The Hidden (or Ignored) Flaw in 21st Century's Social Fabric...

Although I am tempted to devour another piece of "Pi," we'll resist the temptation for the moment and begin a discussion on a much more "elemental" topic...

After we have exhausted this subject we may again be hungry for some more "Pi"!

At some point in every generation..."it finds its cause"...somehow the flaws of its fabric...became evident and its members rose to the occasion and made the necessary changes and often "re-wove" the foundational tenants of its belief system...taking itself to the next level...

Case in point...the 1960's has been called a turbulent decade...why?

...because of the struggle that this generations had in coming to grips with racial inequality...it was attacked from every angle...

yet that generation and its philosophers rose to the need and slowly and systematically repaired the situation...

Now...in fact...racial inequality (in the US) is a passe topic...

...some may argue the opposite...but this argument is now definitional...and not behavioral...

I point to the fact that it is widely held that racial prejudice is WRONG...immoral and unethical...the fabric has changed...there are laws in place to punish those who believe and act differently...

This generation (the 21st century) too has flaws in its fabric...

...the most destructive one is a virus that runs rampant through it...and like a great virus...this one has evolved...it may be the proverbial HIV of humanity's' moral and ethical structure...there may not be a cure! 

In its very structure is built an evil self preservation mechanism...

There remains a few that are uninfected (unaffected) by it...and they will readily tell you that this is a devastating disease...

...it is only these people who can see the extent to which this virus is destroying society...

The rest of the world needs to listen...trust and give heed to their opinions...and suggestions for rectification...

The 21st century philosophy needs to address this most basic tenant of society...in order for us to regain our position...and more importantly...shore the foundation upon which we can build a more advanced society...

Have you seen it yet?

Let's take a brief but valuable detour on this journey...to help clear any haze in our mutual understanding...

Even prior to the formal establishment of the American government, an American legal system was established...

The foundation of the system can be succinctly identified with..."Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth...?"

A person's words were considered sacred...and a person held their words (what they said) in the highest regard...

Personal integrity and honesty and full disclosure meant more to an individual that any crime that they could commit!

If the accused person was put on "the stand" and asked if they murdered...it was worse to lie than to admit to the murder...

As a result...a person's right to refuse to answer a question...for fear of self-incrimination was imposed and upheld in the highest courts!

Perjury was a rare occurrence!

The tables have turned...

A person's words are meaningless and hollow...

Precious court and judicial time is wasted building cases...validating honesty...and testing the integrity of the witnesses...WHY?

Because a person is just as capable of lying, as they are to tell the truth...

The flaw in the fabric is our lack of social and individual honesty and integrity...

It has permeated our society to the extent that people make a lot of money...separating fact from fiction...truth from lies!  That is sad!

The 21st century demands transparency...

The 21st century and its internet promotes truth...despite its attraction to hype!

Truth and transparency will become the battle cry and probably the determining factor in American politics...

American business and advertising needs to step up to the challenge of truth and transparency...

The American society needs to demand it...live it and expect nothing less...

CEOs can no longer work with hidden agendas...

Perjury has to have significantly more dire consequences than any of the crimes that the convicted is accused!

The moral and ethical fabric of this society is flawed...and we are to blame...

We have ignored "hedging the truth"

We have accepted "white lies"

Our acceptance to those things which were not the truth and anything but the whole truth has set us on a costly path of moral and ethical degradation...

It is not too late to turn this ship...

Enough said!

Another Piece of "Pi"

I think that we have happened upon a topic that is worth pursuing!

I have been inundated with and replying to numerous email responses to the original "pi" blog...

...not since my discussion of the effects that "gravitational lensing" potentially has on the entire science of astronomy and cosmology have I been so challenged...(if you are interested in reviewing those thoughts...let me know and I'll either dig them up or rewrite them)  The interesting thing is...if you accept gravitational lensing...then you have admitted that all observational astronomy may be an illusion...and the universe can be created by as few as 5 stars!  Everything we see may be simply the same star over and over!

The same issue holds true in mathematics...

But allow me to regress...

The Epicureans (I believe) were known for taking a single concept and building consistent, coherent and non-contradictory epistemological scheme around it.  They believed that the world's truths can be found in those 3-C's.  They were on to something...but many of the epistemologies although perfect in describing the world were based on an initial flawed concept...(look at how they described retrograde motion of planets...by having them circle (spiral) in their orbits...the basic problem that they had was...that the earth was not at the center of the universe...yet their schema worked perfectly!

People that disagreed with their perfect definitions were labeled heretics...which then carried into this age!  (more to come on that subject)

In the previous article...I noted that "pi" should be a finite number...a circle has a definite beginning point and an end  point...which happens to be the same...I then theorized that the issue may be in the fact that the "base 10" number system may not be the real, natural number system...

One person wrote that although it was chosen by the Romans specifically base upon commerce...that 10 digits is a natural number...occurring on all of the advanced organisms...(fingers and toes, etc) and I should adhere to my own theory and accept "base 10" as THE natural number system...

I still disagree...10 may be the system...but I have yet to see any organism with all of their digits exactly the same length...I think if that happened...we would call that a "freak of nature!"

My point is...and I wrote this...hold your hand out in front of you...every digit is a different length...perhaps the message is...Base 10 is right...but the distances (values) between each varies...and that is the message that nature is sending us...

On the subject of messages...the current nature of "pi" could be taken as a message that we are close to the truth...but because of its non-repeating nature...not dead-on...we simply accept that it is non-repeating and infinite...rather than questioning the nature (validity) of the system from which it is derived...for that I was called a mathematical heretic!

It takes me back to when a professional astronomer and physicist called me a cosmological heretic...and a staunch Six Sigma practitioner called me a pragmatic rogue...

At first I took offense...then I thought about the company that I joined...and started looking for other valid reasons to be called a heretic!

If the foundational nature of things are not questioned...there will be no progress...

It is the Epicurean dilemma!

Many of our arts and sciences are based on concepts that are close...but not dead on!

Mathematicians should be pursuing a finite and simplistic "pi"  There will be nothing sweeter and a dessert that is matched by none...(sorry about the analogy!)

Circles are finite in a planer world...and "pi" should be also...

There is a message to be heard from that number...LISTEN!

Anyone want some more "pi?"  I am up for it!