Comments on Stan's Space: More than a nerd. Really.

Hey there amigo.I'm looking forward to the book. ...

2007-10-03T17:08:00.000-04:00

Hey there amigo.
I'm looking forward to the book. Whether it gets published traditionally or through some other means, I'd really like to read it.

Nice to have you back.

-Devin.

Stan:Nice to see you posting again. Your eloquent ...

2007-10-01T15:40:00.000-04:00

Stan:

Nice to see you posting again.

Your eloquent articulation of the written word makes it no surprise that you'd decide to write a book, especially if you've managed to weave both Douglas Hofstadter and Douglas Adams into your announcement here.

Be careful of the pseudonym, however. People might thing you actually did write "Where God Went Wrong" ....

- Rob

Not familiar with G-E-B? Is that even possible? Ho...

2007-09-22T09:54:00.000-04:00

Not familiar with G-E-B? Is that even possible? How would Metamagical Themas made sense otherwise? Never mind The Mind's I.

My first go-through of G-E-B was shortly after Hofstadter took over Martin Gardner's spot in Scientific American. (He mentioned it often enough that I had to read it.) I was already familiar with Escher's work, and JSB was a favorite for a lot of reasons (not least of which was Glenn Gould's clinical exposure of the fugal voices in his mature recordings). I didn't see how incompleteness boy could fit into the picture, but if there was something in there that could give me an idea of the nature of consciousness, I had to know about it. Okay, I was a little bit drunk at the time, but I think that might actually have helped the first reading ;o)

Stan, you constantly amaze me -- imagine you being...

2007-09-22T08:16:00.000-04:00

Stan, you constantly amaze me -- imagine you being familiar with G-E-B! My favourite bit of the book was the "God Over Djinn" bit, which I have used in the development of my own understanding of the higher power you talk about. I'm afraid I was a bit slow to get the "Aunt Hillary" thing, as we Australians pronounce the word like "ah-nt", unlike Canadian/American pronunciation as "ant".

Anyway, more seriously, thanks for sharing your deeper thoughts. All the best with your health, your work supporting the group of young people, and your book -- let us know when it's available. (I might have to break out of my librarian habits and file "Rogers" next to "Hofstadter"!)

Helen.

Remember, Charles, "pretty convincing argument" do...

2007-09-20T03:03:00.000-04:00

Remember, Charles, "pretty convincing argument" does not constitute proof -- it's merely a wall-killer, something that will allow the reader to consider things anew.

"I can, however, present a pretty convincing argum...

2007-09-19T13:00:00.000-04:00

"I can, however, present a pretty convincing argument for an extrapersonal moral authority and for a mechanism by which those three-question-mark coincidences in life might arise."

I'd be extremely interested in hearing that. :-)

Thanks for that powerful post Stan. Glad to hear ...

2007-09-19T11:09:00.000-04:00

Thanks for that powerful post Stan. Glad to hear that things are going better for you personally, and that you are doing such great work for others....

great stuff stan.seems like the people i respect t...

2007-09-19T10:45:00.000-04:00

great stuff stan.

seems like the people i respect the most all end up in a place where they admit both that there is a god, and that god is unable to be named. i'm simplifying things, you said it better in your post.

getting to the point where we admit there is a god might mean we had faith and then lost it, but at some point we pick it back up again in a deeper way, a way that looks something like atheism or some kind of agnosticism, but isn't, not exactly.

anyway i enjoyed this post. thanks for writing.

It must be very hard, as you say, to be young and ...

2007-09-19T08:41:00.000-04:00

It must be very hard, as you say, to be young and in recovery. I can't imagine needing to live a "meaningful, purposeful life" as a 20-something, and having any idea what that means or how to get and sustain it. The media portray something so NOT that, that blocking out the noise and figuring it out would be extremely difficult. I think I may have finally, possibly, sort of, found out what it is for me, and I'm, ah, 45.

I think one can go to their higher power to scream and yell, in addition to asking for strength - which must help (I think it helped my friend, who would get pissed, mightily, at her's). It gives someone in recovery an outlet for their anger and resentment (which is why you really don't want to be anyone's higher power ;-).

I think you're on to something (while realizing you didn't get "on to" it all by yourself) and I think such a book would be worthwhile, Stan.