Wednesday, December 18, 2024
OPINION ESSAY - THINKING ABOUT SOUNDS AND LANGUAGE AND PEOPLE
Oddly enough, it was sounds, not actual words, that made me begin to understand that thought itself could influenced by the "language" of the person.
In language school we were told that when a German dropped something, they did not say "oops", but, said "hoopla". It seemed strange to me that they would actually make that sound instead of the "natural", in English, of course, sound of "oops".
The first time I ate in the mess hall (dining facility) at my duty station in Germany, one of the German ladies who worked there dropped some dishes, and, sure enough, laughed and said, "Hoopla".
It was more of a revelation to me about the power of language than anything else I learned studying two languages and living in Europe for six years.
So, just for fun, what kinds of animals say wau-wau, kikeriki, and iaah in German?
Dog (bow wow), rooster (cockadoodle doo), mule or horse (hee haw).
Same animals, sounding different to different ears. Makes me wonder if the thoughts sound different too.
Labels: donovan baldwin, essay, German, hooplah, language, oops, opinion
Friday, December 06, 2024
ARTICLE - HEALTH - FROM DOG SLEDS TO DIABETES
BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Interesting interview on the radio yesterday. Unfortunately, I only caught a few minutes of it.
It was actually about a novel. The plot was about a doctor in Canada. I don't know much more than that about the book.
It was the author, and his comments, that caught, and held, my attention.
The author had been a Doctor in Canada and drew on his experiences for the novel. He had also been a doctor in Afghanistan, again, I don't know the circumstances, but his experiences in both areas provided him with an interesting point of view on modern health dilemmas.
In Afghanistan, he found that the local people "never" in his words, required insulin for diabetes or to stabilize blood sugar. Apparently, the use of insulin in other, more "modern" societies is quite common due to diet and lifestyle....which have contributed to high levels of body fat, particularly the insidious abdominal, or visceral, fat.
He also compared this to medical observations over just a few decades of the Inuit of Northern Canade.
Not too long ago, many of their "major" health problems were what you would expect from such a civilization...broken bones, cuts, etc. These days, they can have Kentucky Fried Chicken from a fast food emporium, rather than whale blubber from a beast they chased for hours, or even days and expended huge amounts of calories to kill, butcher, and prepare.
The difference in lifestyle is reflected in medical problems. They have fewer broken bones, cuts, and gashes, but have diabetes (once nearly unheard of), heart disease, and strokes...all conditions related to high accumulations of visceral fat.
Sure, they used to have subcutaneous body fat which helped protect against the cold and provided energy stores...which they drew upon regularly. Now, they, like so many of us in the U.S. and other "Western" nations, have accumulations of abdominal fat which surrounds the internal organs and keeps the body in a state of chronic inflammation, contributing to heart disease, as well as diabetes.
Not a whole lot of conclusions here, but I think I will go exercise now.
Labels: article, diabetes, donovan baldwin, health, opinion
Thursday, December 05, 2024
OPINION - ESSAY - THINKING
Still, that's sort of implied by the word "thinking". It's an ongoing process. Also, as we encounter "problems", things to think about, some may be new. We may not have been aware of the problem/question before, or maybe only in a peripheral way. Now, it meanders to the forefront of our mind, and, like a new acquaintance, or even a friend we haven't seen for a while, we have to learn, or re-learn, information about it.
Learning is also an ongoing, open-ended, experience.
So, our thinking about the "thing", an ongoing process, involves "learning", also an ongoing process, which means that the "conclusion" or "solution", may become a bit of a moving target.
When we read, listen to, or encounter, a great thinker, that someone or something that makes us think, we tend to expect their great thoughts to enlighten us... solve the problem, provide the conclusion which we can then use to show ourselves to be "thinkers" as well.
Nope.
Tain't necessarily so.
Usually, they just show us how much we don't know yet, and start us thinking and learning.
That's a "maybe", not a conclusion or solution.
Just thinking out loud.
Labels: donovan baldwin, essay, opinion, thinking
Sunday, November 24, 2024
OPINION ESSAY - CHANGE
I have seen so much change, in knowledge, customs, technology. Things which were only imagined when I was a child are real today. Things which WE, at that time, could NOT imagine happening, have occurred, become reality, and will continue to.
We change. Societies change. Even the Earth changes.
Still the thing that really struck me, was, despite 73 years on that changing Earth, despite a college education, work experience in many different fields at many different levels, despite life experiences (direct and indirect) of all kinds, despite an intense interest in everything around me, there is so much I do NOT know.
There is so much out there, still to be learned.
Perhaps that's why I tend to take a step back from certain discussions where the intent seems to be to beat one's "opponent" into submission. like knights in armor, too heavy to be graceful, even about killing, who must be declared "winner" based on sheer weight and number of blows.
While I DO have my personal beliefs, and take my stands based on what I feel is right, I still haven't learned enough to be ready to tell everybody else they're wrong.
Not even in another 73 years.
Labels: change, donovan baldwin, essay, opinion
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
OPINION ESSAY - NEWNESS
Early in the beginning hours of a new day, a Monday, the start of OUR working week, it's NOT strange to muse a bit about "newness". Newness can be good, I guess.
What I'm thinking, is that, in today's world we ARE flooded, "inundated" by such a constant and overwhelming stream of "new" information, we sometimes forget what is "new" to us, may have been around for a long time. May already be known to many other people in fact.
Doesn't necessarily lessen the importance of the lesson (Catch that wordplay?).
The fact that we have learned a fact, or been inspired to give thought to a thought, has an importance of its own beyond the value of the information itself.
Years ago, I first read this statement by Francis Bacon (1561-1626) "Reading maketh a full man; conference [discussion or debate] a ready man; and writing an exact man."
The point being, I guess, that, just as with physical fitness, mental exercise is of value in keeping a healthy mind.
The body doesn't care how old the barbells are that it lifts, and responds to.
Lifting, moving, and examining the thoughts of others, can help make OUR minds stronger and better prepared to live in this often contradictory world.
Exercising, even with old thoughts, might just give us new strengths.
Labels: donovan baldwin, essay, opinion, thinking, thoughts
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
OPINION - THOUGHTS, PERCEPTIONS, AND INSIGHTS
Interesting where thoughts, perceptions and insights, come from, and, how altering one can change an entire outlook.
Despite years of studying human nature, trying to be mature and reasonable things, and learning several methods of "letting go", including meditation (which I first began practicing in high school), I used to take a lot of things personally.Somebody would say or do something, not even directed at me, or arising out of my actions, and I would feel personally involved... in a bad way. Even just "events" pushed personal buttons.
This created a lot of unnecessary frustration, anger, and just plain unsettled feelings within me.
One day, while driving a big truck through the mountains, coming from Oregon into California, I became upset with another driver. I would pass him, and, a while later, he would pass me, then, after a while, he would lose speed, and I would have to pass him again.
I became more and more angry, at him, a total stranger, because of his inconsistency, which was causing me to have to keep passing him whenever I could.
Since there was a lot of traffic around us, and this stretch of road was tricky, this was more work for me.
Suddenly, for some reason, in my growing anger and frustration, it dawned on me.
My trailer was nearly empty, though my truck's speed was governed so that I could not go at a high speed under the best conditions.
He had a bigger, stronger truck, but, apparently, I realized, was probably heavily loaded. So, going uphill, I was able to catch and pass him. On the downhills and flatter stretches, he was able to speed up and pass me.
I was actually the one in HIS way.
Still, we were each doing our personal best, just trying to move our loads forward, operating with the equipment we had to work with.
Nothing personal is involved.
Big change in my outlook after that, not just there and then, but, I've tried to carry that lesson through as I lived my life since then... sometimes, we're just doing our best, with the equipment we have to work with.
Labels: donovan baldwin, essay, insights, opinion, perceptions, thoughts
Monday, November 11, 2024
OPINION - FINDING OUR OWN BEAUTY AND WISDOM
Sometimes we read something, hear something, and think, "How wise that is!" Yet, it's been my experience that often the wisdom is not IN the statement that we heard or read, but, in our acceptance, recognition, or evaluation of it.
Often, we are finding the wisdom in ourselves that, perhaps, we couldn't see, or did not have the words or images for.
When we look at art, no matter how skilled the artist, or lovely, or compelling, the scene or subject, it's our own reaction, our acceptance, recognition, response, that makes it "beautiful", or "perceptive" or "avant garde" in our eyes and mind. The wisdom is often within us. The beauty is within us.
Oh, sometimes we need a little help finding it, seeing it, or maybe are missing a few pieces, but, that's why we read, walk in the woods, hum along to music, speak with others... or sit and watch the world, and wonder about it... finding our own beauty and wisdom.
Labels: art, beauty, donovan baldwin, opinion, wisdom
Sunday, November 10, 2024
OPINION - MINEFIELDS
Once again, looking back over the 79+ years of my life, I come to a conclusion... of sorts... almost. Right?
Wrong?
I can only say that it makes sense to me. Maybe not to you.
Just, as I like to say, thinking out loud.
I hear a lot today that one topic or another is a "minefield"... meaning, anywhere you wander in it, you are risking something, or somebody, exploding in your face... injuring, if not your body, then your mind, your beliefs, your equanimity, your relationships... your view of yourself and the world.
I personally believe a lot of the "explosions" come from the ability of anybody to put any thought up on the internet... or take exception to someone else's thought or opinion, but, not all. Some have been happening all along,
I don't believe these "minefields" are new. In fact, looking back over my life, and the history I've lived through, life itself is a minefield.
There is always the chance to take the "wrong" step, to move in a "dangerous" direction. The actual chance of "explosion" depends to some extent on a person's volume of activity in living.
There's sayings I've seen from various sources that essentially say that if you haven't made a mistake, or made someone angry, or caused someone to think, you haven't done anything.
A certain amount of truth there, I believe.
Hope that opinion doesn't blow up in my face.
Labels: current events, donovan baldwin, essay, opinion
