Is there a way, as a human being, of understanding the universe and/or ourselves, that makes death (the death of myself or those I love) alright? (By "alright" I mean bearable.)

Is there a way, as a human being, of understanding the universe and/or ourselves, that makes death (the death of myself or those I love) alright? (By "alright" I mean bearable.)

What are your top 10 best questions to ask someone, in order to get to know them better?

OK here is my top 10:

(1) How was your day? (in the evening)

(2) How is your day going to be? (in the morning)

(3) Where are you going to on this fine morning? (only ask in the evening - otherwise it is not funny)

(4) If your life was a movie what sort of movie would it be? Hollywood blockbuster, action adventure or weird german intellectual bonkersness? (Don't actually say the second question, I'm just providing it for illustration purposes.) 

(5) Awkward silence (wait for them to say something - maybe smile if they are lucky)

(6) Would you like to dance? (only ask this in the cinema - see 3)

(7) How did you get to be so beautiful/elegant/witty etc? (Are your parents both supermodels/ballet dancers/script writers?) ... works with any kind of compliment.

(8) What's your favourite computer programming language? (see 3)

(9) What kind of stereotypes do you think people assign to you?
(9a) What is it about you that means you do not in fact fit any of those stereotypes?

(10) What do you like about your life?
(10a) What don't you like about your life? (Only for brave people)

(11) When the leisure society finally arrives (after the singularity - ie. you won't HAVE to do anything anymore) what will you do with your time?

What is the minimum set of agreements which need to be in place before it is possible to have a productive conversation between people who have opposing "beliefs"?

What is the minimum set of agreements which need to be in place before it is possible to have a productive conversation between people who have opposing "beliefs"?

Is why anything exists at all simply unknown, or is it unknowable, or is it just a stupid question?

Is why anything exists at all simply unknown, or is it unknowable, or is it just a stupid question?

If the project is allowed to be itself, rather than it being an extension of myself, what is the project, actually?

If the project is allowed to be itself, rather than it being an extension of myself, what is the project, actually?

If the project that I am working on is in fact unconsciously designed to be a compensation for the failure that I consider myself to be (not that I really am that, but lets not get in to that), what is the project actually (when it is distinguished from this)?

I mean, if the project is allowed to be itself, rather than having anything to do with me, or being a compensation for any considered inadequacy (real or otherwise), what is the project actually?

What memes am I infected with?

What memes am I infected with?
What memes would I like to be infected with?
Which memes out of the ones I am already infected with, are the memes which are going to get to decide/choose which memes should stay, which should go, and which other new ones should be sought out?
If the mind is more like an ecology, with different memes in constant competition with each other for which ones will survive and which will be eaten, what are the consequences of that idea?
How can I bring peace to the jungle?

How can we escape from facebook?

How can we escape from facebook?

What relationship could I have with the eternal such that having that relationship would make the world a better place?

What relationship could I have with the eternal such that having that relationship would make the world a better place?

What relationship can I design for myself to have with the eternal (everything / all of it / all of everything / the whole shebang [… shh… whisper this … god … whisper even quieter …. and / or any other human being]) … what relationship can I design for myself to have with the eternal such that having that relationship with the eternal would make the world a better place for myself, my community and the world at large?

Could we design our relationship(s) with the eternal explicitly and deliberately from the design principle of causing the betterment of humanity?

When we are dead, where will the world be?

Before we were born, where were we then?
Before I was born, where was I?
After we are dead, where will we be?
After I am dead, where will I be?
After we are dead, where will the world be?
After I am dead, where will the world be?
After we are dead, where will the universe be?
After I am dead, where will the universe be?
Where is the universe now?

What actions am I not taking that if I did take would accelerate the fulfillment of the project?

What actions am I not taking that if I did take would accelerate the fulfillment of the project?

What does it take to be a really fast software developer?

What does it take to be a really fast software developer?
Is it possible to learn to code at high-speed?
Is it possible to learn to code at a much faster speed?
Is it possible to learn to code faster?
What makes the difference between slow developers and fast developers?

Do universes come in a whole load of different sizes?

Do universes come in a whole load of different sizes, in the same way that planets and stars and galaxies do?
Are there some really small universes out there, where sentient beings similar to ourselves are not baffled by the size of that universe, because isn't actually all that big?
Maybe there are one or two universes out there that are just big enough for family of four?
Maybe we could move in?

What are my actions "saying"?

What are my actions "saying"?
What are my actions saying to myself about the world?
What are my actions saying to myself about myself?
What are my actions saying to other people about themselves?
What are my actions saying to other people about me?
What are my actions saying to other people about the world?

Why do we compete with each other even in situations where co-operation works better for everyone?

Why do we compete with each other even in situations where co-operation works better for everyone?

Does the police coming down hard on me for doing a couple of miles per hour over the speed limit make the world a better place or a worse place?

Does the application of speed limit enforcement lead to fewer fatal road accidents?

Does driving more slowly reduce the number of road traffic accidents?
Does driving more slowly reduce the severity of road traffic accidents?
Does the application of speed limit enforcement lead to road users driving more slowly?
Does the application of speed limit enforcement lead to road users driving more safely?
Does the application of speed limit enforcement lead to fewer fatal road accidents?
Are some kinds of speed limit enforcement better than other kinds?
Should there be lower speed limits or higher speed limits?
Who benefits from lower speed limits?
Who benefits from higher speed limits?
How does local government determine which parts of roads should be allocated with which speed limit?
Is this policy applied consistently or inconsistently?
Are there other reasons why it is better to drive slower?
Is it ever a good thing to drive faster rather than slower?
Why does road-use legislation tend to want us to drive slower?
Does speed really kill?
Isn't there evidence to the contrary in countries where there are less speed limits or no speed limits on certain roads?
Are there other benefits available from having cars move more slowly (eg. less noise polution) ?
Is UK speed limit enforcement designed to slow down traffic or to create revenue?
If I drive within the speed limit, and other drivers keep overtaking me as a result, am I making the roads safer or more dangerous?
Does transferring attention onto the speedometer and off the road put pedestrians and other road-users' lives at greater risk?
Should we driver slower or faster?
Is it really "thirty for a reason"?
What is the reason?

Could it be possible to free all human beings from being cliches?

Could it be possible to free all human beings from being cliches (not just myself)?
If it is possible how could we do it?
How could we go about making this happen?

Is "god" a metaphor?

Is "god" a metaphor?
What kind of metaphor is "god"?
What is "god" a metaphor for?
Would it be helpful to think of "god" as a metaphor?

What is constructive spiritual dialogue?

What is constructive spiritual dialogue?
How do we get to have constructive inter-personal spiritual dialogues?
What is the nature of conversations in the area of spirituality which make a difference to the people involved in those conversations?
Does it make any difference to "trade opinions"?
How do you go beyond "trading opinions" without ending up in fights about disagreements?

What is kindness?

What is kindness?
How can I be kinder to myself?

Am I getting bored of questions?

Why have I posted so few questions to this blog lately?
Am I getting bored of questions?
Is it time for some answers?
Are questions more useful or are answers more useful?
Or do we need a balance of questions and answers?
Are questions good for some things but not so good for others?
Are answers good for some things but not so good for others?

What meaning does Martyrdom have in the age of generation X-factor?

Dorchester Dorset Martyrs
Originally uploaded by Hazel Tsoi

What meaning does Martyrdom have in the age of generation X-factor?

What is good service?

What is good service?
What is bad service?
Is good and bad service just a matter of opinion,
or is there something objectively measurable about good and bad service?
Does good service matter?
Should I expect good service?
Or should I just be grateful and surprised when I get it?
Should companies that provide bad service be allowed to operate?
How much chance should they be given to improve?
As much as the market will take, or should their be more control than that?

What is selfishness?

What is selfishness?
What is the difference between selfishness and meanness?
What is the benefit of being selfish?
What is the benefit to myself, what is the benefit to friends and family, what is the benefit of selfishness to society at large?

Am I doing my utmost for a world at peace?

How clear is my conscience?
Am I doing my utmost for a world at peace?
Is there something more I could do that I am not doing?
Are my words and actions creating peace in the world?
Could I say or do something that would bring about peace sooner?
Could I say or do something more that would reduce the suffering of others?
Am I being a part of the solution or a part of the problem?

What is important and what is not?

What is important and what is not? What matters? What does not matter?

What do you want?

What do you want?
What do they want?
What do we want?
What do I want?

Should freedom of speech be protected when it risks offending or upsetting people?

To what extend should freedom of speech be protected when it risks offending or upsetting people?

Why is there anything rather than nothing?

Why is there anything rather than nothing?
Why should there not be?
Why is there SO MUCH rather than nothing?
Why is the universe SO (unnecessarily) BIG?
Is someone whose name begins with "g" trying to make a point about their magnificence? 8-)

What is the difference between "opinions" and "facts"?

What is the difference between "opinions" and "facts"? Is there a difference? Can a "fact" exist in isolation without an accompanying agenda? Or does it only occur at all from the perspective of a particular agenda? Can a fact not ever be agenda-neutral? Are some facts more fact-like than other facts?

What would be a useful way to cast the difference between opinions and facts? Could it be useful to draw out a distinction between opinions and facts? What might it be useful for?

If I could introduce you to the person you are going to become...

If I could introduce you to the person you are going to become in 10 years time, what would they have to say to you?
If I could introduce you to the person you are going to become in 20 years time, what would they have to say to you?
If you could speak to the person you were 10 or 20 years ago, what would you have to say to them?
If I could get to meet the person I become in 10 or 20 years time, what would they say to me?
If I could speak to the person I was 10 or 20 years ago, what would I want to say to them?

What is it that commands our attention?

What is it that commands our attention?
Can the world learn to pay more attention to the peacemakers and less to the war-mongers and terrorists?
How can this be achieved?
How can the world's media learn to give more attention to the people who are making the world better, and less attention to the people who are causing trouble, conflict and suffering?
What would be the outcome of this, if they did?

What new words are needed to invent a new vocabulary of god?

What new words are needed to invent a new vocabulary of god?

Could world war one have been prevented from happening?

Could world war one have been prevented from happening?
If so who could have prevented it?
How many people would have had to be different or have different motivations for it to have been prevented?
Did anyone notably try to prevent it happening?

Could it have been stopped sooner than it was?
If so who could have stopped it?
How many people would have had to be different or have different motivations for it to have been stopped sooner?
Did anyone notably try to stop it sooner?

What would it be like living in a world where people were celebrated for their intentions rather than for their successes?

Whose website is it anyway?

Whose website is it anyway?
If Karl Marx was right that "all property is theft", does it follow that "all intellectual property is also theft"?
Is all intellectual property theft?

Is there really such a thing as "bad language"?

Is there really such a thing as "bad language"?
What is it that makes some words "bad" as opposed to not "bad"?
Is bad language really bad or is it just a social contrivance?
When does protecting the public from being offended cross the line into censorship, blandness, and oppression.
Are forces for censorship within the the BBC using the Russell Brand / Johnathan Ross / Georgina Baillie / Andrew and Melody Sachs affair as an opportunity to impose harsh censorship on live freedom of speech?
Or not?
Should we be scared of the increasing level of censorship and political correctness?
Or not?
Isn't there a difference between using words which are considered in and of themselves to be inately offensive and being nasty or cruel or unkind or defamatory to or about a person?

What questions are more powerful than the ones I am already asking?

What questions are more powerful than the ones I am already asking?
What are the most powerful questions known to human beings?
What is power?
What makes a question more or less powerful?
Where do I go to find the most powerful questions known to humankind?
Why would I want to find more powerful questions?
Why would I be interested in power?
What is the most important lesson of history?
What is the difference between power and empowerment?
What is empowerment?

Could education be designed to fulfil destiny?

Could education be designed to be a fulfillment of destiny?
How could education be designed so that existed for people as a resource to fulfil their destiny?
What would education look like if it was designed to be the fulfilment of destiny?
What difference would it make in the lives of children if they were born into a world where education was designed to be a resource to fulfil their destiny?
What difference would it make to me as an individual or the community that I am a part of it education was designed to be a resource for the fulfillment of destiny?

Is a blog that is composed entirely of questions too intimidating for most people?

Is a blog that is composed entirely of questions too intimidating for most people?

What unites us as human beings?

What unites us as human beings?

How do you find a memory leak in an XNA Windows Forms application?

How do you find a memory leak in an XNA Windows forms application?
Does anybody know?

How can I escape from being a cliche?

How can I escape from being a cliche?

Is the attempt to escape just more of the cliche?
Does trying to escape make me even more of a cliche?

Is it possible to escape from being a cliche?
Is there anybody who isn't a cliche?
Does it matter if I'm just another cliche?
Who do I know who isn't a cliche?
Is nobody really a cliche once you get to know them?
Why do we all trade so heavily in stereo-types?
Is it possible to relate to strangers outside of stereo-types?

What is context?

What is context?
Does context matter?
Am I paying any attention to the context in which I speak?

How do I increase my web traffic?

How do I increase my web traffic?
Do I really want to increase my web traffic?
How much attention is a good amount to get?
Is it possible to get too much attention?

Have I asked this question before?

Have I asked this question before?

What does "zigga zig ah" mean?

What does "zigga zig ahhhh" mean?
Did I spell it right or should it be "zigger zig ah" or "zigazig ha" or "zigazig-a" or "ziga zig ah"?
Is it rude?
Does it have more than one meaning?
Can it mean different things to different people?

Why is poetry not "mainstream"?

Why are sales of poetry books so small compared to novels?
Why is something that is so important to me, of no interest to a large majority of people?
Why does poetry have such a "bad press"?
Did Eliot and Pound destroy the widespread cultural enjoyment of poetry?
Has popular enjoyment of poetry moved into Rap, pop music and comic verse stand-up?
What about middle-brow poetry?
Why isn't there a market for poetry that lies somewhere between Eliot an Eninem on the one hand or Eliot and Hegley on the other?
Do the notable success stories like David Whyte show a way to a rebirth of interest?
Or are they just exceptions that prove the rule?

What questions are missing?

What questions are we not asking?
What quesitons is humanity not asking?
What questions are missing?
What questions are we not asking which it would be good if we did ask?
What questions is humanity not asking itself which if it did ask would make the world better?
What questions are missing for the end of violence?
What questions are we not asking which if we did ask would help to bring about the end of violence?
What questions are missing for the end to poverty and chronic persistence hunger?
What questions are missing which are needed to bring about a world where the oportunity to fulfil all basic needs is available?
What questions are missing to support the elevation of human consciousness?

What would it be like living in a world without violence?

What would it be like living in a world without violence?

How do you recruit support to help find solutions to wicked problems?

Remembering the definition of a "wicked problem" (technical term, see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problems - roughly speaking a "wicked problem" is one that has no definitive formulation, in other words you don't know precisely what the problem is until after it has been solved.)... how can you or I recruit people to work on wicked problems?

How do we go about recruiting people to work on problems with no definitive formulation?

How awake am I?

How awake am I?

Is there something wrong with the world?

Is there something wrong with the world?
Is there something wrong with people?
Is there something wrong with life?
Is there something wrong with the universe?
Is there something wrong with all of it?
Is there something wrong?

What are your current 3 favourite questions?

What are your current 3 favourite questions?

What questions do I not ask in public because they would reveal too much about myself?

What questions do I not ask in public because they would reveal too much about myself?

Do you mind being a part of my site-stats?

Do you mind being a part of my site-stats?

How can you identify the people whose intentions are good?

How can you identify the people whose intentions are good?
How can you distinguish the people whose intentions are socially positive from the ones who are merely self-serving, or group/family/tribe-serving?
Which am I?
To what extent is it possible to act for the common good without damaging the interests of those closest to me?

What now?

What now?

If I was someone else, how would I see the world differently?

If I was someone else, how would I see the world differently?
What is a better question?
How close is it possible to come to an understanding of the way someone else sees or experiences the world and life?
What is it like being an (x)?

What is money?

What is money?
Is money something?
Is money a something?
Is it true that "money is debt"?

Who should I trust?

How do I know when to trust myself in the face of criticism?
At what point should I stop trusting myself?
Where does self-belief end, and foolishness begin?
What am I blind to?
How do I know when to trust the opinion of someone who is criticising me?
Who can I trust?
Who will trust me?
What will they trust me with regard to?

Are rhetorical questions allowed on questions-only?

Are rhetorical questions allowed on questions-only?
For example: how many children and civilians have to suffer or die for the sake of a nation's pride or a culture's pride or a religion's or a people's pride?
Are examples allowed on questions-only?

What is the relationship between sexuality and spirituality?

What is the relationship between sexuality and spirituality?
What could the relationship between sexuality and spirituality be?
Could bringing sexuality and spirituality together allow humanity to grow up and stop killing our children and civilians?

Why do we care about celebrities?

Why do we care about celebrities?

Could the world be a place where everyone's dreams came true?

Could the world be a place where everybody's dreams came true?
What if the world was a place where everybody's dreams came true?

What are the things that need to be said prior to "forgive yourself !" in order to make it possible to understand what "forgive yourself !" means?

What are the things that need to be said prior to "forgive yourself !" in order to make it possible to understand what "forgive yourself !" means?
What are the things that need to be said prior to "forgive yourself !" in order to make it possible to understand the value of forgiving yourself?
What are the things that need to be said prior to "forgive them !" in order to make it possible to understand the value of forgiving them?

Is it possible to end all (or nearly all) human suffering?

Is it possible to end all (or nearly all) human suffering?
If so within what timescale?
Next 50 years?
Next 100 years?
What steps does humanity need to take to end all human suffering?

Are they as gorgeous as me?

Scarlett Johanson y Keira knightley
Originally uploaded by el_forastero

Who?
Are they as gorgeous as me?

Is the world anything like I think it is?

Is the world like I think it is?
Are people how I think they are?
Is what I think is going on actually what is going on?
Is the world anything like I think it is?
Is the world anything like you think it is?
Is the world anything like they think it is?

What do you think about life?

What do you think about life?

Who am I blogging for?

Who am I blogging for?
What am I blogging for?
Why am I bloggin?

Is today a good day to die?

Is today a good day to die?
Is winning the game more or less important than playing a game worth playing?

Could I love someone as arrogant as me?

Could I love someone as arrogant as me?
If I was someone else, could I love someone as arrogant as me?
If I was someone else, could I love me?

Out of any of the things I am working on, which of them is worth working on?

Out of any of the things I am working on, which of them is worth working on?
What am I working on which is worth working on?
What am I working on which inspires me?
Out of any of the things that I am working on, do any of those things actually inspire me?
Do I consider any of those things to be worth working on?
If so which ones are worth working on?

What else do you have a hole in?

Me Originally uploaded by boee.

What else do you have a hole in?

Who or what is the "holy ghost"?

I sort of get "god, the father", and "god the son", but who or what is the "holy ghost" / "holy spirit"?

Why is code generation so powerful?

Why is code generation so powerful?

Who is asking the question?

Who is asking the question?
Who wants to know?

What is the difference between nothing and everything?

What is the difference between everything and nothing?
What is a difference between nothing and everything useful for?
Why would I be interested in a difference between nothing and everything?
Is this the same question?

How loud is the silence?

Is it like the silence of transcendance?
Or is it some other kind of silence?
What kind of silence is it?

Where do I begin?

Where do I begin?
How do I begin?
What do I begin?
What is motivation?

Why?

Why write a blog where every posting consists entirely of questions?
Why would anyone do that?
What is the value of a blog like that?
Does it have any value?

What are the strategic points of leverage?

What are the strategic points of leverage?
Am I safe?
Will I survive?

What is missing for universal love?

What is missing for universal love to spontaneously break out all over the world?
What is spiritual leadership?
Who is providing spiritual leadership in the world today?
How can you measure the effects of spiritual leadership?
How can you tell if spiritual leadership is working?
What is ecstatic union?
Can designing a relationship with the eternal provide access to ecstatic union?

What is so horrible about this thing that you hate?

What is so horrible about this thing that you hate?
What else don't you like?
What else do you like?
What is your favourite whatever?
What is your favourite category of "What's your favourite .... ?"
What makes you "tick" - apart from, or including, the obvious?
What makes you laugh?
What do you like to have for breakfast?
What are cows?
How many budhists does it take to change a lightbulb?

What would a world be like in which all human relationship occured in the light of our relationship with the eternal?

What would a world be like in which all human relationship occured in the light of our relationship with the eternal?
What would it be like living in a world where human violence only occurred between consenting adults?

How can we make the world a better place?

How can we make the world a better place?
How can I help?
How can I make life better for the people I interact with on a regular basis?
Does who I am make any difference?
Who am I?
Is it possible to create who I am in such a way that who I am makes life better for the people I interact with on a regular basis?
What motivation do I have for doing that?
What motivation do I hae for doing anything?
What is my motivation for any given action I take?

Is less more?

Is less more?
Is more less?
More or less?

Am I innocent?

When you look into the eyes of the ghost rider, you get to experience all the pain and suffering you ever caused other people: what pain and suffering have I caused?
Did I sell my soul for love, or did I sell my soul for lust and greed?
What did I sell my soul for?
Is lust and greed bad?
Innocent people have nothing to fear from the Ghost Rider: How sinless do you have to be to count an innocent?

How does the world seem to be?

How does the world seem to be?

Are we approaching a singularity?

Are we approaching a singularity or a whole number of singularities?
What will life be like on the other side of those singularities?
When will the expansion of human knowledge and understanding reach a singularity and become effectively infinite?
Are we on the verge of a global transformation in human consciousness?
Will we survive long enough to see a global transformation in human consciousness occur?
What can I do to support the advent of a global transformation in human consciousness?
Who knows about this?

What does it mean to love myself?

What does it mean to love myself?
What is love?

How to love this world?

How to love this world?
How do I love this world?
How can I love this world?

What do people want?

What do people want?

What day is it?

What planet am I on?

Is anyone actually reading this blog?

Why doesn't anyone ever post any comments?
Is this blog boring or trivial?
Or what is it?
Is this too far outside most people's radar?
Does it seem to be naive or adolescent?
Or is it too middle aged, for most people's tastes?
Or is it just too much effort writing comments?
Do I have my comments settings set correctly?
Does anyone want to be added as a contributor?

What am I not yet questioning?

What am I not yet questioning?
What is there that I never question?
What do I assume about life and never doubt it?
What is so obviously true that I never think to consider that it might not be true?
What do I never question?

Where do I draw the line between private and public?

Where do I draw my lines between what I reveal in public, and what I keep private?
In the age of Big Brother and Paris Hilton (the girl not the hotel), is there anything that is an unacceptable part of public discourse?
Is there anything that I should not reveal?
What are the dangers of being too public?
Is it more dangerous to be caught somewhere in the middle between anonymity and celebrity?
More dangerous than at either of the ends?
How can I make any difference to anything without being public?
Is there anybody out there?

What is the greatest mystery facing humankind?

What is the greatest mystery facing humankind?
What are the top 100 greatest mysteries facing humankind?
Do these mysteries have any baring on the quality of life for people?
Will there ever be an end to mystery?
Do the questions of philosophers make any difference?
Can the questions of philosophers be made to serve real human needs and desires?
Are some questions by virtue of their nature unanswerable?
Is there a set of questions that shape my life?
What is the set of questions that shape my life?
What is the set of questions that shape your life?
Could I get to choose these questions for myself?

What is a question?

What is a question?

Does the answer always turn out to be the question?

What if the question is a question about questions... then does the answer turn out to be the question, or the questions that the question is about?
Is this the most rubbish entry I have posted so far?

Chocolate pudding

If chocolate pudding is the answer, what is the question?



Cold Leftovers for breakfast the next day
Originally uploaded by notreallyrelevant.