In some of the responses to my first blog post "Why I Don't Care about Global Warming," I realized I didn't see eye to eye with many in regard to what we consider is "The Truth"... whether it's inconvenient or otherwise.

So, fundamentally, I believe that Reality is finite and that there is absolute truth. I also believe that we have a very limited view of what that is. I also think that we overuse the term "Truth." As Inigo Montoya told Vizzini in "Princess Bride" - "You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means." I think we often use the word "Truth" when it would be more accurate to say "Valid".

By truth, I mean an assumption that it is a description of reality. By Valid, I mean that it is a construct that seems to be successful in describing the interrelationship of a simple, or complex, collection of observations at an acceptable level of accuracy. By construct, I mean a simplified description of reality (though not an actual description of reality, which I will postulate is impossible).

For instance, the construct of gravity is generally considered valid. We describe what happens to an object when it falls and most objects adhere to our predictions. When they don't, well, we've created other constructs, like wind resistance, to describe this. These are all valid constructs and very useful in life... but they are not "the truth".

Truth, for me, only occurs "in the lab"... never in the real world. If we create a construct, like temperature, we can then correlate the change in Mercury to this construct and give it what we call "degrees" (which is a construct too). Inside of these assumptions, we can say the temperature is 73 degrees. In a closed loop, this is the truth. But we need to, somewhere in the back of our head, remember... there is no temperature. It is a useful construct that we use to describe something around us.

This does not mean we shouldn't operate like none of these matter. For each of us, they are useful. But when we bequeath them with the honor of "The Truth", much mischief occurs. We argue about, in the grand scheme of things, small details; we kill people over them; and most importantly, we limit our reality, our life and our future to only what we believe is true.

We have many constructs in life - God, "Market Forces", Evolution, Carbon Dating, ESP, Climate Change, and why that woman on the bus scowls at us. Depending on how we measure these... all could be considered valid... this does not make them the truth and getting more people to agree, while possibly making the construct more valid, also does not make it the truth.

Inside of this construct, that I will call "Validity of Truth (or Lack thereof)", I find the world full of endless fascination and a world full of space for many other constructs.

And inside of this Construct... I will postulate that no where, no matter how certain I may sound, will you ever find "The Truth" in this blog. What you will find are a series of opinions that are not a function of what is "True" but what is possible. I post them (and this) not as news or newsworthy but, rather, as an exploration of ideas with you.

 Thoughts? Comment!

So, you may only know Botswana as the setting for "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (one of my favorite movies... BTW). But, beyond that history... it's a fascinating country. Here's a few cool points...

- 2 Years after independence in 1966, they discovered the largest diamond mine to date. The government nationalized it and split the profits with deBeers (in return, deBeers runs the mine).

- The country not only has little debt but, rather, billions in the bank. Many other countries have raw resource wealth, Botswana has managed it effectively.

- The President traditionally steps down 12-18 months before the end of their term. This is both a statement that Botswana is not a "Big Man" country AND a shrewd way for the ruling party to always have an incumbent running.

- Botswana has focused heavily on quality of tourism over quantity. The result is expensive tours that provide some of the most pristine environments available in Africa.

- HBO's "No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency" takes place in Botswana.

Largest detractor...

High AIDS rates (as high as 25%)... often connected to mining and indsutrialization. That said, Botswana's treatment approach is one of the best on the continent

Find out more...

Wikipedia

CIA Factbook

Botswana Tourism