Week: April/May 26-2 2009 Question 2
What makes us individuals?
This question was put into my mind when i watched the movie "Dark City", which is very strange and very interesting at the same time.
So, what makes us individuals? By us i mean of course humans and any other intelligent species. Dark city presented the idea that our memories are what make us individuals. This seems logical yes? Well it is and it isn't. The funny thing about memories are that there is no way to prove that some of those memories really happened and as we grow older we tend to lose memories, does this mean our identities go with them? We are told from very early on that we are unique and that's essentially what makes us individuals. I never really questioned this line of thought until recently after watching dark city. What exactly is unique about me? Not much about my appearance, black hair, brown eyes, hell even my skin tone isn't exactly uncommon. There are lot's of people that share these same features, height and weight of course are shared by many. I'm not exactly on the cutting edge of technology or innovation so it can't be my thought process. My thoughts themselves could be what make me unique, but then again if you look hard enough you will see that lot's of people have the same thought as you. To most the uniqueness or individualism of a person is a combination of all of the above. Thoughts, memories, appearance and all of the other things we do. I suppose this is true to an extent, but what of identical twins? Hell they even share the same DNA, the blueprint of what makes us unique! As i look back at this thought and wonder what makes a person unique i come to a simple conclusion. What makes us unique is not our appearance, ideas or ideals. No, what makes us unique is the way we come to those thoughts and what we do with them, my thought process seems random at times but every thought is connected to something even if it doesn't seem that way.
Thought for the day: Seeking a "unique" perspective is really just asking that guy in the office you have deemed the "Quiet oddball".
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Week: April/May 26-2 2009, Question 1
Week: April/May 26-2 2009, Question 1
Why do we practically worship celebrities?
Even if you're not at the rabid fan or stalker level this question can still be answered by you. Why do we look at celebrities as if they are some kind of incredible deity? It could be the money, the fame, the power or having the ability to travel all over the world if you felt like it. Now a celebrity can be from many different professions, but for today we will focus on the biggest of them all, TV and movie stars. We envy TV and movie stars because they have a lot of the things we don't. In that they have more money than we do so that leads to most of the other things we don't have. To me i guess celebrity worship is beyond me, i do like certain actors and actresses but usually not for their money or talent. It's pretty much just for the character they played, to make even the most mundane character memorable is an impressive skill that belongs to both the script writer and the actor. So why do people worship celebrities? Well it's because we think that they have all of the things we don't, unless you're one of those few people that believe that love and family are the only important things in life. Want to have a taste at the celebrity lifestyle? Then put on the most flashy weird clothes you can find and walk down the street one day, i guarantee you will turn a few heads just like the celebrities do.
Thought for the day: If a celebrity has a geeky hobby does that make them any less of a "cool" person?
Why do we practically worship celebrities?
Even if you're not at the rabid fan or stalker level this question can still be answered by you. Why do we look at celebrities as if they are some kind of incredible deity? It could be the money, the fame, the power or having the ability to travel all over the world if you felt like it. Now a celebrity can be from many different professions, but for today we will focus on the biggest of them all, TV and movie stars. We envy TV and movie stars because they have a lot of the things we don't. In that they have more money than we do so that leads to most of the other things we don't have. To me i guess celebrity worship is beyond me, i do like certain actors and actresses but usually not for their money or talent. It's pretty much just for the character they played, to make even the most mundane character memorable is an impressive skill that belongs to both the script writer and the actor. So why do people worship celebrities? Well it's because we think that they have all of the things we don't, unless you're one of those few people that believe that love and family are the only important things in life. Want to have a taste at the celebrity lifestyle? Then put on the most flashy weird clothes you can find and walk down the street one day, i guarantee you will turn a few heads just like the celebrities do.
Thought for the day: If a celebrity has a geeky hobby does that make them any less of a "cool" person?
Friday, April 24, 2009
Week: April 19-25 2009, Question 3
Week: April 19-25 2009, Question 3
What defines a book as literature?
For this kind of question i usually turn to the definition of the word but that provided little help as it means different things in different languages. In the english language the definition is basically "anything that is written." Well that's fantastic, then the shopping list i just created is technically a work of literature. But what defines a BOOK as literature was the question. I took to the internet to find out if there was an actual list of requirements for a book to be or become literature. And lo and behold i found nothing. In a bookstore you might see the shelf that has the genre of "Literature", this is precisely why i posted this question. I work in a small town bookstore and we have one of those shelves. Looking through it the only commonality i found amongst all of the books was that they were "old". Online there are a number of humorous responses to what defines literature including one person that said. "a Literature book is defined by how many professors force you to read it." Another response that is probably closer to the truth came from my mother when i asked her. "I think Literature books are books that have stood the test of time and are still as good or relevant as they were when they first came out." Well by that definition then "The Lord of the Rings" should be shelved in there but i've never seen that happen. One of these days i'm going to try and find a committee somewhere that deals with what books become literature.
So what's your take on this? What defines a book as literature?
Thought for the day: If I read a shocking passage in a book and die from a heart attack moments later, then can that book be considered the murder weapon?
What defines a book as literature?
For this kind of question i usually turn to the definition of the word but that provided little help as it means different things in different languages. In the english language the definition is basically "anything that is written." Well that's fantastic, then the shopping list i just created is technically a work of literature. But what defines a BOOK as literature was the question. I took to the internet to find out if there was an actual list of requirements for a book to be or become literature. And lo and behold i found nothing. In a bookstore you might see the shelf that has the genre of "Literature", this is precisely why i posted this question. I work in a small town bookstore and we have one of those shelves. Looking through it the only commonality i found amongst all of the books was that they were "old". Online there are a number of humorous responses to what defines literature including one person that said. "a Literature book is defined by how many professors force you to read it." Another response that is probably closer to the truth came from my mother when i asked her. "I think Literature books are books that have stood the test of time and are still as good or relevant as they were when they first came out." Well by that definition then "The Lord of the Rings" should be shelved in there but i've never seen that happen. One of these days i'm going to try and find a committee somewhere that deals with what books become literature.
So what's your take on this? What defines a book as literature?
Thought for the day: If I read a shocking passage in a book and die from a heart attack moments later, then can that book be considered the murder weapon?
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Week: April 19-25 2009, Question 2
Week: April 19-25 2009, Question 2
What does the number grade on the school test really mean?
So what does that number grade you got on the school test really mean? To me, nothing. The number is supposed to be a percentile of the amount of questions you got right on the test. This would lead us to the conclusion that the test score can only go up to 100% right? Wrong, due to bonus questions and other odd extra credit things on the test you can get higher than 100%. If this doesn't make sense to you don't worry, you're not alone. The other odd thing is that on some tests you can actually get every question right and still not achieve 100%, how is this possible? I had a math teacher once that would take off points if you didn't show your "work" or the process from which you got the answer. To some that number is a measure of your intelligence in the subject. This also can be considered false when your teacher decides that participation in class adds to your final grade in the class. Now what participation has to do with your intelligence in the class i don't know.
So do those numbers accurately represent your intelligence in the class? or are they just ways of saying good job your smart? Let's hear your thoughts on this question.
Thought for the day: If my IQ is 640 on one test and 900 on another do i split the difference or add them together?
What does the number grade on the school test really mean?
So what does that number grade you got on the school test really mean? To me, nothing. The number is supposed to be a percentile of the amount of questions you got right on the test. This would lead us to the conclusion that the test score can only go up to 100% right? Wrong, due to bonus questions and other odd extra credit things on the test you can get higher than 100%. If this doesn't make sense to you don't worry, you're not alone. The other odd thing is that on some tests you can actually get every question right and still not achieve 100%, how is this possible? I had a math teacher once that would take off points if you didn't show your "work" or the process from which you got the answer. To some that number is a measure of your intelligence in the subject. This also can be considered false when your teacher decides that participation in class adds to your final grade in the class. Now what participation has to do with your intelligence in the class i don't know.
So do those numbers accurately represent your intelligence in the class? or are they just ways of saying good job your smart? Let's hear your thoughts on this question.
Thought for the day: If my IQ is 640 on one test and 900 on another do i split the difference or add them together?
Monday, April 20, 2009
Week: April 19-25 2009, Question 1
Week: April 19-25 2009, Question 1
What do you believe in?
This question is not necessarily a religious one as you might think from looking at it. A set of beliefs can be for anything, for example you might believe that there are thousands of planets in the universe. This is a belief, for those of you that do take this religiously then by all means just tell me what you believe in.
As for me, i believe in Chaos. Alright, now i have to stop and clarify before this gets taken the wrong way. My belief in chaos is not surrounding war, death, conflict or strife. Chaos to me is anything that happens randomly. So since i believe in chaos i believe in things being random and also believe in things like luck, randomness.
My belief in chaos could probably be attributed to something but i just don't know what it is. I like things being unpredictable and random at times. Chaos surrounds us constantly, some people would say that there is no such thing as something being entirely random but i say there is. We still believe in things happening randomly usually this happens when we can't explain something. So for me i choose to believe in things like luck and chaos because i want such a thing to exist that you cannot bend to your will with enough effort. I constantly search for some way to measure the chaos around me or the luck of the event that just occurred but have found nothing conclusive yet.
Thought for the day: Everything that we believe in stemmed from one belief that we all still believe in. We believe that we exist.
What do you believe in?
This question is not necessarily a religious one as you might think from looking at it. A set of beliefs can be for anything, for example you might believe that there are thousands of planets in the universe. This is a belief, for those of you that do take this religiously then by all means just tell me what you believe in.
As for me, i believe in Chaos. Alright, now i have to stop and clarify before this gets taken the wrong way. My belief in chaos is not surrounding war, death, conflict or strife. Chaos to me is anything that happens randomly. So since i believe in chaos i believe in things being random and also believe in things like luck, randomness.
My belief in chaos could probably be attributed to something but i just don't know what it is. I like things being unpredictable and random at times. Chaos surrounds us constantly, some people would say that there is no such thing as something being entirely random but i say there is. We still believe in things happening randomly usually this happens when we can't explain something. So for me i choose to believe in things like luck and chaos because i want such a thing to exist that you cannot bend to your will with enough effort. I constantly search for some way to measure the chaos around me or the luck of the event that just occurred but have found nothing conclusive yet.
Thought for the day: Everything that we believe in stemmed from one belief that we all still believe in. We believe that we exist.
Welcome to the library
Welcome to the library at the end of time. This library has every single piece of information in existance from the past, present and future. You have 3 questions that you may ask and I the caretaker will direct you to the books that contain the answers to your 3 questions. If you ask more than 3 questions or touch any of the other books then you will stay here forever. Once your 3 questions have been answered then you may leave. You may ask one question and save the others for later, or two questions and save the last one. However there is no guarantee that you will be able to find this library again. It is indeed a miracle that you stumbled upon this place.
Welcome to the library at the end of time where i will be posting 3 questions per week. I will relay my answer to these questions and explain my reasoning. You may leave your answers to the question in the comments section. If you have a question you would like me to consider and post then by all means email me or leave the question in the comments section.
Welcome to the library at the end of time where i will be posting 3 questions per week. I will relay my answer to these questions and explain my reasoning. You may leave your answers to the question in the comments section. If you have a question you would like me to consider and post then by all means email me or leave the question in the comments section.
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