Solipsism Gradient

Ducks swimming in the creek about 100m before the waterfall. Again, notice the iron-rich water.

This wooden cross is in front of a church in the town of São Gonçalo do Rio das Pedras. The parallel antenna tower in the background caught my eye…

A typical clump of cacti and other plants adapted to dry climates…

Small yellow mushrooms grow from a clump of burned vegetation.

Although it rained frequently during our stay, this region is known for long dry periods and brushfires are very common.

This small bridge crosses a small creek just before a double waterfall. The water has high iron content and has a dark reddish tint.

The whole region is infested with termites, so wooden structures are shortlived; this bridge has been rebuilt a few years ago.

This flower measures about 5 mm across and seems to be pretty typical for the Jequitinhonha region.

It was very windy so I had to hold the stem with my other hand and set the shutter speed to 1/2000 sec. This also had the desired result of blurring the background.

Here [in following posts] are the promised pictures – or at least, the better ones , from my New Year’s vacation at Milho Verde, near the source of the Jequitinhonha River in the interior of Minas Gerais.

Dori Smith and Tom Negrino’s Backup Brain pointed me at Kari Coleman’s article “My Psychic Adventure”. This is in the James Randi Educational Foundation Newsletter.

Worth reading; of course, people who really want to believe in this sort of thing won’t be dissuaded by logic.

From near the end:

I think I have finally found my answer to those people who tell me that skepticism takes the joy out of life, that you need God to experience morality, and that without him it’s just a heartless existence. People were happy to talk. They really just wanted someone to listen to their problems, or share their hopes and dreams. They wanted to go over funny stories about a loved one they’d lost or just sit and remember them out loud with someone. When I took away the voodoo, the fact that we had “shared” didn’t go away. There is all the joy you need in human interaction.