the new blog entails explosions, wonders, fascinations, and amazements beyond your imagination and mine. it will take you over the highest mountains, under the deepest seas, through the thickest jungles, and around the largest equator (there’s only one on this planet).

Unfortunately, it will not take you outside this planet. If you are disappointed, please consult the non-existent suggestions box. Then consult the back button. If that didn’t work, you can at least click on this link. I cannot guarantee your satisfaction. Only your safety.

why?

Because the name is consistent with other online identities I have, and poohlosophy by the day is sounding more and more……kiddish? I have nothing against fuzzy cuteness kiddyness, but things are about to get serious …… very serious. …. . . . .. . . just kidding. maybe.

If you are interested in the domain name shoot me an email or something. I’m going to charge 0.00$. International buyers, please compute the exchange rate before buying.

This is a green sun:

the pohtosynthesis is destroying me!!!!!!

from http://www.freeimages.co.uk/
it created plants by inspiring photosynthesis in algae.
Algae comes from Algae-ria.
Algeria is located in Africa.
WHich receives its source of light from the sun.
But not the green sun, which is different.
Just like me and you are different.
Do you have any questions?
Because I don’t.
Or do I?
Did you just ask me a question?
Because I didn’t.

…. But the truth is …. . . . … I did.

.
.
How strange.

Please do not lament the disappearance of posts from this blog. They are not lost in cyberspace, they will simply show up somewhere else.

1. Recent research is affirming that barefoot running reduces injuries, improves position, and is just overall better (and more natural). However, simply going barefoot can be a painful and unreliable way to traverse both urban and nature grounds. A strap-fit simple sandal with a thin but protective sole could solve the problem. It protects the feet and allows the wearer to run and be almost barefoot.

2. A lot of society’s problems arise from people’s character, morals, philosophy, and human nature. A class can be introduced in high school along these lines. Instead of lecture, it should be a small group discussion format with insightful, inspiring, or thoughtful readings or films as homework. It will involve a wide range of topics including: what one sees as wrong in the world, meaning of things we do in life, happiness and fulfillment and what makes it, complex issues and how it can have multiple perspectives, how and why people think differently, what is creativity, reasoning and cognitive fallacies. Are the things we are learning in school the most important things to learn? Who knows, it might turn out like dare or sex-ed but it’s still worth a try.

3. Not sure if mouses (not the rodent, the clicker) will be around for long, but they aren’t too ergonomic. By default the human hand’s palm isn’t parallel with the ground/table, it’s angled so the thumb is pointing almost upwards. A redesigned mouse like that feels better and reduces injury. Though touch screen should be the true future. (and “touch space” after that)

4. Three categories of trash cans: recyclable goods (aluminum, plastic, paper, etc.), decomposable goods (usually food items, banana peels, etc.), and the other baddies (batteries and electronics, rubber(?), nasty substances, styrofoam, etc). The decomposables, like the recyclables, can be put to good use (making fertilizer, or put somewhere in nature to rot in peace (is that actually a good idea?) ). They should be one big can subdivided, or at least separate, but in good proximity.

5. 3D modeling is sometimes used by pixar to make its films and game developers to create the landscapes and characters. However, it’s terribly tedious, and unlike programming, not as enjoyable (CS folks, correct me?). There must be a way to develop programs to automate more of this process, and make it simpler so artistic minds can work on artistic things. But then again, automation eliminates jobs, so what do we choose?

If you miss pictures please comment. I’m no longer just sticking one or few in each post.

So please hang in anticipation until something happens.

oh the ridiculous lengths taken to get yourself out of a hole

No, I am not under 10 and I am not female. I was initially uninterested in it because of the child-like vibe it gave. But after watching a while its friendly playful atmosphere got to me. The characters are good, the stories are fun, and it’s funny. But I’m talking about its main film releases plus the new adventures of winnie the pooh TV series. The other stuff is definitely for toddlers or children.

if you climb trees though, you would know live branches don't usually snap like that

It’s poohlosophy because it’s philosophy with a twist. Ancient/classical/modern/postmodern philosophy talks or thinks much without meaning much. It’s set up like a real academic discipline with the terms and structure, but adds in vagueness, winding-long writings in archaic language, and uncertainty. It also cares nothing for people or morality. In general, it’s not very fun, and hard to get into. Yet the essence of philosophy, of intellectual inquiry and thoughtfulness, is important for every person. We need a social life, an active (physical) life, but also a mental kind of life.

It might suit you to know I was originally considering “poolosophy” also.

Morpheus: "WARNING: Blogness lays ahead. Take the red-err-quartz pill and I will show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes" Neo: "I'm a poohlosopher!"

¢ 1: Everyone can be a philosopher. Well, maybe not in formal philosophy with its terms, logic, and books, but in citizen philosophy with intriguing dialogues and curious questioning. Think into things you’ve overlooked or taken as given and ponder thoughts with passion. So that you can be informed, moral, and have righteous character. But that’s not the main reason:

¢ 2: Be thoughtful because it’s fun. Because you love life. Explore and love life’s hidden mental dimensions, because if you only take life on the surface level it can be flat and dull. But life really is deep and full if you delve into its hidden places and explore its lofty nooks. Don’t underestimate life or drift it by, because if you think little of life it will give you little back. Carpe Diem, seize the day, believe and seek the depth and richness beyond what you imagine of it so that love, not apathy will be your company.

My last 2 cents spent I am now a free man, wandering the galaxies looking for the elusive path I have not yet taken.

Life is beautiful. Remember that.

Image credit: wikimedia commons

It’s something akin to forced gratefulness and goodness to other people. If someone does you a favor you’re supposed to return it in some way, like giving a gift or taking them out to eat. But when you offer someone a gift, he/she’s supposed to reject it several times, and then receive it. Similarly with being invited to eat. But everyone will fight to pay the bill. I remember when my dad’s two siblings’ families went to eat with us things got tense near the end of the meal, and finally someone excused herself “to the bathroom” and took the chance to pay the bill. This is not good because then the two other families are now in debt to the one who paid the bill and must return the favor some time.

True, it all looks good on the surface. Rejecting that last cheesecake slice looks humble and considerate, but inside the motives may be different. The person offering it might actually want it, and is expecting you to reject it. Polite, but not nice. When visiting someone’s house they are expected to treat you well, but you’re supposed to look grateful and uneasy of accepting their goodwill. You’re also supposed to do the same when they visit you. When someone does you a favor they actually expect you to return it somehow, even if they’re rejecting your offer to take them out to an expensive restaurant. Keep offering, and they might accept. But sometimes it’s real. I, for example, don’t like getting expensive gifts or eating someone else’s portions. But others might interpret it as politeness and battle me in the game of courtesy.

Unlike Japan, there are no rules I'm aware of regarding eye contact in China.

So what happens just don’t do any of this? When if you take a gift on the first offer? What if you don’t return the debt of favor? They’ll probably view you as ungrateful or even wretched. Knowing these the ins-and-outs of these social norms is also needed for building business relations and even casual acquaintances. As a result one strategy is to not meet too many new people so as to not worry about too many social relationships. But that stinks. Of course, it’s not uniform throughout China. It’s less intense in southern China, becoming milder in urban areas like Hong Kong, and real friendships may be exempt from these expectations. I’m sure in some settings it’s non-existent.

As a westerner some Chinese people may be aware that this cultural knowledge is not present in you. Some may not. Be honest: if you want to, say yes, if you don’t, say no. Don’t refuse everything because that won’t be interpreted well either. But don’t accept too much, and especially if a mere acquaintance starts offering you money. Their wheedling and cajoling may be convincing and insistent, but you’re white (or black, latino, etc.) and probably taller. You’re imposing enough to say “no” and mean it. As I said, this cultural artifact is getting weaker in the cities and perhaps overall. Chinese people who have lived in China and come to the states (or Europe, etc.) like the way of genuineness better. It might take a while to change though. When my parents first came to the states they were invited to a caucasian person’s house. We actually accepted. Lunch came around and he asked us if we wanted something to eat. We refused, and not surprisingly we didn’t get anything to eat. Then we starved it out the rest of the day.

Just like with drugs, say no to bad cultural customs; we can still be friends without it! Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

But I know only the basic level of this cultural tradition. There may be more. And I may be exaggerating it (because I REALLY didn’t like it while I was there). In other respects I like China: its people, its potential, its non-wasteful way of life (unlike affluent America). Perhaps it’s just that China’s culture being multi-millenia old, some cultural artifacts had time to refine and develop, and some had time to become really twisted.

But it’s always good to be able to make fun of your own cultural traditions, as in this video about eating sushi.

Credit for the 2nd image: http://aladylikeme08.blogspot.com/ but this person probably got it from somewhere on google.jp.

Forget dinner, there's a fight to be had! (movie: incredibles, source: ign)

æ¬ Emotion can be irrational.

We can say or do things we regret while controlled by the anger or hurt. That alone makes it worthwhile to stop in mid-track. But another thing to keep in mind is the other side is probably also under the emotion. What they say and do may not reflect their actual character, but how they are like when they are angry. When you’re aware the other side is mad with anger it’s actually easier for you to be composed and take in the crazy things they’re saying.

ø¬ You don’t have to win. In fact, winning is usually a bad thing.

If winning is when the other side gets shut up or runs away with disgust it only leads to the loser’s build up of negative emotion towards the winner. This makes future encounters less pleasant and the problem deeper. If you think to yourself “I don’t have to convince him/her, I don’t have to have the last word, and I don’t have to triumph with my point” it reduces a lot of stress on your part.

ƒ¬ Relationships are on the line.

Would you damage the relationship just to win an argument? But perhaps you feel injusticed from losing all the time, maybe you feel the other side needs a good lashing. But before you do it just remember any negative and harmful interaction (arguments) will take the relationship further down. It this is of value to you, you’ll regret lashing out afterwards.

å¬ Comprehension is low.

And the counterpoint, misunderstanding/misinterpretation is high. In the heat of it all the people involved are mentally close-doored, single-minded, angry, and perhaps hard of hearing too. But comprehension is key, as for dialogue. If both sides actually mutually comprehended each others feelings and viewpoints how much better would things go? Being aware of this fact should act as a natural silencer. Actually, comprehension is not valued in many arguments because they are just insult exchanges or verbal catharsis (emotional release is good, but not in the context of an argument).

œ¬ Getting your point(s) across is not the goal.

In fact, arguments drag on because each side has a list of points to put across, and comprehending the others points is not priority. Think, he/she doesn’t HAVE to get what I’m saying. I can gently explain it some other time when the heat is lower. There’s a greater chance of getting that point across then.

ï¬ Resolving the conflict behind the argument, not the argument, should be the focus.

The husband may argue with the wife about how terribly not-worth-it that purchase was, but the underlying conflict is the husband’s discontent with her perpetual unneeded spending and the wife’s grudge against him ignoring the family and her. Arguments may surface in the attempt to treat these underlying conflicts, but they don’t do it justice, especially when people are unable to speak of their exact issue, but rather in general out of bad emotion springing from the issue.

But resolving the conflict may not come from one sitting, and most likely not from arguments. But don’t get me wrong, I still think talking things out is good. Just make sure you do it in a good way. Other than that, forgiving the other side and building some lost relationship will help too. Or laying aside the conflict for friendship (note: plain disagreement is not conflict). Or sometimes time and forgiveness is the best go.

In many fiction worlds a pair will have one or more intense arguments before fatalistically falling in love later

But as the saying goes, easier said than done. On a helpful ending, here’s something I got a while back which explains how to handle arguments better than I can.

I knew it! electrons were happy, protons were sad.

1) It’s not about getting what you want.

A dream vacation, success, the car of envy, we often don’t know what we want to be happy. The 5 year old cries for the lollipop, but you know this only satisfies temporarily. Defining happiness “I need this to be happy” or “Happiness is when these things happen” you will deprive yourself of it. You don’t actually NEED anything to be happy. Satisfying our desires does just that–it satisfies the desire. Instead, happiness is about satisfying the soul.

2) It’s not about being rich or having a lot of stuff.

American is the land of the dream, the land of 2 cars, 2 kids, 2 houses. Yet why are people depressed and suicide rates lower in poorer nations? Property and ownership isn’t a very happy philosophy. In fact it could add more worries to your life. Carrying around a lot of desires isn’t good heart health either.

3) It’s not about how people see you.

Having friends is important, but not the opinions of thousands who will never interact with you. Makeup, clothing, brand names, hairstyles may improve our self-image, but again it’s the interaction that matters. On the other hand, being too concerned about one’s appearance or social status can pile more concerns on a life already filled with them.

4) It’s not about having no problems.

As a matter of a fact, some problems can be healthy. If everything’s flatly A-OK and life is about the pursuit of pleasure people will probably be pretty miserable. Having some purpose or doing something meaningful will add to your life. The spice of life keeps you alert and appreciative of the good times when they come.

5) It’s not about you.

When you’re the most important thing in your life it becomes sadder. For some reason human beings are just defined to be greater than ourselves, finding happiness in others and goodness beyond.

Of course despite all we'll find ourselves unhappy at times. But that's nothing to be afraid of, we'll go out and greet it face to face!

So what does influence happiness?

Fullness- Doing meaningful things throughout the day, french frying on the potato couch not included. It could be physical, like playing outside or work, or mental, like creating stories or imagination.
Community- Or rather being with people in a relational way. A unified loving family could be community, a group of close friends could be community, an entire village could be community, or all the above. Basically it’s being together with a group of people you know, playing together, working together, endeavoring through life together.
Disposition- This is about being not easily troubled and holding less worries to your heart. If you don’t take life too seriously (in a good way), it can’t hurt you as bad. Being too intent on worries, goals, events, money, and expectations can be stressful. Things that are and things that happen do not necessarily HAVE to be unhappy. Often times we define our unhappiness by thinking we are unhappy. Be carefree, and mind more of the good things of life. Ignorance is bliss only when you can’t overcome what you once ignored.
Optimism- A slight [unneeded?] distinction from the above, this refers to resilience from one’s woes and a general internal mentality. It’s about keeping your head up because you can and want to do it despite what everything around you is telling. And a good sense of humor is always uplifting.
Meaning- The iconic philosophical question dealt many times before, “What’s the meaning of life?” I won’t answer it, but whatever it is, it’s important. But the thing is, though it’s not the same thing for everyone, there seems to be some universal truth to the whole meaning question. Helping people, having a purpose, doing good, what you think about the world, about life, just like caring about things that don’t matter is stressful, caring about things that do matter enriches one’s life.

post note: Actually I would prefer the term ‘joy’ to ‘happiness’ because it better expresses its mentality and mind. Maybe ‘happiness’ has just been used too much in too many contexts.

- A friend who cares and who’s nice and a good friend.
- A boss’ goals are results, deadlines, and performance, but he neglects kindness, humility, and treating workers right.
- Whether businesses care if their products or services harm customers or degrades their life in some way.
- Caring about justice, people’s feelings, honesty….
- Political parties being interested in power and public image to maintain the power, but no heart and no love for the people’s actual well being.
- Being compassionate on people who need help, such as the troubles in 3rd world nations.
- Not being a jerk on the anonymous internet.

In this topic I am not arguing God, his existence or role. I am only arguing the existence and relevance of morality. I think every human being wants to do and be good, and even those who feel they’ve gone beyond that are aware of what they’ve done or become, and still wish to be good somehow. But morality has become marginalized and repulsified. Why?

Ok if you put it that way, how can anyone say no?

Answering for why it’s become marginalized is complex, but most likely because life is filled with so many other concerns morality loses importance. Ask children in Africa or India. To them their character is part of their lifestyle. The things you value and who you are is a priority in life while money, careers, laws, and materiality aren’t bothering you (ok, this is a generalization, and probably happens in certain individuals in certain areas but hey remember my last post about assuming things to trim down the conversation?). But also because human nature is easily turned to ignorance toward morality when it has to fend for itself. Selfishness, greed, and plain apathy caused by having to care for too many other things throw morality into the back corner.

The second part has a more elaborate response. Why are we repulsed toward morality (a generalization, not everyone is repulsed)? Now some of you may have been disagreeing with my definition of morality and I’ve kept you silenced till now. I realize that when some people think of morality, they think of gay rights issues, the abortion question, refraining from drunkenness, and such. But I argue that this IS NOT morality, but rather ethics. Ethics I would define, relates to decisions on moral issues in technology, politics, law, or economics. Breaking a stop sign (not literally), stem cell research, parking in the wrong spot, how much money to give to organizations, and such such. Ethics is usually tied up with politics and caused by situations unique to a modern era of technology. Sometimes the right thing to do can be unclear or unintuitive. And then there’s confusing morals with dumb rules like ‘Don’t run’ ‘Don’t talk’ ‘No hats allowed’ ‘You must eat x amount of greens’. Man-made rules may attempt to reflect morality, but they are not the natural principles themselves.

Besides seeing morality as ethics, some people may dislike morality because their view of it is in what it restricts. I want to have fun, drink beer, flirt off, break rules, etc. etc. True there are cases where keeping your morals may oblige you to refrain from doing something you want to do (which none of the above are those cases), but this side of it has been greatly exaggerated. Morality isn’t about taking away freedom or fun. It’s about living life in a good way which ultimately makes you more, not less human. I think a lot of the animosity toward morality comes through one’s upbringing: people, authority, parents, or whoever talks about being good, doing this, not doing that in a harsh threatening way. Then you think being good isn’t a good thing, it’s something you have to force yourself when you don’t want to. When anything’s pushed up your face the wrong way too long you will get sick of it.

"No! I don't wanna be good! I DON'T WANNA BE GOOD!!"

Now I know I didn’t get specific on this subject too much. There are quite a few tricky situations that would be hard to make a call on. But still I think morality isn’t about arbitrating decisions, but a up-welling desire from inside to be good.

3 notes:
1. yes i didn’t define ethics very well.
2. “Morality” tastes a bit unflavory especially after i used it so many times. Perhaps a new word will do? Yes, questions stopped being questions since I’ve begun answering them, but you can still pretend the topic title is.
3. Image credits: http://www.christmas-graphics-plus.com/, uncyclopedia commons (i hope the little kid doesn’t mind, he’s a hero), www.gamesradar.com