#SARAHPALIN: #Refudiate the Shallow!

Twitter is the prefect medium for Sarah Palin. A 140 character limit suits someone who would rather post a semi-random thought that has just occurred to her than something that has actually been thought deeply about.

"Oh!" She thinks. "Mosque.... #Muslim...#WorldTradeCenterSite....#9/11...#(insert random vague weapon reference, such as reload or stab)..." This requires, no effort to evaluate what we see relative to our beliefs or biases, or to imagine what other possible stories or values underlie the thing. What it does is resonate with others who agree and anger those who don't and perplex those who care for the deep over the superficial.

Alas, this shallowness is everywhere. Where a #blackwoman is fired for #Racism against a #whitefarmer without carefully considering the facts.....erupting furor right and left... doesn't it just get the juices flowing?!

Considering Depth requires some effort, some facing of ourselves, soul searching, taking the perspective of another. I don't think Sarah Palin is cognitively incapable of doing these things, just that it requires too much effort or doesn't pay off in the stirring up of her supporters (or detractors... after all.... all publicity is good publicity).

We have seen depth. What comes to mind is Barack Obama's speech about his then Pastor and the subject of racism. No big sound bites, but satisfying thoughts to consider. Maybe also his speech to the Arab World early in his presidency... not simple, not showy, not likely to generate exciting sound bites, but, as Jon Stewart said, "Wow! He's treating us like adults!!!"

I exhort you, #SarahPalin (look it up..) Repudiate the shallow. Go a little deeper. Please.

Eleven dimensions in M-theory and Poop Bags

I think I understand about the extra dimensions necessary to make m-theory (look it up) work. Not that I know what they were created for. Just assuming they ARE, I think I figured out what their effect is.

I was walking with Wally, my black and white terrier mix, as I do every morning, around the school up the street. I always carry poop bags (we wouldn't want to be responsible for some 3rd to fifth grader coming in with that on his or her shoes..) in my coat pocket. When I subscribed to the Globe, I had a ready supply of freebies. Since I gave it up (after they doubled the price!!), I must rely on the odd produce bag or buy garishly colored biodegradable ones at Petco. Anyway... if I can, I use the bag as a glove (mitten really) and pick up the turd and heave it into the woods beyond. Then I can dispose of the empty (more or less) bag in either the school dumpster or one of many large barrels on the athletic field. OK... I found from experience that on a windy day, such a bag is likely to take flight out of the barrel or dumpster, so, not wanting to see it out there another morning, I have learned to knot the bag as many times as possible to anchor it better.

So one morning, don't ask me why...Eureka! It came to me that the extra dimensions, which are believed to be tiny knotted up things, serve as extra mass to keep this universe tied down so it won't blow away out of existence. Maybe it is also what accounts for dark matter (look that up too). I thought further that these dimensions are probably knotted up and we are limited (?!) to 3 spacial and one time dimension, because when the universe blew into being from the singularity, it didn't fully blow out as much as it could have. I am guessing that this is a good thing, a lucky turn of events because if we did exist in seven or nine or eleven dimensions, things would be pretty wierd.

Not that I am comparing the universe to a dog shit bag....