MY PATH TO THE PRESENT

The Present

The three years of this blog presents a mix of evolution and other topics that may lack focus for those wanting the story of evolution, or God, or creativity, or science.  My life, in retrospect, seems to bring me to a blend of those topics in a cohesive view not easily clarified for others.

I have not tried to clarify things as much as I should have.  In the rush (can one who works at snail or turtle's speed rush?) to get the essential new points presented before they got buried with me, I neglected making all the needed connections and clarifications,

I recently abandoned work on a blog post about the importance of the end products of protein metabolism (primarily ammonia, uric acid, and urea) in the evolutionary transition of animals from aquatic to terrestrial habitats.  The uric acid method of storing many toxic ammonia molecules in less soluble, and therefore less toxic molecules, made possible the shelled eggs of vertebrates, and less need for water for elimination of those wastes by birds and insects,  Mammals emphasized the conversion of ammonia to urea as a less toxic alternative.  But the evolutionary story of these facts are well covered in many basic biology texts.

Many other important facts of evolutionary significance are also well covered in basic texts.  But, unfortunately, extreme age of abyssal organisms due to their greatly slowed metabolism, the close relationship of all advanced animals via annelid ancestors, and related facts are missing.  Those missing facts are explained in earlier posts during the three years of this blog.

How I Found Those Facts

Finding new facts of evolution 

The reasons had nothing to do with sheer brilliance.  It might seem like serendipity, since very little of it was planned by me.  Things that I now see as part of the reason I see and understand seem to parallel things of the spiritual realm identified in both Old Testament and New Testament words as seeing but not seeing or hearing but not hearing among those not believing.

When Jesus said no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son has revealed Him, it may explain why many fail to see God as the Creator and evolution as part of God’s work of creation.  So how does one as unworthy as myself manage to see those things?

Perhaps it began with my youthful amazement at the extent of creation when looking at the night sky and reflecting on the near infinite distance and numbers of the stars as described by astronomers of the time.

ROUTE TO THE DISCOVERIES

My post retirement reflections show a number of events in my life that make serendipity an unlikely explanation for my blundering into an evolutionary understanding others have not yet been able to see, especially the role of pogonophorans explaining puzzles of molecular biology and chordate origin.

1.  It started early with a family that valued education and many other important values.  I was born into it and in childhood had my physical activity periodically impeded by bouts of asthma; consequently, at times all I could do was think.  My verbal skills were not up to explaining my reasoning to my older brother who insisted that you didn’t know it if you couldn’t say it.  Years later I realized my right-brain thinking did not yet readily transfer to the left-brain for verbalization.  But the sibling conflict helped make me look for alternative explanations with very productive results in later analysis of science research of both myself and others.  Score that as a benefit of having had asthma.

2.  At the same time my skin, especially on my hands was very scaly with what was variously diagnosed as eczema, ichthyosis, and eventually psoriasis.  Concerns about my medical state made me exclude careers in medicine and the ministry from consideration, question whether I had a right to marry and bring children into the world, and a partial withdrawal from developing my social life.

Such concerns receded during high school and were mostly gone by the time I was drafted following college graduation.  Two years in close association with army friends made me realize I was reasonably normal (eccentricities seem to be part of being normal).

3.  I loved science and nature but only moved into biology as a sophomore in college when a biology course, to meet part of the liberal arts requirements and was taught by a very inspirational teacher, lured me in to biology.  I minored in English and got a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Biology.  I would have needed more of other sciences to get a Bachelor of Science with a Biology major.  Invertebrate zoology was one of my favorite biology courses.  Biology was largely a mix of interesting disconnected facts to be memorized until a class in genetics and a class in evolution finally helped me to see the sense and connections in the diversity of life.  Once that step is made, ecology, physiology, and other specialties in biology also made sense.  Perhaps others reach the same result via many roads.

After the army I spent a little over a year in tool and die work that made me consider engineering.  But when I checked into the engineering program at Michigan State I found that I would get no credit from my biology degree toward a Bachelor’s of engineering.  So I went to the Zoology Department and expressed possible interest.  A week later they called and offered me a part-time instructorship, replacing someone with one on a grant that had resigned, beginning immediately in the spring term.  It was essentially a graduate assistantship, but with the perk of a faculty parking sticker for my car.

Two years later I was finishing my Master’s degree after a thesis research project studying protozoan cytochemistry.  I applied for a Fulbright award for studying in Australia because I thought there would be less competition than for one in England.  I didn’t speak any other languages than English, that limited my ability to apply elsewhere.  I did not foresee that Tasmania would be an entry into studies leading to my evolutionary findings.

About seven years later I finished my doctoral thesis after three years teaching full-time at Western Michigan University.  Then, at a summer, 1963, biological conference I contacted the Macmillan Publishing Company representative about possibly revising their Invertebrate Zoology authored by the deceased Robert Hegner.  I had used it as a student 15 years earlier, but was using one of the more recent books, none of which were as student friendly as Hegner’s book.  At a subsequent meeting, after he talked to Dr. Stiles (author of their best-selling college zoology text), Zoology Chair at Michigan State University and a fan of mine, he quickly arranged a contract to revise their book.  I would have been very unlikely to be writing this blog without the experience of adding the new group, the Pogonophora, to the text revision for Macmillan.

4.  After 23 years teaching invertebrate zoology, marine biology, introductory zoology and numerous other courses at WMU I read the 1983 paper by Gans and Nortcutt that gave me the cognitive dissonance experience yielding the eureka moment of seeing the connecting link role of the Pogonophora.  It is impossible for me to define all the inputs giving rise to the moment.

5.  In the 1960’s I had developed the idea of extreme age among abyssal Pogonophora.  In 1983 their extreme longevity and intermediate blend of features made me aware of their evolutionary role.
 

6.  Failure to get acceptance of manuscripts over the years may have been due to my poor writing.  I prefer to think it was due to reviewers having inadequate background, as well as their accepting flawed research that had been published, had more to do with the rejections.

The above recitation of factors shaping the somewhat random direction of my life leading to my unique view of evolution may have other meaning.  It may be that diverse life experience can be the grist for creative thinking.  Moreover, many failures, not listed, including inventions, grant and publication rejections, and other events that might have absorbed my attention with otherwise narrowly focused activity inhibiting global thinking.  An example is shown in the two posts about a Puttmeter.  I think it would have been a successful product if I had been willing to put the effort into developing and marketing it.  Proper packaging, marketing and advertising has made commercial success of many other simple things.

ROUTE TO THIS BLOG

The accumulation of the eclectic research and writing projects were originally began to be viewed late in my career as something so disconnected that it might fit collectively into a volume called “Animal Evolution: A Serial Symposium”.  As time went on, I thought there were only a few things of great importance.  They were primarily the two things my peers did not recognize or accept – extreme age of abyssal pogonophorans and their role as a major evolutionary link.  I seemed to be the only one that knew that.  Two other views I share with others so it is not so dependent on my proclaiming them are the role of God as both creator of evolution and the reason the creation/evolution debate is meaningless. 

Other of my evolutionary insights that simplify understanding of animal diversity and function are of value but not critically so.  Fortunately, some of those older posts about them are among those still attracting numerous viewers.

For about 20 years, extending from before retirement in 1996 until I was diagnosed with MDS in 2007, I played with various approaches to an evolution book.  My concern then was that I better pick up the pace of writing if I was serious about doing it.  I thought I had about six months to two years to complete it.  So not realizing it was a mild version of MDS, I finally finished a first draft of Evolution Insights in 2009.  In early 2010 I completed the last revision and realized after minimal efforts to find a publisher that the market for book manuscripts from someone like me was practically non-existent.

The publicity to attract a publisher might come from a successful blog or website.  Setting up a website turned out to be beyond my capabilities.  But somehow I found Google’s Blogger program and was able to start this blogspot.com blog even though the things that would make it a more professional project still escape me.

DIVINE INTERVENTION

I think that God is more active in our lives than we realize.  I now see that the early childhood difficulties were a blessing in disguise, enabling me to develop as I did.  God is usually like the tiny breeze encountered by the Old Testament writer.  But he is constantly with us if we accept him.  The first suspicion I had that it was truer than we think was when I started reading random selections from the Bible and found they very frequently gave me insights on current problems or concerns.

I doubt that I would have started blogging if I had not developed MDS.  But between writing the manuscript it is based on, and starting the blog, a more direct event moved me to finally find Google’s Blogger and blogspot blogs.  I had been trying to educate myself on blogs by using publications designed for that purpose   Perhaps the distraction of a series of health issues and the reduced energy often associated with increased age made the infrequent forays into self-help books such that each attempt seemed to start from square one.

That was the situation in early 2013 when a more pronounced reoccurrence of blood flow from my urinary system made me stop and reflect.  In my mind I was telling Jesus that I had a life I was happy with and was ready any time God wanted to take me.  If I recovered I would take it as a sign that I should renew my efforts to develop a blog.  After that talk the bleeding stopped and has not repeated in that location.  Within about a month of the event evolutioninsights.blogspot.com/ was an accomplished fact.

Other people can do what I have been trying to do.  I feel so strongly that God has made the numerous events occur in my life so that I do not deserve credit of any of my evolution observations that turn out to be of value.  I should pass them on freely to others.  And if any profit is derived from my writing that, rather than the biblical tithe of 10% to charity, 90% or some other substantial sum should be given.  It is the basis for my encouraging readers who want to use my writing in not for profit ways to do so, hopefully with a credit to the source.

Joseph G. Engemann      Kalamazoo, Michigan    July 23, 2016

MENSA and MARILYN

MARILYN vos SAVANT

In her May 29th column in Parade she almost answered a question from a Mensa member intrigued by discussion with fellow members about "What is the reason we are here?"

She left the reader with two alternatives depending on whether or not they believe in a Supreme Being.  But she did not capitalize her three word term for the answer for those with a religion.  Her response for others was "You must settle for assuming we got here through some natural process, and that's that."

I have been using this blog to help people accept a third alternative which is actually a combination of her two alternatives, including an addition to her second alternative which did not really answer the question about the reason we are here.

The last two paragraphs of my  post on June 8, 2013 gives a clue to God's possible purpose in making us through the process of evolution.  There is not anything that surprises God.  But as we can enjoy our child's enthusiasm and excitement with simple repetition of an entertaining interaction, so might God appreciate the awe we express to ourselves or others about his Creation and peoples.

The post of May 17, 2014 may be of some help for those wanting to find God.  My musings about staring at the wallpaper may help you see how to dispose your mind to finding God.  Your probably not going to find God without at least trying.

My fifth post was posted June 21, 2013 and gives some features of the world that have helped inspire some of the awe I have for the Infinite God that created us via evolution.

Those in Mensa reading this may find something to think about in the post on Creativity, Bee Language and Dyslexia from February 8, 2015.  It is listed last on a list of "creativity" posts posted 5/24/2015.  That list has been visited more than four times the number of times the list of "God" posts posted on 5/23/2015 has been visited.

In case you read this Marilyn, I still enjoy and look forward to your column in Parade.  I am glad your column has survived the downsizing that has eliminated so many features in so many publications.

Joseph G. Engemann    Kalamazoo, Michigan    June 2, 2016.

THE TREE OF LIFE

REVISED TREE OF LIFE

The revised tree of life described in the previous post lacked any illustration to aide understanding.  The transfer of files to a new computer, operating system and associated software (Windows Vista to Windows 10) has delayed production of something suitable.  I was eventually able to find Paint embedded in 10.  But my attempt to modify the diagram below with color to clarify the protostome and deuterostome groupings left an illustration dangling somewhere in a jpg file that I have not been able to migrate to this blog.

 The protostomes began with platyhelminthes, the flatworms ancestral to other protostomes, and eventually deuterostomes via annelids.  The anthropocentric view showing primates upper right as the ultimate chordates is only for illustration of our lineage.  Every living group could have an illustration showing their group at the peak.  Some hint of this is shown with wasps and flies being groups of insects at the upper left.  And at the far left the cephalopods are perhaps the ultimate mollusks.

The boldface names in the above diagram represent groups in the direct ancestral line to primates.  All animals with a eucoelomate body cavity are included in the annelids and those above them in he diagram.  Phylum names are in all capital letters.  Polychaetes are probably the ancestral annelids for other annelids (oligochaetes and their descendants the leeches), mollusks, and arthropods, as well as the pogonophorans.  Echinoderms and lophophorates were probably each derived from ancestors intermediate between polychaetes and hemichordates; echinoderms perhaps being farther along the line to chordates in their origin.

The various other groups are not all fairly treated in showing how advanced they are in an evolutionary sense.  Their position is generally more an estimate of the antiquity of their origin.

OLDER VERSIONS OF THE TREE OF LIFE

A.  Prior to the erroneous Lophotrochozoa and Ecdysozoa proposals the "Tree of Life" would have looked much like the version presented above with the following evident.
 1. a separate origin of the deutrostomes from much earlier connecting the Hemichordates via unknown intermediates to the platyhelminthes.
2. a consequence is the assumption of a separate origin of coelom and blood vascular system of deuterostomes and advanced protostomes.
3. inexplicable cellular, histological, and moleular similarities in advanced protostomes and deuterostomes.

B.  The Lophotrochoza error may some value as an assessment of lophophorate invertebrates but is not much use as showing relationships to vertebrates and some other phyla.

C.  The Ecdysozoa error is made worthless by trying to make nematodes an important part of the evolutionary history of other some other phyla.  Nematodes, as partially indicated in the diagram above, are probably part of an aschelminth group derived from turbellarian flatworms miniaturized by selection for adaptation for life in the interstices of marine, then freshwater and terrestrial sediments.  The extreme specialization of nematodes did not provide a good base for selection of new groups.  The superficial resemblance of their outer covering with the exoskeleton of arthropods is misleading.  Surprisingly or fortunately, they did not make reptiles part of the group for shedding their skin.  The post of May 31, 2013 should make it evident why the molecular data they used as a basis for Ecdysozoa is worthless.

D.  Other versions of the "tree of life" based on symmetry and other features such as segmentation are not in vogue today, although the data used for them may have application in limited portions of "the tree of life".  The antiquity of brachiopods and bryozoans as well as considerable differences in the lophophores would seem to argue for separate origins, perhaps from somewhere along the polychaete to pogonophora line.

E.  The ancient annelid theory (over 100 years old) can be tweaked by insertion of the pogonophora to explain several things as shown elsewhere in the blog and indicated by the above diagram.
1. How the pogonophora turned an annelid arrangement of systems in to the chordate pattern.
2. How the anterior nervous system could fuse into a brain without an esophagus penetrating it.
3. How the drastic embryological changes of spiral to radial cleavage were simply made.
4. How molecular homologies of chordates and advanced protostomes came about.


Joseph G. Engemann   Emeritus Professor of Biological Science, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan     May 16, 2016

Disclaimer: All errors, mistakes, and omissions are my own and not the responsibility of Michigan State University, The University of Tasmania, nor Western Michigan University, nor the U. S. Fulbright Agency; although their assistance was valuable enabling me to make them.  jge

REORGANIZING THE TREE OF LIFE

THE MAJOR STEP NEEDED

The major line of animal evolution, known as deuterostomes and including chordates, hemichordates, and echinoderms, needs  to be recognized as having its origin in the early annelid worms via a group of polychaetes now called pogonophorans.  This recognizes the longer evolutionary history of protostomes.  It also sets aside changes made by the proposals of Lophotrochozoa and Ecdysozoa as significant groups of animals; the post of May 31, 2013 explains why they should be dismissed.

[Engemann's] Modification of the Annelid Theory of Chordate Origin

If you have read the recent posts of this blog, starting with SCIENCE PREJUDICE on March 17, 2016, you will understand why I didn’t say “The Creator’s Use of Annelids to Make Humans”.  My data driven conclusions leading to understanding of the evolutionary sequence of events involved do not discredit God by presenting it as a scientifically credible theory.  That is especially true because the multiple lines of evidence were unlikely to have been discovered by my feeble efforts.  I say the same thing about Darwin’s work on developing the Theory of Natural Selection underpinning our understanding of evolution.  I hope I will not withdraw recognition of the Creator’s role as Darwin may have done.  Maybe I should just say “Modified Annelid Theory of Chordate Origin”.

The lines of evidence

First, the observation of inverted systems, noted for annelids as compared to chordates, was responsible for the original proposal of annelid origin over a century ago.

Second, observations that evolution can occur in developmental stages independent of adult features.  This has been known for a long time without perception of its significance.

Third, evolutionary rates at the abyssal depths of the ocean can be so slow it makes molecular clocks for determining evolutionary rates in different branches of the tree of life almost meaningless.  Some evidence of it being known in 1915 exists*, but who would realize the importance of nothing happening?

Fourth, conditions in the abyssal depths were the driving force for natural selection to bring about the deuterostome embryological features from the original protostome annelid embryological features.

Fifth, the Pogonophora, unknown at the time of the original annelid theory, embed the major evidence of intermediate linking features.

Where is the evidence?

First, the inversion is illustrated in the post of March 2, 2015.  The concept was discussed in the June 28, 2013 post.

Second, this fact of some independent evolution of embryonic features is generally accepted since the “Biogenetic Law” was discredited.  I was impressed by the existence of an egg appendage (post of June 5, 2014) not found on more primitive isopods (post of June 6, 2014) illustrating the concept.

Third, factors responsible for the slow rate have accumulated but have not been linked with the remarkable longevity I have shown must exist, beginning with the evidence the pogonophorans present (Posted on October 24, 2015) discussed in the post of Jun 9, 2014 and illustrated in the post of June 13, 2014.

Fourth, a number of research reports have demonstrated the slowing of metabolic rates with depth in the ocean.  Some references are given in the post of June 22, 2013.  When data is limited some have assumed the ages of organisms fell at the lower end of the predicted range of error.  Isopod egg features noted in other posts apply to understanding the cleavage change (protostome to deuterostome type via pogonophorans) due to reduced egg membrane constriction as a possible selective force.

Fifth, the pogonophorans show a number of features intermediate between annelids and chordates noted in some of the posts referenced above and in the post of October 24, 2015.  Their importance is made clearer by their critical role in life surviving extinction events as discussed in my post on May 11, 2013.

The tree of life, revised

A simple correction for the tree of life is to leave the entire protostome line intact (from the version before the Lophotrochozoa/Ecdysozoa errors) and graft the deuterostome (or chordate) line on to the Pogonophora/Polychaeta basal group of the Annelida.  Echinoderms and perhaps some lophophorates may have ancestry among other pogonophorans than those leading to the chordate line.

*Brooks, William Keith.  1915.  The Foundations of Biology.  Columbia Univ. Press, New York.  339 pp.  He comments on - the unchanging nature of Lingula (page 219), and p. 217 “the diversity of the Lower Cambrian fauna and of its intimate relation to the fauna on the bottom of the modern ocean”.

Joseph G. Engemann   Kalamazoo, Michigan    May 1, 2016

DARWIN'S GIFT TO SCIENCE AND RELIGION

THE BOOK BY FRANCISCO J. AYALA

DARWIN'S GIFT to Science and Religion was published in 2007 by John Henry Press in Washington, D.C.  The 237 pages are easy reading.  The shock to me was its content did a remarkable job of covering some of the main points I made in my unpublished Evolution Insights a few years later.

The Scientific Method

I particularly liked his comment on page 186 about the scientific method, saying.

 "The most interesting and fruitful scientific hypotheses are not simple generalizations.  Instead scientific hypotheses are creations of the mind, imaginative suggestions as to what might be true."

His accompanying discussion is well worth reading if you want to be a scientist.

The Molecular Clock

He does a good job of discussing the conventional view without indicating his expertise and publications which place him among the national leaders.  On page 135 at the end of the four pages on the topic, he says.

"As the length of time increases, periods of rapid and slow evolution in any lineage are likely to cancel one another out."

The faulty opinion of canceling out was included over half a century ago in the first major publication of the science of molecular clocks by Zuckerkandl and Pauling (1965).  The opinion has plagued attempts to use molecular clocks in determining the higher level evolutionary relationships of organisms ever since.  My post on May 31, 2013 was part of my attempt to alert professional biologists to the problem.  Other posts on the deep sea and pogonophorans are important aides to understanding a solution to the problem.

About Ayala

His experience in biology and early exposure to more philosophical subjects  make him well suited to write the book he did.  His youthful picture on the dust-jacket of his book must have been taken in mid-life between his birth in 1934 and his book's 2007 publication.  He is a credit to both science and religion.  I am about six years older than he is and have far less to show for it professionally.

On page 3 in his introduction he says-

"Evolution, I learned in my theology classes, had provided theologians with the "missing link" in the explanation of evil in the world . . . . .".  Maybe you will find his explanation more intelligible on the topic than my post of March 22, 2016.

I was unaware of his book before today (April 25, 2016) but the above was the outcome from a two-hour visit to the library, with perhaps less than an hour spent on the book.  His book is of special interest if you are interested in the unnecessary conflict between science and religion. 

Joseph G. Engemann    Kalamazoo, Michigan    April 25, 2016

HISTORY REPEATING

DEJA VU

If you have a short attention span skip to the third paragraph for an essay demonstrating the maxim that "those who ignore history are bound to repeat it."

2/16/2009

With some helpful editing by Nancy I wrote the following.

I KNOW NOTHING

          Not knowing all the answers tends to free one from some of the errors that creep into the thinking of those in charge.  The animal behaviorist, Tinbergen, noted the ability of those new to a field to find solutions to problems the well-versed do not find.  Those well-trained are often stuck in a rut of thinking that only leads to the things already discovered.  The teacher is often exposed to new ideas by students unencumbered by past thinking.  Listening to new ideas carefully will give the experienced a chance to either help the novice grow and avoid an error, or, enable both to grow along with the subject under discussion.

          As one who knows so little about so many things I have found it has the drawback of finding anyone to take what I have to say seriously.  The right answer is often in the middle of a controversy.  Both sides have some truth on their sides.  Somewhere between the extreme views is where the optimal solution is usually found.  Solutions to our economic problems have been victimized by allowing extreme positions to be alleged as proof the other extreme is right.  It happens every day on talk shows of both sides.

          Higher taxes on the billionaire, made one by defrauding workers of their pensions funds or stockholders from reasonable dividends, is neither undemocratic, robbing the rich to pay the poor, socialistic, nor unfair.  It is justice for the crook, and fair repayment to the country which made their success possible, and owed to surviving families of workers and soldiers who worked and died for their country.

          It is unlikely that any proposal adopted for reviving the economy will be the best possible proposal, but it may be the best practical proposal if it is instituted in time.  Tossing out the CEO’s and their staffs that have been in charge would leave a chaotic void with its own problems for us.  Letting them do their own thing without enforceable guidelines could mean more self-serving decisions than proper oversight would allow.

          The current situation is worse than the usual recession and may require more drastic action than usual for many reasons.

1.  Extreme amounts of capital have apparently been lost in leveraged positions by banks and investment vehicles on nearly fictitious investments with borrowed money involving many times the dollar value of the underlying assets.  Clearly, oversight and transparency is needed.

2.  Enron’s energy scam increasing natural gas prices was apparently repeated by part of the financial community using control of oil futures so great profits could be made by making oil four times more expensive than otherwise.

3.  Jobs disappear, interest rates drop for investors, interest rates increase for debtors, and home prices drop along with retirement accounts.

4.  It’s an environment where no one wants to spend money or pay takes, even if one can.

          All told, it will take some fancy dancing on the part of our government to walk the line between a growing depression and runaway inflation.  In such an environment the policies will have to change drastically then gradually, perhaps back and forth repeatedly in both directions to dampen the swing to one least damaging to all concerned.  Don’t worry if it rocks the boat a little; it has been rocking for quite a while.  If the analogy holds, let’s pray and hope it can shift the balance before it tips over from too extreme a position.

          A seven hundred billion dollar bailout amounts to over $2000 for every individual in this country; or, $10,000,000 for each of the 70.000 wealthiest people in the country; or, $100,000 each for the 7,000,000 poorest families in our country.  Which group would be most effective in getting the money back into the economy?  Yes, some balance would be better.

          The hated gas tax Ross Perot favored in his run for the presidency a few years ago could have paid for maintenance of our highway system.  It would have kept the automakers feet to the fire and given us gas efficient cars.  National deficits and decline of our auto industry would have been lessened.  De-regulation of the banking and investment industries in hindsight was an obviously bad move.  Rather than subsidies for domestic industries, a cautious, wisely constructed, federal system more generous than Medicare for physician reimbursements could benefit employees and make companies more competitive exporters.

          Workers deserve a portable retirement program funded by employers and themselves on the model of the TIAA-CREF program available to educators and some other non-profit employees.  It would reduce the incentive for mergers and spin-offs used to raid pension funds by schemers among the corporate and financial insiders.

          Rather than limiting profits, wages, and capital gains use sensible tax policy to remove incentives for blatant rip-offs.  Make companies pay a 10% tax for all total compensation over $300,000 and 50% for all over one million and 90% for all over one billion.  Do the same for sale prices of companies and assets exceeding the rate of inflation: refund half at a rate of five percent of the tax amount to be released each year stock values and employment do not decline during the following ten years.

          Such policies would obviously benefit from careful and fair design.  Even the extremely wealthy would benefit from seeing their wealth maintained rather than declining by market disasters and the inflation that will come to pay for our growing debt.  Most multi-billionaires who lose half their wealth are still multi-billionaires.  Most home owners who lose half their wealth are in bad financial shape, even if they can keep their homes.

          Tax time is coming.  I won’t grumble if I have to pay.  I’m thankful if I can pay.  I’ll spend some time thinking about the security, education, and good things paid for by my taxes.  I won’t spend too much time worrying about the benefits someone else gets, especially if they are poor, they will spend it and help keep our income coming to us.
_______

If you skipped the first two paragraphs, read them now.  The seven year old journal entry had only one change, a comma was moved to make a sentence make better sense and a typo was corrected.  I also [on 10/23/17] substituited "increasing" for "producing" in describing Enron's scam.

Joseph G. Engemann   Kalamazoo, Michigan    April 9, 2016

CreatorGate III: Infinite Love

INFINITE LOVE

Infinite Love is among God's attributes that are  beyond the comprehension of those who have not had God made known to them by His Son, Jesus Christ.  As such, reference to it would be cause for a CreatorGate reaction in a scientific journal.  From a human point of view, Infinite Love is demonstrated by the Crucifixion of Jesus on the cross and his Resurrection three days later, in the process providing expiation for our sins.  The events were adequately documented in the Gospels, foretold by Old Testament prophets, and endorsed by numerous miraculous post-Resurrection events.

The amazing thing to me is that, contrary to the popular theological view, God did not require his Son to die as an infinite sacrifice to satisfy the penalty our sins require for offending an infinite God.  God could very easily have said you are forgiven and it would be so.  But for those unable to think their sins are forgiven without an infinite sacrifice, God the Father required Jesus Christ, be endowed with human form united with His co-divine being, God the Son, and make that sacrifice to ensure doubters could believe that they can attain heavenly rewards.

The mysterious Trinitarian view Christians have of One God having three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, does not preclude the redemptive act of the Son from bringing salvation to those outside the christian persuasion; that seems to be reasonably established by the words and acts of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels.

FINDING GOD

Finding God is not likely to happen unless you try.  That was the, perhaps obscure, suggestion implicit in my post -  http://evolutioninsights.blogspot.com/2014/05/finding-god.html  - where looking at the wallpaper inspired me to understand how we program our internal search engine to find something.  It apparently did not inspire others because only two page views are indicated for the almost two year old post.

The post -  http://evolutioninsights.blogspot.com/2015/01/god-and-religious-traditions.html  - has a final section about how God may look at us.

I think the post -  http://evolutioninsights.blogspot.com/2013/06/god-and-people.html  - also has a few views that might help us understand our relationship with God.

If you want to find or contemplate God you can even do it with your eyes closed.  But there are many things in the world around us that can help.

1.  Travel and experiencing the diversity and similarity of people of all parts of the world.
2.  Natural wonders such as - the Grand Canyon, mountain ranges, Niagara Falls, waves lapping the sea-shore, the stars at night, many wonders of the biological world.  Many small wonders are rewarding during a walk in the woods, a marsh, a garden, and your back yard.
3.  The goodness of people - in dealing with adversity, serving others; infants, children, adults, seniors.
4.  The tried and true- scripture reading, see below.

If you have never tried it and you have some quiet time in your day, try reading in the Bible for five minutes a day for a few weeks.  Each time, either open the book at random and start reading whatever catches your eye; or pick a topic that is indexed and of interest to you; or flip through pages to find one.  If each book has explanatory material at the beginning it is very helpful to read and know the status and nature of the particular book.  Emphasize the New Testament in reading selections because the Old Testament has a frame of reference that is quite obscure to most of us in determining what is literal truth, illustrative story, historical account, prophecy, and use of views common to the time.  The Old Testament can make one think God is vengeful, whereas the New Testament should help one know God is Love.

Joseph Engemann    Kalamazoo, Michigan    March 28, 2016