June 2008
4 posts
False Lessons
I often hear people who are mad about a situation mutter something like “this is why I should have…” to themselves. This is more than okay, as long as it’s a valid lesson and not superstitious or unrelated to what happened.
Here’s an example:
Situation: You’re driving somewhere in a hurry and you remember hearing about a shortcut that you’ve never tried...
Curse Words. Curse Words?
Something that’s always bugged me is the existence of curse words. Who decided that certain words are bad words in the first place? Take a step back from the world for a second. Better yet, imagine an alien has come to ask you some questions about Earth. Try explaining curse words to the alien, go for it. The alien would never understand it, because it really doesn’t make any sense.
...
Shape of the Sky
Look up into the sky. It appears to be a great dome above our heads. It’s like a planetarium with all the stars painted against the ceiling of this dome.
Now think. This doesn’t make any sense, does it? We all know that space has no shape, and that’s exactly what we’re looking at. So why does it appear to so clearly be dome-shaped?
I have a few ideas as to what the reason...
It's a Small World
The world is shrinking. No, I don’t mean the size of the planet is literally getting smaller. I mean that places far away from each other are in contact with each other more than ever.
100 years ago, if someone told you they knew someone from Japan, you would expect an amazing story to explain it. They sailed across the whole world for months and months to do something important in Japan....
Importance of Companionship
I’ve found that one of the most important things in life is companionship. Talking to people (what a concept!) keeps us mentally healthy, and keeps things in perspective.
Have you ever found yourself asking someone for advice and then not taking it? It’s something we all do, and it’s because we have already pretty much made up our minds before we even ask. We just need to hear...