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WThis statement is often misattributed to Aristotle, but is actually by writer Elbert Hubbard, from his book ‘John North Willys’ : “Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing, and you’ll never be criticised.” This is the way of the world. There will always be those who criticise. Too much or too little, they will never be satisfied.
Sometimes, even your friends get in on the action. But they only have your best interests at heart, of course.
There is a way to avoid criticism, of course. Hide from the critics. Do nothing to cause them to notice you. Don’t do anything. Don’t say anything. Don’t be anything that might cause them to go off on you. That just doesn’t sound like much of a life, does it?
Why is learning to accept, or ignore, criticism important?
We all have a limit of how much criticism we can take. We have to decide how much criticism we can handle, and from whom. Criticism from random strangers is not going to have too much of an impact on us. From a close friend or valued family member, that might hurt a bit more. We can also work on getting a tougher skin. Learn to accept that others have their own opinions, and occasionally speak them out loud. That’s their right. But you don’t have to listen to them, nor do you have to give them any credence. They talk, you ignore. Pretty simple.
Learning to ignore criticism is tough, but necessary. If you don’t learn how, you will spend the rest of your life moving away from doing or saying or being anything that gets you criticised. You would be a ship sailing away from every stray breeze. Will you ever get to your destination like that? Also, be careful about how you criticise others. There is being mean, and there is being helpful. The latter is often called constructive criticism, and it is a very useful tool, but it must be applied well. There is a difference between blunt and mean, so learn it well.
Where can I apply this in my life?
O NHAT does that mean?
Tuesday, the vice chief of U.S. military space operations, General David Thompson, gave a speech in which he said: “You’re going to see a significant increase in the resources for the United States Space Force.”
The big threat is now China. “They are building and fielding space capabilities at an incredible pace,” said Thompson. In just five years, China has deployed more than 260 imaging satellites and about 50 navigation satellites, he revealed. “Their space capabilities are still not quite as good as ours, but they are really, really good.”
“Are they better than us? Will they win? Are we in parity? I can’t say that,” Thompson added. “All I can say is that they are a serious challenge. They are a serious threat.
Their capabilities are close to ours. We simply need to do what we need to do, continue to resource and field new capabilities, train our forces and be prepared.”
The US Government’s budget for 2023
I would use it in any places where you tend to get criticised. This will require a great deal of objectivity. That can be difficult, but it can be done. You will need to analyse both what you are doing, and the motives and experience of the people criticising. It’s hard to tell the difference between the people who tell you not to do something because you’ll end up killing yourself, and those who tell you not to do it because they believe it is impossible.
CRITICISED
Consider the warning of Daedalus to Icarus about flying, and how that might have hurt him, to be criticised by his father. Then consider those who criticized the Wright brothers about trying to fly. Which criticism should have been listened to, and which was to have been ignored? However, sometimes even the experts are wrong. Sometimes you just have to take the criticism, and let it toughen both your skin, and your resolve. That can be hard to do, but sometimes it is necessary. The alternative is to do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing, right?
includes US$25 billion for the Space Force, about US$5 billion more than for 2022.
There is one space domain in which China is the unchallenged leader, however. This is in quantum communication via satellite.
In 2016, the Chinese achieved a world first by demonstrating quantum communication between a satellite and two ground stations. The satellite is called Micius, after a 5th-century Chinese philosopher who did experiments in optics.
Quantum communication is based on ‘entangling’ atomic particles, so that even when they are widely separated, you can discover the state of one of them by examining the state of the other.
COMMUNICATION
This communication is instantaneous over any distance, theoretically from one side of the universe to the other. It does not involve any radiation, so nothing can be detected. It is perfect stealth technology.
In 2017, in collaboration with Austrian researchers, the Chinese used their Micius satellite to conduct the world’s first teleconference using encrypted quantum communication.
In 2021, the lead Chinese researcher in these efforts, Jian-Wei Pan, published a paper describing how his team had created an integrated spaceto-ground communication network over 4 600 km.
Using more than 700 fibre links and a
The flip side of this statement is to be careful about how you criticise others. This involves some tact and some ability to guide the other person, instead of just criticising. Don’t be the person who is known as a mean and critical person. Several TV talk shows had their leads labelled as ‘The Queen of Mean’.
One hint that will help is to have an alternative. Don’t just complain about what they are wearing, suggest something else instead. Don’t just complain about what’s for dinner, provide some alternatives, and offer to help out with the added work.
We all have our ideas and opinions. Sometimes we even share them out loud, with other people. Please take the time to both consider how the other person might take it, and how you can make the opinion helpful. It can be done; it just takes a little practice. Say something. Do something. Be something. Critics will criticise, after all, that’s what they do. Give those who are worthy some consideration, and ignore the comments of those who are unworthy. You must do what you do.
‘trusted relay’ structure, Pan said the system ‘provides practical security against the imperfections of realistic devices, and maintains long-term reliability and stability.’
In 2018, NASA initiated the National Space Quantum Laboratory, which plans next year to use lasers on the International Space Station to achieve secure communications between ground stations.
A British company called Arquit is planning to launch two satellites beginning in 2023 to set up a commercial quantum system that will guarantee secure, unhackable communications.
The Chinese thus seem to be way ahead of the West in this realm.In light of all this information, one can see why the budget for Space Force is on a par with the entire budget for NASA. We can expect this space race to heat up in the coming years.
Finally, a reminder that the great Southern BioBlitz is currently happening.
Across the southern hemisphere, people are encouraged to take photos of plants and animals they see, and upload the photos to
The point is to enlist citizen scientists to help with recording species.
Last year, Eswatini managed to upload 264 observations of 327 species. We are hoping to beat those numbers this year. Here is the link to upload photos from Eswatini: