Leading Minds and the Way They Thought

So I have noticed one point that comes up in most of my conversations with religious believers. We tend to come upon the religious beliefs of past and present leaders and scientists. The person I am talking to usually asks "well if religion was good enough for them, why not for us". There are many ways I (or anyone else) can answer this question, but it usually ends up with that "branch" of the conversation closing and moving onto something else.

So, I have decided to compile a small list of famous figures and their thoughts on life and faith. My choices are those that have just come of the top of my head and I am sure that I have missed many well deserving people when writing this. The format of the list will go as follows:

Person
DOB - DOD (BD)
Occupation/Accomplishments (O/A)
Position on Faith (F)
Life Fact (LF)
Quote (Q)

Aristotle

(BD)384 BC – 322 BC

(O/A)A Greek philosopher, student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology.

(F)Surrounded by the Greek mythology of Gods and Goddesses, Aristotle saw the existence of one God who acted as the “mover” with humans as his pawns.

(LF)Aristotle believed that women are colder than men and thus a lower form of life (not completely human). Although, he gave equal weight to women's happiness as he did to men's, stating that a society cannot be happy unless women are happy too.

(Q)“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.”

Nicolaus Copernicus

(BD)1473 - 1543

(O/A)Was a Polish mathematician, astronomer, physician, scholar, translator, cleric, military leader and economist.

He was the first astronomer to develop a thorough heliocentric cosmology, displacing the Earth from the center of the universe.

Copernicus' book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium(On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), is often viewed as the starting point of modern astronomy and the beginning of the scientific revolution.

(F)A catholic who did not view his heliocentric model as a threat to his faith.

(LF)Copernicus spoke Latin, Polish, and German with great fluency. He also spoke Greek and Italian.

(Q)“The massive bulk of the earth does indeed shrink to insignificance in comparison with the size of the heavens.”

Galileo Galilei

(BD)1564-1642

(O/A)An Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. His achievements include improvements to the telescope, the confirmation of the phases of Venus and the observation and analysis of sunspots. Galileo has been called "the Father of Modern Science."

Galileo's support of Copernicanism was controversial within his lifetime, as the majority of philosophers and astronomers dealt in the geocentric view (Earth at the center of the universe). He met with bitter opposition when promoting the heliocentric view (Sun at the center of the universe).

He was denounced to the Roman Inquisition in 1615, but was cleared of any offence at that time. However, the Catholic Church proclaimed heliocentrism to be "false and contrary to Scripture" and Galileo was instructed to abandon his support for it. When he later defended his views in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, he was tried by the Inquisition, found guilty of heresy and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.

(F)Galileo was a devoted Roman Catholic, and it seemed that he remained this way until his death. Before being convicted of heresy, he was in the favour of Pope Urban VIII. Pope Urban commissioned Galileo to write a book discussing heliocentrism, but told him not to advocate it. Unfortunately, this relationship disintegrated leaving Galileo vulnerable.

(LF)He discovered the four largest satellites of Jupiter (named the Galilean moons in his honour).

(Q)"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use"

John Locke

(BD)1632 – 1704

(O/A) An English philosopher and physician

(F)Raised as a Puritan (an Anglican), but later was a liberal Protestant Christian

Formed the Theories of Religious Tolerance

1. Earthly judges, the state in particular, and human beings generally, cannot dependably evaluate the truth-claims of competing religious standpoints

2. Even if they could, enforcing a single "true religion" would not have the desired effect, because belief cannot be compelled by violence

3. Coercing religious uniformity would lead to more social disorder than allowing diversity.

(LF)Widely known as the Father of Liberalism

(Q)“I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.”

Issac Newton
(BD)1643 – 1727

(O/A)English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, alchemist and theologian

In 1687, published the Principia, which includes Newton’s Laws of motion, his law of universal gravitation, and a derivation of Kepler’s laws of planetary motion.

(F)Newton viewed God as the master creator whose existence could not be denied due to the majesty of all creation and insisted that divine intervention is necessary to improve the world. Never made a public declaration of his private faith (which would have been deemed extremely radical by orthodox believers) except when he refused to take holy orders and refused, on his death bed, to take the sacrament.

(LF)In a manuscript he wrote in 1704 in which he shares his attempts to find scientific information from the Bible, he estimated that the world would end no earlier than 2060.

(Q)“Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion. God governs all things and knows all that is or can be done”

Albert Einstein

(BD)1879–1955

(O/A)Was a German theoretical physicist, philosopher and author.

(F)His family were non-observant Jews, who sent Albert to a Catholic elementary school

In 1929, Einstein told Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein "I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of mankind."

In a 1954 letter, he wrote, "I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly.”

In a letter to philosopher Erik Gutkind, Einstein remarked, "The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still purely primitive, legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.”

(LF)In the period before World War II, Albert Einstein was so well-known in America that he would be stopped on the street by people wanting him to explain "that theory." He finally figured out a way to handle the incessant inquiries. He told his inquirers "Pardon me, sorry! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein."

(Q)After World War II, as enmity between former allies became a serious issue, Einstein wrote, “I do not know how the third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth – rocks!”

Stephen Hawking

(BD)1942-present

(O/A) A British theoretical physicist

(F)Takes an agnostic or deist approach. Believes the universe is governed by the laws of science.

(LF)Stephen Hawking is severely disabled by motor neuron disease also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (or ALS)

(Q)“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.”

Mahatma Gandhi
(BD)1869 – 1948

(O/A)The pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement.

(F)Gandhi was born a Hindu and practised Hinduism all his life, deriving most of his principles from Hinduism. As a common Hindu, he believed all religions to be equal, and rejected all efforts to convert him to a different faith.

“Hinduism as I know it entirely satisfies my soul, fills my whole being...When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and when I see not one ray of light on the horizon, I turn to the Bhagavad Gita, and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of tragedies and if they have not left any visible and indelible effect on me, I owe it to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.”

(LF)On 30 January 1948, Gandhi was fatally shot while having his nightly public walk on the grounds of the Birla Bhavan (Birla House) in New Delhi. The assassin was a Hindu nationalist with links to an extremist who held Gandhi responsible for weakening India by insisting upon a payment to Pakistan.

(Q)"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty"

A BIG thank you to wikipedia for making this article easy for me to write.

Take a Ride on the Swing of Death

Being an avid surfer of the web, I have seen many dumb and dangerous things BUT this one takes the cake. I mean it's really cool and all, but seriously! Wow, check out this video and start planning your "Swing of Death".

My Home Town

Thank you to the guys that made this Video. You have given Thunder Bay a new life. Credit goes to:
Lyrics/Rapping By: Jordan Burnell
Beat By: Andrew Michael
Video By: Matt Popowich
Co-Producer: Ronnie LaVia Westfort Films t.

Check out their facebook page, Burnz N Hell and their youtube page.

Lost Revelations

I felt it would be fitting to write my next post on the first episode of season 6 of Lost. First of all, let me share my feelings about the season opener:

HOLY CRAP!! WTF! WHAT THE? HOW'S THAT POSSIBLE? HUH?!?!

Ok, so now that that's out of the way, let's get on to an intelligent conversation and analysis. Lost's season opener was crazy, but it was some what fulfilling. After waiting so long for an answer to the end of season 5, we now have it (or some of it...and more questions!).

Warning, spoilers coming your way!

Ok, so we now know there are two different time lines occurring about 3 and a half years apart.

The first time line consists of Oceanic Flight 815 not crashing on the island, and instead lands as scheduled at LAX. Here are some assumptions/facts/queries about this timeline:

1. The hydrogen bomb seems to have worked and has reset the passage of time.
2. The island is seen as a sunken land mass under the surface of the sea. I am assuming that this is because of the hydrogen bomb and not because of the "special powers" of the island. The explosion may have caused a fault to slip and sink the island into the sea. This is probably the geologist and realist coming out in me, so we will have to wait for answers.
3. Jack is shown to be bleeding when he goes into the bathroom of the air plane. Not at all sure why.
4. Desmond was on the plane, but he was never on Oceanic flight 815 to begin with. He came to the island via sail boat. I am assuming that since the island is no more, Penny was never born as both Eloise and Charles Widmore die. Therefore, Desmond never meets Penny and goes off on a totally new path. How's that sound?
5. Shannon was not shown with Boon on the plane. Boon says he never succeeded in bringing his sister back with him, a complete change from the original plot. Is this part of the grand scheme of things or could they not get the actress who plays Shannon to come back?
6. When Sawyer tells Hurley to be careful about saying he's a lottery winner as people will try to con him, Hurley replies that it won't happen as he is the luckiest man in the world. Strange, as Hurley was once the unluckiest man in the world.
7. Jin is in trouble! I wonder what all that money in his bag is for. Was he planning on leaving Sun, or was this a job for her father?
8. Michael and Walt are no where to be seen on the plane. What's with that?
9. Kate's on the run and Claire is in the middle of it. Who knows where this will end up.
10. The coffin housing Jack's dad is missing. What can this mean?
11. Since there is no island, Juliet never goes there. That leaves Juliet to maybe make an appearance in this new time line. But will she? ABC's new show "V" has started and I am not sure we'll see much of her.
12. Jack gives Locke his bussiness card, saying "nothing is irreversible". While Jack is saying this to Locke about his spinal injury, I can't help but feel that this is an allusion to what they just did (change the course of time) or to what they might do in the future.
13. Since (at least with my theory) that Penny was never born, I will assume that Daniel Faraday was never born and he will not be making any appearances. Although, I hope i'm wrong as I liked Daniel. Coolest physicist I've ever seen.
14. Since the island is submerged, the numbers can no longer be broadcast from the radio tower, meaning that Hurley can never hear them. This may be the reason why he is lucky now.

Time line 2 follows the castaways as they are thrust back into the future, to their own "real" time. Here's my analysis:

1. Sad we lost Juliet, but the story must go on.
2. Interesting that Jacob appears to Hurley and tells them to go to the temple to save Sayid. I'm wondering if Jacob has a plan up his sleeve.
3. The Temple is pretty awesome. It reminds me of a Mayan or Aztec pyramid. This may be reminiscent of the fact that the island has moved in the past and was home to many past cultures. I'm gonna put out the theory that the island was once Atlantis...maybe.
4. Who is Dogen, the Japanese guy who seems to be in charge of the temple?
5. Why was the spring water muddy? What answer did Dogen give for this?
6. So, the man in the black shirt (mib) is the smoke monster and is the fake John Locke. He must have been planning this for quite some time as it seems he is only able to reincarnate himself as dead people. Realizing that Locke is the now the leader of the others, he compels Locke to leave the island and bring back his friends. He hopes that Locke will die so he can assume his identity. It must be Locke as he is in a key position. He can gain access to Jacob and he can persuade Ben to kill Jacob, which ends up happening.
7. I'm wondering if Jacob can assume the identity of the dead too, and if the bodies we saw Jacob and "mib" in earlier were other dead people.
8. I would hate to be Richard right now. He has just led a fake John Locke to Jacob, Jacob is dead and the temple shoots a flare into the sky. He must be one confused guy. Then to top it off, fake John comes up to him and says "nice to see you out of those chains Richard". Richard replies "you" and then fake John knocks Richard out and takes him away. So, those chains may imply that Richard was once a slave, maybe one that came on the ship, the Black Rock, or something completely different.
9. Sayid is back from the dead! Is it really Sayid though, or could it be Jacob! We'll find out soon.
10. Death Count: Daniel Faraday, Juliet and Charlotte are dead.

So, hopefully many of these questions will be answered during next week's episode, so stay tuned! If you would like to watch Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse talk about this season on the Jimmy Kimmel show, check out part 1 and part 2. In this interview they have set May 23, 2010 as the date of the final episode. Also, check out Lostpedia's rendition of the episode.

For your viewing pleasure I present season 6 deleted scenes (kudos to the creator):