Random Thought #149

Have you ever said a word over and over and over again in your head? It seems like the more you say it, the stranger it sounds. I wonder why that is. Language is absurd. I think we should all just convert to selective telepathy.

Random Thought #148

What is a "thing"? Is it an object, an idea, a filler word? We use thing in so many different ways, it seems like thing doesn't really have a true definition, it changes depending on the context. Dictionary.com has an interesting definition "some entity, object, or creature that is not or cannot be specifically designated or precisely described". So thing is used in place of something we can't describe but we can't really explicitly describe thing so is thing a thing?

Random Thought #147

I have no idea why, but almost all of the ideas for this blog come to me in the shower. Strange huh!?

Random Thought #146

In the most recent book I've been reading "Define Universe and give two examples" by Barton Dahneke, I've already discovered someone who is eloquent enough with words to describe ideas that have been in my head for awhile so I thought I would use of them and put it here. One of the ideas put forth in this book is the concept of universal truth and the search involved with finding universal truth. The author describes 3 categories of learners.

1. One who doesn't know and realizes he or she doesn't know and wants to learn
2. One who doesn't know but thinks that he or she does and is not ready to learn
3. one who doesn't know and doesn't care

I thought that was a brilliant way of describing people's attitudes towards learning. It goes along with my post on Sci-Fi and how people approach new facts. What was also fascinating was that there is universal truth but people perceive the same set of facts differently based on their paradigm or system of beliefs which is formed based on previous experiences. We tend to gloss over items that fall in line with our paradigm but things that seem odd or different or difficult to understand are potentially items that are new to our paradigm or conflict with it and how we choose to encounter those objects largely shapes the future direction of that paradigm. If we fall into a category 1 learner, we recognize that this new fact doesn't fit with our paradigm and we're eager to understand why so that we can hopefully assimilate that new fact into our paradigm, thus expanding it and getting a bigger piece of the puzzle. If we are a category 2 or category 3 learning, we typically dismiss the new fact and our paradigm never changes, thus leaving us stagnant or perhaps even degrading our paradigm. Its quite an interesting book and although I've only started Chapter 2, I already highly recommend it to anyone who is curious.

Random Thought #145

I love Sci-Fi. For all the weirdness of aliens and strange worlds and gadgets, those who write about Science Fiction are truly visionaries and they leave their minds open to endless possibilities. I like this kind of thinking because it doesn't constrain the human potential and curiosity. It lets them roam free. Its interesting that many of the things that seem futuristic and impossible 50 years ago are now realities or soon will be. Think about Dick Tracy's watch or Captain Kirk's communicator? Pretty soon, we're gonna have computers built into our watches. Its the latest craze. Or consider it from this perspective. Everyone nowadays has a cell phone pretty much. Think just 150 years ago, if you showed someone a cell phone, they would think its some sort of witchcraft or sorcery or magic. Shoot, you might have been killed for playing with dark magic. If we never let our minds expand and play freely, we'll never make any kinds of new discoveries or learn anything. If there is something I don't understand or can't comprehend, I take the approach, that its possible and I just don't know how to do it yet and I want to learn how. Its so much more liberating and exciting and you never run out of things to learn or random thoughts ;)

Random Thought #144

Alone. I've had a couple of life experiences recently which have opened my eyes. Its quite amazing how hard it is to truly understand a concept until you've experienced it. People can describe a concept to you or rationalize theories but until you actually experience it, you never really know and understand. This principle was enforced with much deeper effect upon me as it applies to a couple of principles of the gospel. President Monson has repeatedly asked us to render service to our brothers and sisters. He tells many stories from his life when he has done so and made a difference in someone's life. He always seems to have a story about a widow as well. How many of us consciously think about the widows in our ward? Do we even know who they are? I know I never really considered it. Both of my grandpas have passed away within the last two years leaving both of my grandmas as widows. The concept never hit home until it happened to "me". I think to myself, who is going to look after them? Who will visit them? It must be so hard and so lonely for them. It brought me to an awareness but it still didn't happen directly to "me". Right now, my family is half way across the world and I am alone and will be for a couple of months. I am alone. Now I have a happy reunion to look forward to but it "in a way" happened to "me". I now know what it feels like to be alone. It is sad, lonely, scary, and at times miserable. I can only imagine how a widow must feel, especially not knowing when the separation will end. It must be even worse for those who don't have the gospel in their lives. It makes you appreciate the sealing power so so so so so so so much more. It makes you thank Heavenly Father for families, for sealings, for our eternal nature. When the scriptures refer to wailing and gnashing of teeth, imagine being alone for eternity. I think wailing and gnashing of teeth is putting it mildly. There are even reality TV shows now where people go out on a deserted island and try to survive on their own. They go absolutely bonkers. We need interaction, to be social, to have someone. I can't say as though I've flipped overnight and am going to go and find and visit all of the widows of my ward but I thank Heavenly Father for giving me this revelation and this experience when I was ready for it. It gives me a glimpse of what I still need to learn and who I need to become.

Random Thought #143

I love people who buck the trend, break the mold, and think outside the box. The inventor shown in this video is one of those kind of people and his invention is quite amusing and fun to play with. I especially think its interesting because I'm an IT guy. I hope you guys find it enjoyable too. http://www.ted.com/talks/jay_silver_hack_a_banana_make_a_keyboard.html