Awe of Understanding (dot com)

Our values

We believe in the value of freedom in all aspects of our lives. No, we are not anarchists - the word is Libertarian. While some form of government is necessary, we urge you to remember that any institution that can take your money or put you in jail for non-compliance constitutes a FORCE. We believe that that institution should be as limited as possible. How limited? Well, we don't have to guess - we've been given a framework, the U.S. Constitution.

We also believe that all aspects of life are best analyzed through reason and intellect. While there are no guarantees of truth, the closest we come is by the constant testing of our ideas and hypotheses. Our motto is "No truth without inquiry" because only testable ideas can be validated and only through questions do we get meaningful answers.

Finally, we believe that having the freedom to inquire and using that freedom are the surest ways to appreciate and enjoy this universe in which we find ourselves. Defining the world in scientific terms does not diminish the awe and wonder, but rather provide that spark - not only is the universe vast and beautiful, but every day we know a little bit more about how it works. How cool is that?

What we do

Everything possible. As Robert Heinlein once said, "specialization is for insects." We game, we write, we explore music, we knit, we sew, we work with wood, we read, we read, we read. Papa bear would like to have 36 hours a day so that he could actually have a second job playing boardgames. Mama bear would like to be a professional chemist and a stay-at-home mom (anyone have blue prints for a bioanalytical chemistry lab addition for our house?)