Category Archives: Marty Coleman

Apr 08 0 comments
Marty Coleman, Science

Science + Truth = ?

My eldest daughter, pregnant with my first grandchild, is coming to visit this week. She is almost finished getting her Ph.D. in Neuroscience so I thought I would do a few drawings about science this week in honor of her.

science 1

Late to the Party

I never had a huge interest in science growing up. But the 20 year influence of my ex-father in law, who was an engineer and had a huge knowledge of many scientific principles and Rebekah starting in on her studies of the brain, I found myself reading more and more books and articles on science over the years.

Leaving the Other Party

It coincided with a great dissatisfaction and frustration with religious stubbornness about science.  Evolution, cosmology, climatology, biology, neurology…you name it and it seemed that religion was dragging it’s intellectual heels in accepting what was being learned about life and the universe.  The fear that the discoveries of science could steal away power or faith or something else seemed to lead to a desperation of denial that I have found to be unacceptable for me to condone. 

When Comfort Leads the Way

I have figured out a bit of the reason why that is.  It seems to me that it is due to comfort being more important than truth.  You might think it is the opposite, since religion often stands on ‘truth’ as a pillar of the faith. There is talk of sacrifice and bowing the the will of God and all sorts of other supposedly uncomfortable efforts we are told need to be made to get in line with God and his truth. But the truth is that truth is not really pursued. What is pursued is comfort (which can also be seen as peace and happiness).  I am not talking about material comfort per se, though that is a big part of American life so is pursued by religious believers just as it is by non-believers. I am talking about comfort of intellect.  The religious believer is more concerned with the assurance of happiness and peace than truth. It might not be happiness and peace in this life, but it is critical to believe so one can have peace and happiness in eternal life.  Whether or not the theological construct they have believed makes any rational sense, is true, is not nearly as important as if it is just believable enough to allow for a feeling of peace and happiness. In other words, comfort.

When Truth Leads the Way

Here is my feeling about it.  Science, in all its messy and human pursuit of truth, actually gives me a much more genuine feeling of peace and happiness than theology does.  It does so because I trust it. I don’t mean I trust any one scientific discovery.  I mean I trust the process of truth seeking that comes with science. I believe it is moving towards truth and won’t be stopped.  Religion and theology meanwhile already has been stopped. It has it’s definitions and it isn’t interested in having those changed.  I can’t trust a process that is stopped like that.

________________

Science Trivia Question of the Day

The fixed point on which a lever moves is called:

 

  1. Fulcrum
  2. Anchor
  3. Pivot

 

_______________

 

 

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman

 

Quote is by Marty Coleman, adapted from one by Le Bon

 

 

_______________
Mar 29 0 comments
Marty Coleman, Take Your Medicine!

The First Prescription – ‘Take Your Medicine!’ #5

 

You are finally finished with your 5 day dosage of ‘Take Your Medicine!’ week.

medicine 5

Trauma

Last summer we watched ‘New York Med’.  It followed doctors, nurses, & patients at 3-4 hospitals as they go through various aspects of their lives and medical procedures. I remember one of the Drs. saying that the number one indicator for a successful recovery was the love and support the patient had from family and friends.  With no support there was a lower chance of the patient having the physical and mental courage, determination and attitude needed to recover well.  People can do it, but support made it much easier.

Drama

Years and years ago a friend of mine had her husband in the hospital for an extended stay.  She would visit once or twice a day, but not stay long at all. When I asked why not she said she couldn’t do anything for him so why stay.  I asked if just being there helped him?  She said she was there twice a day many days and that was enough.  I remember having the feeling he was going to have a long recovery.

Karma

However, most of our friends and family aren’t in the hospital, right?  But many of them still are hurting or afraid or doubting about something in life.  Maybe it’s a break up, a big life transition or something unexpected and frightening happening.  Why should our response be any different?  It shouldn’t.

We should give physical and verbal support. We should pat them on the back, hug them and kiss them.  We should whisper, say and yell if I have to, that we believe in them and that they can make it through whatever the hard thing is they are in the middle of.

And most of all we should do what we can to help them make it happen. but it all starts with just being there.

____________________

Drawing, quote and commentary by Marty Coleman, who was the beneficiary of great support in the hospital and is still grateful 40 years later.

____________________

 

Mar 27 1 comments
Marty Coleman, Take Your Medicine!

Time and Health – Take Your Medicine! #3

 

It’s about time day #3 of Medicine Week showed up!

medicine 3

Redeeming Reasons

Why do we want to be healthy and live a long life?  It seems pretty obvious, right?  I mean, who doesn’t want both those things. But have you ever really stopped to ask yourself what you are doing with the health and years you have?  Are you redeeming them for something or are they both just for their own sake?

Layers of Reasons

I understand health for it’s own sake.  After all, being healthy feels better than not.  Being fit feels better than not. We don’t really have to defend our desire to be healthy beyond that, do we. It’s its own reason.  But is it the only reason? Is it the ultimate reason?  

I remember when I got divorced and started going to the gym to get back in shape.  I looked around and wondered, what are all these people going to be doing with all this fitness they have?  Then of course I had to turn the question back to myself. What was I going to do with it all? Obviously I was getting in shape to be more attractive to the opposite sex, since I planned on dating.

My Ultimate Reason

But besides getting a mate, I thought farther down the line, what other reasons were there? I wanted to be in shape for that mate into the future, for my kids into the future so I could travel to visit and support them, so I could teach people, so I could help others, so I could be of service to whomever would need something from me, so I could enjoy life and sha

So ultimately, for me, it then and now comes down to one essential thing. I want to be in good health so I can love the best I can.  That is the whole of it. That’s why I want to live a long life as well.  

_______________

Drawing, quote and commentary by Marty Coleman, who is fit as a fiddle.  But how fit is a fiddle anyway?

_______________

Literary Question of the Day

Where did the saying, ‘Fit as a Fiddle’come from?

Come back tomorrow for the answer.

_______________

Mar 25 0 comments
Marty Coleman, Take Your Medicine!

Is Your Medicine Fun? – Take Your Medicine #1

medicine 1

Sick Sucks

A kid won’t usually say being sick sucks.  they more often will say it’s no fun.  Why is it no fun? Because they are used to having fun and aren’t now. They have something to compare it to.  What about us adults?  If you don’t have fun in your life, then being sick isn’t that different than not being sick.

Copping an Attitude

Obviously, it’s not easy to have fun when you are sick or taking serious medicine. Even the most fun people can get way down due to an illness.  But they don’t stay down for long. Even in the hospital they will find a way to have fun, maybe by being sassy with the nurses or cracking some jokes with their grandkids. But at the root they do so by realizing the fun is in the attitude, even in the midst of the sickness.  And guess what?  It’s pretty well proven that that attitude in turn actually helps the person get healthier.   But if you can’t have fun when you are healthy, you certainly won’t be able to when you are sick.

______________

Drawing, quote and commentary by Marty Coleman

______________

Answer to yesterday’s photo question:

Yesterday I posted about speaking at Social Media Tulsa and included 2 photos, one a camera phone pic, the other a DSLR photo and asked which one was which.  Here are the two photos and the answer.

jamihenson_phone-dslr1

The top photograph was taken with my iPhone, the bottom with my Panasonic G1 camera.  I did the same minimal manipulation on both.  The iPhone image I converted to sepia and slightly adjusted the brightness and contrast using the Photoshop Express App in the phone. It took about 2 minutes to take, process and post.  The G1 image I did the exact same thing, but did it on my Mac Pro desktop after downloading from my camera.  

________________

Oct 19 4 comments
Art, How To Draw A Napkin, Marty Coleman

How To Draw A Napkin – Step 4: Have Babies

I know you weren’t expecting this, but it was due!

__________________

how to draw a napkin 4-6

 

Steps 4a-4d: Repeat steps 1a-1d. 

Step 4e: Meet someone.

Step 4f: Marry them (traditional version)

Step 4g: Have sex with them (traditional version)

Step 4h: Get pregnant, or help at least (traditional version)

Step 4i: Have baby (traditional version)

Step 4j: Repeat 4g-4i as often as you wish.

Step 4k: Draw baby being born from memory. (don’t draw as it happens, that would be rude).

Step 4l: Color in drawing (be accurate)

____________________

Concept, drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who contributed to this scenario 3 times (and added another in an untraditional way).

____________________

Trivia of the day

An average of approximately 3,000 babies in the US are dropped upon delivery each year.

analytics tracking