greek embassy because I needed to write about Greece. No set rules on what you were to write, but go and read or go and talk to the people themselves, and where better to do that than the embassy. Or, my Wednesday afternoons spent in the Maritime Museum in Rotterdam where with the help of the then Museum librarian I wrote my own first paper on the history and developments of ships and combined with a a number of relevant books at home about the same subject. And just for the record, I was not an exception, that was the way it was done, that was the norm. Groups were based on achievement levels and while there were group lessons, there was a lot of quiet and concentrated time where you worked on your assignments and where the teacher was available to help out with questions, whether it was reading, writing, maths, science, history arts and crafts or religion.

I think I had a good wake up call, and will need to take more responsibilities myself, meaning extra time for the children and stimulating them to be the best they can be at all times an do whatever it takes to ensure that they can think for themselves. In the tradition of my parents that will mean connecting my children with history, the full scope of present and with that hopefully the future, and raising children that are hungry to learn and experience and most of all that can actally think for themselves and develop their own understanding of things.

What the Bleep

		Monday, 13 April 09 - 01:50 AM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in Spirituality & Religion

Last week a good friend visited and gave a movie with the title "What the bleep do we really know." At first I thought, as my friend suggested this was the latest of the latest. Upon seeing it the first time, late at night, I thought hey this is a nice prelude or explanation of "The Secret".The day after, my partner asked me about the movie and I decided to look at it again. This time I paid some more attention.

Big Steps Home Quickly": Cutting Corners
There is a saying in the Netherlands: "Grote stappen, snel thuis" which would translate as "Big Steps Home Quickly" or as they say in the English language: "cutting corners."  "What the Bleep" is a blend of a documentary and a fictional story and well as some animations to present a perspective on the universe and human life within that universe. Connections are made to quantum physics and neurosciences. The central theme of the movie: "We create our own reality."

Some of the ideas discussed in relation to this theme are that:

• the universe is to be seen as contructed from thought rather than from substance/matter;
• "empty space" is not empty
• matter is not solid as nuclei go in and out of existence an it is unknown where they end up;
• peptides, chemically maufactured in the brain can cause certain bodily reactions to an emotion;
• beliefs about who you are and what is real, form oneself and one's realities.

All not too shocking as such and ideas and themes that are discussed throughout a wide array of literature and discussion forums.

I cannot help but thinking that this is yet another production appealing to the large number of people seeking some sort of spiritual connection in an ever growing body of teachings to choose from. This film complements this array I could imagine, jumping from quantum physics to cognition to spirituality in a few easy to follow steps. Most off all the movie seemed to be a one and a half hour promotional movie for Ramtha and her School of Enlightenment.

As far as the scientists in the movie speaking out, it cannot be denied that at first their claims as represented in the movie were challenging to say the least" due to the nature of quantum physics at a sub-atomic level, what we call reality is actually a construct of our minds. The latter part of this concept is well known and discussed and underlies to some extent the concepts similar to those presented in "The Secret." It was the first part of this equation that was new to me and it all went so quick. Was it really all that simple? Or... doubter/cynic as I may be at times was there more to all this that was not told in the movie.

A few minutes on Google and my worries were confirmed. The producers and directors of the movie are themselves members of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment: a cult or sect whose followers look for guidance and wisdom in the words of Ramtha, who is said to have conquered the continent adjoining Atlantis. Ramtha has a 'channeler': JZ Knight, the husky voiced, bleeche and seemingly lip botoxed old
woman in Michael Jackson like uniform, who is called J Z Knight. She operates her Ramtha School of Enlightenment from Yelm, a village in Washington state, coincidently the same village where the movie opened.

Quantum physics, has this inherent beauty and attraction in that its uncertainties or vagueness can be brought in to explain virtually anything out of the ordinary: consciousness, meditation, the paranormal, time travel, ESP, and well, the list goes on. It is regarded as a most powerful theory that studies how matter behaves at the atomic and subatomic levels. Get that deep into the structure of things and it starts to behave very strangely. It almost seems like there is a counter, non-common-sense universe operating right under our noses. Subatomic particles are able to be in two places at the same time! They can exist in two times and places simultaneously but still remain highly connected and could even be at different ends of the universe (the concept of 'non-locality'). They can an do go in and out of existence at random. They can travel effortlessly from the future to the present. This would suggest that matter is influenced by future and past and could make you think about whether we could influence the past even. Since matter is so inconsistent and unpredictable, quantum finds it hard to view the world as real. When an observation isn't made; a thing technically doesn't exist: "it's just a wave, or a possibility."

What does this mean for us? It implies that we as human make things exist. It suggests that at some level, you can see what you want and observation can influence matter. This is initially illustrated by referring to the work of Masaru Emoto whose challenged research allegedly showed that water molecules can be influenced by thought. Similarly questioned is the meditation experiement referred to in the movie.

In the movie this all leads to a rationalization of God, which I think will most likely not be entertained by a lot of scientists.

A prominent role in the movie is reserved for Dr Alan Wolf. One could almost not have a better guy to present the concepts: a big grey Einsteinesque head of grey hair and an impressive CV, one of the more respected advocates of quantum theory and a presenter at Discovery Channel and I must say a great producer of easy to grasp scientific one liners:

• 'The ultimate secret is not to be in the know, but in the mystery."
• "We're mostly made not of atoms, but of mind."
• "Whatever you think you are isn't you."
• "It's all true. There are just different levels of truth."
  (Hearing this one, strangely enough I could but think that this could have been one coming from Helen Clark and here string of puppets in the years before the last election.)
• "There is no out there independent of what's going on in here." (the brain).

And then there was most notably the critique of one of the prominent presenters: David Albert Ph. D, who ended up being very disgruntled about being made to look as if he was endorsing the movie's underlying thesis. Here's what he said about the movie:

"I was edited in such a way as to completely suppress my actual views about the matters the movie discusses. I am, indeed, profoundly unsympathetic to attempts at linking quantum mechanics with consciousness. Moreover, I explained all that, at great length, on camera, to the producers of the film ... Had I known that I would have been so radically misrepresented in the movie, I would certainly not have agreed to be filmed."

The Science Media Centre asked a group of scientists for their comments on the film. I will rest but saying that these scientists were, well, to say it friendly, far from positive with classifications such as: "gross misstatements of recent scientific findings", "grossing documentary", "it would be easy for someone to pick up the wrong ideas", "dangerous", "some is newpage clap trap."

Finally
I can but say I enjoyed the movie, and it gave me some food for further research. At the same time I need to say that in my view a healthy dose of skepticism may be required before you jump on to all to drastic conclusions and actions. I have had the emails of those that were disappointed with "The Secret" and wondered whether it could classify as a consumer fraud. I am curious whether some may consider similar claims about this movie which could also serve as the story behind "The Secret". An initial search after writing most of this post on Google, gave me over 3800 hits, which is way less than  would have expected. So, there may be more value in this movie than I got out of it. For now I would like to close of saying: before you start using your consciousness to control matter and your reality, may I recommend some additional sources to read:

• What the bleep
  
• Bleep of Faith at Salon.com
  
• What the Bleep is Wrong With Everyone? by Evan Todras-Whitehill in the Huffington Post
  
• Beyond the Bleep by Alexandra Bruce, available at Google Books
  
• David Albert: 'What the BLEEP' is Wildly and Irresponsibly Wrong, by Annie Wagner
  
• What the Bleep Do We Know!? wikipedia
  
• What the Bleep do we Know? at Einstein Year
  
• Quantum World
  
• A discussion at Yelp
  
• Fred Alan Wolf's website
  

Related articles by Zemanta:

• Quantum Physicist reveals how to master "The Secret"!!
  
• Miller's Clear Contribution II: Providing a positive case/evidence for a personal God
  
• DiscoveryChannel.ca Introduces Fresh New Look Loaded With Video and Enhanced Technology
  
• Discovery Channel is No.1 in Viewer Satisfaction for Second Straight Year
  
• Loop quantum gravity: getting closer to reality
  
• Leap From The Earth, Soar Through The Cosmos, And JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE on Discovery Sunday, March 1
  
• Was Einstein Wrong?: A Quantum Threat to Special Relativity

Back to smoking again

		Monday, 13 April 09 - 01:49 AM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in My Journal

 I tried and failed.

Cold Turkey: John Stopped Smoking Day 4

		Wednesday, 18 March 09 - 06:25 AM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in My Journal

I am now three days into this stop smoking adventure and can but say that it is so far hard. It has not been the first time so I knew what was coming to me but at the same time cold turkey is quite something else. I am not going to say it is not that bad cause well you know, it is. No bull, it is bl...y hard work hanging in there and staying productive.

In the past days, especially when things were rough I have been looking around for helpful information. I stopped doing that: what a waste of time. I guess the stop smoking industry has become equally lucrative as the tobacco industry. And with that, I have so far not found any useful information about cold turkey stopping like me. If you
have any good sites let me know because by now: what seemed to be the most obvious way - just stop - seems like the least obvious way. Oh but wait: that does not generate revenues of course and it does not keep some otherwise jobless help/quit liner of the street (the blessings of a left wing Clark government for the previous 9 years: a country stuffed up with semi jobs all in an attempt to manipulate the employment figures).

I am not sure whether it is more difficult than with the chewing gum, the patches, the pills or even the Alan Carr book. In fact I don't care. I guess it is more something of setting your mind to it and dealing with the shit that comes with that. Moreover, the setting the mind is the easy part,  the keeping that mindset is the hard part because of what (in my instance) seems to come with stopping: 

• being distracted and having a hard time concentrating
• a screwed up digestive system that does not seem to know what it wants
• stomach and muscle cramps
  
• considerable mood swings
• sleeping difficulties (this is the second night in a row I woke up soaking wet dreaming about smoking a cigarette)

It is under such circumstances of course very easy to fool yourself into thinking "is it really all worth this shit" and it is even easier to fool yourself into thinking that it is not and trick yourself again into these reasons why quitting is not an option any longer or at least not for now. So today I told myself: legions have done it without all the bullshit patches, rescue teams, chewing gum and books, they just did it. Now it is my turn, if only because it is ridiculous to see how the stop smoking campaigns have turned into an industry itself. My best motivator: my children. My worst enemy: an incredibly slow internet connection that is seriously pissing me off.

I must say that already the coughing appears to be less than before and also: whilst on the first day it seemed like impossible to even think about the possibility to wake up without having a cigarette first or not having a cigarette after diner, those moments are already easier. My wife and children may not entirely agree on that however (ggg).

Even after three days I seem to notice that I start smelling more which if you have young children could also be a bad thing at times and deep breading seems to come more easy and naturally. 

7 am now and since I had another sleepless night time for a coffee.

PS my wife just woke up and asked me about last night which was spent semi-awake.  Another good thing apparently: you do not look as sick and grey as on other previous attempts. Hmm

... More items are available in my News Archive