As university is coming to a close to me, I'm starting to realize more and more how social standards have such power over someone's behaviour. It's amazing that when a common way of thinking has been established in a group of people, it is so difficult to deviate from that common way of thinking. This is especially true in larger groups.
It seems strange that people in groups can form consensus of a certain way of thinking. When someone influential is a part of the group (this can be personally influential people such as your parents), these groups can grow.
But what I find most interesting is how one's thoughts deviate when they do not have the input of significant number of others for a long time. In these cases, as I have been experiencing in the past few weeks due to end of the semester projects, you start developing your own view of the world that when you sit back and look at the larger picture, realize that everything is shifted out of balance. For example, I have been very narrowly focused on school, and I feel like I am in a trance, with the singular goal of finishing the semester well. Because of my focus, I can't think of anything else, and I can't even see an end to all of this work. I am also extremely stressed by it. But when you sit back and think about it, everything is just a social construct.
I find it interesting that when people settle on a set way of thinking, it is very difficult to break out of that cycle. This may just be an evolutionary leftover, since it is easier to follow in the footsteps of successful people than to bushwhack your own way to success. I think it is of the highest importance that people should regularly just sit back and think about what they are doing. What are the ideas that you take for granted? Where are these ideas from? What practical reasons do you think these ideas were formed from? How do these apply and/or not apply to our current lives? Things change fast in the modern world, so we all need to learn how to adapt both our bodies and our minds to these changes.
It is also interesting to note that people tend to shun others who think differently than they do. Many people, who are very used to the way they think and hang out only with others that think like them, are even less willing to accept other points of view and other ways of thinking. I get the feeling that these people can't see themselves thinking in a similar way to the people they shun and because of this, they develop ill feelings toward the people who think differently then they do. This also needs to change. People should try viewing the world from all perspectives. Of course, there are perspectives that may cause harm to others, but even they should be considered, although with some caution. Only by thinking like others can you understand what they truly feel and how to help everyone else.
The question that I have been asking is, if everything is a social construct, why should we tie our emotions and desires to what the rest of society wants? Why should we care about being rich? Wouldn't we just all be happier if we just decided we were satisfied with what we have? After all, according to many studies, some of the poorest countries are the happiest countries in the world.
Well, perhaps I should write about measures of success in my next post so this post doesn't ramble on for too long.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Currency!
Ok firstly, let me say that this blog will also keep track of some random observations that I find interesting, so here's the first one!
Lately, I have become obsessed with money. No, I don't mean I'm hoarding money. I mean the concept of money. I find the economy to be a fascinating thing. I also find money to be fascinating. Everyone takes money for granted. But when you really think about it, it's amazing that so many people have just "assigned" something so arbitrary (stamped metal pieces, paper with ink on it, and electromagnetic patterns in a computer) with such a well defined unit of value. What's more amazing is that money truly represents value. For example, if we have two bowls that are exactly the same, but one you found on the street a minute ago and one was given to you as a present from you mother, you'd value the one from your mother more. But this nearly never happens with money. True, a specific dollar bill may have a special significance, but I am talking about units of money, like the money in a bank account where every dollar is the same. A dollar value that you would sell the two different bowls for would represent the actual value, both material and personal, of an object.
I am also amazed at the exacting nature of money. For example, when we receive change, we expect the exact change to the nearest cent. But truly, how much is one cent worth? (It may be worth more in other parts of the world, but then they have their own currencies divided up in to units that are worth even less) A cent is nearly worthless, but because of the exacting nature of money, we still use such an insignificant unit! Was there every such a thing before money when you can describe exactly how much something is worth to another party?
Also, I find it interesting that so many currencies are divided up into 100 subunits. For example, a dollar is divided up into 100 cents. A Chinese Ren Min Bi (Yuan) is divided up into 100 Fen. Why not just call the subunit the unit? Why not label everything in their cost in cents and just forgo the dollar? This seems to work well in many places where a unit of currency is less valuable. For example, you don't see any "cents" in Japan because their "dollar" is effectively their "cent." I just find it strange that most places use a unit for their currency, but also have subunits.
Lately, I have become obsessed with money. No, I don't mean I'm hoarding money. I mean the concept of money. I find the economy to be a fascinating thing. I also find money to be fascinating. Everyone takes money for granted. But when you really think about it, it's amazing that so many people have just "assigned" something so arbitrary (stamped metal pieces, paper with ink on it, and electromagnetic patterns in a computer) with such a well defined unit of value. What's more amazing is that money truly represents value. For example, if we have two bowls that are exactly the same, but one you found on the street a minute ago and one was given to you as a present from you mother, you'd value the one from your mother more. But this nearly never happens with money. True, a specific dollar bill may have a special significance, but I am talking about units of money, like the money in a bank account where every dollar is the same. A dollar value that you would sell the two different bowls for would represent the actual value, both material and personal, of an object.
I am also amazed at the exacting nature of money. For example, when we receive change, we expect the exact change to the nearest cent. But truly, how much is one cent worth? (It may be worth more in other parts of the world, but then they have their own currencies divided up in to units that are worth even less) A cent is nearly worthless, but because of the exacting nature of money, we still use such an insignificant unit! Was there every such a thing before money when you can describe exactly how much something is worth to another party?
Also, I find it interesting that so many currencies are divided up into 100 subunits. For example, a dollar is divided up into 100 cents. A Chinese Ren Min Bi (Yuan) is divided up into 100 Fen. Why not just call the subunit the unit? Why not label everything in their cost in cents and just forgo the dollar? This seems to work well in many places where a unit of currency is less valuable. For example, you don't see any "cents" in Japan because their "dollar" is effectively their "cent." I just find it strange that most places use a unit for their currency, but also have subunits.
Notes on the Virginia Shootings
I originally didn't want to post anything about this event since I am sure everyone is already talking about it. But there are a few things I feel that I need to say.
I truly feel for everyone who was affected by this tragedy, especially the parents. I cannot imagine what they must be going through now. I really do mean it, and not just saying this as a courtesy. When I discuss or hear people talk about this event, it makes me want to cry for the victims, their parents, and their friends. I can imagine a small portion of their pain, and even such a small portion makes me want to weep for them.
As a society, let us focus on the celebration of the victim's lives and society as a whole rather than dwell on the tragedy. Along with the negative side of society that we have seen, we should also be aware of the positives actions taken that day. People who gave their lives to save others, and the support of so many people from so many nations should be remembered. I know that it is hard to stay positive with such a horrible event happening, but I am hoping in time the pain of the victims will fade away and that they will be able to continue with their lives.
Please let this event not trigger anger in others. The natural reaction is for people to hate and feel hostility toward the perpetrator of this horrible act, especially if someone you know was affected. Yes, he had done something horrible, but remember that he was also clinically depressed, and even when he had been identified as troubled earlier, no help was provided. Although he is ultimately responsible for his horrible act, it was also the product of a failed society. People should be more proactive providing help to others even to people who we may not like. Try to strike up a friendly conversation with a stranger everyday. Everyone has something to teach and something to learn from everyone else. If we are more open to the people around us, we can understand everyone around us a bit better, reducing the chances of misunderstandings that may result is hostile feelings. Do not be too proud and arrogant to talk to someone who you think is socially/culturally/(whatever your excuse is) below you. Do not be too greedy to sacrifice something for the benefit of someone else. Do not be too afraid to pester someone to help them if you know that they need help but is too proud to accept it.
For people who are using this situation to your advantage such as using it in an argument of why another country is better than the US, think about the pain and suffering this event has caused. What you are arguing may be true to you, but remember there are different views of the same event. Do not let your arrogance and need to be right lead you to use the death and suffering of others to your advantage. If you are using it for a good cause that will reduce pain and suffering in the future, be sensitive about it and be aware when it becomes a personal issue.
For the people who get a kick out of situations like this: think about why you enjoy the suffering of others. Perhaps there is a hidden reason somewhere that you need to confront. If there is, seek help. Confronting a deep-down problem is very painful and the vast majority of people will not be able to do it without the help of others. Don't be the person who is too scared or proud to admit they have a problem and confront it.
Overall, this was a horrible event that had occurred. I give out my most sincerest condolences to anyone affected by the tragedy. And I really mean it, not just saying it. But hopefully we can all learn something from this event. Most importantly, do not let this event breed more anger and hatred. Even the perpetrator should not be hated and labelled as evil. He was misguided, and I am sure that there must have been something society could have done to prevent this.
I truly feel for everyone who was affected by this tragedy, especially the parents. I cannot imagine what they must be going through now. I really do mean it, and not just saying this as a courtesy. When I discuss or hear people talk about this event, it makes me want to cry for the victims, their parents, and their friends. I can imagine a small portion of their pain, and even such a small portion makes me want to weep for them.
As a society, let us focus on the celebration of the victim's lives and society as a whole rather than dwell on the tragedy. Along with the negative side of society that we have seen, we should also be aware of the positives actions taken that day. People who gave their lives to save others, and the support of so many people from so many nations should be remembered. I know that it is hard to stay positive with such a horrible event happening, but I am hoping in time the pain of the victims will fade away and that they will be able to continue with their lives.
Please let this event not trigger anger in others. The natural reaction is for people to hate and feel hostility toward the perpetrator of this horrible act, especially if someone you know was affected. Yes, he had done something horrible, but remember that he was also clinically depressed, and even when he had been identified as troubled earlier, no help was provided. Although he is ultimately responsible for his horrible act, it was also the product of a failed society. People should be more proactive providing help to others even to people who we may not like. Try to strike up a friendly conversation with a stranger everyday. Everyone has something to teach and something to learn from everyone else. If we are more open to the people around us, we can understand everyone around us a bit better, reducing the chances of misunderstandings that may result is hostile feelings. Do not be too proud and arrogant to talk to someone who you think is socially/culturally/(whatever your excuse is) below you. Do not be too greedy to sacrifice something for the benefit of someone else. Do not be too afraid to pester someone to help them if you know that they need help but is too proud to accept it.
For people who are using this situation to your advantage such as using it in an argument of why another country is better than the US, think about the pain and suffering this event has caused. What you are arguing may be true to you, but remember there are different views of the same event. Do not let your arrogance and need to be right lead you to use the death and suffering of others to your advantage. If you are using it for a good cause that will reduce pain and suffering in the future, be sensitive about it and be aware when it becomes a personal issue.
For the people who get a kick out of situations like this: think about why you enjoy the suffering of others. Perhaps there is a hidden reason somewhere that you need to confront. If there is, seek help. Confronting a deep-down problem is very painful and the vast majority of people will not be able to do it without the help of others. Don't be the person who is too scared or proud to admit they have a problem and confront it.
Overall, this was a horrible event that had occurred. I give out my most sincerest condolences to anyone affected by the tragedy. And I really mean it, not just saying it. But hopefully we can all learn something from this event. Most importantly, do not let this event breed more anger and hatred. Even the perpetrator should not be hated and labelled as evil. He was misguided, and I am sure that there must have been something society could have done to prevent this.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
My General View of Society - Last Point I need to Make Before Real Posts
Ok this one's short. I realized I left out a very important point while posting the boring and convoluted/confusing intro. The question is, if people are so horrible, is there any way that a reasonably happy life can be lived in harmony with others?
The answer is yes. The horrible aspects of humans were created to help us survive when we did not have the amount of technology we have today. But now that we do, these traits are superfluous and make society a worse place for all. A small amount of competition and desire to succeed is good and help drive the progression of technology and society, but too much results in greed, inequality, and conflict. We need to realize that we can all live in harmony and use technology to support our continued existence as a species rather than individuals. Soon, when people can treat genetic diseases and other problems, we in effect have taken evolution into our own hands. Why should we care that our genes are propagated? Why should we care if we have more money than someone else when the other person has everything he or she needs to live, has the time to enjoy the company of friends, and support a family? I think that people need to realize that they do not need excess money or control over others. People should not mind sacrificing luxuries from their own lives to help people who genuinely cannot support themselves and their families. People should care for all, and not just people they think they will benefit from. People should also try to be inclusive and realize that everyone is equal to stamp out arrogance, ignorance, and greed. Of course, this is easier said then done. This is very contrary to human nature, so one needs to be aware of their "inner demons" in order to let go of their selfish wants in order to make life better for humanity as a whole.
The answer is yes. The horrible aspects of humans were created to help us survive when we did not have the amount of technology we have today. But now that we do, these traits are superfluous and make society a worse place for all. A small amount of competition and desire to succeed is good and help drive the progression of technology and society, but too much results in greed, inequality, and conflict. We need to realize that we can all live in harmony and use technology to support our continued existence as a species rather than individuals. Soon, when people can treat genetic diseases and other problems, we in effect have taken evolution into our own hands. Why should we care that our genes are propagated? Why should we care if we have more money than someone else when the other person has everything he or she needs to live, has the time to enjoy the company of friends, and support a family? I think that people need to realize that they do not need excess money or control over others. People should not mind sacrificing luxuries from their own lives to help people who genuinely cannot support themselves and their families. People should care for all, and not just people they think they will benefit from. People should also try to be inclusive and realize that everyone is equal to stamp out arrogance, ignorance, and greed. Of course, this is easier said then done. This is very contrary to human nature, so one needs to be aware of their "inner demons" in order to let go of their selfish wants in order to make life better for humanity as a whole.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
New Blog to Record My Travels
I'm starting a new blog dedicated purely to record my travels. This is mainly so my friends and family can track me when I am travelling, and also so that I don't forget my adventures. If you're interested, you can read it here:
mandarinmanmarktravel.blogspot.com
mandarinmanmarktravel.blogspot.com
Sunday, April 1, 2007
OK - Let's Get it Started!
Alright, I think it's time to finally start writing real content. I know the introduction posts have been somewhat strange and dense, but I just wanted to get some of the fundamental ideas out of the way. From here on out, I will start writing about my everyday experiences. What I write will seem political, but that is not the goal. I just want to write will about my feelings and my view of the world according to my beliefs. And of course, I invite all of you to participate through commenting or e-mailing me. Although I will mostly write about current events, the important thing to note while reading this blog is my way of thinking and further suggestions. Events come and go, but ideas and beliefs are timeless.
Now of course, if you are interested in what I was writing about before, don't worry. I will continue to discuss the mental model I use to view the world from time to time. To describe everything that I have thought about would probably take an entire book, most of which would be boring. I just wanted to start talking about world events and my opinions on them. After all, there's no use to a theory or model if you don't apply it to the real world.
Another thing to note is the my subsequent posts will be shorter and more frequent. That's because I've hated writing the past few posts as I think it's impossible to understand my model of the world without seeing the entire picture. Because of this, I hated writing each post as I had to think about which ideas to present, which to leave out for now, and how compress them to just a few pages. I also struggled making each post self-contained.
So, let's stop with the strange ramblings and get to the real substance of this blog!
Now of course, if you are interested in what I was writing about before, don't worry. I will continue to discuss the mental model I use to view the world from time to time. To describe everything that I have thought about would probably take an entire book, most of which would be boring. I just wanted to start talking about world events and my opinions on them. After all, there's no use to a theory or model if you don't apply it to the real world.
Another thing to note is the my subsequent posts will be shorter and more frequent. That's because I've hated writing the past few posts as I think it's impossible to understand my model of the world without seeing the entire picture. Because of this, I hated writing each post as I had to think about which ideas to present, which to leave out for now, and how compress them to just a few pages. I also struggled making each post self-contained.
So, let's stop with the strange ramblings and get to the real substance of this blog!
Sunday, March 25, 2007
A Confession and a Pledge
I need to set things right before diving into writing this blog. I confess I have been a bad person in the past four years and have failed to uphold my beliefs. Let me tell you a bit about how this came about so that other people in similar situations can avoid becoming corrupt like I have.
It all started in high school when I started becoming extremely socially and environmentally conscious. I was on my way to becoming a role model of how to life live in harmony with the environment, and was actively educating others on how to achieve a smaller ecological footprint.
But my view of everything as temporary interfered with this. I started thinking about how life would be much better if we did not irresponsibly use fossil fuels to excess. Realizing that the masses are not going to reduce their consumption and invest in renewable resources unless the price of fossil fuels are to increase, I found an inherent joy in burning as much fossil fuels as I can because with each gram of fossil fuel gone from the face of this earth, the closer we are to a fossil fuel free world where people would rely on renewable resources. This was not so bad at first. For example one of the things that changed for me was instead of using only a trickle of cold water to wash my hands in public washrooms, I used warm water instead. However, things changed dramatically during my second year in university in the United States.
By this time, the initial culture shock of moving to the US from Canada had passed. I am still astounded by how unbelievably different American culture is from Canadian culture, but am no longer surprised when I hear racist jokes or see people act in their own self-interest without regard for others. However, the shock of seeing the US bring down the Kyoto Protocol because of "possible economic disadvantages" really, really got to me. I was mad. Really, I was steaming. I am still mad to this day. Combined with seeing the degree of how people in the US, including some of my best friends, seem oblivious to others and their needs, I because extremely angry at American society. Of course, it is possible that what I am angered by is common to all cultures, not just American culture, but I was blinded by my anger during that time, and this was the first time I saw what life was truly like after emerging from the protective environment of high school. At first, I was able to limit my anger to the government. Bad reputations that a country acquires are caused by bad policies made by the government. People in all cultures are generally nice. When self-serving governments come into power, the way they lead people can set bad examples and make people behave in offensive ways even when they do not realize it. One just needs to set a good example to make everything good again.
But I failed. I let my anger get to me. My anger spun out of control as I had never felt so betrayed by a society I was trying to become a part of. How can anyone decide to not spend money to make the world a better place when they have so much money? I was most angry at the hypocrisy of the American government, or at least the American government under the Bush regime. They pretend they do what's best for the world, but really just acts in self-interest. I thought I would show the American government that it was wrong to act with such utter disregard to the environment, and by extension, to the people of the world. I started leaving lights on when I left a room, I left the water on when I was brushing my teeth, I even opened doors a little wider than what I needed to slip out so cold air would get into buildings during the winter. And since New York State still uses barbaric coal power plants to supply a good portion of its electricity needs, I was happy I could burn off more fossil fuels, and by using up more resources, show the government that there would be consequences of being so arrogant.
Recently, I have begun snapping out of this madness. I have done many wasteful things that has made me into a coward as I am extremely ashamed and embarrassed about how wasteful I have become. I made the wretched decision of fighting evil with more evil. And eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This is not how things should be. By the time I realized what I was doing, it was too late, hate had taken over me. It is only recently with much effort that I have managed to take back some control, but I am still fighting an internal battle. I realized that it is just so easy and feels so relieving to be destructive, but it is utterly morally wrong. Although I am sure that there are many people who are just as, if not more destructive to the environment than I am in their everyday lives (not turning off lights, taking baths instead of showers when they feel like it, using dishwashers instead of hand washing in a bowl of water, not composting, etc...) it was the intension to waste that makes what I had done worse.
This brings me to my pledge. I pledge that I will never again be driven to action by anger. I will work harder to see other points of view and causes for actions that I may interpret as arrogant, ignorant, or self-serving (as these are the actions that cause me to feel anger). I will try my best to show others how to do the same and how to think for themselves. Hatred is often the result of conflicts, and conflicts are very often the result of misunderstandings that can be solved with communications and voicing your opinions. Only when we all act free of anger and in goodwill will we achieve a harmonious society. I also realize that facing your angers, fears, and deep-rooted preconceptions is very hard to do. People do not like to admit they are wrong and when they make an enemy, it is very difficult to rectify that by taking the first step and treating them as you would your best friends. In facing my anger problem, I realized that it takes a nearly unimaginably great person to purge oneself of all ill feelings toward others. My pledge is that I will try my best to achieve that goal and try to help others reduce the anger in their lives as well. I cannot promise I will achieve that goal, but I will wholeheartedly work toward it.
It all started in high school when I started becoming extremely socially and environmentally conscious. I was on my way to becoming a role model of how to life live in harmony with the environment, and was actively educating others on how to achieve a smaller ecological footprint.
But my view of everything as temporary interfered with this. I started thinking about how life would be much better if we did not irresponsibly use fossil fuels to excess. Realizing that the masses are not going to reduce their consumption and invest in renewable resources unless the price of fossil fuels are to increase, I found an inherent joy in burning as much fossil fuels as I can because with each gram of fossil fuel gone from the face of this earth, the closer we are to a fossil fuel free world where people would rely on renewable resources. This was not so bad at first. For example one of the things that changed for me was instead of using only a trickle of cold water to wash my hands in public washrooms, I used warm water instead. However, things changed dramatically during my second year in university in the United States.
By this time, the initial culture shock of moving to the US from Canada had passed. I am still astounded by how unbelievably different American culture is from Canadian culture, but am no longer surprised when I hear racist jokes or see people act in their own self-interest without regard for others. However, the shock of seeing the US bring down the Kyoto Protocol because of "possible economic disadvantages" really, really got to me. I was mad. Really, I was steaming. I am still mad to this day. Combined with seeing the degree of how people in the US, including some of my best friends, seem oblivious to others and their needs, I because extremely angry at American society. Of course, it is possible that what I am angered by is common to all cultures, not just American culture, but I was blinded by my anger during that time, and this was the first time I saw what life was truly like after emerging from the protective environment of high school. At first, I was able to limit my anger to the government. Bad reputations that a country acquires are caused by bad policies made by the government. People in all cultures are generally nice. When self-serving governments come into power, the way they lead people can set bad examples and make people behave in offensive ways even when they do not realize it. One just needs to set a good example to make everything good again.
But I failed. I let my anger get to me. My anger spun out of control as I had never felt so betrayed by a society I was trying to become a part of. How can anyone decide to not spend money to make the world a better place when they have so much money? I was most angry at the hypocrisy of the American government, or at least the American government under the Bush regime. They pretend they do what's best for the world, but really just acts in self-interest. I thought I would show the American government that it was wrong to act with such utter disregard to the environment, and by extension, to the people of the world. I started leaving lights on when I left a room, I left the water on when I was brushing my teeth, I even opened doors a little wider than what I needed to slip out so cold air would get into buildings during the winter. And since New York State still uses barbaric coal power plants to supply a good portion of its electricity needs, I was happy I could burn off more fossil fuels, and by using up more resources, show the government that there would be consequences of being so arrogant.
Recently, I have begun snapping out of this madness. I have done many wasteful things that has made me into a coward as I am extremely ashamed and embarrassed about how wasteful I have become. I made the wretched decision of fighting evil with more evil. And eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This is not how things should be. By the time I realized what I was doing, it was too late, hate had taken over me. It is only recently with much effort that I have managed to take back some control, but I am still fighting an internal battle. I realized that it is just so easy and feels so relieving to be destructive, but it is utterly morally wrong. Although I am sure that there are many people who are just as, if not more destructive to the environment than I am in their everyday lives (not turning off lights, taking baths instead of showers when they feel like it, using dishwashers instead of hand washing in a bowl of water, not composting, etc...) it was the intension to waste that makes what I had done worse.
This brings me to my pledge. I pledge that I will never again be driven to action by anger. I will work harder to see other points of view and causes for actions that I may interpret as arrogant, ignorant, or self-serving (as these are the actions that cause me to feel anger). I will try my best to show others how to do the same and how to think for themselves. Hatred is often the result of conflicts, and conflicts are very often the result of misunderstandings that can be solved with communications and voicing your opinions. Only when we all act free of anger and in goodwill will we achieve a harmonious society. I also realize that facing your angers, fears, and deep-rooted preconceptions is very hard to do. People do not like to admit they are wrong and when they make an enemy, it is very difficult to rectify that by taking the first step and treating them as you would your best friends. In facing my anger problem, I realized that it takes a nearly unimaginably great person to purge oneself of all ill feelings toward others. My pledge is that I will try my best to achieve that goal and try to help others reduce the anger in their lives as well. I cannot promise I will achieve that goal, but I will wholeheartedly work toward it.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
A Digression about Intuition, Models, and Reality
Recently, I have had some interesting discussions about models such as physics and math. Writing my last post about the "human and life model" has helped me develop my thoughts further. I feel that writing about these thoughts is appropriate now as we have just explored a very simple model of the human, and I wanted to write these thoughts down while they are fresh in my mind.
I view the world in a very strange way compared to many people. I also find it extremely difficult to express this view because it involves very subtle concepts that can easily be misinterpreted. I will try my best to describe my view on models and how we perceive the world, although it is likely it will take some thought to truly appreciate the full extent of what this represents.
Human intuition is very narrow. It will be completely wrong in most cases, but for the tiny portion of life that we see everyday, it is extremely accurate and efficient. Since we grew up seeing a portion of the world, our brains have wired themselves to deal with the part of the world we see. For example, it is intuitive that when we drop something, it will fall "down." It is intuitive that the blue colour we see in the sky is normal. It is intuitive that people cannot walk through walls. In this way, our brains build a simplified model of the world. And in the size, velocity, and time scale that we see everyday life in, most things just seem to make sense. But intuition is learnt, either though life experience or though the lengthy process of evolution. But as we see, intuition is completely wrong when it comes to things that we rarely encounter, and this includes the part of the world that we do not see.
I will now describe some famous cases where intuition breaks down, so if you have not heard about these experiments before, I highly recommend you read about them. On a size scale much smaller than our everyday world, quantum mechanics indicates that matter decomposes into both particles and waves, with some very strange results. For example, the double-slit experiment done with a single photon at a time concludes that a single photon will travel through one of the two slits if we try to observe which slit the photon travels through. This indicates that a photon is a single particle. However, if we do not try to observe which slit the photon passes through, an interference pattern on a screen opposite the partition clearly, without doubt, shows that the single photon had travelled through both slits at the same time! Not only that, but the photon, which we have just observed as a single particle in the last experiment, is now also clearly shown to be a wave that spread out through space! How can this be possible? Our intuition tells us that this is an impossible result, even though the experiment can be easily replicated on a tabletop set-up.
Similarly, at time scales much shorter than what we encounter in everyday lives, we see that energy becomes ill-defined due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. And since energy is the same as matter, another unintuitive concept, this means that particles and antiparticles are constantly popping in and out of existence out of nowhere! But this model explain many previously unexplainable observations, such as the Hawking radiation from black holes.
Another easy example is at velocity scales that we do not see in everyday life. At velocities close to the speed of light, once again, we need to us a very unintuitive model: Relativity. Our intuition would have resulted in completely wrong conclusions working in these conditions.
So we see that our intuition can only be applied for a very narrow range of situations. This is troubling, because this means that we have a very deluded view of the world. Most people do not realize this. They hear about all of these strange results, such as from quantum physics, and think "oh, that's strange. It's cool there are so many strange things in the world that do not make sense." What most people do not question is that perhaps our view of the world is completely wrong, and that nothing is as what it seems. Perhaps we are thinking about the question in the wrong way. Instead of trying to make the observations fit in with our intuition, we really should be working to mold our intuition to fit the observations. Yes, change is scary, but necessary in a learning process.
In a way, our intuition is our simplified model of the world around us, much like the simplified model of life I presented in my previous post. It is very useful and effective at what it is designed for, but reveals nothing about the true nature of things. This also goes for other scientific models such as physics, math, and chemistry. What do I mean by these models reveal nothing about the true nature of things? This is the concept that is difficult to explain and easy to misinterpret, but is the essence of the way I view the world, so try your best to understand it.
Probably the easiest to understand the best known example of this is explored in the movie The Matrix. How do we know that we are actually here? What if our brains are just stimulated in a manner that allows us the think that we are here? What if we are just a complicated experiment being performed by some kind of outside beings living in an environment with completely different physics? How do we know we are not just playing a very advanced video game of some sort where you can choose your life and your world, and by having the computer interact with your brain, you can play out an entire lifetime during your lunch break? You see, this idea gets to the fundamental question of what reality really is, rather than what we intuit, or model as. Of course, many of your science-types will bring up Occam's Razor at this point. But let me point out that firstly, Occam's Razor isn't always necessarily correct - don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer in Occam's Razor, but I always think before applying it. Secondly, Occam's Razor is based on intuition, and yes, it describes our everyday world very well, but fails at things we are not familiar with. For example, I have applied Occam's Razor to physics many times and ended up wrong. True - after working with the theory, I can now use Occam's Razor in physics and be right most of the time, but I had to develop an intuition about physics first. But when dealing with things we do not encounter on a regular basis, we cannot apply Occam's Razor as we do not know which parts of the model are important, and which parts can be dropped.
Another example that I have always pondered about is the universe. Most scientists would agree that the universe if of a finite size. But if the universe is of finite size, what is beyond the universe? Empty space? But if it is empty space, can't we still count that as part of the universe? So again, either our intuition about "empty" is wrong, or our intuition about "size" is wrong. These are extremely basic ideas, but we see they fall apart when applied to parts of the world we do not have intuition about. And here's part two of the "difficult to explain, but easy to misinterpret" idea:
My view is that because the human mind has evolved seeing only this narrow segment of the world, and we have rarely or never experienced anything different, it is impossible to ever fully understand the true nature of the world. Yes, we can create models based our observations and obtain intuition about these models, but the basic ideas that these models are based on are still intuitive ideas. For example, math is intuitive because even the most complicated ideas such as multiple dimensions, complex Riemann sheet branch cuts, Schwartz-Christoffel mappings, Green's functions, and others, are still based on a few basic ideas such as addition, subtraction, area, volume, and other intuitive ideas. Physics models are intuitive because they are based on mathematical descriptions. But the reasons behind many basic assumptions of physics are unintuitive. For example, who really understands wave-particle duality? Yes, the idea is simple because it is based on our intuition of waves and our intuition of particles, but who can really explain why something is a wave and a particle at the same time, and what a wave/particle really looks like? Yes, yes I know, it's just a wave function that collapses to a probability distribution, but this is only the "intuitive" model of a true wave/particle. We see two problems with the way this wave/particle is currently interpreted. The most accepted interpretation is that the wave exists (i.e. the particle is everywhere but with varying probabilities), but only collapses down to a particle upon observation. The catch is, "observation" is never defined in physics, so saying the wave function collapses to a particle upon "observation" is merely saying "we can interpret it either way, whichever is more convenient for us at that moment." This completely lacks any mention of the true nature of this wave/particle. But even though the model does not say anything about the true nature of the wave/particle, it is still extremely useful because it can be used to predict behaviours of the wave/particle, allowing us to manipulate it into something useful.
So we see that effectively, we do not know anything about the true nature of the world. There are even things that we can observe everyday and have no intuition for, such as consciousnesses and where it comes from. And we see, as we do not have an intuition for consciousness, we also do not have a scientific model for consciousness, as science is based on intuition. Perhaps when our view of science changes in the future, we will eventually be able to explain consciousness, but it is possible that consciousness will never be explained adequately by science.
In effect, I am saying that the true reality of the world cannot be understood by intuition. And since intuition is really the only way we can truly understand the world, I am saying that unless something dramatic happens, we will never truly understand the world, because in a way, our understanding is limited by what we experience and the capabilities of our senses and minds. However, I am not saying that we should give up on trying to understand the true nature of the world and just ignore the problem. I am saying that we should keep this fact in mind so that we can continue to try to get closer to understanding the world, and when we see or hear about something we disagree with, we should try to understand why the other person may think that way. Because everyone has their own experiences, they have their own interpretations of the world. We should try to learn from each other and try to understand as many of these interpretations as possible, because only in understanding many interpretations can we start to see patterns and achieve a broader understanding of reality. By working to understand everyone's ideas and intuition, we share experiences and learn from all of society rather than just from your own limited experiences. In effect, by exploring and sharing new ideas, we experience much more of the world than we ever could by ourselves.
I view the world in a very strange way compared to many people. I also find it extremely difficult to express this view because it involves very subtle concepts that can easily be misinterpreted. I will try my best to describe my view on models and how we perceive the world, although it is likely it will take some thought to truly appreciate the full extent of what this represents.
Human intuition is very narrow. It will be completely wrong in most cases, but for the tiny portion of life that we see everyday, it is extremely accurate and efficient. Since we grew up seeing a portion of the world, our brains have wired themselves to deal with the part of the world we see. For example, it is intuitive that when we drop something, it will fall "down." It is intuitive that the blue colour we see in the sky is normal. It is intuitive that people cannot walk through walls. In this way, our brains build a simplified model of the world. And in the size, velocity, and time scale that we see everyday life in, most things just seem to make sense. But intuition is learnt, either though life experience or though the lengthy process of evolution. But as we see, intuition is completely wrong when it comes to things that we rarely encounter, and this includes the part of the world that we do not see.
I will now describe some famous cases where intuition breaks down, so if you have not heard about these experiments before, I highly recommend you read about them. On a size scale much smaller than our everyday world, quantum mechanics indicates that matter decomposes into both particles and waves, with some very strange results. For example, the double-slit experiment done with a single photon at a time concludes that a single photon will travel through one of the two slits if we try to observe which slit the photon travels through. This indicates that a photon is a single particle. However, if we do not try to observe which slit the photon passes through, an interference pattern on a screen opposite the partition clearly, without doubt, shows that the single photon had travelled through both slits at the same time! Not only that, but the photon, which we have just observed as a single particle in the last experiment, is now also clearly shown to be a wave that spread out through space! How can this be possible? Our intuition tells us that this is an impossible result, even though the experiment can be easily replicated on a tabletop set-up.
Similarly, at time scales much shorter than what we encounter in everyday lives, we see that energy becomes ill-defined due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. And since energy is the same as matter, another unintuitive concept, this means that particles and antiparticles are constantly popping in and out of existence out of nowhere! But this model explain many previously unexplainable observations, such as the Hawking radiation from black holes.
Another easy example is at velocity scales that we do not see in everyday life. At velocities close to the speed of light, once again, we need to us a very unintuitive model: Relativity. Our intuition would have resulted in completely wrong conclusions working in these conditions.
So we see that our intuition can only be applied for a very narrow range of situations. This is troubling, because this means that we have a very deluded view of the world. Most people do not realize this. They hear about all of these strange results, such as from quantum physics, and think "oh, that's strange. It's cool there are so many strange things in the world that do not make sense." What most people do not question is that perhaps our view of the world is completely wrong, and that nothing is as what it seems. Perhaps we are thinking about the question in the wrong way. Instead of trying to make the observations fit in with our intuition, we really should be working to mold our intuition to fit the observations. Yes, change is scary, but necessary in a learning process.
In a way, our intuition is our simplified model of the world around us, much like the simplified model of life I presented in my previous post. It is very useful and effective at what it is designed for, but reveals nothing about the true nature of things. This also goes for other scientific models such as physics, math, and chemistry. What do I mean by these models reveal nothing about the true nature of things? This is the concept that is difficult to explain and easy to misinterpret, but is the essence of the way I view the world, so try your best to understand it.
Probably the easiest to understand the best known example of this is explored in the movie The Matrix. How do we know that we are actually here? What if our brains are just stimulated in a manner that allows us the think that we are here? What if we are just a complicated experiment being performed by some kind of outside beings living in an environment with completely different physics? How do we know we are not just playing a very advanced video game of some sort where you can choose your life and your world, and by having the computer interact with your brain, you can play out an entire lifetime during your lunch break? You see, this idea gets to the fundamental question of what reality really is, rather than what we intuit, or model as. Of course, many of your science-types will bring up Occam's Razor at this point. But let me point out that firstly, Occam's Razor isn't always necessarily correct - don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer in Occam's Razor, but I always think before applying it. Secondly, Occam's Razor is based on intuition, and yes, it describes our everyday world very well, but fails at things we are not familiar with. For example, I have applied Occam's Razor to physics many times and ended up wrong. True - after working with the theory, I can now use Occam's Razor in physics and be right most of the time, but I had to develop an intuition about physics first. But when dealing with things we do not encounter on a regular basis, we cannot apply Occam's Razor as we do not know which parts of the model are important, and which parts can be dropped.
Another example that I have always pondered about is the universe. Most scientists would agree that the universe if of a finite size. But if the universe is of finite size, what is beyond the universe? Empty space? But if it is empty space, can't we still count that as part of the universe? So again, either our intuition about "empty" is wrong, or our intuition about "size" is wrong. These are extremely basic ideas, but we see they fall apart when applied to parts of the world we do not have intuition about. And here's part two of the "difficult to explain, but easy to misinterpret" idea:
My view is that because the human mind has evolved seeing only this narrow segment of the world, and we have rarely or never experienced anything different, it is impossible to ever fully understand the true nature of the world. Yes, we can create models based our observations and obtain intuition about these models, but the basic ideas that these models are based on are still intuitive ideas. For example, math is intuitive because even the most complicated ideas such as multiple dimensions, complex Riemann sheet branch cuts, Schwartz-Christoffel mappings, Green's functions, and others, are still based on a few basic ideas such as addition, subtraction, area, volume, and other intuitive ideas. Physics models are intuitive because they are based on mathematical descriptions. But the reasons behind many basic assumptions of physics are unintuitive. For example, who really understands wave-particle duality? Yes, the idea is simple because it is based on our intuition of waves and our intuition of particles, but who can really explain why something is a wave and a particle at the same time, and what a wave/particle really looks like? Yes, yes I know, it's just a wave function that collapses to a probability distribution, but this is only the "intuitive" model of a true wave/particle. We see two problems with the way this wave/particle is currently interpreted. The most accepted interpretation is that the wave exists (i.e. the particle is everywhere but with varying probabilities), but only collapses down to a particle upon observation. The catch is, "observation" is never defined in physics, so saying the wave function collapses to a particle upon "observation" is merely saying "we can interpret it either way, whichever is more convenient for us at that moment." This completely lacks any mention of the true nature of this wave/particle. But even though the model does not say anything about the true nature of the wave/particle, it is still extremely useful because it can be used to predict behaviours of the wave/particle, allowing us to manipulate it into something useful.
So we see that effectively, we do not know anything about the true nature of the world. There are even things that we can observe everyday and have no intuition for, such as consciousnesses and where it comes from. And we see, as we do not have an intuition for consciousness, we also do not have a scientific model for consciousness, as science is based on intuition. Perhaps when our view of science changes in the future, we will eventually be able to explain consciousness, but it is possible that consciousness will never be explained adequately by science.
In effect, I am saying that the true reality of the world cannot be understood by intuition. And since intuition is really the only way we can truly understand the world, I am saying that unless something dramatic happens, we will never truly understand the world, because in a way, our understanding is limited by what we experience and the capabilities of our senses and minds. However, I am not saying that we should give up on trying to understand the true nature of the world and just ignore the problem. I am saying that we should keep this fact in mind so that we can continue to try to get closer to understanding the world, and when we see or hear about something we disagree with, we should try to understand why the other person may think that way. Because everyone has their own experiences, they have their own interpretations of the world. We should try to learn from each other and try to understand as many of these interpretations as possible, because only in understanding many interpretations can we start to see patterns and achieve a broader understanding of reality. By working to understand everyone's ideas and intuition, we share experiences and learn from all of society rather than just from your own limited experiences. In effect, by exploring and sharing new ideas, we experience much more of the world than we ever could by ourselves.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Introduction to a Simple Model of Human Nature
I realized that I cannot possibly talk about my view of life unless I talk about human nature first. This post as an introduction of sorts to the rest of my blog. Most of my observations will be about human nature and how if manifests and affects our modern society.
I am a firm believer in the THEORY of evolution. No, this does not mean that I am not religious or that I do not believe in religion. No, this also does not mean that I AM religious. I'd rather not talk about my religious affiliation (or lack of) as it may create biases in any possible readers. Please see me as nothing more than a member of the human race, sharing my observations of the human condition. Ok, now back to the topic at hand - evolution. Note that evolution can exist side-by-side with religion. Even if a higher power designed all the life forms in this world, evolution still takes place after the creation, shaping our thoughts, actions, and behaviours. Many of my religious friends, be it Christian, Muslim, or other, have agreed that evolution can exist side-by-side with creationism. In fact, it was they who pointed this out to me. But one cannot deny the PROCESS of evolution, for its effects are clearly visible in our world, even in the short term - bacteria becoming resistant to drugs, flu viruses mutating to infect more species, and so on. So even if you do believe in creationism, you can still see how the process can shape our behaviour even in the span of a few thousand years.
What does evolution have to do with society? Well, society is also a product of evolution. Everything is based on the basic genetic wants that all lifeforms are predisposed to. We are programmed with a desire to reproduce and have our offspring reproduce and so on. Our actions are all geared toward that singular goal. We eat because we know that if we do not, we will not be alive to reproduce later. We want money because we know that resources can bring us food, shelter, and health, among other basic needs for us, our mates, and our offspring. We want to be right and to be better than others because we want to know that we will keep reproducing after others fail. We want friends because we want to know that when we are in trouble, others will come to our aid so that we can carry out our jobs as reproducers. Isn't it marvellous? DNA, a molecular structure that can replicate itself, or at least portions of itself by manipulating unimaginably complicated vehicles in the form of life. Now, of course, I am simplifying things. But as all scientists know, the best way to analyze a problem is to create the most simple model possible, then deal with exceptions by adding perturbations to this model. I will explain the exceptions later on. But for now, as disagreeable and blasphemous as this model sounds, it is the best first-order approximation to the problem of human nature. Really, the model isn't so bad after adding the perturbations, but you'll just have to trust I will talk about these later.
So, what does this tell us about humans, and most organisms in general (remember - look at the general case for now, we'll talk about the exceptions later on)? Well, we see that most direct conclusion we can make is that everyone acts in their own self-interest as we are all vying to propagate our own DNA by protecting ourselves, hoarding resources, and defending our offspring. How can society and cooperation ever develop in these situations? Well, we can draw other conclusions from this model. Funny, this reminds me of physics, where we can create very, very complex results from a set of a few basic assumptions (Maxwell's Equations, anyone?). The fact of the matter is, self-protection also implies that we are likely to create alliances with others because mutual protection results in a higher success rate than a completely individualistic way of life. At the same time, our DNA are all very similar, so that we are nearly all the same. In this way, we can explain acts of altruism because in a way, we are still defending our common DNA, our species as a whole. Here, try a mental experiment. Imagine yourself dying. Pretty horrible isn't it? Now imagine the entire human race being wiped out. Much worse. Now, imagine all life on this planet being wiped out. Even worse. So we see that these observations do coincide with our first-order model, unless you are one of those exceptions. We value ourselves first, then our species as a whole, then the rest of life in the world because there are common DNA sequences throughout all organisms. Other immediate conclusions that follow from this assumption is the rarity of cannibalism, and that extinction of even other species is generally undesirable to an individual. Of course, there are many more conclusions we can draw out of this model, but we will talk about these later.
Well, that was a summary of the first-order approximation of my mental model for the human race and life in general. As you will see later in my writings, it answers many aspects of life, and can be used to predict human behaviour with surprising accuracy. Of course, as I have said before this is only an extremely simplified version of real life. There are many things that this model does not explain, so I am in no way a crazy deviant detached from reality, as I recognize that this model can only explain a small portion of life. I cannot stress this point enough: This is only a very simplified model based on observations. A model is a model. Models never express reality, it only hints at the underlying properties of a system. There is a difference. But even though a model does not indicate anything about reality, a well constructed model can be used to predict effects and be used in suggesting new courses of action. For example, in physics, many of the quantities (pressure, energy, even location) are statistical values that reveal very little about the true nature of the particles or individual items they are describing. But using these models, we can predict and design new ways of manipulating the system to do new things. Any invention, be it air planes, the transistor, rocket engines, or anything else is based on using a basic model to make complex predictions about how to do something in a newer, better way. Similarly, we can use this simple model of humans, and life in general, to suggest new courses of action in order to make a better society for all. So our model of evolution is just that. It is a tool that we can use to understand and improve our lives, but says nothing about the true reality of life.
If you read the rest of my posts with this model in mind, you will be able to understand much more fully the point that I am getting at.
I am a firm believer in the THEORY of evolution. No, this does not mean that I am not religious or that I do not believe in religion. No, this also does not mean that I AM religious. I'd rather not talk about my religious affiliation (or lack of) as it may create biases in any possible readers. Please see me as nothing more than a member of the human race, sharing my observations of the human condition. Ok, now back to the topic at hand - evolution. Note that evolution can exist side-by-side with religion. Even if a higher power designed all the life forms in this world, evolution still takes place after the creation, shaping our thoughts, actions, and behaviours. Many of my religious friends, be it Christian, Muslim, or other, have agreed that evolution can exist side-by-side with creationism. In fact, it was they who pointed this out to me. But one cannot deny the PROCESS of evolution, for its effects are clearly visible in our world, even in the short term - bacteria becoming resistant to drugs, flu viruses mutating to infect more species, and so on. So even if you do believe in creationism, you can still see how the process can shape our behaviour even in the span of a few thousand years.
What does evolution have to do with society? Well, society is also a product of evolution. Everything is based on the basic genetic wants that all lifeforms are predisposed to. We are programmed with a desire to reproduce and have our offspring reproduce and so on. Our actions are all geared toward that singular goal. We eat because we know that if we do not, we will not be alive to reproduce later. We want money because we know that resources can bring us food, shelter, and health, among other basic needs for us, our mates, and our offspring. We want to be right and to be better than others because we want to know that we will keep reproducing after others fail. We want friends because we want to know that when we are in trouble, others will come to our aid so that we can carry out our jobs as reproducers. Isn't it marvellous? DNA, a molecular structure that can replicate itself, or at least portions of itself by manipulating unimaginably complicated vehicles in the form of life. Now, of course, I am simplifying things. But as all scientists know, the best way to analyze a problem is to create the most simple model possible, then deal with exceptions by adding perturbations to this model. I will explain the exceptions later on. But for now, as disagreeable and blasphemous as this model sounds, it is the best first-order approximation to the problem of human nature. Really, the model isn't so bad after adding the perturbations, but you'll just have to trust I will talk about these later.
So, what does this tell us about humans, and most organisms in general (remember - look at the general case for now, we'll talk about the exceptions later on)? Well, we see that most direct conclusion we can make is that everyone acts in their own self-interest as we are all vying to propagate our own DNA by protecting ourselves, hoarding resources, and defending our offspring. How can society and cooperation ever develop in these situations? Well, we can draw other conclusions from this model. Funny, this reminds me of physics, where we can create very, very complex results from a set of a few basic assumptions (Maxwell's Equations, anyone?). The fact of the matter is, self-protection also implies that we are likely to create alliances with others because mutual protection results in a higher success rate than a completely individualistic way of life. At the same time, our DNA are all very similar, so that we are nearly all the same. In this way, we can explain acts of altruism because in a way, we are still defending our common DNA, our species as a whole. Here, try a mental experiment. Imagine yourself dying. Pretty horrible isn't it? Now imagine the entire human race being wiped out. Much worse. Now, imagine all life on this planet being wiped out. Even worse. So we see that these observations do coincide with our first-order model, unless you are one of those exceptions. We value ourselves first, then our species as a whole, then the rest of life in the world because there are common DNA sequences throughout all organisms. Other immediate conclusions that follow from this assumption is the rarity of cannibalism, and that extinction of even other species is generally undesirable to an individual. Of course, there are many more conclusions we can draw out of this model, but we will talk about these later.
Well, that was a summary of the first-order approximation of my mental model for the human race and life in general. As you will see later in my writings, it answers many aspects of life, and can be used to predict human behaviour with surprising accuracy. Of course, as I have said before this is only an extremely simplified version of real life. There are many things that this model does not explain, so I am in no way a crazy deviant detached from reality, as I recognize that this model can only explain a small portion of life. I cannot stress this point enough: This is only a very simplified model based on observations. A model is a model. Models never express reality, it only hints at the underlying properties of a system. There is a difference. But even though a model does not indicate anything about reality, a well constructed model can be used to predict effects and be used in suggesting new courses of action. For example, in physics, many of the quantities (pressure, energy, even location) are statistical values that reveal very little about the true nature of the particles or individual items they are describing. But using these models, we can predict and design new ways of manipulating the system to do new things. Any invention, be it air planes, the transistor, rocket engines, or anything else is based on using a basic model to make complex predictions about how to do something in a newer, better way. Similarly, we can use this simple model of humans, and life in general, to suggest new courses of action in order to make a better society for all. So our model of evolution is just that. It is a tool that we can use to understand and improve our lives, but says nothing about the true reality of life.
If you read the rest of my posts with this model in mind, you will be able to understand much more fully the point that I am getting at.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Introduction - PLEASE READ ALL
NOTE: PLEASE READ ALL (ESPECIALLY THE LAST PARAGRAPH)! I know it is long, and I'm sorry to request something requiring so much of your time, but it is very important if you plan on reading any of my future posts! Thanks! =)
Hmm.... I noticed many of my friends had Blog-type things. I have always had a disdain for Blogs since I thought it was a fad and it was immature to think that others will read about your thoughts. But it seems to have caught on, and seeing that I have always wanted to share my experiences with the world, I have to concede that avoiding having a blog is becoming harder to justify (although I still feel the tinge of embarrassment when I admit to myself I have a blog now).
I would like to share with you some of my daily thoughts about this wonderful world of ours that people seem to take for granted and abuse. Having lived through many very varied conditions, I have noticed, and I hope I'm not being ignorant by suggesting it, that I seem to have an ability to judge a situation from all sides and to realize why people act the way they do. Sometimes when I see someone acting in a disrespectful or dismissive manner, it angers me that people do not try to learn from each other and always seem to be imposing their own will and beliefs onto others. This is one of the main reasons for starting this blog. I am not going to try to impose my opinions on to you. I will only describe my personal experience of the world. I encourage everyone to comment and add their thoughts as well. I would like this to be a constructive forum of ideas. After all, that is my personal philosophy, that every interaction is an opportunity for mutual learning, exploration, and understanding. Everyone should leave an interaction with others having learned something new and seeing just a tiny piece of the world that one was not able to see before. It is only in this way that people can construct an accurate idea of what the world is. Although no one will every get even close to understanding the world, if we all make an attempt to, the world will be a much better place for all.
But you may be asking, who is this crazy person writing something that sounds so strange as the last paragraph. Well, here's a short introduction about me. I was born in Beijing in 1985. After the 1989 Tiananmen incident, my parents decided to move to Canada permanently as my dad was already studying there. (By the way, my parents indicated to me that if they had any idea back then of the progress that China has made in the past two decades, it is likely that we would have stayed in China). Because my dad was a graduate student and my mom, who used to be a doctor in China, didn't speak a word of English, we lived under the poverty line. We lived in a two bedroom apartment filled with roaches that we shared with another Chinese graduate student, and furnished the apartment with furniture gathered from the streets when people where throwing them away, or from friends who didn't want it anymore. I still remember the first new toy that my parents ever bought me in Canada: a $3 fishing game from the now-defunct discount chain Biway. I remember my parents felt so proud that they were able to afford a new toy for me, and I felt so guilty for having my parents buy me something so wonderful. We also always bought food from the discount/last day of sale cart in the supermarkets, and never bought juice as it was too expensive for us.
As my dad graduated, he found progressively better and better jobs, boosting our economic status ever higher. At the time I am writing this, he is the head of the Research and Development Department at a hundred-million dollar firm. My mom, however, never got back into the medical field as we were too poor to send her to medical school for her to learn English to get certified. By the time we had the money, she felt that it was too late in her life to start over as a doctor. As for me, I was thrown into kindergarten when I didn't speak a word of English. I eventually learned by motioning and interacting with my teachers and students, although after many extremely embarrassing situations and incidents, one involving the fact that I did not know the word "washroom."
Because of all of this, we kept moving around. Even now, after 21 years of life, I still have not lived in a single location for more than 5 years. This helped me become very adaptable and gave me the ability to feel at home anywhere, although I often feel that everything is temporary and you cannot hold on to anything. Due to the different socio-economic situations that I lived through, I have many friends with many different backgrounds and learned what life was like in the different classes. And because we moved to Canada, I also have many friends of different cultural backgrounds. I am very thankful to Canada for this, and the motto taught in schools that, summed up, was "cultural tolerance is unacceptable, cultural celebration is what everyone should be involved in." In fact, I had thought racism was extinct in the real world... until I started attending University in the United States. I have even recently noticed disturbing discriminatory feelings bubbling up inside of me after being exposed to, compared to Canada, the harsh racist, xenophobic, and elitist American culture (or at least the American Northeast, Upstate New York, Ivy League culture - Harrumph!, which is only a small segment of American culture). Of course, the US has also taught me a lot of good things - how to stand up for myself, how to be a leader, and how to discriminate between fact and propaganda. As of now, I am finishing my last semester at Cornell University as a double major in Engineering Physics (the program is ranked #1 in the States!) and Computer Science. I have accepted a job at Electronic Arts in San Francisco for next year (My friends all tell me that California is probably the most suitable place for me to live in the US in terms of culture), and am actively trying to look for teaching and volunteering positions abroad for this summer. Due to my background, I cannot stand it anymore if I am not exploring a new culture or a new way of life. I am the kind of guy that will always choose a new experience (food, activity, etc.) over one that I am familiar with.
I am also extremely grateful to my parents, who are very liberal and always let me make decisions for myself from a young age. My parents would never force me to do anything, but always offer very helpful advice, and always support my decision no matter what it is. Although sometimes I wish that they could make the difficult decisions for me, I feel that letting me take responsibility for my own actions has taught me a lot. They are always there for me when I start doubting myself or my decisions. So with my parents, I feel free to explore the world, while having someone to turn to when I get into trouble or feel generally down on life.
Well, sorry about this long rant about myself. I know it seems arrogant of me to talk about myself, but I promise I will refrain from taking about myself unless it is necessary (or amusing) in the future. I only rambled on about myself in this post because I believe that in order to understand one's writings, ideas, and thoughts, one must first know the person behind them, and that person's life experiences. Knowing someone will help immeasurably towards understanding what that person is trying to say.
I look forwards to maintaining this Blog and sharing my daily revelations and thoughts about this world. Although I am still embarrassed about starting a blog :) I feel worse when thinking about all of the thoughts that I have had that had been lost. Although I do hope someone will read this Blog and hopefully learn something about the world and themselves, I will be more than happy just having this blog serve as a personal notebook of sorts for me so that I do not lose any more important revelations about the state of the world.
Please note that some posts in this blog will be very blunt, will challenge current society and may convey some ideas that many people do not agree with. But I ask you that instead of dismissing or reacting to the post in a knee-jerk manner, please pause to think of all of the reasons and points of view involved. And please, please post your own points of view, if you agree or disagree. Again, this is meant to be a forum of ideas. That way, we can all learn from each other rather than believing that problems will go away if we ignore it, or that you can't make a difference in the world. Every voice counts! I promise to read all comments, and you should also try your best to read as many as possible. I always re-judge a situation when I learn about a new point of view, so it is possible I will even completely reverse my position if you point out something that I haven't thought about before! Only a stubborn fool will not admit his or her mistakes and stand firm on an opinion or decision when new, dissenting information emerges. As you can tell, this blog has radically different goals than most. It is meant to be an open forum where everyone can make observations and suggest ideas to make society around us a little bit better for all! Even if this blog effects one person positively even by just a little, then it is all worth it. And please, if you have something new you want to talk about, post it by all means, or contact me and suggest that I talk about it. Let us all cooperate, share our thoughts, be open to, and learn from each other!
Hmm.... I noticed many of my friends had Blog-type things. I have always had a disdain for Blogs since I thought it was a fad and it was immature to think that others will read about your thoughts. But it seems to have caught on, and seeing that I have always wanted to share my experiences with the world, I have to concede that avoiding having a blog is becoming harder to justify (although I still feel the tinge of embarrassment when I admit to myself I have a blog now).
I would like to share with you some of my daily thoughts about this wonderful world of ours that people seem to take for granted and abuse. Having lived through many very varied conditions, I have noticed, and I hope I'm not being ignorant by suggesting it, that I seem to have an ability to judge a situation from all sides and to realize why people act the way they do. Sometimes when I see someone acting in a disrespectful or dismissive manner, it angers me that people do not try to learn from each other and always seem to be imposing their own will and beliefs onto others. This is one of the main reasons for starting this blog. I am not going to try to impose my opinions on to you. I will only describe my personal experience of the world. I encourage everyone to comment and add their thoughts as well. I would like this to be a constructive forum of ideas. After all, that is my personal philosophy, that every interaction is an opportunity for mutual learning, exploration, and understanding. Everyone should leave an interaction with others having learned something new and seeing just a tiny piece of the world that one was not able to see before. It is only in this way that people can construct an accurate idea of what the world is. Although no one will every get even close to understanding the world, if we all make an attempt to, the world will be a much better place for all.
But you may be asking, who is this crazy person writing something that sounds so strange as the last paragraph. Well, here's a short introduction about me. I was born in Beijing in 1985. After the 1989 Tiananmen incident, my parents decided to move to Canada permanently as my dad was already studying there. (By the way, my parents indicated to me that if they had any idea back then of the progress that China has made in the past two decades, it is likely that we would have stayed in China). Because my dad was a graduate student and my mom, who used to be a doctor in China, didn't speak a word of English, we lived under the poverty line. We lived in a two bedroom apartment filled with roaches that we shared with another Chinese graduate student, and furnished the apartment with furniture gathered from the streets when people where throwing them away, or from friends who didn't want it anymore. I still remember the first new toy that my parents ever bought me in Canada: a $3 fishing game from the now-defunct discount chain Biway. I remember my parents felt so proud that they were able to afford a new toy for me, and I felt so guilty for having my parents buy me something so wonderful. We also always bought food from the discount/last day of sale cart in the supermarkets, and never bought juice as it was too expensive for us.
As my dad graduated, he found progressively better and better jobs, boosting our economic status ever higher. At the time I am writing this, he is the head of the Research and Development Department at a hundred-million dollar firm. My mom, however, never got back into the medical field as we were too poor to send her to medical school for her to learn English to get certified. By the time we had the money, she felt that it was too late in her life to start over as a doctor. As for me, I was thrown into kindergarten when I didn't speak a word of English. I eventually learned by motioning and interacting with my teachers and students, although after many extremely embarrassing situations and incidents, one involving the fact that I did not know the word "washroom."
Because of all of this, we kept moving around. Even now, after 21 years of life, I still have not lived in a single location for more than 5 years. This helped me become very adaptable and gave me the ability to feel at home anywhere, although I often feel that everything is temporary and you cannot hold on to anything. Due to the different socio-economic situations that I lived through, I have many friends with many different backgrounds and learned what life was like in the different classes. And because we moved to Canada, I also have many friends of different cultural backgrounds. I am very thankful to Canada for this, and the motto taught in schools that, summed up, was "cultural tolerance is unacceptable, cultural celebration is what everyone should be involved in." In fact, I had thought racism was extinct in the real world... until I started attending University in the United States. I have even recently noticed disturbing discriminatory feelings bubbling up inside of me after being exposed to, compared to Canada, the harsh racist, xenophobic, and elitist American culture (or at least the American Northeast, Upstate New York, Ivy League culture - Harrumph!, which is only a small segment of American culture). Of course, the US has also taught me a lot of good things - how to stand up for myself, how to be a leader, and how to discriminate between fact and propaganda. As of now, I am finishing my last semester at Cornell University as a double major in Engineering Physics (the program is ranked #1 in the States!) and Computer Science. I have accepted a job at Electronic Arts in San Francisco for next year (My friends all tell me that California is probably the most suitable place for me to live in the US in terms of culture), and am actively trying to look for teaching and volunteering positions abroad for this summer. Due to my background, I cannot stand it anymore if I am not exploring a new culture or a new way of life. I am the kind of guy that will always choose a new experience (food, activity, etc.) over one that I am familiar with.
I am also extremely grateful to my parents, who are very liberal and always let me make decisions for myself from a young age. My parents would never force me to do anything, but always offer very helpful advice, and always support my decision no matter what it is. Although sometimes I wish that they could make the difficult decisions for me, I feel that letting me take responsibility for my own actions has taught me a lot. They are always there for me when I start doubting myself or my decisions. So with my parents, I feel free to explore the world, while having someone to turn to when I get into trouble or feel generally down on life.
Well, sorry about this long rant about myself. I know it seems arrogant of me to talk about myself, but I promise I will refrain from taking about myself unless it is necessary (or amusing) in the future. I only rambled on about myself in this post because I believe that in order to understand one's writings, ideas, and thoughts, one must first know the person behind them, and that person's life experiences. Knowing someone will help immeasurably towards understanding what that person is trying to say.
I look forwards to maintaining this Blog and sharing my daily revelations and thoughts about this world. Although I am still embarrassed about starting a blog :) I feel worse when thinking about all of the thoughts that I have had that had been lost. Although I do hope someone will read this Blog and hopefully learn something about the world and themselves, I will be more than happy just having this blog serve as a personal notebook of sorts for me so that I do not lose any more important revelations about the state of the world.
Please note that some posts in this blog will be very blunt, will challenge current society and may convey some ideas that many people do not agree with. But I ask you that instead of dismissing or reacting to the post in a knee-jerk manner, please pause to think of all of the reasons and points of view involved. And please, please post your own points of view, if you agree or disagree. Again, this is meant to be a forum of ideas. That way, we can all learn from each other rather than believing that problems will go away if we ignore it, or that you can't make a difference in the world. Every voice counts! I promise to read all comments, and you should also try your best to read as many as possible. I always re-judge a situation when I learn about a new point of view, so it is possible I will even completely reverse my position if you point out something that I haven't thought about before! Only a stubborn fool will not admit his or her mistakes and stand firm on an opinion or decision when new, dissenting information emerges. As you can tell, this blog has radically different goals than most. It is meant to be an open forum where everyone can make observations and suggest ideas to make society around us a little bit better for all! Even if this blog effects one person positively even by just a little, then it is all worth it. And please, if you have something new you want to talk about, post it by all means, or contact me and suggest that I talk about it. Let us all cooperate, share our thoughts, be open to, and learn from each other!
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