Human beings have several ‘needs’ beyond food, shelter and clothing. Tony Robbins is an internationally known “Life Coach” who has highlighted a group of human needs, among which are “certainty” and “uncertainty”.   Certainty Feels Good Most of us will readily accept certainty. It feels good to know, for example, that when I get into my vehicle for a two hour journey to the next city, I will arrive at my son’s home safely and harmlessly. Yes, minor or major accidents can happen, but careful planning and vigilant attention on the road will minimize those risks. I have made that trip at least twenty times each year, and I can be certain to get there next week as well. Similarly, when I mix flour into a dough, put it into a loaf-sized pan …

Richard Dawkins in a book titled The Selfish Gene, was looking for a concept that would describe a gene. He succeeded and named it ‘meme’. He saw ‘meme’ as an endless repetition of genes. Now the “Genome Project” identified 95% of genes as ‘Junk Genes”. Chances are that Dawkins, as most other people who observe human interactions, found that 95% of what people say is useless.   We Are Memetic Beings Meme must also have a relationship with the fact that human beings are memetic creatures. We copy each other, both consciously and unconsciously. We are role models for each other. We even copy totally useless modes of behavior. Do we take on each other’s ‘meme’ in the same proportion as our genes have been diagnosed and endlessly repeat what other people say? …

This is a Selfie of Ralph and me on our honeymoon in New Zealand climbing a volcano. We look happy, I am 17 weeks pregnant. A week into the trip a month earlier on the Andaman Islands he had told me he basically hates my guts and looks (or that is what I heard). After initial devastation I was ready to hear it and told him spill it all. I actually took notes. It was an ugly time. I wanted to fly home every day, leave him there and get a divorce.   We realized quickly that we needed to get constructive somehow, and had to come up with a solution as how to talk to each other without getting into a fight. Every day after breakfast, one person got to talk, …