Question about old knowledge

Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed

Be what you is not what you what you ain’t
Location
Central NY
Just had a thought, do you think there is an absence of old knowledge? Is it possible to be so caught up in the present to loose the drive that made the present possible? Losing yourself to find yourself is not uncommon but perhaps in this case; not relevant?

Ancient wisdom, does that even exist today? Is the Bible ancient wisdom? I might agree once upon a time, not based on actual belief but fearing the consequences for not believing the Bible.

I was raised to believe/obey god's word aka the Bible. The fear projected into me about the bible & god was designed to stop me from questioning god.
 

Maybe it's similar to the way some raise children- all about obeying and consequences, never permitting children to question or doubt, and never giving explanations as to why something is right or wrong.

In my opinion, it's a negative approach, whether it's about children or the Bible/God.
 
Mr. Ed said:
Just had a thought, do you think there is an absence of old knowledge? Is it possible to be so caught up in the present to loose the drive that made the present possible? Losing yourself to find yourself is not uncommon but perhaps in this case; not relevant?

Ancient wisdom, does that even exist today? Is the Bible ancient wisdom? I might agree once upon a time, not based on actual belief but fearing the consequences for not believing the Bible.

I was raised to believe/obey god's word aka the Bible. The fear projected into me about the bible & god was designed to stop me from questioning god.
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So much to think about.
 

Mr. Ed said:
do you think there is an absence of old knowledge?
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As I get older my knowledge gets less every day.

I do think it is true that we lose much of the understanding of where and what we came from. Losing that knowledge is inevitable, but not always good. I think we do a better job today in discovering and retaining history than ever, but its something I think we need to keep after.
 
Alligatorob said:
As I get older my knowledge gets less every day.

I do think it is true that we lose much of the understanding of where and what we came from. Losing that knowledge is inevitable, but not always good. I think we do a better job today in discovering and retaining history than ever, but its something I think we need to keep after.
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think about when you were 6 or 7 years old, remember that world...... and think about now, and the world now ... can you even imagine what we've had to learn and had to discard in those years ?
 
hollydolly said:
think about when you were 6 or 7 years old, remember that world...... and think about now, and the world now ... can you even imagine what we've had to learn and had to discard in those years ?
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Lifestyle seemed just as comfortable. Otherwise, so much has changed.
 
hollydolly said:
My lifestyle couldn't be more different...
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I don't know how to explain, but little change in lifestyle. So much change in in other ways. When taking care of business, so much must be done twice now, or sometimes three times to get right. The business world seems different. Hacking, scams and all of that... What is different for you?
 
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Patricia said:
I don't know how to explain, but little change in lifestyle but so much change in in other ways. When taking care of business, so much must be done twice now, or sometimes three times to get right. The business world seems different. Hacking, scams and all of that... What is different for you?
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you name it, it's different. It's as different as night and day. I was raised in abject poverty and violence in Scotland... and wasn't permitted to study past 15 years old making it hard for me to gain a foot in the business world

In the years since being an adult..I've lived in Southern England with a home in Southern Spain as well .. I not only clambered and fought my way into the Corporate world, but I married one of the bosses of the biggest corporate company in the UK ..

My life couldn't be more different from when I was a child..living in fear...and hunger
 
Mr. Ed said:
Just had a thought, do you think there is an absence of old knowledge? Is it possible to be so caught up in the present to loose the drive that made the present possible? Losing yourself to find yourself is not uncommon but perhaps in this case; not relevant?

Ancient wisdom, does that even exist today? Is the Bible ancient wisdom? I might agree once upon a time, not based on actual belief but fearing the consequences for not believing the Bible.

I was raised to believe/obey god's word aka the Bible. The fear projected into me about the bible & god was designed to stop me from questioning god.
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Besides, God did not create robots, He created human beings with brains.. as a book I have here (written by Norman Vincent Peale in 1957) says, the purpose of a brain is to use it.

Facts are facts, and beliefs are beliefs, and they are not the same thing. Yet, in recent decades, I've seen beliefs presented as if they were facts, including on religion topics.
 
Personally, i think there is wisdom in every official Scripture, 'sacred texts', but also in folklore, myths and legends. They reveal a good deal about human nature and how little it has changed over time. The challenge is to seperate the humane wisdom from the patriarchal and power structure status quo supporting propaganda.


Certainly i think there is less respect for knowledge, for facts, particularly in some countries. Earlier this week elsewhere online i saw a woman call a man 'aggressive' for presenting etablished, well documented facts to support his opinon on something. He made little comment on them but suspect this had been an ongoing point of contention between them.

I won't detail what he issue was because it is irrelevant to the story and my point, as well as political. About a half a dozen other commenters, including myself, pointed out that his facts were irrefutable. She countered by saying it wasn't the facts she had a problem with but rather what she labeled his 'aggressive' attitude of 'always having to prove he's right'.

While i was trying to tactfully phrase my gut reaction of 'Duh--that is what rational, reasonable people do--cite facts that informed, shaped their opinions.", he spoke up telling us she was longtime friend and he had confidence she would come to her senses in time.

So i responded to him, that i hoped he was right, but I was troubled by her words, they imply there is something wrong with using facts to support one's opinion, and once someone decides facts don't matter i have little hope of them coming to their senses. I added i did find it hopeful they could maintain their friendship, in spite of differences.

We've seen way too much of anti-fact attitude in USA in recent decades.
 
hollydolly said:
In what way was it worth it ?... he wasn't the Boss when I married him, just climbing the corporate ladder, so if you mean did I marry him because he was the Boss, then the answer obviously is NO because he wasn't then..... but of course my marriage was worth it...
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The point I was trying to make is that cars, air conditioners, appliances, and so on were available when we were 6 and 7. There hasn't been as much change in lifestyle as the years before we were born. We didn't need to lock our doors when I was growing up. No one in their right mind leaves doors unlocked now. So, those are the type of changes I've noticed most over the years. I understand what you are saying, when considering change in lifestyle from personal experience. You made a better life for yourself, so something to be proud of for sure.
 
JaniceM said:
Besides, God did not create robots, He created human beings with brains.. as a book I have here (written by Norman Vincent Peale in 1957) says, the purpose of a brain is to use it.

Facts are facts, and beliefs are beliefs, and they are not the same thing. Yet, in recent decades, I've seen beliefs presented as if they were facts, including on religion topics.
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Read Peale's Power of Positive Thinking in the early 60s and again in late 1999 when in midst of last divorce. Suspect we could have a lively tread about Positive Thinking. Way too many people misunderstand, misinterpret it.

The curious thing i've observed is that the two main types of people who misunderstand it actually misinterpret it in the same way. They start with the premise that it means forcing positive interpretations on every event. One group uses this false assumption to refute the effectiveness of it, the other group acts on it in ways that are now labeled 'Toxic Positivity' in mental health circles.
 
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Patricia said:
The point I was trying to make is that cars, air conditioners, appliances, and so on were available when we were 6 and 7. There hasn't been as much change in lifestyle as the years before we were born. We didn't need to lock our doors when I was growing up. No one in their right mind leaves doors unlocked now. So, those are the type of changes I've noticed most over the years. I understand what you are saying, when considering change in lifestyle from personal experience. You made a better life for yourself, so something to be proud of for sure.
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What i made bold depends on where you live, and if you have a watchdog. Tho i suppose many people for various reasons might agree i'm not in my right mind. We lock the door if no-one will be home. We often lock the entry door to keep wind from blowing it open as sleep. The house is over 150 yrs old and the catch quite worn --but i've filed the receiving part so the 'latch' part fits more securely.

We have a quarter mile dirt driveway that few vehicles can navigate so quietly we can't hear them, and none quietly enough our German Shepherd won't hear and alert us. Coming on foot not wise considering our cactus strewn terrain, and the dog can smell difference between human and wildlife. The only time she barks at the latter is when trying o convince squirrels or rabits i play with her.

In some ways my life has circled back, living rural again after decades in cities of varying sizes.
 
Patricia said:
The point I was trying to make is that cars, air conditioners, appliances, and so on were available when we were 6 and 7. There hasn't been as much change in lifestyle as the years before we were born. We didn't need to lock our doors when I was growing up. No one in their right mind leaves doors unlocked now. So, those are the type of changes I've noticed most over the years. I understand what you are saying, when considering change in lifestyle from personal experience. You made a better life for yourself, so something to be proud of for sure.
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well the passage you quoted of mine was my reply to @Alligatorob

I can still leave my doors unlocked here .. altho' I would not want to chance it, but I have on lots of occasions gone out and left the doors unlocked and it's all been fine.. even gone to bed at night with them unlocked..

Given your mention of AC, no such thing existed in homes in the UK back 60 years ago.. it barely exists now, not because we're backwoods hicks because until this last 3 years we never really warranted temps high enough for the average person to install it.. so to this day it's way out of reach of the average person's pocket to buy and install..

Barely anyone had a car when I was 7 years old... but now barely anyone doesn't have a car or 2 or more... and most including youngsters have top of the range brand new vehicles..something most could only dream of when I was 7 years old..

There were no supermarkets when I was 7 years old.. all grocery shopping was limited to a small grocery store....there was no such thing as retail parks.. only businessman had credit cards.. the average man never even heard of one much less use one regulalry.. so many ddifferent changes, but not just physical but complete changes in mental attitude, complete changes in the way children are raised and often the consequences of that...
 
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I'm having trouble figuring out the subject of this thread. It seems to me it started out as a discussion about instllling the fear of God in children, and asking about "ancient wisdom." It's turned into a discussion about air conditioning, supermarkets, whether or not we lock our doors, etc.

Can somebody please clarify what this discussion is about?
 
Sunny said:
I'm having trouble figuring out the subject of this thread. It seems to me it started out as a discussion about instllling the fear of God in children, and asking about "ancient wisdom." It's turned into a discussion about air conditioning, supermarkets, whether or not we lock our doors, etc.

Can somebody please clarify what this discussion is about?
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Ask the OP......please feel free to answer the OP question as you understand it Sunny...
 

Question about old knowledge​

There are bodies of knowledge about most all subjects. Within those bodies is history of how the knowlege has changed and many other aspects to that particular body of knowledge. The problem is that so much of history is plaqued with bias and incompleteness and even falsehoods. In today's world we have google so who cares anymore on what is true or not. :)
 
If by "ancient knowledge" you mean facts that were known centuries ago, then we just built on that knowledge. The ancient Egyptians knew the earth was round and had figured out its circumference. As to the Bible, religion is an intensely personal thing. People believe what they want to believe, no matter what religious label is placed on them.
 

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