Thursday, December 31, 2015
Consciousness, overcoming depression, a good book, fasting vs starving, appropriate behavior between generations, Happy New Year!
Machines vs. human experience, Teilhard de Chardin's Omega Point, do people experience consciousness differently?, the connection between the subjective self and the collective environment/others, how the environment affects people's habits, the costs and benefits to specialization, how reductionism skews perspective, Complex Systems Thinking, Henri Poincare, how imagination transforms/affects reality, how nice it is to know someone who doesn't accept your depressed states - therefore forcing you to change your emotions and find a way out of the darkness (not by suppression, but by actually acknowledging the causes and overcoming them), "A good book always does that, I think: leaves you satisfied on one hand...answers a lot of questions...but also starts you asking new ones." -- Lois Lowry, how fasting and starving are not the same thing, the differences in "appropriate" behavior depending on generation and cultural upbringing, how every person brings and adds meaning to the language they use, how amusing it is to see the sparks from the static electricity created by moving my hands across a blanket in the dark, it's New Year's Eve and.....it's SNOWING!!! :-D
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Spelling vs saying, preferring slowness, adult fun, reality vs imagination, types of gain, Western Progress, work vs play, and getting ready to move to Colorado
I think we need to start a petition to change the spelling of forty to fordy, fifty to fifdy, sixty to sixdy, seventy to sevendy, eighty to eighdy, and ninety to ninedy.
Clock in my car says 12:02, clock in my living room says 11:02, clock in my kitchen says 10:41, clock on my phone says 11:15. It's a miracle I ever know what time it really is.
I think I've reached the point in life where I no longer prefer speed over slowness. I'm okay with taking my time. No need to grow up faster. No need to move faster. It's Turtle Time.
My new apartment community keeps sending me notices for their Holiday Coloring Contests. They have an age restriction - 11 years old and younger. It makes me so sad...I want to participate...and I'm pretty sure my coloring efforts wouldn't stand a chance against an 11 year old...I just want to be part of the fun....... Can't we have an all-ages coloring contest?? :-) I don't want to win, I just want to feel included. And I want adults to inspire other adults to have a little fun. What's wrong with that? Hmm? LOL
Sense of Reality vs. Imagination, and their roles in the bigger scheme of life.
Individual benefit vs. benefit of the whole
Types of "gain" - Well-being/health, monetary, etc.
When you know the meaning of something, but you don't know if a word exists for it or not.
Utilitarianism vs. Libertarianism
Short Term vs. Long Term - What really matters? Both? - Why? Because they impact each other?
“The work is not yours to finish, but neither are you free to take no part in it.” – Rabbi Tarfon
“But of course it makes sense because we are Third Worlders and Third Worlders are forward-looking, we like things to be new, because our best is still ahead, while in the West their best is already past and so they have to make a fetish.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I don't agree with the above statement to an extent. I think the West is always trying to improve, to "progress", to get better still, even when they've hit a pretty decent standard of living. So where is that line where you cross over to "our best"?
But I do agree that we fetishize the past. We have examples of good moments, and we look back on them to remember what we could be, maybe? Hmm.
"Better" can only be defined when you have a comparison.
“You see, every oppressor knows that wherever one word is joined to another word to form a sentence, there’ll be revolt.” ― Helon Habila
Literacy is one of our greatest defenses against oppression. Libraries offer the water of freedom, but not all people drink.
Four years ago today, I had my first tangible experience with death.
“It is when things go hardest, when life becomes most trying, that there is the greatest need for having a fixed goal, for having an air castle that the outside world cannot wreck. When few comforts come from without, it is all the more necessary to have a fount to draw from within. And the man or woman who has a star toward which to press cannot be thrown off the course, no matter how the world may try, no matter how far things seem to be wrong.” – B.C. Forbes
“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.” – L. P. Jacks
Cross-Country Road Trip Agenda: Florida to New Orleans to Austin to Kansas City to Denver. DECISIONS MADE! :-D
Packing, packing, packing!
Tick tock!
Clock in my car says 12:02, clock in my living room says 11:02, clock in my kitchen says 10:41, clock on my phone says 11:15. It's a miracle I ever know what time it really is.
I think I've reached the point in life where I no longer prefer speed over slowness. I'm okay with taking my time. No need to grow up faster. No need to move faster. It's Turtle Time.
My new apartment community keeps sending me notices for their Holiday Coloring Contests. They have an age restriction - 11 years old and younger. It makes me so sad...I want to participate...and I'm pretty sure my coloring efforts wouldn't stand a chance against an 11 year old...I just want to be part of the fun....... Can't we have an all-ages coloring contest?? :-) I don't want to win, I just want to feel included. And I want adults to inspire other adults to have a little fun. What's wrong with that? Hmm? LOL
Sense of Reality vs. Imagination, and their roles in the bigger scheme of life.
Individual benefit vs. benefit of the whole
Types of "gain" - Well-being/health, monetary, etc.
When you know the meaning of something, but you don't know if a word exists for it or not.
Utilitarianism vs. Libertarianism
Short Term vs. Long Term - What really matters? Both? - Why? Because they impact each other?
“The work is not yours to finish, but neither are you free to take no part in it.” – Rabbi Tarfon
“But of course it makes sense because we are Third Worlders and Third Worlders are forward-looking, we like things to be new, because our best is still ahead, while in the West their best is already past and so they have to make a fetish.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I don't agree with the above statement to an extent. I think the West is always trying to improve, to "progress", to get better still, even when they've hit a pretty decent standard of living. So where is that line where you cross over to "our best"?
But I do agree that we fetishize the past. We have examples of good moments, and we look back on them to remember what we could be, maybe? Hmm.
"Better" can only be defined when you have a comparison.
“You see, every oppressor knows that wherever one word is joined to another word to form a sentence, there’ll be revolt.” ― Helon Habila
Literacy is one of our greatest defenses against oppression. Libraries offer the water of freedom, but not all people drink.
Four years ago today, I had my first tangible experience with death.
“It is when things go hardest, when life becomes most trying, that there is the greatest need for having a fixed goal, for having an air castle that the outside world cannot wreck. When few comforts come from without, it is all the more necessary to have a fount to draw from within. And the man or woman who has a star toward which to press cannot be thrown off the course, no matter how the world may try, no matter how far things seem to be wrong.” – B.C. Forbes
“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.” – L. P. Jacks
Cross-Country Road Trip Agenda: Florida to New Orleans to Austin to Kansas City to Denver. DECISIONS MADE! :-D
Packing, packing, packing!
Tick tock!
Friday, November 6, 2015
Tom Segura wisdom, Harvard Philosophy Lectures, time travel vs memory, ideals, goals beyond surviving, tea drinker habits, and communication!
"Doesn't really like."
"Really doesn't like."
Word placement matters.
"The meaning of life is...getting the f**k home." - Tom Segura (If you think deep enough, this really does address most religious/spiritual end goals - getting back to the Source, getting back to God, becoming One with the Universe, etc).
12 Free Harvard Philosophy Lectures on Justice (because who wants to pay for an education when you can get it online for free?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Taurid Meteor Shower this week and next! Look up!!!
....I've reached my quota for spilling things this week...
What if time travel is real, but it only happens in your mind and we call it "memory". You can revisit moments, reconfigure them, explore all of the possibilities, but because everything has already happened, all the possibilities already collapses into the timeline, nothing changes when you revert back to the present? Hmmm...
“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.” – Ralph Ellison
What ideals are we striving for? What does a Utopia really look like? Is it impossible to say because everyone has a different view of it?
What goals beyond surviving do we want to achieve? Space Travel? A society of play? Full understanding of ourselves and this world? (Is that possible?)
"There are times in life when people must know when not to let go. Balloons are designed to teach small children this." - Terry Pratchett
With moving comes a semi-spontaneous cross-country road trip. New Orleans to St. Louis to Denver? Tennessee to St. Louis to Denver? Which route to take?! Aghhh!
How some people use tea strainers while others just throw the tea leaves in the cup and drink it.
Appreciating differences.
Communication...makes the world go 'round!
:-D
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Collective impact, punctuality, aliens, beneficial hypocrites, spread positivity, simple pleasures, the Book Lottery, and Lovecraft
The emotional impact of a large group doing something collectively to help a single person. Beautiful.
Do you ever drive down the highway at night and wonder what the ratio of sober to drunk people is at that moment?
I think there might be a disconnect between our expectation for punctuality (especially for work) and our punishment for speeding on the highway. It's like our society is set up against human nature (we make mistakes, we aren't machines).
Predictable patterns. Why is the Earth full of predictable patterns?
Maybe we are the aliens that will contact future generations of life on other planets? Hmm.
“We are all dying to give our lives away to something, maybe. God or Satan, politics or grammar, topology or philately – the object seemed incidental to this will to give ourselves away, utterly. To games or needles, to some other person. Something pathetic about it. A flight-from in the form of a plunging-into. Flight from exactly what? These rooms, blandly filled with excrement and heat? To what purpose?” – David Foster Wallace
Is a hypocrite who informs/educates/creates awareness about important issues for non-hypocrites really a bad thing?
There are only so many battles a single person can fight at once. Only so many causes you can attribute your time and energy and support to.
Are you spreading hate and negativity, or love and a positive attitude? Check yo' self!
“Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you’ve got a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies—’God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.'” – Kurt Vonnegut
Pressing warm towels to my face fresh out of the dryer! Mmm hmmmm!
Getting ready to do another "Book Lottery." Thinking about something to do with Japanese culture, or maybe I'll just finish reading my philosophy book. Hmm. Decisions.
"Un libro abierto es un cerebro que habla; cerrado, un amigo que espera; olvidado, un alma que perdona; destruido, un corazón que llora."
"We dug the seeds their graves,
buried them in the dirt
and let them take root in the Earth
only to be reborn over and over and over again." - Me
There's a goldmine of word combinations yet to be introduced into the world.
The way books get readers (when they WANT to read) interested in other subjects.
“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.” – H.P. Lovecraft
Mountains tomorrow!!! ^_^
Do you ever drive down the highway at night and wonder what the ratio of sober to drunk people is at that moment?
I think there might be a disconnect between our expectation for punctuality (especially for work) and our punishment for speeding on the highway. It's like our society is set up against human nature (we make mistakes, we aren't machines).
Predictable patterns. Why is the Earth full of predictable patterns?
Maybe we are the aliens that will contact future generations of life on other planets? Hmm.
“We are all dying to give our lives away to something, maybe. God or Satan, politics or grammar, topology or philately – the object seemed incidental to this will to give ourselves away, utterly. To games or needles, to some other person. Something pathetic about it. A flight-from in the form of a plunging-into. Flight from exactly what? These rooms, blandly filled with excrement and heat? To what purpose?” – David Foster Wallace
Is a hypocrite who informs/educates/creates awareness about important issues for non-hypocrites really a bad thing?
There are only so many battles a single person can fight at once. Only so many causes you can attribute your time and energy and support to.
Are you spreading hate and negativity, or love and a positive attitude? Check yo' self!
“Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you’ve got a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies—’God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.'” – Kurt Vonnegut
Pressing warm towels to my face fresh out of the dryer! Mmm hmmmm!
Getting ready to do another "Book Lottery." Thinking about something to do with Japanese culture, or maybe I'll just finish reading my philosophy book. Hmm. Decisions.
"Un libro abierto es un cerebro que habla; cerrado, un amigo que espera; olvidado, un alma que perdona; destruido, un corazón que llora."
"We dug the seeds their graves,
buried them in the dirt
and let them take root in the Earth
only to be reborn over and over and over again." - Me
There's a goldmine of word combinations yet to be introduced into the world.
The way books get readers (when they WANT to read) interested in other subjects.
“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.” – H.P. Lovecraft
Mountains tomorrow!!! ^_^
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Physical plane simulations, limits of language, Library of Babel, purpose of art, connecting unlike things, creating your own thoughts, efficiency vs desire, why do we label?, and Operation Rainbow Sprinkles!
It's good to have thoughts in my head again. The last day or so has seemed like the The Great Cranium Dark Ages.
What moved humans to create simulations of the physical plane?
We don't know what we don't know, but that doesn't stop us from looking for it.
What are we unable to express due to the limitations of our own language? And what can we already express? (Making a list, checking it twi....ten million times).
Defining the rules, math combinations, and The Library of Babel: https://libraryofbabel.
Love how works of art (all forms) open up our minds to new ways of looking at the world.
The fine line between confidence and arrogance. Where is it?
What is it about connecting unlike things together that makes them so interesting?
Pirate-ninjas.
You don't get anywhere in life by listening to people tell you, "No, you're not qualified, you don't have enough experience [to save the world]." Show them you do.
Important question to ask, "Are you merely a soundboard for someone else's thoughts/ideas/jokes/opinions/
System efficiency vs. Human desires/pleasure.
Chronostasis.
Poetry. Life needs more poetry.
Why do we name/label things in life? Why do we verbally separate them from the whole? For recognition and empathy? Types of naming - general vs. specific/personal.
Bringing back "The Hat". Oh. Yes.
Operation Rainbow Sprinkles to commence in T-25 Days.
Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!!! ^_^
Friday, October 9, 2015
Home remedies, memory as power over machines, best system sans work?, process vs end goals, illusion of ownership, The Martian, Emotional Abuse, Beneficial Intelligence, What is Awareness?, Harry Potter Plot Alternative Question, Mormon Cosmology, and what I learned being The Queen of Hearts for a day
New home remedy: Muster what strength you have in you and dance around like a crazy fool in your kitchen for 2 minutes while waiting for water to boil. Proceed to make tea. If it doesn't relieve your symptoms, it may at least improve your mood, heh.
There is something to be said about what someone will do when they aren't asked to do anything at all.
However flawed our individual memories sometimes are, they may ultimately be our greatest power over machines.
What would be the best societal system in the event that we no longer have to "work"? How do you distribute resources?
How you go about reaching a goal should be just as important as the goal itself.
The illusion of ownership.
I have a pretty good feeling that The Martian movie isn't going to be as good as the book. Eff yea, Andy Weir! Laughs on every Sol/page!
There's a conversation to be had out there about Emotional Violence/Abuse.
On any given day, it's possible to die. That fact is humbling.
Artificial Intelligence vs. Beneficial Intelligence.
"The real risk with AI isn’t malice but competence. A superintelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing its goals, and if those goals aren’t aligned with ours, we’re in trouble. You’re probably not an evil ant-hater who steps on ants out of malice, but if you’re in charge of a hydroelectric green energy project and there’s an anthill in the region to be flooded, too bad for the ants. Let’s not place humanity in the position of those ants. Please encourage your students to think not only about how to create AI, but also about how to ensure its beneficial use." - Stephen Hawking
Getting people to ask, "Why are you doing X?" That's awareness.
What is it about emotions and memory?
Would readers have rooted for Harry Potter as much if he hadn't been in unfortunate circumstances? (Parents dead, died for him, living with Aunt and Uncle who treat him like scum). What if he was just a normal boy with a happy family? What if there was no prophecy, but rather he just rose to the occasion and it worked because he was the right kind of leader?
Mormon Cosmology.
Vedanta.
Become the master of both your internal and external world.
Think about it. How often do you have during the day to actually gather and consider your own thoughts?
One thing being the Queen of Hearts for a day taught me: the box for a deck of cards makes a very inconspicuous wallet.
When pumpkin is poisoned, make applesauce instead.
Hope to sleep for ten thousand moons. Goodnight.
There is something to be said about what someone will do when they aren't asked to do anything at all.
However flawed our individual memories sometimes are, they may ultimately be our greatest power over machines.
What would be the best societal system in the event that we no longer have to "work"? How do you distribute resources?
How you go about reaching a goal should be just as important as the goal itself.
The illusion of ownership.
I have a pretty good feeling that The Martian movie isn't going to be as good as the book. Eff yea, Andy Weir! Laughs on every Sol/page!
There's a conversation to be had out there about Emotional Violence/Abuse.
On any given day, it's possible to die. That fact is humbling.
Artificial Intelligence vs. Beneficial Intelligence.
"The real risk with AI isn’t malice but competence. A superintelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing its goals, and if those goals aren’t aligned with ours, we’re in trouble. You’re probably not an evil ant-hater who steps on ants out of malice, but if you’re in charge of a hydroelectric green energy project and there’s an anthill in the region to be flooded, too bad for the ants. Let’s not place humanity in the position of those ants. Please encourage your students to think not only about how to create AI, but also about how to ensure its beneficial use." - Stephen Hawking
Getting people to ask, "Why are you doing X?" That's awareness.
What is it about emotions and memory?
Would readers have rooted for Harry Potter as much if he hadn't been in unfortunate circumstances? (Parents dead, died for him, living with Aunt and Uncle who treat him like scum). What if he was just a normal boy with a happy family? What if there was no prophecy, but rather he just rose to the occasion and it worked because he was the right kind of leader?
Mormon Cosmology.
Vedanta.
Become the master of both your internal and external world.
Think about it. How often do you have during the day to actually gather and consider your own thoughts?
One thing being the Queen of Hearts for a day taught me: the box for a deck of cards makes a very inconspicuous wallet.
When pumpkin is poisoned, make applesauce instead.
Hope to sleep for ten thousand moons. Goodnight.
Monday, September 21, 2015
For the love of Autumn, being outside as a basic need, changing vs unchanging, Cognito Ergo Sum present tense, the glass is already broken, connections, patterns of deficit, the effect of the environment, Gandhi, a family's bond, and more!
"And one day.. the rain just stops, and the clearest skies you can see for miles shuffle in to greet your summer-worn face. The feeling just presses itself in on you, treats your burns, and says go ahead, "Fall. I'll catch you." And you'll tumble together in a pile of colorful leaves, and pumpkin spice, and everything...everything nice. Autumn, they called her. A sweeter name has never been known, year after year after year."
Not sure I want to push my luck, but I think the rainy season is (almost?) over in Florida. And I'm dying inside...outside looks so beautiful and I'm trapped. Why do we do this to ourselves, humans? Why? Being outside should be a basic need that isn't overlooked. If outside beckons, it's call should be met, regardless of other terms. I shall find a way...
Is anything beyond doubt if the world is always changing? Is there anything that is unchanging?
Cognito Ergo Sum. When translated in present tense, it leaves a lot more room for skepticism. "I am thinking, therefore I am."
The glass isn't half full or half empty, it is already broken. http://meditations-
Is it possible we are trying to see connections where there are none? Or is it more likely that there are many connections we refuse to see? (Thinking about Religion and Exclusivity).
What would the world look like if all basic needs were met?
Recognizing patterns of deficit and learning to prepare for them in times of abundance.
Don't underestimate your environment's affect on you. There are things I would do if only I had more room to do them. Like folding laundry. :-P
Poetry submissions. Book submissions. Submissions submissions submissions.
Gandhi's Salt March - nonviolent protest of the unjust salt tax and a monopoly on salt harvesting by the British government. Walking demonstration to show resistance.
A family's bond is never broken, no matter how much physical distance is put between us. Love doesn't acknowledge borders. Love finds a way to show itself. And sometimes that way is by spreading more love to others beyond the family.
All the things I couldn't say.
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