Category Archives: ways of knowing

The DEBT I owed

Posted on June 10, 2012 by hessd

How does this line strike you?  “I was raised by a cool systematic father and a warm episodic mother.”  Of all the material that wound up in the 106 page document, it is my favorite.  It heads the third paragraph … Continue reading →

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Robots are “better than nothing”

Posted on June 10, 2012 by hessd

Back in the old days, when there began to be science fiction fantasies about robots taking over the world, reassurance came with the line, “You can always just unplug them.”  And, with a quibble occasioned by robotic security measures, that … Continue reading →

Posted in Paying Attention, Politics, ways of knowing, Words | Tagged | 2 Comments

Inside Accounts and Outside Accounts

Posted on May 19, 2012 by hessd

It strikes me now as odd that when I saw the title—Systematic Theology: A Historicist Perspective—on the shelf as I pushed the dust mop by it during my first year of doctoral study, the word that really caught my attention … Continue reading →

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Narrative Seduction

Posted on May 6, 2012 by hessd

If you think carefully about the experiences you have and how fully you can trust them, this might be a difficult essay for you.  I already know it is going to be difficult for me. Let’s start with some conventional … Continue reading →

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Stand Your Ground

Posted on April 23, 2012 by hessd

Since George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, a lot of attention has been paid to Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” laws.  People have written about the effect of abundantly available guns on public safety, about the effect of the American Legislative Exchange Council … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Politics, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Beane Soup 3

Posted on April 19, 2012 by hessd

I’ve been looking at the movie, Moneyball, as a movie about changing the way you think.  I was first attracted to this notion by looking at the scouts, who were entirely unwilling to change the way they thought about baseball. … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Good Samaritan

Posted on April 13, 2012 by hessd

I come from a religious culture in which the value of the questions to be asked is assumed and the Bible is taken to be the source of the answer.  I haven’t lived in that culture for a long time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Theology, ways of knowing | Tagged , | 2 Comments

I Want a Second Opinion

Posted on March 20, 2012 by hessd

The story goes that a mentally unstable and unattractive woman was seeing a psychiatrist.  She had been seeing him for awhile and no diagnosis of her difficulties was forthcoming.  “Well,” the shrink said, when pressed, “You’re crazy.”  “I demand a … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Uncategorized, ways of knowing | 2 Comments

Remembering to Leave in Time

Posted on March 11, 2012 by hessd

I want to raise the question here of how to decide when to go live in a Senior Center of some kind—I’m thinking of a nice generic name like Paleo Acres.  This could be a Paleo Acres; I guess I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, ways of knowing, Words | 9 Comments

Beane Soup 2: Peter denies him thrice

Posted on February 11, 2012 by hessd

In this series, I am pulling together little fragments of the movie, Moneyball, to form themes that I noticed and liked.  Or maybe I just invented them.  This one has to do with Peter Brand.  Peter is supposed to be … Continue reading →

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