Plumbing the Depths: Thinking Deeply

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(Another in the series of quotes to start the week.)

Today’s quote comes from English minister and hymnwriter Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748), but not from one of his hymns or even one of his religious works — because Watts was more than a hymnist. He was a theologian but also a logician, and wrote a volume entitled Logic which carried the unwieldy but descriptive subtitle The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard Against Error in the Affairs of Religion and Human Life, as well as in the Sciences.

In The Improvement of the Mind, which was a supplement to Logic, Watts wrote,

Do not hover always on the surface of things, nor take up suddenly with mere appearances; but penetrate into the depth of matters, as far as your time and circumstances allow, especially in those things which relate to your own profession. Do not indulge yourselves to judge of things by the first glimpse, or a short and superficial view of them; for this will fill the mind with errors and prejudices, and give it a wrong turn and ill habit of thinking, and make much work for retraction.

How many of us would benefit from heeding these words, in this age of self-built social media echo chambers and “fake news,” and spend just a bit more time digging deeper than the surface impressions and passionate rhetoric for more than “a short and superficial view” of the issues that confront and confound us? Yet we are bombarded by so much input, from so many directions, that it threatens to overwhelm us — and the time seems so short to analyze even a little of it.

We fight an ever-more-difficult uphill battle, but the battle also seems more important than ever. Don’t lose heart!


(Image: “The Thinker,” by Auguste Rodin, at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor; photo by Karora, on Wikimedia Commons.)

In closing, it does not surprise me that Watts — who wrote deep and powerful hymns many of us still love, such as “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” “Joy to the World,” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” — would be a deep thinker and would encourage us to think deeply. May we all find time this week to think deeply about important and meaningful things, to “penetrate into the depth of matters,” so that we might fill our minds with fewer errors, and fewer prejudices.

Have a great week!

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Book Giveaway! Register Now

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I’m going to give away several copies of my debut novel, Walking On The Sea of Clouds, which is to be released on Wednesday, July 26th.

As I tell anyone who will listen, two reviewers so far have compared Walking On The Sea of Clouds favorably to The Martian, so if you liked that story you might like mine as well. (In all humility, that comparison is probably unfair to The Martian, since it was amazing and I don’t consider mine to be in the same league … though that clearly doesn’t stop me from referencing those reviews, now does it?)

For the giveaway, we’ll conduct a drawing for multiple prizes and the Grand Prize is a package of books and CDs worth over $50. So be sure to sign up!

You can register to win by signing up on my mailing list at this link or using the form in the sidebar to the right. Good luck!

And, I hope you enjoy Walking On The Sea of Clouds!

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We Will Congregate with the Congregation at ConGregate

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This weekend I’ll be in the bustling metropolis of High Point, North Carolina, for the ConGregate science fiction and fantasy convention — which is also hosting DeepSouthCon this year!

Here’s where you’ll find me:

Friday:

  • 4:30 p.m. — Concert — playing a mix of songs from both of my albums, plus new music … and some extras!
  • 6:00 p.m. — Panel, “On Writing Short Stories,” with Steven S. Long, Arylias Nova, Edmund R. Schubert, and Stephen J. Simmons

Saturday:

  • 10:00 a.m. — “Allen Wold’s Regionally Famous Writers Workshop,” with Allen Wold, Edmund R. Schubert, and Darcy Wold
  • 2:00 p.m. — Concert — presenting an overview of “filk,” the music of SF&F fandom
  • 5:00 p.m. — Baen Books Traveling Road Show, with Toni Weisskopf and Alan Pollack
  • 7:00 p.m. — “Java & Pros,” with Nicole Givens Kurtz — where I will in all likelihood read from my novel, Walking On The Sea of Clouds … which is coming out in less than two weeks!

Sunday:

  • 9:00 a.m. — Non-Denominational Prayer Service
  • 10:00 a.m. — “Allen Wold’s Regionally Famous Writers Workshop” (conclusion)
  • 12:00 p.m. — Signing, with Chris Kennedy — stop by and sign up for my mailing list to register for a drawing to celebrate my novel … Grand Prize over $50!

Of course there are plenty of other things going on as well: ConGregate is a great little con, and since it’s hosting DeepSouthCon 55 this year I expect it to be better than ever. At least, I intend to do my best to help!

So, let’s have some fun!

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New Video: Just Doing Our Best

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On Independence Day this year, I had the opportunity to experience glass-blowing — something I’d wanted to do for a long time, but not something I was prepared to do on my own. I would have failed miserably, and possibly done a good bit of damage even with my best efforts, if I had not had supervision, coaching, and expert guidance.

And, having this week learned that my best efforts in another endeavor were woefully inadequate, I recalled that Dr. W. Edwards Deming often said we were being “ruined by best efforts.” It’s not too hard to imagine how bad things might be in other areas of life — in business, in education, in the military or the government or the church — if everyone was doing their best but no one knew what they should do or how to do it.

So, in this episode, we look at glass-blowing, best efforts, and lessons learned from failure.

What do you think? Can we be “ruined by best efforts”?

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You May Also Like:
– Video: Perspective and Self-Improvement
– Video: Public Speaking Tip: Stand Up, If You Can
– My YouTube channel

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Book Your Trip to the Moon, Two Weeks from Today

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Bad puns aside, Walking On The Sea of Clouds is scheduled for release on Wednesday, 26 July!

Next week I’ll have more information about the best way to order a copy if you want one, and then as the actual date gets closer you may get tired of hearing from me about it. But, as I wrote to some friends last night, I’m only ever going to have one debut novel — and this is it! So I’m going to make the most of it.

Many thanks to the WordFire Press team for their hard work — and for putting up with my trouble-making!

Lunar Landscape
(Image: “Lunar Landscape,” by RDPixelShop, on Flickr under Creative Commons.)

It’s going to be a real thing, real soon!

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Does Art Make Us Human?

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(Another in the series of quotes to start the week.)

We all enjoy art.

We may not enjoy every art, and our enjoyment varies from person to person, community to community, culture to culture. But we all enjoy art. We take pleasure in observing it, in sensing it, whether by reading or hearing or viewing or touching or, in the case of culinary arts, smelling and tasting.

Not only that, but we have it within us to produce art. We may not produce every art, and our individual artfulness varies even more than any other trait or factor we might name because we have it within us to produce — or to attempt to produce — more than one art each. And according to British author G.K. Chesterton, that ability, whether we allow it to flourish or keep it bottled up, is what makes us, as human beings, distinct from every other species on our wondrous planet.

In The Everlasting Man, a 1925 volume of Christian apologetics, Chesterton wrote,

It is the simple truth that man does differ from the brutes in kind and not in degree; and the proof of it is here; that it sounds like a truism to say that the most primitive man drew a picture of a monkey and that it sounds like a joke to say that the most intelligent monkey drew a picture of a man. Something of division and disproportion has appeared; and it is unique. Art is the signature of man.

I love that last line: “Art is the signature of man.” Not of a man, not of a woman, but of mankind writ large, of humanity, of homo sapiens.

Now, it may be that at some point in the future — perhaps the nearer future than we wish, if the Planet of the Apes franchise turns out to be in the least prophetic — that a monkey will draw a picture of a man. And it may be that the monkey that does so turns out to be of only middling or very little intelligence. But if a monkey draws a picture of a man, will that monkey have become something more than a monkey? Will the monkey have crossed some threshold that the human race crossed long ago?


(Image: “Japanese Calligraphy art,” by Ayu Nabila, on Wikimedia Commons.)

Does art make us human? Yes, and “art is the signature of man.”

And whatever you do this week, you have it within you to do it artfully — so make your signature bold!

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‘Fans of THE MARTIAN will appreciate …’

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… some aspects of my novel, according to another pre-publication review.

Before we get to that, some news: I’m in the midst of examining the galley proof of Walking On The Sea of Clouds and owe all my comments to the good folks at WordFire Press by the end of the week. I have more news — as in, an actual release date — but I’m going to share it first with everyone on my mailing list, which you can sign up for here (and even get a free [nonfiction] e-book).

Now, back to the latest review of Walking On The Sea of Clouds. Wendy S. Delmater, editor of the electronic magazine Abyss & Apex, reviewed the novel for their 3rd quarter 2017 issue. Here’s an excerpt:

If you’ve ever wanted to be a colonist on the moon, this is as close as you will ever get without going there yourself.

Fans of THE MARTIAN will appreciate the technical struggles of Frank and Stormie, Van and Barbara, and the other couples sent up to a moon colony started as a private venture. What’s especially interesting is not just the bang-on accuracy of the engineering challenges involved, it’s the behind-the-scenes wrangling of the company sending them, the independent contractors, and the very human situations these forces create for the colonists….

You can read the whole review, and make a donation to support the magazine, at http://www.abyssapexzine.com/2017/06/walking-on-the-sea-of-clouds/.

Librazione 16 03 14 BETTER 23-03
I love this image of the moon with the maria — the “seas” — appearing to be covered with water. (Image: “Librazione 16 03 14,” by Giuseppe Donatiello, on Flickr under Creative Commons.)

I hope you think as highly of the novel, should you decide to read it!

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The Day Between

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(Another in the series of quotes to start the week series.)

I imagine that on this date in 1776, most people in the colonies were not yet aware that their representatives had voted to declare independence from Great Britain. The vote had been taken on the 2nd, and not until the 4th would the delegates present to the world at large the final form of those immortal words,

We hold these truths to be self-evident …

The rest, as they say, is history. But I wonder, at this point in history, if all of us still hold the same truths to be self-evident.

Betsy Ross Flag (1)
(Image: “Betsy Ross Flag,” by Ed Uthman, on Flickr under Creative Commons.)

Something to think about while we celebrate Independence Day.

Have a great week!

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New Music Video: The Books We Call Baen

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Most science fiction and fantasy fans know the name Baen Books — or at least know the names of some of our authors! Here’s a tribute song to Baen Books* and its founder, Jim Baen, from my album, Distorted Vision.

Hope you like it!

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*Full Disclosure: I’m a Contributing Editor for Baen. But I figure that’s all the more reason to do a tribute song!

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Other music videos:
Tauntauns to Glory
Help My Unbelief

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New Video: Just for Fun — Chocolate-Raspberry Oreos

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Chocolate and raspberry is one of the greatest flavor combinations ever. Sure, Oreo cookies are good by themselves, and chocolate creme Oreos are pretty awesome, but they can be made even better very easily …

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Related:
– Video: another “Just for Fun” episode, The Legend of the Gray Man
– More videos: My YouTube channel

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