Blog Entries from Louanne Learning

  1. Determinism vs. Free Will

    At first glance, determinism makes a lot of scientific sense. Everything has a cause and an effect, right? All our choices are constrained by internal (biological) and external forces over which we have no control. Right? Max Plank made a strong argument when he wrote: How can the independence of human volition be harmonized with the fact that we are integral parts of a universe which is subject to the rigid order of nature’s laws? Geesh. How can you argue with that? We are balls in the...
  2. Change

    Change is more than the coins in your pocket. It’s the only true constant. It’s the one truth. Change the world, change your underwear, change your mind, change your position. Change is difference, and you know what they say. There is benefit in variety. Challenge is borne of change, and growth proceeds from challenge. We change with change, hopefully in positive ways. And float. Let yourself float for a while. It doesn’t have to be all hard. But no doubt about it. Change must be...
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  3. Consonance and Dissonance

    Consonance and dissonance are opposites. Dissonance is tension and clash. Dissonance is the person in the grocery store yelling at their kid. It’s not finding the words. It’s lying to yourself. It’s a bitter argument. It’s rudeness. It’s rage. It’s rationalizations. It’s believing impossible things. It’s not practicing what you preach. It’s road kill. It’s dying too young. Consonance is flow and rightness. Consonance is holding a newborn. It’s children having fun while playing. It’s giving...
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  4. Kindness

    This poem got me through difficult days. KINDNESS By Naomi Shihab Nye Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully saved, all this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness. How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop, the passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the window forever....
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  5. Immortal Words

    We’ve discussed immortality in the Science thread, but it occurred to me today that we never touched upon the kind of immortality we as writers hope for—to live on in our words. It’s a nice thought, that what we create from our depths, from our blood, sweat and tears, will never die. We put who we are into our writing and the writing survives. In 23 BC the Roman poet Horace began the final poem in his Odes with these lines: I have finished a monument more lasting than bronze, more lofty...
  6. Scrabble

    I love playing Scrabble. My husband and I played every day before he died. My brother comes over a few times a week and we always take out the board. I’m not really a competitive person but when it comes to Scrabble I like to win. Letters and words! Is there any better combination? My instinct for symbolism comes alive. Not even my brother’s constant harangue that I fucked the board bothers me. Getting that seven-letter word! Is there anything better? My most recent seven-letter word (a...
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  7. Perspective and Perception

    Perspective is something you have and perception is something you do. Information comes in. Where do you look for it? That’s your perspective. You control it. It’s what you see. It’s your point of view. It’s what you focus on, be it narrow or broad. It’s what you consider. And in considering, you make sense of what you see. You interpret. That’s your perception. Perspective affects perception. A wider perspective sees more. For example, putting myself in another’s shoes may change my...
  8. Poetry in Prose

    Art elicits emotion, and in A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, Edmund Burke proposes that poetic verse is the most effective art form in evoking an emotional response. The title of this blog—I Dwell in Possibility— is a nod to Emily Dickinson and her poem that celebrates poetry: I dwell in Possibility I dwell in Possibility – A fairer House than Prose – More numerous of Windows – Superior – for Doors – Of Chambers as the Cedars –...
  9. Theory of Mind

    Have you ever said, "You've read my mind?" We do this all the time—theorize about what is in the minds of others. This cognitive ability to infer the intentions, thoughts and emotions of others is termed by scientists theory of mind. I know what you're thinking.... Each and every one of us has a theory of mind. We use it to make sense of and predict behaviour. It's theory of mind that makes language possible, and story-telling, too. Anything where you have to get inside another's head....
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