Deranged

an article by Joan Harvey published in 3 Quarks Daily


Photo by Cristofer Jeschke on Unsplash

If you can get the old voting against state-subsidized healthcare, and the poor voting in favor of cuts to inheritance tax, then democratic capitalism really is workable after all.
Malcolm Bull

As the objective view of the world recedes, it is replaced by intuition as to which way things are heading now.
William Davies

Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
Maggie Smith “Good Bones”

Mark Twain, in his wonderful Letters from the Earth, nails the essence of human unreason. It’s not just the creation story with a talking snake, but how man has conceived of heaven, at least in Christianity.

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Hazel’s comment:
I cannot truthfully say that this is an enjoyable read but it is great pessimism!
It is also worth going to the end and reading the comments.

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The Benefits of Nostalgia

a post by John DiPrete for the World of Psychology blog



If unpleasant or obsessional, past memories can hurt — but nostalgia is good for you. The benefits of this internal psychological state are touted in various academic studies exploring the art and practice of what could be deemed as “pleasant reminiscing.“

According to experts, personal memories from long ago of family and friends can link us together in shared comforts of tradition, and also lend a gratifying sense of continuity in our lives.

Nostalgia can take on many different forms. Watching an old black-and-white movie can trigger a cultural nostalgia for a lost period in time. Often that longing can predate one’s own date of birth: fondness for a time only your parents may have known and talked about.

The mental journey back through time adds a fourth dimension to the present. If mindfulness is the focal point of the Eternal Now, nostalgia forms a special continuum to the timeless past, expanding our concept of the self. The future may be vague, inchoate and unpredictable; but the past represents a finished whole that cannot be harmed or tampered with.

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