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Showing posts from August, 2012

Dow Theory: A Political Perspective

"There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as a result of the voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved." - Ludwig von Mises The validity of this basic tenet of the Austrian School of Economics will now be tested. The von Mises position stands at odds with the far more widely accepted Keynesian Economics view of the world , as I have mentioned before . To the extent that great economic theories are being contested this is an interesting time to be alive. To the extent that von Mises might be correct it does not bode well for avoiding economic pain ahead. Long-time readers know of my interest in Dow Theory , which has nothing to do with the Austrian School per se. The oldest stock market timing method, pioneered by Charles Dow himself, has come under criticism in recent t

On Proust and My New Olympic Body Aesthetic

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The aesthetic of the " Olympic body " dates from the beginning of the sporting event itself in Ancient Greece.   Certainly, the experience of a physical aesthetic is an abstraction of reason, emotion, and instinct.  We might not all agree on which Olympic body best represents our personal tastes - or even if that the bodies are attractive at all. I am somewhat athletic.  I jog regularly.  I do light weight workouts.  Lots of stretching exercises.  I used to play tennis and softball.  I would not say I have an athletic mindset.  My focus on nutrition, for example, is more with regard longevity and prevention rather than enhancing strength and performance.  But, while I would certainly not call myself an athlete, I am nevertheless drawn to athletic types.  My first girlfriend was a lifeguard.  My wife plays a lot of competitive tennis and goes to state tournaments.  There were several similar stories in between. In past years, I have generally looked forward to watching t

Curiosity Lands on Mars: Something of a Miracle

Well, they did it. In one of the most challenging engineering feats in the history of space exploration, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (a robotic rover named Curiosity ) successfully landed on Mars after a 9-month journey to the Red Planet. Apparently, the landing was a complete success although it might require a bit more time to determine is everything if fully operational on the rover. Nevertheless, this is a historic moment for human space exploration. Several robotic rovers preceded Curiosity over a period of decades, but all of them were small by comparison and have nowhere near the capabilities of the newest robotic probe . It is hoped Curiosity will greatly broaden our knowledge of Mars, gather information for ultimately a human landing on the planet probably several decades from now, and possibly determine if there was ever life on Mars, albeit probably only microscopic life . But today all that seems almost irrelevant to me compared with the fact the space

Carl Jung: Being Happens

Carl Jung was the first psychologist to influence my life.  I read him extensively in the period before I went to India .  Among his many accomplishments was the understanding that myth is alive in a massive, collective unconscious .  Also, he identified the anima and animus as specific aspects of human personality.  Today only one of his books, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious , remains in my library.  Keeping it company are works by other Jungian-like authors such as Joseph Campbell and Erich Neumann . Jung lingers within my spiritual journey, as I indicated in my recent word doodle on Being .  For me his work represents the closest science comes to touching the face of god.  Here are some select quotes from his book on Archetypes that inspired his inclusion in my post on Being.  I think they point in the direction of Being and perhaps lead to another glimpse of what I mean by Being, even though Jung's use to that word and my use of it are likely not the same.