EGGHEAD CHOICE – Crack open for a hard boiled think

Any casual observer can see that Lanark, like thousands of other towns, is a shabby, moribund little backwater with rapidly deteriorating public services. At the same time, we’re treated to the sight of billionaires parading their wealth on “Eamonn & Ruth: How the other half lives” (http://www.channel5.com/show/eamonn-ruth-how-the-other-half-lives) And any trip to the smarter parts of London, […]

There are some people who can’t stand being alone. You might know one. Their self esteem so depends on the constant affirmation of others that 24 hours spent in their own company is too upsetting. They constantly busy themselves with social life, joining activities, running committees, catering for pets, having babies – anything to avoid

Have you ever wondered why the rich are getting richer, and the poor poorer? Why is Lanark, like thousands of other towns, a shabby, forlorn place with rapidly deteriorating public services? The answers lie both far away and close at hand. Ultimately, it is due to the rapacious greed of the powerful, their lust for

A recent discussion on Radio 4’s “All in the Mind” programme concerned wisdom. Is wisdom a state of mind or a trait? The podcast is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b083p88h. A central topic in philosophy and religion, obviously, there always seem to be new ‘takes’ on what actually constitutes wisdom. It reminded me what a rich vein of reading

On 23rd June 2016 the British electorate voted for the country to leave the European Union https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_European_Union_membership_referendum,_2016. Votes for ‘Brexit’ were concentrated in certain regions and in certain social classes. Scotland largely voted to remain. The day was the culmination of about 12 weeks of saturation debate, claim, counter claim, lies, distortion, exaggeration, scaremongering, passionate

Artists, writers and musicians have often spoken about being inspired by a ‘muse’. Sometimes this is another human being who brings out something special in their creativity. Sometimes it feels like an invisible force which takes over them and creates through them. In Greek mythology, The Muses were goddesses of poetry, song, music and dance: what

Many philosophers believe that free will is an illusion. It is an extraordinarily powerful illusion, which accounts for the fact that hardly anyone can bear to give it up. Even after being convinced by a series of cogent philosophical arguments, it will seem to a conscious agent that he is making genuine choices at points