"I’d say that throughout history the greatest minds in mathematics, science, and the arts, greater than yours or mine Gunga Din, have generally perceived some sort of ultimate intelligence superior to that of man. Does that approach circularity? Maybe."

No doubt about it! Again, a "gene for" such things may be the difference in the glasses that you wear when selecting ideas and those that I wear. And not a matter of choice except, perhaps, in responses to whatever stresses mom applied to us prenatally. And the genetics of "nonshared, chosen" environments mean that I find Einstein to be kinda quirky, a dreamer sort of guy who managed to get laid a lot: he was smart about some things but I think he imagined "intelligence out there" for reasons similar to your own...

"Speaking of patterns, it seems to me that while we can be reasonably certain of, define, and test patterns, once we recognize them"

Even patterns are suspect: much of what I recognize as a pattern may be nonexistent to you. Bill Bennett, former Secretary of Education and a radio talk host, is still a pattern guy whether the talks about music or politics. And his sense of patterns got him into a gambling problem. I think Gore has done a similar thing...

"BTW, the SAM-e, at 1600mg a day, seems to be working (one must use a good brand), not only for my mental health, but also for my UC (and hopefully my liver too). Who’d have guessed? But then the brain and gut are inextricably linked, so maybe it’s no so surprising."

Very damn good news. I once knew a grand lady who wanted to take SAMe for her moods but her psychiatrist objected. The objections vanished when my client's motive was to take SAMe "for fibro." Go figure. As to the gut, my memory is that 80% of your serotonin is in the plexus that controls your bowel. Serotonin is also thought to be a factor in self-esteem. Is there a pattern that people who poop regularly feel better about themselves?

Good to have you back and kicking ass...including mine!

JimB