Interactive Metadoxy 2: Wisdom and Belief

One of the strengths of the blogging medium is the ability, long withheld from authors of all persuasions, of posing a question in print, and actually receiving an answer. Taking advantage of this capability, I am posting a series of (at least to me) thought-provoking questions, in the hopes that anyone reading this blog will offer their perspective. This is post #2 in the series.


Inter-temporal consumption choice under liquidity constraints, binary preference relations, statistically correlated stochastic error terms in systems of identified equations... I've been dealing with the knowledge I spent the last year acquiring. Mostly as a matter of exam preparation, but also as a way of exploring how these experiences have affected who I am.

It makes complete sense that I am thinking and relating to the world more and more from the mindset of an academic economist, as that's what I have been spending my time and energy developing. But it got me wondering about how world-views change. It seems that I don't decide the lens through which I view the world. I can't just choose to not believe what I do, can I? Can I choose to believe that when I place my hand on hot coals, it won't hurt? Can I just choose to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is merely a man? It's part of my world-view.

But if we don't directly choose our beliefs, how do they change? I think it is a matter of what we expose ourselves to. When we expose ourselves to things that are thought provoking, we take our minds into completely new areas and dwell there for a while. When we expose ourselves to things that are emotionally stirring, we allow our hearts to be swept up by joy and pain, those two great interpreters of reality. These two things combine to produce the aching need to respond, the essential element of any true change in world-view.

How do we know what thought provoking and emotionally stirring experiences to expose ourselves to? This conundrum is one of the great tests of wisdom, and here I cannot make claim to any great wisdom.

What experiences do you expose your heart and mind to? How do you choose? Where does the wisdom to decide come from?

Interactive Metadoxy 1: Manly vs. Masculine

One of the strengths of the blogging medium is the ability, long withheld from authors of all persuasions, of posing a question in print, and actually receiving an answer. Taking advantage of this capability, I am posting a series of (at least to me) thought-provoking questions, in the hopes that anyone reading this blog will offer their perspective. This is post #1 in the series.


In the course of a recent conversation, it was pointed out to me that being 'girly' and being 'feminine' are fundamentally different things. Someone who is 'girly' may, for example, wear pink, flowery clothing; giggle a lot; be very flirty; and other outward expressions of femaleness. Someone who is 'feminine,' on the other hand, is characterized by certain internal qualities, such as modesty, reservedness, helpfulness, gentleness, and gracefulness. These inward virtues drive the best outward expressions of womanhood. The distinction is meaningful because one can be feminine without being girly, or girly without being feminine (and, of course, both or neither).

I have had more difficulty seeing the parallel distinction between 'manly' and 'masculine.' Certainly someone who is manly would be assertive, even aggressive; risk-seeking, showy, and a fan/participant of sports; and definitely stoic (or the preferred modern alternative, apathetic). But what are the internal qualities of the masculine? What inward virtues drive the proper outward expression of manhood?

Algorithm!

I just came across The Gender Genie and thought it was kinda cool. It takes a writing sample and uses the types of expressions and words to determine if the author is more masculine or feminine. Not sure how accurate it really is, but it does seem to pick up on the difference between emotion, expression, and relation on the one hand and reason, assertion, and argument on the other. My blog posts are almost all considered male, but not all of them are. Maybe someone could submit a sample of their non-blog writing to see how it holds up?

Real Life Parable

Yesterday, we were going to the movies, and as we pulled out of the driveway we saw a mosquito in the car. I tried and tried to squash it, to no effect (other than possibly making us too late to get tickets to the movie). After many attempts, when I saw it pushing against my side window again, I simply removed the insect's obstacle by lowering the window. It was immediately sucked outside and was gone.

This principle is true in conflicts. As my wife put it, "Yielding is better than stopping."