So after three parts of my This I Believe series of posts, I am 125 pages in to the 259 pages worth of essays, so there should be about 3 or 4 more posts of excerpts from my reading. On an entirely semi-unrelated note, the word "excerpts" has joined "acknowledged" on the list of most challenging words to type. (Yes, this list is currently two words long.)
(Allison, Jay, and Dan Gediman. This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. New York: This I Believe, 2006. Print.)
- "Einstein once wrote, "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious."...What did Einstein mean by "the mysterious"?...I think that he meant a sense of awe, a sense that there are things larger than us, that we don't have all the answers at this moment. A sense that we can stand right at the boundary between known and unknown and gaze into that cavern and be exhilarated rather than frightened."
Besides the wonderful crafting of the words of these sentences, this paragraph struck me. Hard. I've always had a small (and by small, I mean enormous) fear of the unknown. That we will never know those things larger than us, and that we will never find all the answers. But recently (since college), I think that I've started to grow away from that fright, and gravitate ever so gradually towards exhilaration. Maybe that's not the best word for it, but it's what I'm going with right now. I've become more fascinated with questions of science, or the world around us, and questions that have no answer. Religion fits into that category, too. Leave it to the math major to try and figure out the answer to whatever he can, but I kind of like knowing that there isn't an answer. It means we can use any explanation we want and there will be some validity. It means we can gaze into that cavern instead of know it as invisible. And it means that "there is no answer" becomes the answer to those questions. See? There's always an answer. Sometimes it's just that there isn't one.
- "It's not that we find truth with a big 'T.' We investigate and sometimes we find things out and sometimes we don't. There's no way to know in advance. It's just that we have to proceed as though there are answers to questions. We must proceed as though, in principle, we can find things out - even if we can't. The alternative is unacceptable."
Well, if that's not a direct contrast to the above passage, then I don't know what is. Although I think that these two concepts are a little different from each other - we can still pursue an answer to a question, and ultimately conclude that there is no answer. "We can't know for sure" should be the end of an argument, not the beginning of one. If it's the beginning of an argument, then what's the point in backing that up? That sentence is all you need, and really have, which makes for a pretty boring discourse. However, if you were to search for this answer tirelessly with the belief that one exists, and then see futility in your efforts to discover the truth, well, that's okay with me.
Despite there being only two excerpts in this post, I did manage to read more than the approximately 30 pages I usually do for these posts. And I find it incredibly interesting and worthy of a point for hindsight symbolism (yes, I'm done capitalizing that) that the only two passages I posted were about not finding the answer, and absolutely finding the answer. Cool, non?
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Straight in a straight line
So this idea has been fresh in my head for a couple of weeks now, and it's finally time that I internally dialogue. Think about where you are in your life. The people you know, the friendships and relationships that you've made, the choices you've made...literally everything. I believe that for you to be in the exact place you're at in your life right now, everything that has happened to you in your years of life had to happen that exact way. It's similar to the butterfly effect. Sure, if one thing was off a handful of years ago, you might still be in >99% the same place you're at right now. But you wouldn't be 100% in the same place. Everything in your past is necessary for you to be where you are now. It's pretty simple when you think about it, but also very cosmical. I mean think about it - there are literally an infinite number of possibilities for the culmination of your life, but one out of those possibilities actually happened - this one.
Now there are two things I want to address with this idea - first off (this isn't even one of the things I want to talk about - think of this like "thing zero"), this is what I mean when I refer to Hindsight Symbolism. (For anyone who knows my Facebook religious views by heart, I believe in events as symbols that help guide me in the future. It's my own constructed belief/name and I'm sticking with it.) This isn't the same thing as predetermination at all, however. I do not believe that the rest of our lives are set in stone for us, and I do believe in free will. The claim I'm making here is that everything that's happened in our past was the only way to make us who we are in the exact present right now.
The other thing I want to talk about is the phrase "everything happens for a reason." That doesn't have to come into play with Hindsight Symbolism, because things that are seemingly unfavorable are just necessary parts to put you in the place you're in right now. (Editor's Note: The more I see "Hindsight Symbolism" capitalized, the less I want to capitalize it.) There's no need to rationalize it and see the good in the bad - just accept the bad for what it is and move on from there. One of the greatest pieces of advice I've read was in The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - "We cannot change the cards we're dealt; just how we play the hand." If you wake up in the morning and realize you're all out of the usual breakfast food, don't fret or complain about that - instead, have some cereal or something (unless cereal is your usual breakfast food. Then breakfast is futile).
Anyway, back to my point. Think of your life like a timeline. Most timelines we're familiar with are horizontal and straight. This one is too, but what's hidden is the realm of possibilities that never happened in your life - not going to school that one time, buying that really expensive thing you wanted....everything that isn't part of that timeline is speculation now. What exists in our lives is only that timeline, and we need to stay on that line knowing that what lies behind us might not necessarily have been for the best, but for the present. We couldn't have gotten here without the past, and we won't get to where we are in the future without what happens to us in the present.
Now there are two things I want to address with this idea - first off (this isn't even one of the things I want to talk about - think of this like "thing zero"), this is what I mean when I refer to Hindsight Symbolism. (For anyone who knows my Facebook religious views by heart, I believe in events as symbols that help guide me in the future. It's my own constructed belief/name and I'm sticking with it.) This isn't the same thing as predetermination at all, however. I do not believe that the rest of our lives are set in stone for us, and I do believe in free will. The claim I'm making here is that everything that's happened in our past was the only way to make us who we are in the exact present right now.
The other thing I want to talk about is the phrase "everything happens for a reason." That doesn't have to come into play with Hindsight Symbolism, because things that are seemingly unfavorable are just necessary parts to put you in the place you're in right now. (Editor's Note: The more I see "Hindsight Symbolism" capitalized, the less I want to capitalize it.) There's no need to rationalize it and see the good in the bad - just accept the bad for what it is and move on from there. One of the greatest pieces of advice I've read was in The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - "We cannot change the cards we're dealt; just how we play the hand." If you wake up in the morning and realize you're all out of the usual breakfast food, don't fret or complain about that - instead, have some cereal or something (unless cereal is your usual breakfast food. Then breakfast is futile).
Anyway, back to my point. Think of your life like a timeline. Most timelines we're familiar with are horizontal and straight. This one is too, but what's hidden is the realm of possibilities that never happened in your life - not going to school that one time, buying that really expensive thing you wanted....everything that isn't part of that timeline is speculation now. What exists in our lives is only that timeline, and we need to stay on that line knowing that what lies behind us might not necessarily have been for the best, but for the present. We couldn't have gotten here without the past, and we won't get to where we are in the future without what happens to us in the present.
Excerpts from "This I Believe," Part 3
Because what's better than reading at the beach? (Many things. Alas, this book is actually good and I enjoy reading it.)
(Allison, Jay, and Dan Gediman. This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. New York: This I Believe, 2006. Print.)
- "...it was okay to be perplexed, to be torn by issues, to look at the world and not feel inadequate because it would not sort itself out cleanly. In the company of the confident, I had always envied their certainty...But in time, I came to accept, even embrace, what I called 'my confusion,' and to recognize it as a friend and ally, no apologies needed."
As I was reading this, I couldn't help but think that it exactly pertained to me. Namely with matters of religion. I've always had uncertain beliefs, and I've been certain of my uncertainty, but I've never actually embraced it. I've had talks all the way up and down the spectrum about God and religion and what have you, but have maintained my "we can't really ever know" belief. I usually regress to Candide's philosophy of cultivating our garden and not worrying about philosophizing, but I find these talks to be a sort of way of shaping my beliefs, and fine-tuning what they are. Whatever they may be.
- "Presence is a noun, not a verb; it is a state of being, not doing. States of being are not highly valued in a culture that places a high priority on doing. Yet, true presence of 'being with' another person carries with it a silent power - to bear witness to a passage, to help carry an emotional burden, or to begin a healing process. In it, there is an intimate connection with another that is perhaps too seldom felt in a society that strives for ever-faster 'connectivity.'"
I don't think I could put this any better. "Silent power" perfectly describes the feeling I have when I see someone hours or days after a powerful conversation. Nothing is said, but you both know about the conversation you had recently, and the power that is carried with it. And the phrase "presence is a noun" sounds like something that would sound good as the title of a poem.
- "I don't believe anyone can enjoy living in this world unless he can accept its imperfection. He must know and admit that he is imperfect, that all other mortals are imperfect, that it is childish to allow these imperfections to destroy all his hope and all his desire to live."
Every time I hear the word imperfection, I always think about that scene at the end of Inception, and then realize that perfection and imperfection have nothing to do with each other in that scene. But the man who wrote this essay is absolutely right - life isn't perfect. If it were, then there wouldn't be any good music. But just because something not be 100% the way you hope it is, doesn't mean that it's not good. In fact, I think that perfection comes from imperfection, as paradoxical as that might sound (although by now you should know that I love paradoxes). So accept the things that aren't perfect in your life. They just might be a different kind of perfect.
(Allison, Jay, and Dan Gediman. This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. New York: This I Believe, 2006. Print.)
- "...it was okay to be perplexed, to be torn by issues, to look at the world and not feel inadequate because it would not sort itself out cleanly. In the company of the confident, I had always envied their certainty...But in time, I came to accept, even embrace, what I called 'my confusion,' and to recognize it as a friend and ally, no apologies needed."
As I was reading this, I couldn't help but think that it exactly pertained to me. Namely with matters of religion. I've always had uncertain beliefs, and I've been certain of my uncertainty, but I've never actually embraced it. I've had talks all the way up and down the spectrum about God and religion and what have you, but have maintained my "we can't really ever know" belief. I usually regress to Candide's philosophy of cultivating our garden and not worrying about philosophizing, but I find these talks to be a sort of way of shaping my beliefs, and fine-tuning what they are. Whatever they may be.
- "Presence is a noun, not a verb; it is a state of being, not doing. States of being are not highly valued in a culture that places a high priority on doing. Yet, true presence of 'being with' another person carries with it a silent power - to bear witness to a passage, to help carry an emotional burden, or to begin a healing process. In it, there is an intimate connection with another that is perhaps too seldom felt in a society that strives for ever-faster 'connectivity.'"
I don't think I could put this any better. "Silent power" perfectly describes the feeling I have when I see someone hours or days after a powerful conversation. Nothing is said, but you both know about the conversation you had recently, and the power that is carried with it. And the phrase "presence is a noun" sounds like something that would sound good as the title of a poem.
- "I don't believe anyone can enjoy living in this world unless he can accept its imperfection. He must know and admit that he is imperfect, that all other mortals are imperfect, that it is childish to allow these imperfections to destroy all his hope and all his desire to live."
Every time I hear the word imperfection, I always think about that scene at the end of Inception, and then realize that perfection and imperfection have nothing to do with each other in that scene. But the man who wrote this essay is absolutely right - life isn't perfect. If it were, then there wouldn't be any good music. But just because something not be 100% the way you hope it is, doesn't mean that it's not good. In fact, I think that perfection comes from imperfection, as paradoxical as that might sound (although by now you should know that I love paradoxes). So accept the things that aren't perfect in your life. They just might be a different kind of perfect.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
If you don't believe in life on other planets...
...then that includes our planet, too. In my self-philosophy post, I talked about how it mathematically makes sense that there exists life on other planets, due to the infinite nature of the universe. Well, if you believe that Earth is the only place in the universe where life exists, then that's one out of an infinite number of planets, and one divided by infinity is zero in the math world. So, if you believe that life doesn't exist on other planets, make sure you include Earth on that list. Although it might be easier to reassess your beliefs.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Communication
Go ahead. Try not to do it. It will probably last you a minute in some situations, if that. Communicating drives our world more than we think. And it comes in so many different forms and ways that it's simply astounding. I'm communicating something right now on my blog, but I could just as easily have this conversation in person with someone. Or over the phone, or texting. Or in Spanish, French, or with sign language (if I knew Spanish and sign language). Or even the I'm-going-to-grunt-and-point-at-the-fridge-but-my-mom-will-still-know-I-want-food language that parents know so well. When I was thinking about the idea of communication earlier, I figured that I'd have a lot more to write about than this. But thinking about it now, I don't really need to say a lot. I've communicated my point. (Although by that theory, I should have ended my post four sentences in.) It's just up to you now to communicate with yourself and see what you think on the matter.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Fire Brand of the American League
This is a pretty cool Red Sox blog that I came across on espn.com just now, and it's a nice place to catch up with all of the latest Red Sox news.
Desktop backgrounds: MLB
So I just got a really cool idea while trying to find a good Tampa Bay Rays desktop background (I'm looking for one in the light blue)...I came across a sweet old-school Brewers background and a nice Indians one, so I decided to find the best desktop background for each MLB team. If you use any of these, then mission accomplished.
Here is a really good website to go to for logos - since these are easily accessible for you, I'll try and find logos that aren't on this website.
American League
Baltimore Orioles
Here is a really good website to go to for logos - since these are easily accessible for you, I'll try and find logos that aren't on this website.
American League
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota Twins
New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
National League
Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies
Florida Marlins
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers
Milwaukee Brewers
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Diego Padres
San Fransisco Giants
Saint Louis Cardinals
Washington Nationals
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Our generation's Bill Buckner
I remember one night (between 2004 and 2007) when my dad and I were on our way home from something or other, and I was telling him how the Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004 didn't give me the same "Now I Can Die in Peace" feeling as it did for people who were around for 1986, 1975, and even 1967. I had never experienced the agonizing defeat of a Red Sox World Series loss...but years later, I know what the next worst thing could have been. Aaron Boone. I can't even explain it any more than that. I don't even want to. It's weird, because we won the World Series the next year, and in 2007, but I just can't watch that pitch. It's painful.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
When it's just a game
The reason this is so is because the All-Star Game "counts" now. Until 2002, when the All-Star Game ended in a 7-7 tie, it was merely an exhibition, something for everyone to enjoy. But after the tie, Major League Baseball and the players agreed to award home-field advantage in the World Series to the representative of the league who won the All-Star Game. Frankly, I think this idea sucks. Home-field advantage should go to the team who deserves it the most - the one with the best record in the regular season. The NHL, NBA, and NFL all do it, and it works. (Actually, I quasi-scratch that. The NFL's championship is played at a neutral site, so home-field is only good through conference playoff play.) Luckily, there has been one instance where the World Series team with the worse record had home-field advantage - the Red Sox in 2004, who had 7 fewer wins than the Cardinals. So maybe it's not as bad as I thought, after some quick research. With no World Series making it to a seventh game since the rule change, the decision to make the All-Star Game count hasn't really made a significant difference in determining a World Series champion. But even if having the game count hasn't left a noticeable impact, it shouldn't count. I couldn't find a YouTube video of the intro, but at the end of the clips, there were All-Stars saying that this game was about the fans. And they're absolutely right. It's not about playoff implications, and it shouldn't be that way. Let the All-Star Game be fun in the way it's supposed to be fun.
(Editor's Note: I made it through the entire post, and I'm still without a title. Time to make something up on the spot.)
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Excerpts from "This I Believe," Part 2
So this is the same deal as the first post I did while I read This I Believe. Here, I'll just continue to post quotes as I go along and talk about them.
(Allison, Jay, and Dan Gediman. This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. New York: This I Believe, 2006. Print.)
- "If I were to discover that there is no afterlife, my motive for moral living would not be destroyed. I have enough of the philosopher in me to love righteousness for its own sake."
This is a great quote I think, and a great way to live one's life. I believe something similar to this quote - what the truth is in terms of a deity, god, or afterlife, shouldn't affect how we live our conscious lives on Earth. Yeah, I understand people hold beliefs where what they do on Earth affects what their outcome is in the afterlife, but those people are putting time and energy doing things that may not even benefit them. Of course, no one's sure if those people reap the rewards of their work on Earth, because we can't tap into the afterlife. We just have to go off of what we know in life, and in living.
- "I believe freedom begins with naming things. Humanity is preserved by it."
This quote is kind of similar to one in my first This I Believe post, where it talks about acknowledging something that may have happened to you, and giving it a name. When you give something a name, you give meaning, life, and implications to it. That name exists to you in that moment and holds a certain relevance for you. When something is troubling you, don't keep it inside. Give it a name, so you can begin to tackle it and overcome it.
That's it for right now...I'm about a third of the way through the book, so there will definitely be more to come.
(Allison, Jay, and Dan Gediman. This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. New York: This I Believe, 2006. Print.)
- "If I were to discover that there is no afterlife, my motive for moral living would not be destroyed. I have enough of the philosopher in me to love righteousness for its own sake."
This is a great quote I think, and a great way to live one's life. I believe something similar to this quote - what the truth is in terms of a deity, god, or afterlife, shouldn't affect how we live our conscious lives on Earth. Yeah, I understand people hold beliefs where what they do on Earth affects what their outcome is in the afterlife, but those people are putting time and energy doing things that may not even benefit them. Of course, no one's sure if those people reap the rewards of their work on Earth, because we can't tap into the afterlife. We just have to go off of what we know in life, and in living.
- "I believe freedom begins with naming things. Humanity is preserved by it."
This quote is kind of similar to one in my first This I Believe post, where it talks about acknowledging something that may have happened to you, and giving it a name. When you give something a name, you give meaning, life, and implications to it. That name exists to you in that moment and holds a certain relevance for you. When something is troubling you, don't keep it inside. Give it a name, so you can begin to tackle it and overcome it.
That's it for right now...I'm about a third of the way through the book, so there will definitely be more to come.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)