Boomhauer is the mumbling, classic-car loving,
womanizing bachelor on FOX’s King of the Hil, who
sometimes surprises us with philosophic ponderings
and insights

in the video below, Boomhauer shares his secret to
getting women with the romantically challenged
Bobby Hill

the video gives us much to PonderAbout; and it can
generate strong and diverse reactions

for example, many of us would give Boomhauer an
F- for his expectations of a relationship
(”no strings attached” sex)

however, he would rate considerably higher in
two areas where many of us fail miserably:
initiative; and persistence in the face of repeated
rejections

check out the video and see what you think

NASA image

close your eyes and try to visualize the universe;
what is the geometric shape of your image?

do you know this imagined shape to be accurate,
or is it just an image based on an assumption?

here’s NASA’s current thoughts -

the shape of the universe is determined by its
density

if its density equals a particular value, called the
critical density, then the universe is flat, like a sheet
of paper

if the density of the universe is greater than the
critical density, then it is spherical in shape

if the density of the universe is less than the
critical density, then it is curved, like the surface
of a saddle

recently acquired data suggests that the density
of the universe is surprisingly close to the critical
density, and that the universe is flat in shape

NASA states it simply –

We now know that the universe is flat with only
a 2% margin of error.

who would have thunk it?!

for more information, check out this link from
NASA

with all the controversy and media coverage
surrounding the Michael Vic dog fighting case;

at some point, we are likely to PonderAbout our
likely reaction to sight of animals in mortal combat -

would we hide our eyes or gaze intently?
would we root for one of the combatants?
what would we feel?

the video below describes the reaction of a young
girl, who while visiting a zoo, unexpectedly witnesses
the confrontation between a snow leopard and the
squirrel it has locked in its sights

check it out and ask yourself whether the girl’s
reaction is typical of children, and typical of us

the above video’s soundtrack is an excerpt from a
WNYC Radio Lab podcast which can be heard in full
here

it is useful to have some sense of the theoretical
models we have used to describe the world; how
these models have changed over time; and the
factors that have lead to their change

PonderingAbout our models gives us perspective,
keeps our thinking flexible, inhibits us from reifying
theory, and readies us to discard existing models
when they can no longer account for the data

if were to look back at the long line of theoretical
models that have come and gone, we would
inevitably encounter alchemy

from Wikipedia -

“In the history of science, alchemy (Arabic: al-khimia)
refers to both an early form of the investigation of
nature and an early philosophical and spiritual
discipline, both combining elements of chemistry,
metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics,
mysticism, spiritualism, and art all as parts of one
greater force.

alchemy has been practiced in Mesopotamia,
Ancient Egypt, Persia, India, and China, in Classical
Greece and Rome, in the Muslim civilization, and
then in Europe up to the 19th century — in a
complex network of schools and philosophical
systems spanning at least 2500 years ”

as per the above definition, alchemy is a vast topic;
and there will be further PonderAbout posts on:
Isaac Newton’s extensive alchemic work, alchemy
as it relates to the transmutation of the soul . . .
and more

but lets start with the basic, ABC’s of alchemy -
the concept of the four elements and the process
of the transmutation of matter

these are described in the video below by author
Cherry Gilchrist

the above video is a brief excerpt from
Stephen Hawking’s Universe

a top comedian is a remarkable person

like a philosopher, the comedian can discover one
of life’s bitter truths and hold it up before us

like a magician, the comedian can transform
that painful truth to a source of pleasure

and this feat is accomplished before we can say
presto change-o

check out Chris Rock in the video below to see
a comedian as a Philosopher-Magician

here, he stares intently at the audience,

then he lays out one of the darkest secrets
lovers can keep from one another . . .

and, somehow, brings the house down with an
explosion of laughter