Peter Rose
Bio
Collections of "my" vocal essays with additions, are available as printed books ASIN 197680615 and 1980878536 also some fictional works and some e books available at Amazon;-
amazon.com/author/healthandfunpeterrose
.
Stories (329/0)
Political and Corporate Truthfulness
Political and corporate truthfulness. We have, in Britain, a trades description act that is supposed to ensure that all claims for a service or product are accurate and truthful. Advertisements for products often appear to avoid this concept; but it may be that everything is in the definition. For example water can be described as gentle and non abrasive, yet geologically it has been proven to wear through rocks. So a definition of water being non abrasive should include the comment, “within a time span of less than 20 years.”
By Peter Rose5 years ago in The Swamp
Politics and "Joined Up" Thinking
Politics, and “joined up” thinking. Why political objectives end up going wrong. Many politicians claim they have the answer to a nation's problems; some of the more ego-driven ones think they can solve all the world's problems. So, why after all this time are there still problems for just about everyone, maybe except the super rich, in the world? The reason is in that politics does not deal with reality. It does not involve thinking through all the cause-and-effect situations. Politicians consider a problem in isolation, and they come up with resolutions that may be good, IF they were isolated from the actual reality of the whole situation. At an absurd level, it is like solving the problem of water getting into a boat by making a hole below the water line, to let it drain out. The electorates, in modern democracies, elect people to solve problems. At least, that is the basic idea, but political parties have found all sorts of ways of getting their people elected, without even promising to actually solve real problems. The most common tactic is to call it a social fact of life, a problem, and promise to solve it. For example, socialists promise equality for all. They know, and every thinking person knows, that equality of opportunity is not the same thing, since equality of achievement will never happen; humans are too variable for that. Some are better at some things than others. So, the socialist bosses know that equality for all, including the lazy and the feckless, is never going to be worthwhile, nor even desirable. Yet, they get elected on this promise of equality for all.
By Peter Rose5 years ago in The Swamp
Living the Moment, Being Now
Living the moment. Being “now.” Is awareness opposed to focus? Many books and teachers urge us to live in the now. There is much to be said for focusing on what we are doing at any particular moment, especially when attempting a complex task. But it is not so easy, especially when we are not having to concentrate on achieving anything in particular. To literally live in “now” means at any given moment you are absorbed by and focused on, this moment, the last few seconds, or even the next few seconds should not enter your mind. Obviously taken to this extreme it is as dangerous as it is foolish. Try driving a car or typing at a computer, without any thought or intention about the next second in time. As in all things, we have to to apply pragmatism and rationality to our efforts to live in the now. Being aware of every moment that your life is occupying is a good start. Take off the head phones while walking to work, look around as you walk, be aware of other people, smile, say hello, actually be you walking to work, not some electronically separated and cocooned product of electronic input.
By Peter Rose5 years ago in Longevity
Creation Is Not Random
Creation is not random. Creativity does not occur randomly and so creation itself can not be an accident of chemistry. Consider the great human creative artists: Picasso, da Vinci, Michelangelo, WB Yeats, Shakespeare, even modern writers like Tolkien, Pratchett, Rowling; the great composers, Mahler, Beethoven, Haydn; modern creative musicians from McCartney to Sheeran; the great science thinkers, Einstein, Faraday or the engineers, Watt, Brunel. Each one created many things through a combination of skill, knowledge, experience, hard work and intuition.
By Peter Rose5 years ago in Futurism
Carbon Emissions Are a Political Issue
Carbon emissions—how do we know global figures are right? Carbon footprints—are they accurately measured? I have seen notes about how a company can gain a carbon footprint evaluation, by measuring the amount of energy they use; gas, electricity, diesel, petrol, etc. They measure the input of these to the company, and from this they calculate their carbon footprint. As an engineer I can see a few difficulties in getting accurate results, and I am certain any scientist will see variables that have to be allowed for, but it can be assumed this gives a comparative figure (not necessarily a scientifically accurate actual figure) for the company involved. But how are global figures arrived at? Does every nation tell someone how much gas and electricity etc. have been used? Who do they tell? Does anyone check this for accuracy? What happens to countries who do not supply accurate information? How about forest fires, volcanoes, wild animals, etc.? How are all the 60 million individuals in Britain, and all the billions round the world accounted for? Is it just by national energy consumption? If so how accurate are these figures? From Africa to Britain much heating can come from burning wood, how is this measured? Not all electricity generated is actually consumed, not all methods of consuming energy have the same efficiency ratios. At any given moment the amount of electricity generated from “green sources” varies relative to that generated by more conventional means. The electricity generated in nuclear power stations may have very unwelcome waste products, but it does not burn carbon-containing fossils, and so can not create a carbon foot print. Is this allowed for in national figures for carbon emissions? Is it in fact allowed for when a company calculates its own carbon footprint based on electricity use? If the only energy consumed by a business is electrical, and they can claim all their electricity is generated by nuclear power then they must have a zero carbon footprint.
By Peter Rose5 years ago in The Swamp
Human Energy
Human energy. Pumping iron is not the only exercise. Humans use energy in various ways, from physical use of muscles to silent prayer. We talk of physical energy, emotional energy, mental activity, and spiritual energy. All human activity uses energy of one sort or another, but are they really different sorts of energy? We take all the energy we get through our food, drink, and sunlight. So, if the source of input is the same whatever our output, are all these various energies actually just the burning up of calories?
By Peter Rose5 years ago in Longevity
The Grand Betrayal
The Grand betrayal. Democracy betrayed All around the world the word democracy is being deliberately devalued. The expectations that people have when promised a democratic government, is being undermined. People are losing trust in democracy, and this is no accident. From Venezuela to China, from Russia to Britain, the people are told they vote in a democracy.
By Peter Rose5 years ago in The Swamp
Double Standards - Are They Now Politically Acceptable?
Not so very long ago, being able to prove a charge of double standards, against anyone, was to subject that person to public ridicule and humiliation, but now it is so commonplace, especially on social media, that it seems to be ignored. Has it become acceptable for a political group to complain bitterly about other groups behaving just as they have previously? In the ongoing attempts to frustrate the British referendum result, to leave the EU, the remainers used a raft of measures that were undemocratic and outside the usual norms of political behaviour. Then when a leave Prime Minister took a step that was actually within his constitutional powers, the remainers made a huge fuss and noise claiming all sorts of terrible crimes were being committed against the British constitution.
By Peter Rose5 years ago in The Swamp