Physics No More

I am back. This post is, however, not about me - but about something that may change the very pillars of how we view the universe.

Internet is going wild. A shocking finding appeared on Forbes 13 minutes ago, Reuters an hour ago, and on another major news source 13 seconds ago. Articles are multiplying as I type.

CERN, the infamous large hadron collider, produced some unexpected results. Neutrinos (tiny particles with many puzzling properties) which were fired by the collider into the receptors 750km away, have arrived at the speed faster than the speed of light.

The difference in speed has been subtle. But it has been formulated by Einstein that the speed of light is constant and nothing in the Universe can travel faster than light. Physics has since then relied on this concept to explain matter, mass, the Universe - everything! The results published today override E = MC^2. Time travel is now no longer science fiction. Our whole understanding of nature is under question.

"Einstein's special relativity theory that says energy equals mass times the speed of light squared underlies "pretty much everything in modern physics," said John Ellis, a theoretical physicist at CERN who was not involved in the experiment. "It has worked perfectly until now."

Scientists are being cautious and many follow up tests will be conducted to measure the accuracy of results. But if it holds true then this is not just another finding. It is a revolution.

What an interesting time to be a physicist.

New Direction

I have been thinking about this blog and I want to take it to a new direction. I want to return to what my original idea has been and go beyond that. My blog watered down significantly from that point down onto here, meaningless posts, irregular content. Old content won't be deleted because probably one day it will be interesting, to see what everything started from.

However, you can definitely expect something new. I will take a hiatus for a couple of weeks. And then, once I return, we'll see what will happen.

Adios until then,

Me

US Foreign Politics & Currency

A perceptive illustrative commentary by a talented artist Pawel Kuczynski. Search him up, some amazing stuff.

Interesting..

An illustrative commentary on the Russian political tandem. It was more interesting when few realized it, and more on the edge when no one dared to talk about it. Nevertheless, this is still reality encased in caricature.

Experience minus knowledge

I want to blog on a complete uselessness of business schools. In fact, the more advanced they are - the further from the ground they are, and the less real the knowledge learned there becomes.

The theory at business schools is just so detached from what is needed in a business school. The classical approaches learned, which are great and all, in real life meet the obstacles of time and money. The two planes on which business operates and which limit any outgoing theoretical developments, because it is the end result that matters - not the theory behind it.

I understand that this theory may help with the general understanding, that knowing accounting principles, per say, may be important. But isn't it learned much faster through exposure to the industry? Why waste 4 years or even more sitting in a classroom when by the time you graduate, the knowledge will be obsolete? To acquire the time management and hard working skills you'll need to succeed in real life? Well, the real life is where those skills will be learned best and fastest.

A lot of mega-successful enterpreneurs don't have formal business education. Steve Jobs dropped college after one year. He is now a business magnate. Richard Warren Sears, was a simple workman at a railroad. His stores are now across the country making millions.

Maybe business is overall, supposed to be something innate rather than learned. I don't know. I do know that practically all successful businessmen had their degrees in something else, or no degrees at all.

Yet, business schools are required by society. Employers look at experience more than at GPA's, but many hypocritically require the useless BBA or BCom degrees and the like. So society leaves many bright and talented individuals, to the numbers of which I do not belong, with no other choice but to spend 4 (or more for MBA's) years doing nothing useful.

Sad.

Minimalist Ads

I was browsing the net for some advertising inspiration. I found it interesting, the application of minimalist concepts to ads. This is what I'm talking about:

What I find amusing in these ads is that when there is as little as possible, the idea is the most clear.

New is the Well Forgotten Old

I came across this interesting image. Maybe IPad is more sleek and has that Apple brand on it, you know - the one you overpay for. But its capabilities date back to 2003.

Click the image to enlarge.

Lady Gaga - The Real Deal

Eccentric, unusual, controversial and unusually talented.An explosive package which swept the music industry and rose to the top of the A-list in just two years. Lady Gaga.

I have been exploring her art in-depth today. Yes, I said art - a title which most pop musicians don't deserve. As a young, socially adept man who grew up in a modern North American community, of course I have heard of her songs before and found them rather interesting. Sometimes, captivating. It all began with the trashy video for “Just Dance”. Back then I have thought – who the hell is this woman?

Now I think that if all artists would be like her, then the pop scene would finally become something it’s supposed to be. That is, not a bustling collective of self-indulged individuals who use the power of the social peer persuasion to gain fans. But a collective of extraordinary people.

I may not like Gaga’s meat costume, but her wardrobe is exciting, captivating, enticing! It is entertainment. Not even that, most importantly - it is personality.

She also has a voice - rare occurrence, especially in the modern pop music (ironically). It is just not something we seek. People with voice get marginalized by people with money and connections. Money almost always dominates over talent, what can you do. Christina Aguilera has a very good voice. Yet, T-Pain beats her on charts using only a computer. Ke$ha just talks. Who cares? Catchy beats are sufficient.

A plus, is that Lady Gaga also stands for something. She stands for all the people who are unique, and different. Like members of the LGBT community.

I may not like her style, but I respect her as one of the few real artists out there. In pop, at least.

Everything I Like

Pretty much.

Plus One

Recently I have stumbled upon this thing called Google Plus. As soon as I have, it began appearing everywhere. And right after I thought Facebook would not have a replacement for another 5 years at least.

It is no secret that Google takes what exists then buys it and improves it, or makes the same thing except better. This strategy has worked for them and resulted in some amazing products. I am blogging on Blogger while listening to a song I'm playing on YouTube, both my favorite Google products.

Well now, a new sensation - Google Plus! A number of my friends have registered on it already. An avid Google fan myself, I was planning to as well. To my surprise, the network only allowed the first 10 million people to register and the rest have to wait while it has finished its beta "field testing." Sad.

It is unusual for social networks to deny access to them. I know about private social networks for elite groups of rich people, where you can only join if you have a number of references from existing members, have a 7 digit income or are a significant a-list celebrity. I understand the whole field testing thing, perhaps it makes sense to not let too many people join until you know for sure that you haven't screwed up. Yet, I can imagine that a whole lot of people who would join right now with the initial hype arousing, will not go back in the future.

That is up to Google to decide. I just see a very powerful alternative to Facebook on the horizon. I have read about its capabilities and features, it seems to be by far more socially orientated rather than Facebook which encourages profile seclusion. Unlike Facebook, or the now fallen titan MySpace, it is also closely related to the real life. You know, the one away from the computer screen? Hard to imagine nowadays. Yet Google tries to deliver its online social network as a tool of planning and organizing your real social life better. At least, so it seems.

I think it is very important that we take a step back into reality. Will it happen? I doubt it. I just know that once the network opens up once again, I will get an email and will be sure to join it.

For those interested: https://plus.google.com/up/start/?sw=1&type=st

Short Note

I haven't been posting for a while. The reason was that I was on exchange to China, where blogger does not work. Visiting Shanghai and Beijing was a lot of fun, and I had many unexpected experiences I might blog about later. Just know that I did not disappear and will return to blogging promptly :)

Death of Osama Bin Laden

Literally 30 minutes ago it has been announced by a confidential source that Osama was killed by "an asset" and his body was recovered and is in possession of the US government.

This is what is said by a news source (The Sydney Morning Herald):

WASHINGTON — Al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden is dead and the United States has his body, a person familiar with the developments says. CNN and other news organizations are reporting the same information.

President Barack Obama was expected to make that announcement from the White House late Sunday night.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to speak ahead of the president.

CNN reports that bin Laden's was killed by a U.S. "asset" and that his body was recovered from a mansion outside Islamabad, Pakistan.

Wikipedia was quick to announce the death date on its page, saying roughly April 24th. Whether Osama was a spawn of evil or a misguided man, he has been involved in the deaths of thousands. While I think it is wrong to celebrate a death of a man, many Americans may release a sign of relief.

I am personally cautious about these news. Ill leave out the factor of conspiracy, even though the government can have many reasons to falsely announce the death of Osama. To justify war and the fact that Obama failed to quickly pull out all forces, to show the success of his administration, to calm down the American public in face of the recent terrorist attacks that happened around the world. Okay, let's say the news are real.

What I am afraid will become a common misconception is that now America may find rest in knowledge that such a great threat has been eliminated. I believe not. Osama only posed threat as the leader of Al-Qaida. An organization which will not cease to exist with his death. An organization which has a rigid hierarchy and while there might be some battle for power, eventually another terrorist will come as its head. They will want revenge on US for killing their leader - I mean, history repeats itself. I will not remember the name now, but a certain terrorist leader was killed by Russians and a series of Moscow metro bombings and maybe others ensued.

Perhaps the leader of evil was killed but until evil stops existing, there will come a new leader. So this is not a great victory of Americans. It is just a small stepping stone on a path to secure the safety of the American public.

When writing this post I thought that perhaps my thoughts on the matter are too trivial and will be judged as too shallow. Maybe. I do want to offer my perspective though.

Understanding Twitter

The fastest source of news, the forefront of the social networking technologies…just a diary with a limited character count?

For a long time, I was confused about the nature of Twitter. Upon discovery, I saw no reason why anyone would use the damn thing. It seemed like a tool where you post updates on where you are and what you are doing, something most people would not care about - especially if you do not belong to the limited celebrity elite.

Now I perceive it with a whole new perspective, one influenced by my dad and by my other interests. I now see that Twitter is unique in that it is a tool very similar to a camera, except it uses words instead of pixels to capture images. It is street photography re-invented; images of everyday life, images of something extraordinary, images of something that some person out there thinks is important.

It is said that one picture is worth a thousand words. Indeed, a photograph can evoke more emotions and portray more than 140 characters could ever aspire to. Yet Twitter has something up its sleeve. Using words, it can reach further into the mind – perhaps not the soul, but into the mind. It can take pictures not only of the surrounding, but it can take a snapshot of one’s ideas in their pure form – not ones abstractly applied on scenery.

Twitter is not superior to photography; I really think it’s not. Yet it is different. And it is a tool which can be used when one needs to express themselves not on a routine level, but even deeper.

That is just Twitter on an individual perspective. I can dedicate a whole new post about the collective power of Twitter on society and the world, how it changes communications and news. That is for another day, perhaps.

P.S. It would make sense for me to give a link to my Twitter. It's not ready yet :)

Presidential Corporation

Donald Trump, a widely used impersonation of the corporate evil, decided to run for President.

The Wall Street already has its hand deep up the government’s bottom. Revolving doors, lobbying, financial power overcoming the political one. Perhaps the politicians with the most modest campaigns are the ones to be voted for, being less corrupt and the least dependant on corporate investments. Look, it is already there - just not in your face. Not like it will be when Donald becomes President.

Trump has a clear agenda in his head: only personal gain for the United States. Brutally cold and rational. Business. If the troops go into a country – then it is to find oil, not to help people. Not like this wasn’t happening already… Now, there are two dangers in making what’s hidden explicit. Legitimization and eventual progression.

Another way to look at the issue is that Donald’s mindset is just reflective of the upcoming times. The times when US will lose its economic power to Asia, polarization finishes dismantling into a simple imprint in history, and US loses its world leadership. No longer will it be seen as a father whose duty will be to protect the people with its military power. That duty will transgress elsewhere, while US can afford to do what other countries have done so far – follow personal pursuits and pretend to care in the annual diplomatic meetings.

Maybe, Donald is not the Messiah that will lead US through a tough transition and hierarchal degradation. Maybe he just sees following national pursuits by the means of brute force as the means of getting US respect, the respect he mentioned it is beginning to lose. Yet history shows that bullies are not respected, they are feared and commonly despised.

I am not a US citizen but if I would be, I wouldn’t vote for Donald Trump. Yet what’s the difference. The lustrous campaigns do not see to bring good change anyways.

Short Note

So, it has been a while since I last blogged. Been busy with school plus a whole number of other excuses I can use. Truth is, I know that time can be made for an activity if one wishes. I guess I just wasn’t in my blogging mood.

Now school is over, at least for the summer. Yet a billion other plans come rushing in. Starting from writing a book, continuing to summer school and job, a photography project, exchange to Asia and several other notions I have developed to keep myself busy with. Nevertheless, I will try to blog more often now. I have a second blog going on: called Axiomatic Delineations which I update every day, perhaps because it is so easy to update. I will try my best to post regularly on this one too. Lately, I had a lot to talk about.

To find my second blog one can go to my profile link on the right. Alright, alright. Enough shameless promotion.

Define Necessity

Sometimes, we start using words for granted. Bend the meaning, you know - just a little bit. Yet for others, for most of the world, "necessity" isn't a new iPad - it is a hard hitting reality of the struggle between life and death, as well as the things that make the difference between those two, such as hope, skill, and unfortunately money. 

Search up "define necessity" in Google images to see more. 

Unfortunately, me posting this accomplishes nothing. One day I hope to make a real difference. 

9/11 Is a Bunch of Bullshit? No.

"I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bullshit ... 9/11 building 7 did they really pull it"

- Lupe Fiasco, "Words I Never Said"

I greatly respect Lupe Fiasco. That is because unlike many other rappers, he does not rap about "bitches, money, fame". He raps about real issues to which he attracts public attention. While he remains as an artist relatively unexplored by me, I do appreciate his songs Little Weapon about child soldiers and the above Words I Never Said about the US.

There are many previous instances when I have encountered a theory that the 9/11 was a setup by the Americans themselves. It was definitely beneficial to the Bush Administration to create a commotion and give themselves an excuse to go into Iraq 2 years later (an excuse which they needed to seize the powerful oil resources), a casus belli of a sort. Not only Iraq, but justification of tapping phones and a decrease of privacy (and thus an increase in government's power) were all in favor of Bush. At least, it was beneficial for them to not stop the attacks, even if they did not plan it themselves. People who fear are easier to manipulate. CIA already had allegations, those which went beyond conspiracies into becoming proven facts, that they have close ties with the Al Quaeda in the past. These ties include training the terrorists and ordering employees to avoid stopping the terrorists under a threat of legal action. This is all documented in legitimate law cases.

Nevertheless. I say it's not 9/11, it's the conspiracy theories that are bullshit. People have always had a tendency to develop conspiracies, this is a goldmine for them. I disagree that 9/11 was a setup. On a personal basis, my whole being just rejects the notion that Bush, however unpopular and selfish he was, would permit the killing of so many people.

Conspiracists pose the notion that the US Government is a puppet to someone else's interests, a secret society or something of that sort. There is a group which I particularly believe controls the US Government. It is not the Bilderberg Group, Freemasons or the Illuminati, it is the very close Wall Street. Financial grasp on the Government's throat is firm, I will prove it in a later post. It has been this way since the assassination of JFK. Now if anyone woul have a counter-interest in the bombing of the financial towers then it'd be Wall Street, shaken by the blow to the economy. Perhaps, I do not see something. Perhaps, a short-term blow is justified by long-term gains for the white-collared men and women. Still, I just reject the notion of a 9/11 setup as a whole so I do not want to venture there.

I am not anti-american. Not at all. I do realize that a lot of things are f***ed up though, I just do not think that it has gotten that bad yet. Nor do I think that it will.

Opportunism vs. Friendship, Personal Tale

Today, I had to make a choice which I have not made before, one requiring the application of my personal principles in a setting unusual to my life. I want to reflect on that choice, particularly because I know that in the future I might have to make it again.

First, the setup. In my university, there is this extra-curricular club. Its purpose is to improve public speaking abilities of its members: an innate strength of mine which I actively attempt to take to further heights. The club taps into an interest of mine I had from grade 5; it’s as if it was built for me. The first and only meeting I went to got me very excited about becoming a member.

I never ended up becoming such. One of my friends, for the purpose of confidentiality – Amanda, decided that she is uncomfortable with me joining. She was already a member and threatened to leave the club if I joined, upon the preposition of shyness. I understood and abandoned the club, like I think a good friend should. I gave her the green light and gave up the club I liked the most of all I have been in so far. It was worth it though, for the sacrifice has been done for a close friend.

My plan was to join the beloved club in the next year. To make up for lost time, I was going to apply for an executive position. I wanted to become executive of this club specifically because it is something I feel passionate about, something I really want to commit to. I also see it as one of the few opportunities for me to make it on an executive team anywhere, because I have not been too active in any clubs or societies and do not like most of the ones offered.

Well, these plans were also meant to go down the garbage aisle. Amanda messaged me on Skype, asking to help her on her application. I expressed full willingness to help her in whatever way I can. When I proclaimed that I want to apply as well, Amanda encouraged me to go ahead if I want but if I will go ahead then she will drop out. Same reason, a random streak of shyness – not present in any other classes or activities we have together. Again!!

I was faced with a dilemma. Take the opportunity which I wanted more than her, or give the opportunity to her who was there first, and who was my friend.

There were a plethora of reasons for me to deny the opportunity to her and just take it. I believe that rewards go to those who grab them. Those who are not adaptable enough – miss out. I believe that friends should not obstruct ways for each other [which either one of the choices would do], they let the best one win and pull the other one up. I am also more passionate about the club. I may not get another chance to satisfy my ambitions of becoming an executive in another club, a fear of mine. Finally, as suggested by Amanda herself and probably because of the reasons above – the club will probably benefit more with me in the position.

I made the decision to once again step down. I let my friends stay, despite the fact that she practically pushed me out of the competition that way. Why? My personal philosophy, supported by my Christian religion, is that interests of others come before one’s own. You should gravitate away from selfish decisions (sin) towards the selfless ones. This friend of mine, Amanda – has a special status which has been granted by me to only five/six non-family members so far, in my entire memory. This status is one that is based on gratitude (feeling on which the strongest bonds within me are built), and is one in which the person’s interests take an almost absolute priority over mine, and to whose success I have a goal of actively contributing despite the self-harm that might inflict. Basically, to summarize: vast sacrifice, something I grew to be particularly fond of throughout my lifetime. Such a status required me giving away the possibility of my own growth for hers, and it is worth it 700%. Last mentioned but not the least was my desire for her to succeed. I really do wish her the best and if she gets the position – that will be a step towards that best. I’ll figure something out for myself.

I made a choice of friend over opportunity. I am sure it was a right choice. Opportunity was big, friendship would be unhindered if I took it, but I still made the right choice. I absolutely do not blame Amanda for her feeling shy about me being in the club – it’s just what is natural her. I wish her best of luck in attaining what I believe she can - the executive position.

Reminder

Too often we forget, being caught up in routine and the competition to survive within this economically driven world. The competition to look better than the next, the competition to provide for yourself and your family. Ultimately all competition ends at one point, rich or poor. At that point, looking back - will it matter how much money we accumulate? Or how much love we gave and received back? Will people look at the impact we left on lives or the balance on our bank account?

A kind of poetic image drawn by a street artist by the name of Banksy reminds us or the universal value of life. A life not measured in dollars, but a life measured in spirit.

Truth is, money are essential. Money are essential for feeding those who are dependent on you. For giving them opportunities to be happy, both in a materialistic and a spiritual sense.

Money are essential for making the impact on lives. People will look at the balance we have on our bank account. Many will look at how we use it. A millionaire can help people in Japan in crisis more than a poor person on the street. Wealth allows you to give more, to make a bigger difference.

It is easier for a camel to walk through a field full of thorns than for a rich man to enter heaven the Bible says. That means that while the money do matter, it is not their intrinsic value but how you use the money. Do not give up all your material possessions to become free and to search for happiness. Do not forget education and competition while giving love to those around you. But make that spirit spread through you, through your wealth. Love > money is wrong, because it presupposes that the two would be separate entities - and while money should not interfere with love, feelings must affect spending.

I encourage all to go here and do what you can. Thank you.

http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

Japan

This is the most serious post I wrote to this day.

I do not know how many of you are informed about what happened in Japan in the past few days. I will assume that most of you know what is happening and provide just a small reiteration, but for those who have not been keeping up with the news - search it on Google, because it is important to know what happens in the world. Despite national borders, we are all - humans.

The past few years have been heavy on disasters. Among the most recent ones are natural disasters in Haiti and Indonesia. The bloody revolution in Libya where bombs have been thrown on the citizens by Gadhafi - something that differentiates this revolution from the other recent ones. There are many more I can mention. Right now, I want to talk about Japan.

An 8.9 earthquake, the largest one in Japan and the fifth largest and recorded history, shook the island. It gave rise to a wave which was 30 feet tall and washed up much of the island. At the same time, a nuclear power plant was harmed so there is the threat of a nuclear disaster affecting the poor people who are already left without housing, without food and water, some without sons or daughters and other closest relatives.

I saw a page online which accumulated the recent posts made by some Americans. It does not show the badness of US or anything but it does show the stupidity of individuals when they say things like: Pearl Harbour Karma, that is what you get after 70 years and etc. Not only did they forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they also forgot the fundamental principals of humanity. The borders are artificial, they change all the time - what stays is our connection to each other. I do not want to sound like a hippie but I do believe that we are all connected through common roots, nature, spirituality - basically through being sentient humans.

I believe we must help. I know that the number of readers on my blog is currently low, the blog is new. But I want to do what I can. I am providing a number of links that one can follow to help the Japanese. The Japanese themselves have been amazing, the level of cooperation and the human bravery in terms of crisis is astounding. They help each other but they need help from others too. In the end, it does not come down to living in US or Canada, to living in Japan or Russia, it comes down to living on Earth which we share with others like us. We are not safe from disasters anywhere, and I believe that if something would happen to where I live then the world would help. A big part of the world would help. That is just what differentiates us from animals. Please donate or write about it somewhere where others can see. Spread awareness.

http://www.helpthechildren.org/?gclid=CIr-68Lu0acCFcZw5QodgB8V-A

Help The Children - America's 7th most effective foundation, does not waste money on bureaucratic expenses above what's necessary. Donate on the top right corner for your money to go to those who need them more.

https://secure.unicef.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=1211&appealID=19&CID=998&gclid=CK7H3MPu0acCFQdy5Qod43PY8A

A link to UNICEF Canada because that is where I live, all links to UNICEF can be used though. A trustworthy and famous organization which will help those who need help - it just needs you.

https://www.mercycorps.org/donate/japan?source=55400&gclid=CO353sTu0acCFQY65Qod7kQX_A

Mercy Corps - uses helicopters to deliver food and medical supplies to families in the disaster struck zones. The money donated to not get lost in the hands of governments and organizations. They deliver food supplies to children, which would otherwise die without having even fully lived.

http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

A Google crisis response center. Google is new in terms of being a foundation but I think it deserves a chance. So far they have proven to be innovative and efficient - perhaps that wil have an effect.

Other links:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsroom/20110311/wl_yblog_newsroom/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-how-to-help

Yahoo Post on how to help

http://mashable.com/2011/03/13/japan-earthquake-tsunami-help-donate/

A post on how to help.

http://ca.gizmodo.com/5780998/japan-earthquake-strikes-full-coverage?skyline=true&s=i

To stay on top of what is happening, this website provides videos, images, and coverage.

------------------------

UPDATE [Mar. 27; 2011]: I have been asked: what am I personally doing to help? It is indeed hypocritical of me to ask others to contribute if I myself do not do anything. While money are tight in the life of a student on residence, I have just recently purchased a t-shirt with $20. The t-shirt spreads awareness while the $20 go for the relief. It is not a lot - sure, but if everyone will help as much as they can then we can all make a big difference.

Perhaps It Is Too Early

Perhaps it is too early, for I am only 18. But my age, or rather the speed of aging – already hit me.

Turn back. I see the sun shining on the grass as I run with my dog, being only 7. A flash of light and I am in a locker room, age 12, changing to go skiing with my friends, kids just like me. Another flash of light, a bright one – behind which I cannot see all the years that pass by, and I am in gr. 9. Asking a girl to go out with me. Wait! Where am I now?? Oh. I am now in university. A year of university is almost complete.

Sometimes I think that life is just starting. I am going to complete university and readily enter the workforce where all will be well. I will advance in corporate positions, acquiring skills necessary for success, then leave and start my own business. More importantly, start a family. That is when I will be happy.

Then I think back, and realize that I am almost two decades old. In my lifetime, so many things have changed. Nations fell and nations rose. The Internet has entangled the world in its sticky World Wide Web. What happened to me? I mature so much slower than the world. I have acquired a set of assets in the forms of languages and knowledge, lost a set of assets like innocence, youth and the ability to be amused by the simplest of things. I grew. And now I am 18.

18 x 4 = 72. I lived a quarter of my life before 72 years and it seems like nothing happened! I remember events and I remember many of them, but what do I have to account for these years? What have I done? I do not remember. Perhaps, a part of my life was wasted watching TV. A part wasted on the internet. A part wasted in school. These parts do not seem to add up to 160,000 of hours that I have lived so far.

As I get older, I remember less and less about what I did and what happens to me. It seems like time accelerates. When I was little, I remember how the year 1998 just wouldn’t end for me. I kept asking mommy – is it 1999 yet? Is it? Time crawled. Now I look back and do not realize how 2008 all of a sudden became 2011. I am not afraid of death, probably. I do not believe in fearing death. But I am afraid of the fact that I am accelerating towards it, through my changing perception of time. I am not scared of death but I am scared of the end of life, or rather of the end of life before it becomes meaningful. I am afraid of a waste of potential given to me at birth, the potential to change something.

Friends fade and appear. I left an impact on others just like others have left an impact on me. I am leaving my own trace through life. I cannot see it though. It seems that the trace has just started. Yet, a big part of it is already complete and cannot be returned to.
These thoughts aren’t new. I began being concerned about my age and how quickly I pass through life when I was in gr. 10. I remember that it hit me acutely one night in gr. 10, December 2007. That was a scary night. I woke up, sat up and couldn’t calm down for I have just realized that I am going to die. That moment I realized the finite nature of my earthly existence. Since then, the realization has faded. Yet, on occasion, it comes back crystal clear.

All I have is to hope. To hope that the next part of my life will be more meaningful. That I will have the chance to do more, to have greater importance. To have an answer when someone asks: what have you done?

Self-Deception: The Perception Lie

The view of the world comes to us warped through a prism. The prism is our mind, built from past experiences and of our long and short-term paradigms.

That is how the mind sees the outside, but how does it see itself? In my opinion, the prism through which we view ourselves is significantly more skewing than the already misleading one with which we see the outside environment. The main reason is that the view of ourselves is not based on who we actually are – but on whom we learned that we are.

So, recently a number of questions came to my mind in regards to this theory of mine.

To what degree does the difference between who we are and our perception of self vary from person to person?

At first, I thought that to a large degree since the discrepancy is affected a lot by the level of importance we assign to the opinions of others and to how many of others we listen. This is very different from person to person. Then, however, I took a more controversial consideration as my final answer to myself. This degree has very small variance. That is because our perception of self is so much affected but what we learned that we are, that the actual correlation b/w our opinions and reality is probably 20 – 30%, if not less. If almost everyone hypothetically fit within that range, then the variance is small – we are all largely mistaken in how we view our own selves.

A different thought is that our view of ourselves alters ourselves to be more compliant with what we think. If we think that we are confident in ourselves then we become such. If we think we are pretty, then others learn to perceive us in that way too. This self-fulfilling prophecy factor is not considered by me when thinking about these questions.

The second question I thought of – how to we make the view of ourselves more accurate?

My personal answer is that we don’t need to. Since ourselves aligns with what we think of ourselves and so does the opinion of others then why do we need to see the truth? Truth hurts.

Finally, if what we see is so much affected by ourselves and we are effectively put in the “centre of the Universe” sort of speak, then how do we prevent self-absorption?

This is a concern I had to face in a number of transitional stages of my personality and its growth. My own reaction to when I have noticed that I would become too self-absorbed would be to forcefully “bring myself down to the ground.” That would usually encompass a significant loss in self-confidence at the given period of time. I do realize that this is not the way. Now, when in danger of becoming too self-absorbed I just switch my attention to my friends. I begin thinking of them and how they are also individuals, all of them better than me in one thing or another. This reminds me that everyone is superior to me in something just as I am superior to everyone in something as well. That puts me on the same level as people around me.

To conclude, our self-perception is very rarely reflective of reality. Reality does gravitate towards self-perception though. Self-perception and perception of us that others have mutually gravitate to a common point. Because of this, we do not need to make our self-vision more accurate. And self-absorption can be prevented at will by simply thinking of others.

I have also discovered that I already wrote about this in Facebook Notes. The post was called “Paradox” and I posted it in the previous week as a reference to this one for you to see J

Paradox

What you see below is my account on social interactions written when I was 16, 2 years ago, to reflect my thoughts on something which was bothering me at that moment. It has to do a lot with the post which comes above; so I thought Ill cite it here as well.

Paradox

I have came to believe that the society - referring to people around you - see you the way you see yourself. If a girl thinks she is pretty and acts like she is then other girls and many guys will be convinced of that as well. If a guy is all everything - hot, strong, smart whatever but he has no confidence whatsoever then people won't notice him as anything special. On the contrary if someone who is not that great is fully confident of themselves and project that confidence on those around them then people will only notice the best of the qualities they possess.

However there is a majority of people who see themselves the way others see them. If everyone will think you are a loser - then guess what, that's what you will become (unless any special unaccountable factors occur). If everyone tell a girl she is pretty then that's what she will be convinced of and vice versa.

With the above two points being true - what do we get? You see yourself as the society sees you which sees you as you see yourself? A never-ending circle where we have two dependent variables and not one independent. However somehow people still have an opinion about themselves and others. So what comes out from all this is that you have two choices - whether you will let others decide what you are and see it their way or you decide what you are first and let others see you that way as well. This shows that you are in control of your life if you choose to take that control - its your choice whether you are a passenger or a driver. So no matter how someone feels at the moment and no matter how screwed up people think they are and how unaccepted they are - they can always turn this around if they feel bold enough to. You are in control to make things better.

Ah, All the Blogging!

So far, I have been casually sharing my thoughts on interesting things I find every day while browsing the vast backwoods of the internet space. My posts have been centered on politics and business. That is until now. Now, I've been giving it some thought... Are those the right topics to write about? Sure, the blog is a reflection of me and I can write about whatever interests me personally - but many things do. I only wrote 5 posts to this date so I cannot say that I have a clear direction for my blog, and that raised a question - what should the direction be?

Next to news and business (my direct field of study), the best alternative is just to record my everyday life. But then what is a difference between that and a diary? Wayyy too many blogs are doing this already! Do you want to hear a diary? Hm.

So what do readers want and where do those desires intersect what I'd write about? Readers want comedy. We are often chasing a good laugh, trying to get away from the mundane reality of responsibilities and pressures in that one or more moments of chuckles. However, I was not born a clown and I cannot forcefully entertain. I can be funny - sure, but sitting down and just writing on paper...No. I tried before. Succeeded. The effort it took was ridiculous.

Therefore, I decided that this blog will be about me. Not my life but me. My thoughts. A reflection on life but not fully. Sometimes about business. Sometimes about politics. Sometimes just about things that come to my mind or which matter to me the most. Anything I feel like sharing. So now you know the profile of my blog :). You can now push the Next Blog >> button or, subscribe if you will. The choice is yours.

Disability Is Profit-Making for the Corporate World

Well. Today I chose quite an inconvenient location to blog – on my weekly bus trip which lasts around an hour. I am typing in the slightly laptop-illuminated space, surrounded with 3 bags and one case of water bottles. Yesterday I heard for the hundredth time that art requires sacrifices and blogging can be art? Right? Anything can be art, depends on how you deliver it… Okay, here we go.

Today’s post is about an article I read. It was in one of those useless cheap magazines through which one skims to get disappointed, wrongfully realize that life has no meaning, close it, and continue staring into a wall while waiting for their haircut appointment. Surprisingly, today something caught my eye as I desperately tried to procrastinate doing accounting, as much as I like doing that.

The article talked about Rich Donovan, a graduate of my University. Some Wall Street big shot quit Wall Street because he thought that making money on disabilities is more profitable. He even created a company [Lime Connect] which had a goal of convincing other companies that this is true. That intrigued me since usually disabled people are respected on a personal level, but are marginalized on a socioeconomic one.

First, the argument states that “disability dollars” are mostly spent on extreme cases, which is true. He argues that if we re-direct a portion of those dollars to helping people with minor disabilities in the workforce then it will be a major boost for everyone. True, but what exactly does he suggests would be criteria upon which to help? An insignificant question perhaps, considering that the implementation of this social policy will not be executed – it would just piss off too many social workers.

Second, Donovan argued that hiring people with disabilities isn’t a burden but an asset. He says disability is a radioactive brand which is dissociated with value. However, usually people with mild disabilities are as capable of performing most tasks as regular people are. He even went on to say that he himself has a disability, cerebral palsy to be exact. Yet he is better at what he’s doing than many healthy born individuals. By ignoring candidates with disability because of the disability, employers potentially lose value since these people may turn out to be better workers than others.

Third, Donovan provides the readers with some statistics. 1.1 people globally report having a disability. Two billion additional people are either friends or relatives of those people. Also, people with disabilities control an aggregate annual income of more than $1 trillion in the United States.

The point is clear. We often judge too quickly. That is not what I took out of this. What surprised me is the following quote in the middle of the article: “How many times do you get the opportunity to be a global expert about a marketplace the size of China?” Donovan is referring to himself. That is true, disabled people seem to be indeed a marginal niche to many, but in reality it is a HUGE market. My question is – how many other markets do we ignore in a similar manner?

WHAT?! Faith in humanity is restored.

Something amazing happened. Perhaps, we come across miracles every day. Perhaps, our whole life is a miracle. Maybe miracles are created by those closest to us, but as tradition follows – we do not see what is closest. Something happened that astonished me today. It was far from me but it was astounding.

All of us are aware of the Egyptian crisis, am I not right? So not only are there the angry and violent people, who want to take Mubarak down, but there are also the pro-Mubarak forces. Surprisingly the crowd that supports Mubarak is the one which is armed with machetes and guns. That is in addition to behaving in a highly organized manner. Many conclude that this is undercover police. I don’t quite know enough to jump to conclusions.

This is just the setup to what happened. So a number of Muslim protesters assembled in the Tahrir Square for their routine prayer. That is when the pro-Mubarak forces decided to attack them. However, CHRISTIANS formed into a human shield around the praying people, allowing MUSLIMS to finish their prayer!

I know that we are all the same and that Christianity mandates that we must help one another but really THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN. And to see these courageous people protecting another group of people whose beliefs they do not share, simply out of niceness and solidarity – that is just wow! One of the comments I saw on the internet is: “faith in humans = restored.” Well said.

Sadly, this is more visible amidst all the killings and violence. I wish for all the victims of the revolt to rest in peace, царство им небесное, and I am truly thankful that through the darkness sometimes shines the light of what human nature is. It is unimaginably corrupt but at the same time it is capable of heroic deeds like no other.

To follow the story: http://makkah.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/christians-protecting-muslims-in-egypt-during-prayers/ It's a short one.

Generation of the Lost Potential

I am in the Generation of the Lost Potential. I admit it.

I am part of the generation which parasites on the opportunities it is blessed at birth and could do better as a whole. Should do better as a whole. But does not.

Upon birth, a child opens eyes to a world presenting it with a plethora of possibilities; let’s call them doors, to go through in life. As life progresses, doors inevitably close. While they do, new ones open. The choices we make, a little bit of luck, and our determination is what determines which doors will be open for us. I learned this from my parents a long time ago when I was at a pivoting point in my life trying to decide my future.

Unlike them, I am in the Generation of the Lost Potential.

Luck aside, the doors open or close depending on our directed effort or the luck of such. How much time do we invest in self-development? In self-development which would give us the most opportunities? The maximum of this time is the maximum of our potential.

Then why are people around me wasting so much of that time?? Why do I? Where does it go?

I will abbreviate it to Youtubook. There are many distractions, this is just a particular synthesis of the two very common ones.

The side-effect of the otherwise great and quintessential technological development. Oh, so many minutes are spent on it! Even this blog post has been interrupted a number of times. I am actually not as bad about controlling myself here as some others. However, those hours on Youtubook are taken from somewhere else. From hobbies. From yourself. From becoming someone better than what you are right now. From pursuing new interests.

My generation won’t be as successful. Won’t be as skillful. Won’t be as knowledgeable, because each one of us wastes an enormous amount of time on doing…well nothing. I give cheers to those who do not waste their time on these websites in excess. You guys are some of the few.

I do not have a decadence image in my head and I do believe many of us will succeed. Yet, for many Youtubook will stand in the way of success. For many, they could have done better without it.

Doing this blog post got me thinking. As a challenge for myself I will stop using Facebook and YouTube for two weeks. See what happens.

UPDATE [Feb. 07; 2011]: It has been much easier than I thought. At the end of two weeks I learned that letting go of these distractions is simply a matter of firmly deciding to let go. Nevertheless, so many things are now dependent on Facebook that I could not keep it up for the full two weeks. As project teams used Facebook to communicate and as different events from organizations I belong to were updated on Facebook, it was impossible for me to stay away completely or I'd miss important information. Seems like Facebook has integrated itself firmly into the fabric of communications in our society as a whole.

UPDATE [Apr. 26; 2011]: Discussed the notion of this post with my mother and found out that every generation can be in a way labelled as one that loses potential. Things get achieved but we do not judge on how much was achieved - we judge on how much could have been achieved without certain negative factors, a number unknown but greater that what the reality was. The difference now is that technology brought a. more distractions and b. more useless distractions (as in comparison to books, a distraction with great use).

Hello World.

These two words marked the start of one of the most fascinating internet sensations - Wikipedia.

Not being an internet sensation myself, I nevertheless stole this common phrase to greet everyone who had the misfortune of stumbling upon this page. Hello :)

Our bustling lives leave us increasingly less moments to stop and listen. To stop and appreciate ourselves, others, and life itself.* This thought has become cliché but yet many don’t really take that in. Some do. Some people try to seek windows amidst their multi-planar lives. They are seeking a window so they can sometimes take a breath of a fresh air, to remind them that they are living and that they aren’t just machines with a set of obligations and routines!

This is what my blog is for me. A window through which to breathe. An opportunity to record my stream of consciousness, to capture in small snippets the fluctuations of my mind. A momentary break before diving back into my life as a University Student.

* http://www.egodialogues.com/general/violinist-in-metro.php : this story illustrates EXACTLY what I’m talking about. Read it, it is interesting.

But for now,

Hello world.