Josh Plovanic's Writings and Thoughts

      I have thought a lot about complex systems like societies, governments, and organized bodies of people and how things like entropy and decay play into such systems.      Entropy is a natural phenomenon in the physical universe and the systems that operate within the physical realm. Decay and degradation occur no matter how advanced and well-designed a system may be.     However, if you want to collapse a society's system of government and economic system, just overwhelm it Absolutely bombard it with crisis after crisis, adversity after adversity, and corruption upon corruption. It's like overheating an automobile engine. Even the state of the art, best of its kind engine will break down and "blow up" if pushed to a certain point. Societies are no different. You "overheat the engine" you will eventually collapse the system. No matter how well intentioned the founders and designers of a system may be, the natural predisposition towards de...

 So last year, about this time, I wrote "new decade's resolution" talking about how I was going to maximize to the greatest possible extent conceivable to the human imagination the degree of liberty I can have in life over the course of the next decade. This year, as 2020 draws to a close, a year that was much better for me then it was for 96.731% of humanity, I am going to revise my resolution a little bit.  Here is the 10 things I am going to try to achieve in the next year (and in the rest of my life). 1. I am going to try to maximize to the greatest possible extent conceivable to the human imagination the amount of love and loyalty I have for Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things, and I am going to do my best over the course of the next year to try and say and do things that bring glory to God. 2.  Try to be of service to other people. Try my best to make the lives of the people of my community, my friends and family as pleasant and as respectful as they can be....

So I have heard a lot in passing conversation and in articles read and popularized by certain public figures like Elon Musk talking about what is called "simulation theory."  It's a theory that our entire reality is artificial, something simulated, from another reality. It's pretty much what the the movie "The Matrix" tried to depict in its premise. In our popular culture, there are elements of society who believe that this particular concept is what actually exists. "We are all living in a simulation!" as some people would say. From my own perspective, I don't think that's the case. I believe this reality is very real. It's not artificial at all. However, I do view this reality as a "projection" from a reality that is more complex and advanced than this one. The difference between a projection and a simulation is that something can be projected into existence from another reality and still maintain a level of realness and tru...

I think one of the most difficult things a lot of people have trouble doing in the midst of crises and challenges is asking for help. Whether out of pride or out of fear, asking for help can be an obstacle in itself aside from the challenges we are faced with. Many of us just get into situations where we don't know a way out of or we don't understand what we are in the midst of or what is happening to us. We don't know how we can be helped or what can actually help us. As a result, many of us continue in lives and circumstances that become unnecessarily restrictive, sometimes even oppressive, when all it takes to escape from these circumstances is an extension of a hand and the extension of another hand to help it. Unfortunately the helpers often don't know how to help, which is a situation that happens frequently in our world and in our society.  In a world as broken, lost, and, more often than not, quite wicked, many people just feel trapped by the oppressive and rest...

     This saying is a pretty common one I heard growing up and in the movies and in books I read. When I heard it said, a lot of times when I was more skeptical and doubting I would find it kind of a  nuisance, sometimes even dismissing any possibility of the truth of this phrase.           I honestly couldn't see how everything could truly happen for a reason, especially the bad stuff.  But then as I got older, I started looking back at my life and noticed patterns and coincidences that I couldn't just simply deny away. I looked at the job I've landed and held down. I have been interested in military/war topics and history, and now I spend 5 days a week cleaning up after the ROTC department at MSU.          I look at the church I ran into and joined, and even though I haven't been perfect in my relationship with them, they still took me under their wing and loved me like a family member, even given my quirk...

  Merry Christmas to my friends and family across Montana and the nation. May the joy and peace of our savior Jesus Christ fill your spirits and hearts this Christmas. I hope for many things this Christmas, and here is a list of my hopes for you this joyous holiday.  If you are grieving someone who is spending Christmas in the house of God from now on, I hope you are given some comfort in knowing that the ones you love and have lost no longer are bound to a world of sin, death, and suffering.  If you are angry this Christmas, whether at a friend, family member, or neighbor, I hope you find peace and the strength and courage to forgive.  If you have hate in your heart this Christmas, I hope you are brought into the light of Love and compassion. If you have jealousy in your eye this Christmas, I hope you are awakened to the spirit of God's generosity, and the inherent value of your spirit and the priceless qualities of who you are, and that you come to know that the va...

I am a very social person. I talk to everyone, try to treat everyone with respect, and I value company and companionship. I have a lot of friends who put up with my moodiness, shenanigans, loopiness, and quirks, and they treat me well for the most part.  I know, I can be a little unpredictable, but there is a lot going on in my head all the time and sometimes its hard to manage. I do a much better job than I used to. I love people. I love talking to people. I love learning from them. I'm social, yes, but discretion isn't something I excel at. I can be a bit much for a lot of people. I know that, but its kind of just who I am. I like to talk and I learn from conversation. I always try to give the person I'm talking to a fresh and new perspective, and take from their knowledge whatever valuable insight I can. I have a pretty vivid imagination. Growing up, I liked really big numbers. Billions, trillions, quadrillions, that kind of number. When I was little, I used to imagine h...