really just a few thoughts...

Thought Number 2:

I had this idea of being a renaissance man.  Kind of like da Vinci. Yet, the more I looked at the idea, the more  I saw it as unfeasible... that is unless I never stopped education.  I don't mean simply lifelong learning, I mean like paying to be taught and when I say never, I mean never.
Da Vinci had it "easy" the different areas of learning weren't nearly as stratified as now.
For instance biology isn't just biology, there is biochemistry, cellular biology, physiology, ecology, bioengineering, and not to mention the specific studies into all the different families of plants and animals.
I don't think I'll ever be a renaissance man that dabbles in everything and furthers there studies in everything... however, what I do think I'll be able to acquire specification in theology with broad based comprehension on a number of notable areas.

... we need a pithy title for it though.


Thought Number 1:
I really do enjoy the idea of capitalism.  It allows for a free market and puts the power of the economy in the hands of the people, because in a free market the consumer is able to determine the job of the producer.  If the producer demands bubble gum, then the producer should make more; if there are several companies that make bubble gum the consumer gets the choice to chose which brand to buy, and in order to appeal to the consumer, the producer tries to out provide the others in some way shape or form.

This of course is all great, but it assumes that the consumer is informed.
Unfortunately, the consumer is uninformed and not only that, the producer has found that by misinforming the consumer they don't need to out provide others, just appeal to information irrelevant to the quality of the product.
What's this called?  Advertisement.  The consumer is uninformed, because they now don't care about being informed on the essentials of the product.  Advertisement has sold them on the idea that the misinformation is far more necessary.  This misinformation appeals to more basal human instincts: identity, self-worth and meaning.
Why do all luxury car commericals sound pretty much the same?  Because they're all selling the same thing to the same market.  The primary difference that Lexus needs to make in comparison to BMW, is not the specifics of engineering, but the idea that German engineering doesn't matter because its a Lexus.

The idea of capitalism also assume that the producer is primarily concerned about the consumer.
Well this isn't true in the slightest bit.  The producer is, and always has been, concerned about the bottom line and being in the black.  If they were concerned about the consumer The Jungle by Upton Sinclair would have never been written because he would have had nothing to write about.  The wouldn't find means to sell their goods as cheap as possible by way of slavery, be it the former kind of chattel slavery on plantations, or wage slavery, or by way of land exploitation for cheap resources.  You could say that providing cheap goods is a concern for the consumer; however, I wonder if the motivation is for market share... and what does it mean when they aren't forthcoming about their practices?

Capitalism would work in an ideal, utopian world... we don't live in one of those.

Thought Number 4:
I suppose for the meanwhile I'll be blogging every Friday as it seems its the only day free enough for me to actually take out the time to do so.
So read a new one every Friday!

Thought Number 3:
I was going to write a 3rd thought, but for whatever reason I cannot get out what I want to say.  The premise of the issue lies around the symbols of Christianity, that is the concepts and ideas that are not necessarily theology in and of the Bible, but theology as developed through European history and Greco-Roman thought which can be done away with without losing the essence of the Christian faith.  Doing this would make Christianity far more inclusive, but the problem remains of how many symbols of understanding can do do away with before we dismantle the faith itself.  How inclusive can we become before we begin erring on the side of pluralism?

Thoughts Number 5 & 6:

I did these in a relative haphazard manner... that's weird.  I guess I wanted to be different.
On an unrelated topic...
I'm a huge Georgia Bulldogs fan, much to my dismay.  As I have seen them ebb and flow for the past 10 years one thing I've seen they begin proving themselves, and once there move quickly from developing a swag of confidence to a swag of cockiness... they always seem to fail miserably once they acquire that swag of confidence.  The swag of cockiness was hugely evident in their win, but moral defeat, in Vanderbilt.  I just hope they realize that they haven't really proved they're a great team yet because they've beaten a bunch of terrible teams.