The Cowsbell Story

Information. Perception. Truth. Understanding. Wisdom. Belief. Action.

Cowsbell – Not sure the meaning? Truth is like that.

This site is about finding Truth and then deciding what to do with it.

We often think we can easily determine Truth with our innate abilities but truth becomes more difficult to recognize with each ‘advance’ in the digital age. While part of this site is straightforward articles to assist you with remembering historicals and finding resources, part is devoted to helping you develop a meaningful perspective for determining your true view of the information encountered daily in what we refer to as the post-Information Age.

A little background on “Cowsbell” – in the mid-1970s I worked in marketing for a large retailer and as part of my duties occasionally talked to vendors across the United States. Every once in a while, conversation would turn to where we were located. My office was in Kalispell, Montana but when I gave that answer, the listener on the other end of the conversation would try to make that unfamiliar town name something they recognized. Yes, Kalispell sometimes became Cowsbell in the ear of the hearer.

Truth is like that – we try to make it relate to what we already know, what we believe, what is already part of our experience. Truth does not always fit well into what is True. That’s what Cowsbell.com is about – making sense of what we hear so we recognize what is meant rather than our perceptions.

Here you will find multiple perspectives across many disciplines some of which may interest you. Enjoy the journey.

Connotation versus denotation. What does a word mean to you versus its definition? My first experience with another “cowsbell” was the Spring of 1962 when we moved an uncle’s cattle (actually steers, heifers, cows and calves) from his dairy operation onto my grandfather’s property five miles away. They moved from open property around the dairy operation to the 320 acre, mostly-forested range where they would spend the summer grazing. The summer range was not only largely forested but also included hills, draws, streams and other line-of-sight limits. We checked the herd at least a couple times a week but depending upon where they were grazing it could be difficult to find them. While they tended to stay together, they would get as far into the woods as possible to escape the flies. The age-old solution to ease discovering their location was having the herd leader – usually one of the older cows – wear a cow bell. This could be heard for some distance and draw us right to the herd.

That is what a cow’s bell was to me until one of my business acquaintances took my city to be Cowsbell! It was decades later that this became a relevant lesson for me.

How is it that we try to fit new information into old experience? How often do we count on past experience to make sense of new Truth?

In this website you will find many far-flung examples of Cowsbell – where we try to make sense out of what could be misinformation. Our quest will be to differentiate perception from Truth but in a practical arena rather than some metaphysical realm.

Browse the categories if for no other reason than to see how convoluted I can make the quest. In the process, I will address many questions about politics, religion, social media and human experience. Feel free to give feedback and if you are coherent and concise, I may include your comments.