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Gastrointestinal distress is more billable than tummy ache. @Mel Hopkins constructs and symbols have imputed not inherent meaning. Numbers; Language ;Sex Roles; and consciousness and visual interpretation some of theese are not real some may not be real. I leave it to the curious. Are numbers discovered or created? Who knows.

@Mel Hopkins as a kid I wanted a calculator. Since i was preteen age I am as interested in numbers astrology and knowing stuff. I am now thinking about frequency and correspondence. University teaches you the language of a field. However think is not encouraged and critical thinking less so.

College, as I've learned doesn't do the job it intended...which is to teach us how to learn, unlearn and relearn. It is more of an apprentice shop-light for the field you've chosen as a vocation. Sort of like a school for monomaths vs a school for polymaths. Once I figured that out, I chucked all that I learned in college and returned to the mechanics of what I learned at Tech (which does teach you how to learn (or at least it did when we attended)). All this to say, the study quantum mechanics, which isn't for kids per se, even if you're a mathematical genius, because you have to live and observe for it to make sense is about as close to an explanation of spirituality - then any other discipline. That is, since we no longer study natural philosophy. It's sort of like how classical physics' law of conservation "thermodynamics" allows you to understand the nature of god as an energy. In fact, if you put the two together, energy that can't be destroyed or created - and we are all energy vibrating at different levels - then magick makes sense from a quantum mechanic POV... Want to know at what level you're vibrating? Just look around you, we attract what and who we are...because that's our vibratory level. I majored in EE at Tech and we were constantly playing with the oscilloscope making sine waves. For some reason I remember that your input is the same as your output. Now I have to go look that up LOL

@Troy I present an idea or an opinion. Or information and differnt ways of doing thinking about it.. For some reason quantum physics lite became popular amongst thinkers and New Agey types of folks. I am off that particular wagon.

"Severed", A Novel, is a crime thriller and an entertaining whodunit but I recommend it as a self-help book in my commentary "Severed", A Novel | A Black Woman's Burden Short Synopsis | Severed, a Novel "Someone is a few digits short of a hand in Nakadee, Louisiana. What’s worse, someone may be torturing and holding the finger-less victim captive in this small river town. Head of Nakadee Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit Captain Nate Padgett enlists the help of Forensic Anthropologist Lula Logan, PhD whom he feels he can trust since she’s having an affair with his direct report Junior Detective Devon Lemonde. Padgett needs Logan to find out if the victim is still among the living. Dead or Alive means the difference between a local investigation or handing it over to the Feds. Meanwhile Dr. Logan has her own project underway. She’s in town to work on research project that will tell the story of the enslaved Africans who revolted against their captors in 1830 on a former plantation. Dr. Logan has her finger on the pulse of present missing fingers case and that of the enslaved Africans of the past …the question remains, however, which case will be her undoing."

Race is indeed a social construct that is maintained culturally, but culture is not genetic. To say that it is entirely genetic is the same justification racist whites use to exclude and persecute people based on skin color and is not something that should be stated lightly. It is ridiculous to think that any culture is so special that it must be preserved for all eternity at all costs because that only results in zealotry, inbreeding, detrimental genetic disease and conflict. Our genetic differences are based in mutations that proved beneficial in our environment, but say nothing about our social capacity. It is easily proven that culture is taught through children who grow up with parents of a different race and take on that culture. They only feel 'different' when outsiders point out that people who look like them are expected to act a certain way. I think Pioneer1's personal observations are just that and have no biological basis. Blacks are often raised in a hypersexual environment due to our 'culture', and African culture is so stereotyped and disrupted by historical events and conflicts that you can't draw any conclusions about it developing naturally. Much of sexuality has a psychological basis that has nothing to do with biological drives. Humans are above are social creatures and value the acceptance of a group and social cooperation above all else because that is how we survived predation and were able to feed ourselves. It is normal human behavior to desire the approval of the widespread culture. Without social cohesion humans would not be in the position we have over all other animals. But there is no 'normal' human behavior. We have always adapted to our environment and the social situation to survive and the fact that our behavior is on a continuum helps us adjust to changes quicker than any other species. To say that someone's culture is a fixed quantity underestimates the human species. Will blacks ever be considered 'normal'? That depends on the definition of 'normal'. In America our culture is dominated by the descendent of white European immigrants. So it is up to them whether our culture will ever be considered mainstream, and I think that is happening faster than most people realize. But since there is not a 'normal' human being it is really up to individual black people to determine whether they are accepted and respected by the dominant culture or not. The only way to be truly 'abnormal' is to behave in such a way that you cannot function acceptably in society. We can go on about human dignity and such, but why would a successful dominant culture accept behaviors that are not beneficial to them? Having biases is a natural and often useful human trait. If a group of people run into a snake and it kills someone it would be expected for their culture to have a dislike of all snakes, even those who have never seen one. When humans apply bias to other humans it is sad and ugly, but it is also inevitable. I do agree with the original blog posts last point that Black people have to take care of themselves. White people cannot fix black problems any more than we can fix theirs. I personally view much of 'black' culture as a excuse for anti-white culture behaviors that some black people cling as strongly to as any white racist. If you understand culture as a tool to provide group cohesion and not an absolute thing to be put on a pedestal the world is much less dismal.

No, Del I have not read Amit's books but I have seen parts of the film. Below is a link to your original post on Amit from 2013, for the benefit of others. I have read a few books on the subject. What I find most amazing is that I went through 8 years of college and had no idea about the field of quantum mechanics. My idea of the behavior of an atom was from the stone age. It is a fascinating field and would probably interest kids if there were passionate teachers and systems willing to teach this stuff. I did even understand the relationship between atoms and chemistry, magnetism and light--nothing! You don't even have to get into the "we are all connected" stuff. I'm wowed by what little we know.

Hey @Del , what is your definition of spirituality? It seems to be we are born spiritual beings. It is only the rituals and practices we have to learn. In much the same way we are born with an innate ability to communicate. If we are not taught a specific language, we will come up with one on our own.

Yeah, Yarborough is highly esteemed elder here in NYC. I'm sure someone like Talib would have mad respect for her. She actually intervewed AALBC.com on her cable access show, Ancestors House but this was over 10 years ago. I knew she was in the film Shaft, but did not know she had a signing career until Fatboy Slim remixed one of her songs. The official video (supposedly) is below. Slim's treatment has completely extracted all of the soul and meaning from the original. But this is what white boys always do when they appropriate aspects of our culture for profit. In fact, they taught us how to do the same thing. But Slim did create a resurgence in Yarborough's work, and I'm sure he paid her for the use of her music, so I guess it is all good. For comparison purposes Yarbrough's originals. Taken in the content of the original album it is even more powerful... not to mention the same cultural experiences. I've migrated Gil Scott-Heron earlier today. Man, I wish he was alive and in his prime today. I would love to hear his words on Trump. Listening to him talk about Regan was just so deep. I appreciate his work even more now. I also moved The Last Poets and Abiodun Oyeloe work was slow today listening to these folks. There are SO many Youtube videos of these folks now compared to when these pages were created it is incredible. There was a time I could actually make money selling their music and video, but those days ended years ago. I can;t even image how much money the artist has lost. Youtube can generate revenue by providing a platform for piracy and no one bats an eye--but that is a rant for another day.... @CDBurns I was not aware of John Kasandra before now -- thanks!

You know I was never introduced to Camille until Talib Kweli introduced me to her via one of his songs like 20 years ago. I guess it's like most people don't know who John Kasandra is. Good stuff Troy.

There are so many issues with race, the term is meaningless. Especially to the descendants of White Slave holders.

I don't really do "astrology" but what you call "magical talk" is has been given validity in the sphere of Meta-physics, which has always captivated me with its concept of energizing thoughts into things by tapping into the universe which is the source of all energy. Involved in this is the projecting of visualized images into the universe and then making these images materialize by channeling them back into your life. This is known as the "as above, so below" principle and is what "bright ideas" and "inspirations" spring from. As is the power of positive thinking, which even the medical profession advocates. And, of course, for every action there is a reaction, so negative energy exists and this is the stuff of black "magic" . Quantum physics also figures into "magic" because what it observes defies explanation when it demonstrates how an object can be 2 places at the same time, and it even casts doubt on believing what you see because, in its realm, what you look at, changes as soon as you look away from it. Fascinating stuff! I did, indeed, go stand on my front porch last night at midnight and silently visualized the faces of Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Kellyanne Conway, and Steve Bannon disintegrating before being blown away like confetti This took less than a minute. Once done, I went back inside and got on with my evening. I have always sought to become one with the universe and never miss an opportunity to go out and observe any extraordinary celestial phenomenon, and I regularly commune with the moon. ( Something I usually announce on this site whenever anything unusual is on schedule to happen in the sky.)