Dumber & Dumber day by day!!

                           

Every day we are creating and encouraging a culture of distraction. We are increasingly disconnected from the people and events around us and we are progressively unable to engage in a long-form thinking process. It could be that we constantly being on our smart phones, or using a calculator for the simplest math problem.

Problem: <<< literally a problem…. No kidding
54/9 = …..Let me get my calculator

Are we relaying too much on technology; to the point where we are unable to think for ours? I know that everyone has this thought in mind; it’s just that no one actually say it out loud.

My brain is constantly battling itself; one side is saying that it’s ok, while the other demands me to stop relaying so much on technology.

Left brain-

It’s okay. The world is changing-everything is technical nowadays. If we don’t catch up with the latest technology we will fall behind.

Right brain-

NO NO NO! It’s NOT okay! Our generation is relaying TOO much on technology. To the point where we are becoming incompertent without it.

---So, what are your thoughts and opinions?? Do you believe that we can somehow manage to limit our usage of technology to where we can balance between the two??

Poverty Effects on People

After reading parts of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, I came to realize that poverty is a major part to a person’s development. With the economy being so bad today, poverty has taken a toll; it affected hundreds of millions of people throughout the world.

Let say a person has been born into the lower working class family. He/she will then have to work twice as hard as anyone else just to get by. They would have to eat from hand to mouth, with little to no savings. But, in my theory, a person who has experience poverty, if desired, and work hard enough, will make it big someday. A person who had experience a life of stricken poverty will learn to cherish what they have and work for a bigger and higher goals. They know what it is like to be poor and will not take anything for granted.

That is to say that that person have “luck” on their side. If a chance wasn't offer or given to them, than you might ask, “What’s the point in trying”? To make it big you have to be given a chance. It isn't easy to go from a lower working class family to a middle class or even an upper class. You first have to be given a chance and make it happen afterward. And when I say to make it “big, “big” is in the eye of the beholder. 

Passive Resistance

                            

         While reading Herman Melville “Bartleby”, a story told from a lawyer first person point of view towards Bartleby, a disconnected scrivener. In the beginning when Bartleby first apply for the job, he acted all proper and hardworking, but soon after his true nature appears. He then prefers to not do any examining of his writing, something every scrivener has to do. Then, he stops copying all at once. Nada, zip, zero! I can’t stop myself but feels frustrated and irritated towards Bartleby, for the lawyer. Yes, you read it right, I say for the lawyer. The lawyer had to put up with all of Bartleby crap, and he risk the risk of losing the control of his business and workers.

        The lawyer state that the worst resistant is passive resistant, and that is what Bartleby did. He did not use force or strong language towards the lawyer; instead he smoothly denied or rejects the offer of working. If a person were to use force or “bad” language against you, if you fight back, in society it’s would be consider acceptable. But here, Bartleby elegantly and genteelly oppose. If the lawyer were to fire or punish him, society would deem that “unacceptable”.

        After reading the short story, I can’t help myself but think that, was it possible that Bartleby was just putting up a front from the beginning? Was his mannerism and behavior a fake from the beginning? Recall that I said, I have these thoughts after finishing reading the story. While reading the story everything Bartleby does seem so legit, but after, that’s another case.

So, what’s your thought on this?

What is your instrument of torture?

                       

Today we read Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit”, which states that people are each other instrument of torture, “Hell is other people”.

If I were to be asked if that is true, I would first agree, but then later retract. Why? People of course are the reasons why there are high crime rates, war is cause by people, and people ultimately will produce more people. And have you ever heard of the phrase, “Don’t blame the gun, blame the person that pulls the trigger”.

But, "there’s always a but to everything in life". Can you imagine a world without other people? I didn't want to pull religion into this but, God made Adam and Eve, and then other people came along later for a reason. It is true that the people around you can shape your life, but don’t forget that you can also shape theirs. Just like how you can pick who's your friend, and who's your enemy. I believed you pick your own hell! 

What kind of person are you?

                  

        Animals are often good judges of character in people. A lot can be learnt about people from the way they treat their animals or just any animals in general. I see this as a way to how they would treat other human being around them. This is how I classified it. If someone were to treat any animal badly whether it was theirs or not tells a lot about their personality. Most people would treat their pets or animal nicely but when it comes to an animal they see on the street or someone else they wouldn’t care less for it. But for one reason or another I understand it. When someone is close to you, you automatically treat them better than someone who isn’t close to you. You have a connection with them. Just like how we treat strangers the way we do.  

      Some may say animals are of lesser beings because they are lower on the food chain, and some may say there are people who look at other people as lesser beings because of wealth or social status. In some ways I think that if you are “good” you would treat everyone fairly. “Everyone” to me includes the animals around us. My father always tells me to treat other people the way you want to be treated. So why treat anyone or any animal badly? Would you like to be treated badly in return?

     But then again what is considered "good" treatment of animals is up to interpretation. We think "humane" treatment of animals is just. But think of cultures that sacrifice animals for religious practice. They are clearly religious ties into that, yet the murder of an animal is seen as "good" treatment of that animal. And what about rats or other unwanted animal? We only care for them so we can use them as lab rats or to our own advantages.

So here’s my question to you, “Can we really judge a person by the way they treat animals?” 

Is It All Hamlet's Fault?

                         

            After reading Hamlet there are many thoughts that pop into my head. What would've  or wouldn't have happen if Hamlet was committed to the act of revenge from the beginning. It is Hamlet’s inability to avenge the murder of his father that drives the plot forwards.  Because of Hamlet’s indecisiveness the deaths of Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, Gertrude, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are resulted from Hamlet’s delay. So I couldn't help myself but think that if Hamlet had acted earlier, lives could have been saved.

            The second thought was that if Hamlet would've just killed and be done with Claudius sooner, than would he developed any mental insanity. Because Hamlet couldn't strain himself to kill Claudius he ended up thinking too much. His brain started to build an emotional and psychological complexity that backfire on him. But then again we aren't sure if the insanity part of him was just a front that Hamlets put up just to deceive his opponent. 

Are you insane?

                 

You might ask how can we know if someone is insane or not? Is it easy to distinguish sane individuals from insane?

Here’s my thought on it. When someone is insane they would never admit that they are insane. They would make any excuses or arguments to prove that they are normal. They would even go through the whole nine yields to counteract that others are crazy and different vs. themselves.

A normal person would instead admit fault or falling emotions but not an insane person. A sane person would say something like this, “Today I am not ok, and I’m acting crazy. An insane person would never say that. They hold everything inside until they explode.

So do yourself and others a favor by releasing your stress on someone or something instead of just holding it in. Ask someone for their ears or a shoulder to cry on. Don’t just hold all the emotions and angry in, you might just explode one day and go insane.