The QLog

Happy Presidents' Day

Today's topic is the "Birth of the Modern" and a very quick summary of a short essay I wrote 15 years ago which argued that that Febuary 12, 1809 is a great benchmark for the beginning of the modern world. I choose this date as it also was the birthday of both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin. Of course, many economic, political, cultural, historical, and scientific forces combined during the 19th century that resulted in a new kind of mechanized society that no prior civilization had encountered. Of course, neither Lincoln nor Darwin 'produced' the modern world (it would have happened without them), but their birthdate is a symbolic day.

In some ways, this date is purely arbitary; however, it is also wonderful point of reference for marking the cultural and sociological shift. It is a logical choice when compared to any other 'single day' as history unfolds as part of continous stream of cause and effect, so teasing out a discrete moment is almost impossible. Nevertheless, Lincoln and Darwin were part of that first generation that witnessed a distinct break with ancient tradition due to technological progress. Communication changed forever with the invention of the telegraph as messages could instantly travel hundreds of miles. Likewise, both the speed and distance that a human being could travel in a single day was greatly increased with the steam-powered transit system: the railway. Neither of these existed when Lincoln and Darwin were born; however, they were commonplace when Darwin died in 1882. Additionally, Lincoln was known as the 'rail candidate'.

As a second benchmark, when both men were 50, events occurred that focused their lasting impact on history:

• On October 16, 1859, John Brown attack on the Harpers Ferry Armory led to the Southern fears of slave insurrections as a clear threat. This failed attempt became the catalyst for secession and the American Civil War. A year later, Lincoln was elected the first Republican President of the United States.
• On November 24, 1859, John Murray published Darwin's book entitled On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, which outlined the unifying principle for biology (natural selection) and changed the way humanity views itself today.

Happy Darwin Day

Today is the 199th celebration of Charles Darwin's birthday (as well as Abe Lincoln) and it should be celebrated as he profoundly changed the way humanity views God, nature, and ourselves. A little more on this on my next post.

Food for thought: below is the ending paragraph from this landmark volume, the Origin of Species. It is worth reading:

"It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent on each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws, taken in the largest sense, being Growth with Reproduction; inheritance which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from the indirect and direct action of the external conditions of life, and from use and disuse; a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, entailing Divergence of Character and the Extinction of less-improved forms. Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."

Mythbusters, Part 2: You Only Use 10% of Your Brain

The idea that a human beings only use 10% of their brain is often mentioned by motivational speakers and various self-help gurus. It is a great explanation to explain past failures with only one caveat: it is completely false and the origins of the concept seem to be based on outdated science. If 90% of your brain was removed, you would cease to function.

Neurologists that have studied the brain have used modern imaging techniques such as fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and PET scans (positron emission tomography) to monitor brain activity. Many different studies have demonstrated that a wide variety of locations within the brain are used. Also, some tasks are highly specialized and are controlled by very localized portions of the brain while other complex behaviors utilize many different parts of brain at the same time.

Nevertheless, what does seem to be true is that human beings often use LESS than their full mental capabilities due to sloppy thinking, ingrained habits, and static world views. Almost everyone has the potential to increase their overall creativity and problem solving abilities. 

For a much more detailed account on this myth, including more on the cultural history, see the following book chapter:

B.L. Beyerstein, Whence Cometh the Myth that We Only Use 10% of Our Brains? in Mind Myths. Exploring Popular Assumptions about the Mind and Brain edited by S. Della Sala, Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, pages 3-24, 1999

The Rest of the Story: Sir Edmund Hillary

Question: Who is your Sherpa?

Western society values individual achievement very highly, resulting in such phrases as a 'self-made man' or 'rugged individualism'. Nevertheless, Sir Edmund Hillary did not climb Mt. Everest by himeself. He worked in tandem with Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay who was a guide (this was his seventh expedition to climb Everest) and the high-altitude porter for Hillary as well. Yet, he did not know how to use a camera. As a result, when Hillary and Norgay reached the summit, all the pictures were of Norgay (see photo to the left).

The bottom line is that success is rarely accomplished completely alone. People can accomplish great things solo; however, they can climb even higher when standing on the shoulders of giants. Mentors, guides, and coaches are the shortcut to taking your life to the next level.

Once again, who is your Sherpa? Do you have a mentor, guide, or coach in your life, an individual who can help you achieve your personal or professional goals and also assist with the baggage? If you are planning to climb to the peak of that mountain called 2008, you may want to look for someone who can help you ascend to the top.

Sir Edmund Hillary (July 20, 1919 – January 11, 2008)

"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” - Sir Edmund Hillary

This is a very short tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary. Professionally, he was a beekeeper from New Zealand; however, he became famous due to his deep dedication to his hobby and his strong desire to achieve his dream.

"I am a lucky man. I have had a dream and it has come true, and that is not a thing that happens often to men." - Sir Edmund Hillary

He accomplished some extraordinary things in his life. Besides being the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest when he was 33, he also was the first individual to have climbed to the pinnacle of Mt. Everest AND to stand on both the North and South Pole as well.

"While standing on top of Everest, I looked across the valley, towards the other great peak, Makalu, and mentally worked out a route about how it could be climbed… it showed me that, even though I was standing on top of the world, it wasn’t the end of everything for me, by any means. I was still looking beyond to other interesting challenges." - Sir Edmund Hillary

Tomorrow, I will write about 'the rest of the story' and what Hillary did right to accomplish his goals.

Learning Goal

What new skill, activity, hobby, or subject matter do you want to learn about? I suggest pursuing one major learning goal for 2008. Perhaps you would like to delve deep into history and become an American Civil War buff or an expert on the campaigns of Alexander The Great. Maybe you would like to learn how to paint, draw, or sculpt. There are 1000s of possibilities. Some other common examples include:

• To speak a foreign language such as French, Chinese, or Arabic.
• To play a musical instrument such as the guitar, piano, or violin.
• To master a game such as chess, backgammon, or poker.

This year is a great opportunity to learn something new and meaningful. Choose a topic that you would enjoy and then begin tackle the books, the courses, the coaching, the training, or the daily practice that will be necessary.

New Year's Resolutions, Part 2

I advocate Goals, Not Resolutions for the beginning of 2008. However, I do afford exceptions for a few special resolutions.

When a reporter asked Mahatma Gandhi what his message was the world, he simply replied "My life is my message." He also committed himself to the following resolutions:

"I will be truthful.
I will suffer no injustice.
I will be free from fear.
I will not use force.
I will be of good will to all."

These are noble and worthy life principles to re-affirm each new year. I do recommend embracing this set of resolutions.

New Year's Resolutions, Part 1

New Year’s Resolutions are often extremely difficult promises to keep, even if they are private affairs and known only to oneself.

A great example if this found within Samuel Pepys’ famous diary. Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) was a member of British Parliament, a member of the Royal Society, and a Naval Administrator. His nearly 10-year long daily diary has become a vital and unique document for historians as it is an eyewitness source for such events as Great Plague of London (1665-1666), The Great Fire of London (1666), and the Second Dutch War (1665-1667).  Since this was a private journal and only became a public record during the nineteenth century, most of the interpretations and analysis about himself can be taken at face value. 

On December 31, 1661, Samuel Pepys penned about his New Year's Resolution “I have newly taken a solemn oath about abstaining from plays and wine, which I am resolved to keep according to the letter of the oath which I keep by me.”

Although he did not mention any drinking per se during the next twelve months (although he recorded a wide variety of dinner parties and trips to the tavern), he did write the following on March 1, 1662 “Thence my wife and I by coach, first to see my little picture that is a drawing, and thence to the Opera, and there saw Romeo and Juliet.” Additionally, later that year, he saw an adaption of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.

Yet, Samuel appears to have forgotten any infractions of his oath and credits his happiness and success to it. He summarized the year on December 31, 1662: “Thus ends this year with great mirth to me and my wife…and yet would not have been so much if I had not lived a very orderly life all this year by virtue of the oaths that God put into my heart to take against wine, plays, and other expenses, and to observe for these last twelve months, and which I am now going to renew, I under God owing my present content thereunto.”

Of course, the majority of people who make New Year's Resolutions, including myself, have broken their promise or failed to achieve the desired outcome, but then decide to 'renew' an identical plan the following year, just like Samuel Pepys!

Albert Einstein once said that one definition of insanity "is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This is why I suggest setting Goals, Not Resolutions for 2008.

Necessary and Sufficient Causes

A few more distinctions when considering causation include necessary and sufficient. 

What is a necessary cause?

Basically, this means that w must be present for v to occur. If w is a necessary cause of v, then the presence of w necessarily implies the presence of v; however, the reverse is not true by default. A phenomenon of v, however, does not imply that w occurs.

Example: Oxygen must be present for fire; however, the fact a room contains oxygen does not automatically imply that there is also a fire in the room.

What is a sufficient cause?

If x is a sufficient cause of y, then the presence of x necessarily implies the presence of y. However, another cause z may alternatively cause y. Thus the presence of y does not imply the presence of x.

Example: An election results in someone being elected President of a country; however, the fact a country has a President does not imply elections. In fact, a President might acheive power through a military coup.

Multifinality: Many (Potential) Endings

The flip side of equifinality is multifinality, where a single cause can lead to many different possible outcomes. The principle is that similar initial conditions may results with varied end states. 

• One initial cause -----> A multitude of possible effects

The problem: even if one understands the true cause, one can not predict the result! This is why forecasting the weather more than a few days is almost impossible.

In real world situation, both equifinality and mutlifinality are always operating. In addition, most systems have a wide variety of inputs, compounding the complexity to tease out real causes or determining their future impacts.