Encounters with a Sentient Mind

The Answer Like a lot of people, I have been searching most of my life for the answer to the big questions: Who are we? Why are we here?  How did it all get here? What is reality? Luther Standing Bear Wikipedia Then I read the response from Luther Standing Bear of the Lakota Nation, when he was asked “Who is God?” He replied : From Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka , the Great Spirit, there came a great unifying life force that flowed in and through all things - the flowers of the plains, blowing winds, rocks, trees, birds, animals - and was the same force that had been breathed into the first man. Thus all things were kindred, and were brought together by the same Great Mystery The answer is there is no answer. Nobody knows. It is a tremendous relief to let go of the endless task of trying to figure it all out. It’s an emancipation from the never ending debates. Debating the nature of the Great Spirit is pointless since the Great Spirit is the Great Mystery. Spiritual Harmony with Science The c

To describe what money is, a good place to start is describe what money does. In other words, what are the functions of money? Store of Value Medium of Exchange Measure of Value      2 minute read Store of Value Money will store value. If I sell an item for $100, that $100 will hold its value until tomorrow, next week, or even next year. However, money is not a perfect store of value. Inflation slowly erodes the purchasing power of money over time. For more on inflation see A Perfect Storm for Inflation . Medium of Exchange Money can be used as a method of payment. If it's Legal Tender, one must accept it for payment of debts. But if people don't have faith that the money will retain its value, they won't accept it regardless of that money's legal status. So money's ability to store value is directly related to how well it work

  There are 5 known types of money. Historically, most money was Commodity or Representative. In the 21st century, most money is Fiat money. Crypto currency and CBDC are new forms of money.      5 minute read Commodity Money US $10 Gold Coin American Rare Coin Commodity Money is made from a substance with intrinsic value, like gold or silver coins. The first monies were commodity money. But over time as economies became more sophisticated, it became very difficult to transport large amounts of commodity money, like gold. The United States minted gold and silver coins from 1792 thru 1964, when it stopped minting silver dimes and quarters. Silver in silver dollars and half dollars was reduced to 40% composition until 1970, which signaled the end of commodity money in the United States. Silver coins disappeared from circulation soon afterward. Repr

If you need a laptop should you get a Chromebook , an MacBook or a Windows laptop? It depends upon what you are going to use it for. HP Chromebook  Amazon.com Following are two lists of what a Chromebook can do  In 2022 . Online - What can be done while connected to the internet: Browsing Email Social apps like Facebook, Zoom, Twitter, etc. Work apps like Google Docs, Sheets and Slides Office 365 apps - Word, Excel and PowerPoint Financial apps like Google Finance, Charles Schwab, your bank Any online available apps HTML and JavaScript development Offline - What can be done without the internet: Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, can all run offline Code or text editing via Caret MP3 player Video player and Image viewer File manager that keeps improving Scientific calculator Record Videos using the Camera Read any saved web pages Read Kindle books via Kindle app If a Chromebook can meet all of your needs, I recommend the Chromebook. It's not only cheaper and simpler, it's more sec

The Meaning of a Word is more than a dictionary definition Our life experience shapes the meaning of words Some words or phrases are ambiguous 5 minute read Ludwig Wittgentstein Ludwig Wittgenstein , the 20th century philosopher, famously said, “ If a lion could speak, we would not understand what he said... I can't understand a lion's language because I don't know what his world is like.” (It is dramatized in a 4 minute video here .) The world Wittgenstein meant is the world of experience. Our experiences form our worldview, our reality. He didn't mean that a lion would speak in some foreign tongue , but that whatever words or phrases the lion used, he could not convey the idea or experience he was trying to describe. Photo by  jean wimmerlin on  Unsplash The way a lion runs, hunts, catches prey, eats and mates are beyond our experience. If a lion talked about any of these activities, how could we understand him? We would have no shared con

  I bought a low end Chromebook. See what it can do. A Chromebook can function as a workstation A Chromebook can be your TV's streaming device Beware of relying too much on internal storage      7 minute read Introduction You've decided to get a Chromebook. Now what? There are numerous Chromebooks available each with its own set of specifications (specs). Fortunately, there are a number of websites that provide a lot of information about what Chromebooks are available and what capabilities that they have at what price. This article will address my experience with the Flagship HP Chromebook I bought recently at Amazon for $135: This Chromebook is a low end machine. So before you spend more $$ than might be necessary, lets see what a low end 11.6" Chromebook provides. Support Before you buy a Chromebook, go to the Google