Conundrums

[Typhoid]

Originally Posted by Neo

Carlin has a new book out btw.

Whats it called? And why havent I heard of it yet?

I have his other two. I need three....to have the perfect Carlin Trifecta.


And im just curious....but in the Bible doesnt it say "Thou shalt not pray to graven images"? Because i remmeber when i was at my friends funeral, most of the images were graven. Lets see, you have the numerous dying or dead jesus pictures on the cross.

Just thought I'd ask.

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

Pride is humanity’s ultimate double edged sword. Where would we be without pride? We take pride in ourselves, pride in our brethren, and pride in our homelands. It gives us the strength to stand up for what we believe in, and what makes us get up again if we’ve been kicked down. You can take everything away from a man: his freedom, his family, and his possessions…but you cannot take his pride. On the other hand, pride is probably the root of most every great problem in the world.

Speaking of pride I could make the argument that every action we take is inherently selfish in nature. Helping others in need may seem like a selfless act, but we have to remember that we do those things because it makes us feel good. It makes us feel good to know that we have helped someone else. We wouldn't help people if it felt bad or somehow wrong. Even the act of self-sacrifice can be seen as selfishly motivated. Someone who is about to give their life feels good about what they're doing. They take some joy in knowing they will be remembered for having done something "noble." We do the things we do because of what it does to us on the inside. Why help an old lady cross the street? Because you value her life and don't want her to get injured. But why is that? Where does that wanting come from? It comes from a need to satisfy certain emotional desires, to know you are in the right. It's a subtle distinction but I think it's worth looking at.

[Vampyr]

I never new Neo was so wise.

You make me want to go read about quantum physics or something. You know, I'm a junior in high school and I still don't know what "quantum" actually means.

I plan on checking out a couple books when I return to school monday, though. I'd like to get something by Stephen Hawkings if I can find it, and a book on philosophy. I used to be really into philosophy, and I was actually into Zen a while back. It still fascinates me. I think knowledge is one of the traits of humanity that I value above nearly all others, except for Passion. Even Alexander so valued learning that he said he was more indebted to Aristotle for giving him knowledge this his father Philip for giving him life.

Originally Posted by Neo

Speaking of pride I could make the argument that every action we take is inherently selfish in nature. Helping others in need may seem like a selfless act, but we have to remember that we do those things because it makes us feel good. It makes us feel good to know that we have helped someone else. We wouldn't help people if it felt bad or somehow wrong. Even the act of self-sacrifice can be seen as selfishly motivated. Someone who is about to give their life feels good about what they're doing. They take some joy in knowing they will be remembered for having done something "noble." We do the things we do because of what it does to us on the inside. Why help an old lady cross the street? Because you value her life and don't want her to get injured. But why is that? Where does that wanting come from? It comes from a need to satisfy certain emotional desires, to know you are in the right. It's a subtle distinction but I think it's worth looking at.

I was actually thinking of that exact same thing the other day. I dont remember what the context was, or why I was thinking about it, but I remember coming to the conclusion that every single human is selfish in every single act that they perform. Why doesnt a scientist study his field so vigorously? Maybe he just wants to be famous, or perhaps it out of pure irresistable curiosity. But even then there is some part of the mind that wants to be recognized for their work, and if you look at it from a different perspective, is the scientist's curiosity selfish in the fact he wants to take nature's secrets for himself?

It reminds me of a story I read once by Flannery O' Conner, titled "Revelation." It was a short story, and the main character was a robust Christain woman who always tried to act cheerful, she volunteered at the church, he did community service, and when she was done with it all, she thought that was what would get her into Heaven. All of those good deeds were done out of pure selfishness, but she truely thought she was being a good person.

I won't ruin the ending, but she gets a real eye opener.

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

You know, I'm a junior in high school and I still don't know what "quantum" actually means.

Quantum just refers to the fact that light is "quantized," that is it comes in discrete packets or lumps with specific energies determined by its wavelength. Similary the energy levels of an atom are quantized and can only have specific values. If an atom is bombarded with the wrong frequency then it won't respond at all, it has to match one of the energy levels.

Why doesnt a scientist study his field so vigorously?

For me it comes from a burning desire to know how things work.