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Re-cap from Prologue Page 01 of 03
In general, we are a website about the Mysteries of the Universe (where 'World' = 'Universe') ... and the term 'Mysteries of the Universe', of
course, encompasses the more staid and serious scientific Mysteries about the
Cosmos, aka Universe, including such mysterious topics as Supernovas, Black Holes, Red Dwarfs, Pulsars, Neutron Stars, and Galactic Superclusters, Clusters and Groups ....
For the more sensationalised Mysteries, we are thus also a site that examines
the Mysteries surrounding the controversial and perennially-interesting Roswell Incident, UFOs, Aliens, Anti-gravity Propulsion Systems and the like ...
We also deal with
Strange & Elusive Creatures — which we may also called Cryptic Creatures, or Cryptozoological Creatures (or, simply, "Cryptids") — such as the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland and Bigfoot in the USA (so that on this site, you will eventually find a comprehensive
Index of all so-called Cryptids);
Puzzling Places — also known as (aka) Phenomenal Places — such as the Bermuda Triangle (aka Devil's Triangle) off the coast of Florida where many or several planes
and ships have mysteriously and completely disappeared (there will be an Index
of such Puzzling, or Phenomenal, Places);
Alluring Artifacts — aka Alluring Artwork or Curious Artifacts & Artwork — such as the Baghdad Battery and Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa (aka the 'Magdalene'??? — maybe!) (there will be an Index of
such Alluring, or Curious, Artifacts & Artwork);
Monstrous (and/or Mystifying, and/or Mysterious, and/or Marvellous) Monoliths,
Megaliths and Monuments such as Stonehenge in England; Ancient Pyramids & Ziggurats in Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia, and Latin America; and the Sphinx in Egypt (there will be an Index of such Strange Stonework, Mindbending
Metalwork & Wonderful-Wondrous Woodwork); and
Spellbinding Bible and Jesus Mysteries & Codes (e.g., Da Vinci Code and the 'Magdalene') as well as other Strange Religious Mysteries and Mystery Religions (there simply will be a humongous Index of such Religious Mysteries, due to
the human race's predilection for, and pre-occupation with, the Divine, the
Spiritual and the Transcendental);
and so on and so forth (other examples of Indexes/Indices will become
available) ...
Along the way, we will examine unusual topics such as
Eastern Mysteries (e.g., Zen & Its Mysteries; Death Touch; Shaolin Kung Fu),
Love/Sex Mysteries (e.g., Mystery of Love; Sex Appeal Mystery), and even
Intriguing Individuals (such as Quetzalcoatl; King Arthur; Prester John; Robin Hood aka Robin of
Loxley; Jack the Ripper; Hitler; even Yahushua/Yesua Marshiach aka Iesous
Christos aka Jesus the Christ) ...
And, we will also explore to the full the meanings of such terms as
'Bogosity',
'Unexplained Mysteries',
'Unsolved Mysteries', etc ...
This includes an examination of the various terms associated with what I call 'The Fringe' —
'Fringe Science',
'Pseudo-science',
'Weird Science',
'Bad Science',
various pseudo- or alternative fields (e.g., pseudo-history; alternative
archaeology; alternative geology; Creationism; Intelligent Design),
and
'Conspiracy Theories' (e.g., 911; Lincoln Assassination; JFK
Assassination),
'Urban Legends or Urban Myths' (e.g., "crocodile in the sewers"), and the like.
Eventually, this site will grow to such an extent that it really will become an
all-inclusive and comprehensive Index of these and other Mysteries of the World ... proceeding from the Home Page, to every webpage and 'web article' ...
As we are still an evolving site (and blog), our current system of arranging
the Index of Mysteries (as it were) is a tentative one ... ultimately, we
will achieve an Index (or system of pointers) that can bring you, the
reader-cum-viewer, to each and every known Mystery, either directly or via
various cross-referencings ... The Science of the Librarian will come in
handy here, I am sure!
To re-iterate: this site will eventually become an all-inclusive and
comprehensive Index of Mysteries ... such an Index cannot be build up in a
day, even with an army of eager beavers at work ... so that the Index will be
growing, day after day, week after week ... Wish us luck and pray for us for
God's blessing on this project.
It's incredible the things that people believes in ... such as Cryptozoology,
with its collection of impossible-to-find 'cryptids' (aka 'paranormal'
creatures), prominent examples of which are Bigfoot or Sasquatch , the Loch
Ness Monster, Skunky, and Chupacabra.
And, of course ... as an intelligent and non-gullible person, you should not
believe in such nonsense, unless there is proof!
Extraordinary claims must be accompanied by extraordinary evidence
or proof. But so far, no such evidence or proof has been offered that would
satisfy anyone whose explorations are reality-based or whose investigations are
truth-based ... such reality- and truth-based
explorations-investigations are
conducted by the mainstream scientists (like the late Nobel-prize winning
physicist and all-round maverick, prankster and amateur bongo player, Dr.
Richard Feynman) as well as by the professional skeptics (such as the famous
and much-sought after speaker who is also the Executive Director of the
Skeptics Society, Dr. Michael Shermer).
It is so easy to fool ourselves — many of us are surprised to learn that
the easiest person to fool is often ourselves! — as Dr. Feynman warned us
when he gave a lecture about Science, especially that bogus variety that he
called "cargo cult science".
We also tend to see what we want to see or we believe what we want to believe
— as Dr. Shermer observes and cautions in his writings and many
presentations in conferences and appearances on TV. "Cognitive bias" and/or "perceptual errors" are terms that Dr. Shermer uses to refer to the matter.
Besides errors of cognition, there is also a tendency to interpret many things
according to our affective bias, meaning an emotive state which is engendered by being easily influenced
emotionally by events ... And we should be aware that we also may be plagued
with 'selective memory' to boot, so that we interpret events out of the time
sequence in order to fit our beliefs, prejudices and interpretations of the
events ...
Unknowingly, many people suffer from both cognitive and affective biasnesses
— I happen to know a few of them in the real world, but these people
don't seem to live in the real world ...
For example, while declaring themselves as members of 'the church' or 'the true church' or 'the only universal church' or some such nomenclatural claptrap
— which means
a situation of 'rituals without relationship' with God; where they practise or
embrace non-Biblical 'traditions' and ideas, including pagan ideas such as the
Winter Solstice festival known as Christmas, or such as the Spring
Equinox-related festival known as Easter, or such as the 'Good Friday' which
can't obviously be true because the Gospels say that the Messiah rose on Sunday
morning after having declared he will be dead for 3 days and 3 nights and it will be nothing less than the sign of Jonah who also was in
the belly of the marine beastie for the same duration, or such as Lent, etc.,
etc., etc. ... especially as many of these traditions and ideas are explained
in extra-Bible sources and appear nowhere in the 'canonical' books; or they
believe in such
nonsense as "Perpetual Virginity", and they break the Second of the Ten
Commandments with their crucifixes, crosses, statues, stained glasses, and
pictures, etc.; in other
words, they've got their religion, which is simply equal to 'form without power'; —
they still secretly [sheesh ... mustn't let the priest or deacon know about it!] consult the I-Ching book as well as Feng Shui 'masters' (or other equally esoteric texts or so-called 'authorities' or
'gurus') when going about their lives, e.g., when buying
properties/real-estate, or decorating or renovating their homes, or making
investment decisions, or planning some trip or journey!
And they use traditional or alternative or folk medicine when sick or unwell
... unless the illness is really something major or life-threatening, in which
case, suddenly Western medicine, or surgery, or therapy, seems to be the Real
Deal ... or Real Thing!
It's so sad to see such delusions and gullibility operating in their lives!
They really need to get a handle on their lives — they really need to
"get a real, scientific life"!
They are so proud that they are so 'open-minded', being able to visit this or
that shrine or temple or place of worship, etc., etc., etc., ... showing
respect to idols of stone and metal and wood. Actually, their minds are so
'open' that they haven't got any to speak of or to use!
As Penn & Teller would say, it's all unadulterated BULLSHIT ... and, perhaps,
horseshit as well!
Let's look for the simpler explanation rather than the dramatic or sensational,
and often, impossible, explanation — applying with care the principle of
parsimony (where less is often better), or Occam's Razor.
Remember: a possibility does not equal to a reality! Many things are
'possible'; they have a tiny chance or probability of occurring, but they
usually do not happen or cannot happen at all.
Finally, if you want to see if you are delusional, biased, prejudiced,
gullible, and totally ungrounded in reality or Science, then check out whether
you have fallen into the trap that I call 'The Fringe'.
Okay ... enough of fooling around with (video and text) opening remarks in this
three-page Prologue ...
Let's get to the Feature Attraction ...
Click on the NAVBAR buttons on the left (and even the right) side of the screen-display.
Please do not assume or conclude that, just because I present many views (in
the form of textual notes and video clips) on this website, it means that I am
in agreement with or that I believe in the views offered-proferred ... That
would be displaying such a parochial and provincial attitude, towards this
website and towards me as well!
As an ex-military officer, I assure you that I am in the habit of reading,
viewing and digesting lots of stuff that I don't necessarily believe in ... We
call all the stuff we read, view and digest, 'military intelligence' ... The
same applies with 'business intelligence' in the business world, of course.
Our aim, as usual, is to find out what others (including our friends, enemies,
competitors, suppliers, strategic partners, business partners, etc.) believe in
... In order to do that effectively, we have to 'get out of the way', so to
speak ... we have to remove our humongous ego! ... else we will never ever
really have gotten started in our journey of exploration and discovery of the
Mysteries of the World
.
Here is a sentiment that I am wholeheartedly in agreement with ...
As I sit down to redo this book for an American audience, what rises before me
is last night's dream: I'm in a broad and beautiful land among many trees. It's
night. I look up at a huge old tree that's dark against the starry sky in its
detail of twig and branch. There is room enough here for all of us, I realize,
here in this big, intricately textured park. But I see that some want to cut
down the trees and level it out, so huge throngs of people can gather to gaze
up at the sun's glare. I watch dark twigs fingering the remote, untouchable
stars. A voice speaks: "Don't turn this into a Copernican Garden."
Waking up, I remember that I went to sleep wondering how to put this book
together. And I take "Copernican Garden" to mean a parking lot vista where
masses gather to honor the bright sun of traditional science with its old rules
as the center of the universe.
So I will not cut down the trees and level this book out. It is between you and
me [or you and I], a conversation as we stroll along in a moonlit fractal
garden past webby connections of thought that merge to patterned insight. Here
hidden delights nestle in scaling patterns of self-similar but never quite
repeating beauty. Here the tree of life hold stars in its branches. No matter
how huge, this garden stays human-sized because we have a place in it, you and
I. No need to cut down the connective forest and level things out for that
bright Sol [sun] of left-brain logic whose daytime dazzle — so
close and glaring — can blind us to the myriad constellations
beyond.
[...]
— Katya Walter,
Tao of Chaos
Sub-title:
Merging East and West
(1994, 1996)
Here is an observation (adapted) made in the Acknowledgement page of a book ...
It takes many minds to produce a book [including an e-book, of course].
Although most authors [especially of non-fiction books and articles] would
prefer not to admit this fact, fundamentally they are merely 'synthesisers' of
accumulated knowledge.
The process of synthesising may unveil a new reality map, or paradigm, which,
in due course, will be used by future pioneers to unveil further paradigms.
This principle was summed up by Sir Isaac Newton when he remarked: "If I have
seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants".
[...]
— Christian von Nidda,
Our Secret Planet
(2005)
Check our
Mysteries Blog
to see the latest changes
to our webpages and 'web articles'
(click on the
Mysteries Blog
button on the left NAVBAR)
As stated in our
Mysteries Blog
, the 'Mysteries of the World' Website does NOT aim to sensationalize any
particular 'Mystery', although we will examine and explore all possible
viewpoints pertaining to each 'Mystery' — including the fringe
AND the mainstream.
We will, of course, come to a conclusion (eventually!) about each 'Mystery' ...
even if that conclusion may eventually turn out to be 'as yet unresolved' or
'unexplained to our satisfaction'.
