Josh Plovanic's Writings and Thoughts

      Labeling is a core component of understanding complex systems. Labeling provides the necessary conceptual and linguistic foundation in order for understanding and comprehension of that system to be developed in a human mind.       We think in words and language, so labeling is a necessary and essential component of understanding. A label is an assignment of a word or sometimes a number or code to an object, situation, circumstance, game, idea, or, for the context of this post, a system that we can then construct and develop an understanding of the these things.  Systems are labeled in two ways. The label of the big picture "system as a whole," and the labels of the parts of the system. The more you can label the parts of a system, define the properties of those parts, describe and define the interactions and relationships, these parts have with other parts or their environments, describe the functions of parts of the system, and describ...

        Few emotions, few states of mind, and few concepts are more poisonous than jealousy. Jealousy has led to some of the most abominable and vicious actions taken by human beings. I've heard stories of people being shot in the street for having something that another didn't have, whether it be a skill or a possession. I've heard of friendships ruined and relationships destroyed because of petty jealousy.        Jealousy is one of the first steps to the victimization of the gifted and those who deviate from the social and cultural norm. Innocent people who were just too different for their own good, too smart for their own good, too skilled for their own good, and often too beautiful for their own good have had their lives destroyed and opportunities crippled because of the inability of those around them to master something as petty and foolish as jealousy. If you want to stake a root cause of bullying in children, jealousy is definitely one of...

My head is in the clouds My mind is in the stars My eyes are fixed on heaven Home is never very far My thoughts are on infinity My dreams are in eternity My strength draws from divinity My trust is in the trinity The stars are my great compass The heavens are my map The angels who dwell above us Will guide me through troubles and traps Yes, my head is in the clouds But at least it isn't buried in the sand At least my thoughts are high and free In this blind and darkened land This place has such a funny way Of treating free and open minds It often brutalizes brilliance Fear of the light Drives the hate of the blind The wonders of the starry night Are much more glorious and bright Than all the blights  And all the fights That plague this broken world tonight And as I write My faith is my sight I know in my heart  What is true and right It brings me such a great delight That my head is in the clouds tonight

I'm not the pilot of this ship. I'm just along for the ride.  I don't hold the reigns, nor control the game. I'm just moved by the waves and tides. Sometimes I decide To make waves of my own But I know not how big or how small Those waves that I make Are, but not much is at stake This stagnancy in life  Is sometimes hard to take But I must admit  Sometimes I sit And think about  what impact I've made for a bit Have I changed the way  people think about life? Do my words fall on deaf ears Or are do they cut like a knife At the minds and hearts Of my friends and strangers When I speak of cool ideas Or when I warn of danger? Are my thoughts valuable? I'd like to hope so In some ways I know  That my thoughts matter Either to friends or silent observors It doesn't matter My thoughts matter to me And that's all that matters Whether I talk about dark matter In space, or a brain's grey matter To the ones that matter My thoughts matter And that's all that...

Lady Liberty weeps for this place. Her tears poor down like rain The powers that be  That run this country  are a massive disgrace They spit in the face Of the diligent and the brave The land of the free Is a sorrowful place Too much bondage here Too much pain I wish we could get back To the principles we tried to stand for Even though we fell short, at least we tried Now I don't think we even try anymore Now we are a nation constantly at war I think lady liberty's tears do fall Because of our shortcomings Because of our leaders Because of our fall From grace, our abandoning Of what once made us great Has made us a decadent nation of hate I feel that we face a burdensome fate If we don't turn away From the tempting bait Of debauchery, corruption,  This is enough on our plates Our enemies, I feel, are lying in wait Those predatory groups Those barbarians at our gates Are just waiting to strike Waiting to take The hopes and the dreams Of our people and our children Their fu...

When Terror entered my world His blackened claws tore at my dreams His vicious words cut at my spirit His twisted imagination collapsed wonders of the world His corruption warped my mind and my thoughts His weapons of war spilled the blood of countless innocents When Terror entered my world I was a young boy The spectre of Terror and his dark presence Has been in the background of my mind My entire life Terror takes pleasure in death Finds glory in wickedness He relishes the collapse of empires He savors the destruction of lives He thoroughly enjoys the chaos He loves hate and seeing things die He is a poison of the mind A cancer of the soul He is a blackened insanity He is all some people know If there is one agency I'd destroy That evil Terror, it would be him He's been in my life since I was a boy If it were up to me, he'd never breathe again

Our sensory input shapes both our perception and our perspective of our reality. We have five physical senses that allow us to detect our external reality, come to an understanding of it, and interact with our external reality as well as those people outside of ourselves and communicate with other conscious beings.     If our senses are intact and operate relatively effectively, we have the well rounded, diverse human experience. The colors, the music, the feelings, the tastes, the scents. Having all of our senses working gives us the full experience of our world, the only one we know without a doubt exists.       Our perception is driven by our senses, and although we share commonalities with each other across the board as a species, our perceptions, as well as our preferences, with what we detect with our senses differs sometimes slightly and sometimes greatly with each individual.        Though we all have common senses that detect common ...