The Thoughts of Wally Masterson

Dear friend, you are no doubt aware that your current being is the culmination of every thought and experience that has past your way since time began. Indeed, there is a fairly obvious musical influence¹ in my recent post "Back to this God thing...". Well, dear reader, every profound thought of mine is culminating in this article. Indeed, the entire history of the universe culminates in this... full... stop.
No, this full stop.
No, hang on, this full stop.
No, this one.
Here.
Full.
Stop.

Can you spot the obvious futility of this flawed way of thinking? Well, good for you, it is nice to know I am not alone in this universe of deep thought.

¹For those of you who are too stupid to spot this, the song is Bicycle Race by Queen.

Labels: philosophy

My ponderings lead me to ask: "If history repeats, is history a straight line or a circle"? Those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This implies a circular motif. On the other hand, those that do learn from history and do not repeat it are travelling in a straight line. One world, multiple histories? This smacks highly of Hugh Everett's Many-worlds interpretation. Perhaps this constitutes an (albeit brief) proof of Mr. Everett's postulation? Only time will tell.

Footnote: Of course "circle" and "straight line" are not to be taken literally in a Euclidean sense. History's path is bound to have some deviation from these perfect abstract shapes.

Labels: philosophy

It's late. I'm going to bed. I'm too tired to think tonight. I'll leave that up to you, dear reader, as an exercise.

Labels: philosophy

For centuries, philosophers have grappled with the question of whether man can exercise free will or not. Well, in the 21st century, I believe the answers are becoming clearer. Consider the substantial influences on your thought patterns, dear reader. When was the last time you saw a Nike commercial? Do you think you have any free will in deciding what kind of athletic footwear to purchase? Or has a marketing executive made the decision for you? Lest you find the Nike example facile, consider this: how did you come to know what you know? Let me answer that for you, friend. You probably read it. In other words, you were relying on someone else to plant those thoughts and that knowledge in your brain. Do you consider that free will? Or are you simply a media-fueled automaton?

You might think "I choose to turn off my PC and go outside and smell the roses", but because I have now planted that idea in your head, the will to perform that act is MINE, not YOURS. You are truly incapable of a single act of free will. You are only a puppet doing the bidding of your sub-conscious master. Why, it's a wonder that your sub-conscious even bothers to give you the time of day with the illusion of free will, when it's quite capable of running the show without your conscious self leering out through your eyes.

Having thus enlightened you, I'm going to switch off my PC, go outside, and smell the roses.

Labels: philosophy