The Dualism Quandary

Having studied physics, chemistry and mathematics, I have always been intrigued by what is the nature of the natural world. Conventional science would have us believe that science is about “discovering” the Laws of Nature that have governed the Universe since its creation. If you are religious you probably believe that God laid down these […]

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Guarding Our National Values

I am now in my eightieth year and remain a loyal and grateful Australian. As others have rightfully said, “To be born Australian is akin to winning the Lotto”. But being Australian has become more problematic in recent decades. As a young man, I and my peers were unabashedly patriotic. Sometimes our beliefs might have […]

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How the Middle East Succumbed to the Enigmatic Donald Trump!

As I write, Hamas seems to have agreed to a peace deal brokered by Donald Trump. This is a great achievement for Trump and, although many things could still go wrong in prosecuting the peace plan, we should give credit where credit is due. The struggle between Israel and Hamas was a seemingly intransigent problem […]

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The Perversity of Transgender Politics

It is such a strange phenomenon, Transgender Politics. It is built on the fantasy that human beings can voluntarily choose their gender. Many other aspects of our biological endowment are not challenged in such a way. I haven’t heard for example of brown-eyed people demanding that they should be called blue-eyed or short people demanding […]

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Why Are Things The Way They Are?


One of the most fundamental questions that science or philosophy can pose is, “Why are things as they are.” The answer that science would give us is that there exist immutable laws that shape the universe. These laws are uniformly applied throughout the universe and are invariant over time. But that avoids the question that […]

December 29, 2010

The Gnostics


There has always been a certain mystery surrounding the Gnostics. Modern novels such as Dan Brown’s “The DaVinci Code” and films such as “The Matrix” have drawn on some of the mystical beliefs of Gnosticism. My essay this week will try to throw a little light on the little known and seemingly greatly misunderstood, Gnostics. […]

December 20, 2010

Blind Faith


We have been told many times in popular songs and popular literature that “love is blind”. This phenomenon is easy enough to understand. Our hormones dispose to become so attached to our idealization of our beloved that rationality is pushed aside. It is only when relationships really mature that we realize that we can love […]

December 16, 2010

Where Are We Headed


Predicting the future is an activity fraught with danger. And lacking the confidence of Nostradamus, I won’t even try. But I can at least give you some thoughts about various areas of human endeavour that I believe need to be tracked very closely. But even there I am in a quandary. For many issues extrapolating […]

December 10, 2010

A Dream of Brahman


In the beginning there was Brahman. In the end, which might have been perceived differently but was essentially still the same, there was Brahman too. And all there was, is and ever will be is Brahman or manifestations of Brahman. Brahman thought, “Here I am – everything, all-encompassing, all-pervasive, with no end and nothing unknown. […]

November 28, 2010

How We Perceive the World


“Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based on our perceptions. What we perceive depends on what we look for. What we look for depends on what we think. What we think depends on what we perceive. What we perceive […]

November 16, 2010

A Little More Time


You have no doubt often heard someone say, “Are you finished yet?” And the rejoinder comes, “No, not just yet. Just give me a little more time.” What could we possibly mean by this? If you asked for a little more water, a little more bread, a little more sympathy or even a little more […]

November 9, 2010

Is Depression a Biological Adaptation?


October, for some reason, has been designated depression and anxiety month. I have done a few interviews trying to promote my new book, “Yu, The Dragon Tamer.” Although the book is about mental illness, it has little to do about depression. But, because, I suppose, interviewers have to attach their interviews to various fashionable “hooks” […]

November 1, 2010

A TRI-PARTITE MODEL OF HUMANITY


What we are about to propose here, is a third model of humanity. This model is distinct from the other two models, the Determinist model and the Rationalist/ Humanist model. (This model was developed by Dr Phil Harker and first articulated as part of his PhD thesis.) In common with all physical life on the […]

October 27, 2010

Coming to Grips with Stress


There seems to be an epidemic of stress. More and more individuals are claiming to be suffering from it. Organisations are going to great lengths to try and insulate themselves from stress claims which are becoming costlier and costlier. Overall, as a result, our society is paying a great price, from the dysfunction in organisations […]

October 20, 2010