THE GLOBAL PLAGIARISM FRENZY

Haven't been posting for a long time... I find it much easier to write when I have something to say rather than write just  to say something, get me?
Anyway, since you're here reading, let me tell you about the global and relentless plagiarism that's been taking place without anyone raising so much as an eye brow. I'm exaggerating slightly but this is what it feels like to me. Let me explain.

Let's consider eponymous discoveries. A few examples:

America was called thus after its discoverer, Amerigo Vespucci (yeah, he beat Columbus to it, actually). Did  he have anything to do with its emergence from the sea floor? Nope.
The Doppler effect was named after Christian Doppler. Did he create it in a lab? Nope. He just proposed an explanation for a pre-existing phenomenon.
Edmond Halley calculated the orbit of a comet. Did he launch it into orbit? Nope. Still it's called Halley's comet.
I am not saying these people deserved no accolade for their intellectual or navigational prowess, just that they were given too much credit.

Somebody said that the person taking the credit for a scientific discovery is never the actual discoverer (Stigler's law). He argued that it is invariably the one with the perceived importance (posthumously) and connections.
   I would push this further. I would say that credit is denied not only the actual discoverer but the originator of the thing being discovered.
  The formation of land, the universal laws of physics cry out design. Is the Designer celebrated, or at least acknowledged? Less and less. Apparently it's not scientific to do so. The only celebration of the creator that I see in Science is through Bio mimicry. 
  It is Science's underhanded compliment to the Creator...

There also is a plethora of self-help principles that borrow form God's word, such as "to become the person you would like to be, surround yourself with people who are already that way" (compare that with Proverbs 13:20, or the saying" 
Be careful what you think…
Your thoughts become your words, 
Your words become your actions 
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your character" (compare that with James 1:14-15)

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

If the creator should put a monetary value on and sue us for all the intellectual property infringements perpetrated against Him, it would probably make the UK's current trillion pounds debt look like a millionth of a drop of water in the ocean.

  If you doubt the existence of God, please read my previous post on the subject
  If you doubt that there is such a thing as God's word and you have read this far, please ask yourself:
How did bible writers know, (before world travels and scientific exploration), that the Earth was round ( Isaiah 40:22) and hanging on nothing (Job 26:7)? 

  If you want a bit more, please read my previous post on the subject.
  If you want somebody to go through this with you, go here.

The big lesson I've learned about negative thinking

If you are reading this post, you may suspect that negativity isn't a great coping mechanism for possible disappointment. You have heard the reasoning "I'm gonna do this but I won't keep my hopes up" many times, (from yourself and/or others)closely followed by a " I knew it" or "I told you so" and you sense there is something sinister underneath it all. You're right. Let me show you what it is.

Negative thinking is cunning. That gremlin is having you on, taking you for a ride, he's playin' you!

If you believe something won't work, your brain will automatically try and find reasons why it shouldn't work. You will even make them up if they don't exist. You will interpret things in a way that support your negative thought, even if you are utterly wrong in doing so. The scary thing is that your actions will align themselves to the negative thought so you get a negative outcome. 

Then you think you were right all along but actually, you've just been played.

Been there, done that. Got too many T-Shirts.

Case in point:

I recently was in urgent need of extra work. I was in a bit of a negative frame of mind to say the least because I hadn't had work in almost a month. I went to an interview, got the job although not in the department I was interviewed for. Then I got an email with the shifts I was on. I read it so fast I only noticed the negative: I wasn’t going to get all the shifts I had applied for. But I actually misread.I thought I was only going to have 3 shifts in 2 months!I had totally overlooked all the other shifts. I might as well had read the email with my eyes closed.

Ok, ridiculous image, but you catch my drift?

I was looking so hard for signs that I was going to be disappointed that I was temporarily blind to the evidence of the contrary. This could have made me miss my first shift and very likely the job. 

I am thinking many opportunities have been passed, many positive things overlooked because of this negative thinking. I know I'm not the only one (or am I???)

Obviously positive thinking alone cannot guarantee success but at least, it certainly doesn't impair our faculties like negative thinking does.

So remember that (talking to myself too) next time the gremlin strikes. He's-a-playin-you-(wo)man! Don't let it cheat you out of the many positive outcomes that are out there competing for your attention. 

The big lesson I learned from this episode is that I should always take the time to do my due diligence before jumping to conclusions. If I don't analyse the situation properly especially when I am not my best self, I will automatically gravitate towards negative conclusions and unwittingly attract more negative in my life.

Makes sense?
:P

Stuck in the past yet somehow stretching towards the future?

We go about the world seeking new experiences,  ideas and insights but somehow  we  remain attached to the outdated an awful long time.

Columbus went  exploring .Went round the globe the unconventional way  and stumbled across the Caribbean  but  he called it West Indies. But this was no western India. Yet the misnomer has survived to this day.

One would have thought that the fact that Columbus didn’t fall off the edge of the world was enough to lay to rest the idea that the Earth was flat. Yet some still hang on to the idea to this day.

Recently, another kind of explorer emerged: the banker, closely followed by the trader.  All kinds of tricks were conjured up to make fortunes. Bankers became intoxicated by the opulent lifestyle. Then the recession hit. Yet  the industry resists any attempt to sober  up and adapt.

 A couple of generations ago, it was common to have a job for life. You didn’t even need to have particularly good grades. A generation later, it became very important to have a degree or at least good grades to land a good job.

But nowadays, going to University is no guarantee to get or keep A job, let alone a decent one. Yet we are still aiming to go to Uni, rack up a huge debt we might never be able to pay back. I would favour the entrepreneurial route myself.

We leave our lives in the hands of institutions that are up to their eyeballs in mud. I don’t think they can help us as much as we can help ourselves.

One other reason why I say this.

I suffered from arthritis and psoriasis for a time. I tried all the medication prescribed by the NHS. None worked as much as when I looked at my diet, did my research and took responsibility for my own life (with the help of good friends). Everyone around me was amazed at how I turned my health around but they still cannot accept the fact that I succeeded where trained doctors mostly failed.  The fact of the matter is, no matter how good a doctor is, s/he hasn’t got much time to make a diagnostic and listening to all your symptoms is a luxury s/he cannot afford nowadays. And most importantly, doctors are not trained in nutrition. They are, and it pains me to say this because I still think they mean well, little more than drug pushers.

Yet,  we still resist. When will we stop resisting and start existing?