Good Guys Finishing Last?
I feel like that’s all I ever hear, but what I never hear is how the good guy ended up with the girl of his dreams. Anybody have any advice for the good guy who can’t seem to get the good girl?
Inside The Mind Of Carpe Diem
RSS“Cities smash us together. Cities force us to interact and interaction is good. Human friction is very, very healthy.”
Jonah Lehrer, author of How Creativity Works, on why cities are the knowledge engines of the 21st century.
The Matrix Theory
So this weekend I watched the matrix trilogy for the very first time, and I thought it was very interesting. For those who may not know it, the Matrix is pretty much the life we see, when in fact it is a computer program, run by machines that have taken over the world, and us humans are actually harvested and are enslaved to provide the machines with energy (but we don’t realize this (well most of us don’t)). So what if things don’t appear as they are? What if our world and reality is fake, or even a dream, we haven’t realized or woken up from yet? Then what about our memories? Did our memories really happen or were they figments of our imagination? Would this “matrix” theory explain god? What if god was this programmer to our fake world? this would explain a lot. How do we differentiate between what is real, what is imaginary, and what we perceive to be real but is actually imaginary? Can we see, smell, taste, touch, and hear things that we perceive to be real, but actually are not? (this occurs in the movie)
Something to think about…
The Tipping Point
Hey guys, sorry I haven’t posted anything in a couple of days. I’ve been really busy lately with life (which is a good thing) so I’m almost finished reading this book The Tipping Point, and it is a really interesting book. I really recommend to anyone and everyone. Anyways, it talks about how and why trends begin in end, ranging from fashion trends to criminal trends (very cool). It discusses why and how shoes like Blues Clues and Sesame Street are so popular. And it talks about how different types of people effect trends. Again I totally recommend and if anybody is willing to read it, we can totally have a conversation about it afterwards. That’s all for now. Peace out!
Compared to a relatively quiet environment (50 decibels), a moderate level of ambient noise (70 dB) enhanced subjects’ performance on the creativity tasks, while a high level of noise (85 dB) hurt it. Modest background noise, the scientists explain, creates enough of a distraction to encourage people to think more imaginatively.
- Study to be taken with a grain of salt suggests crowded coffee shops might boost creativity. For a much more historically validated role of coffee houses in innovation, see Steven Johnson on where good ideas come from and how English cafés sparked the exchange of essential Renaissance ideas.
I like this. I definitely used this technique before and I wrote an awesome essay
Is skinny demoralizing?
I kind of agree with this. I don’t like going to the gym because I see guys benching over 200 pounds with like the perfect body, but I’m there doing like 30 pounds. I’m not overweight, but seeing guys like that kind of makes me feel bad about myself
Even if you have nothing to write, write and say so.
- Cicero (philosopher)
Technology vs. Imagination
Whatever happened to using the imagination? Nowadays, in my opinion, we as a people, myself including, spend massive amounts of time watching television, and I believe that it is effecting our imagination “muscles.” I remember when I was younger, me and my friends would go outside and play like a space adventure game, and every time it would be different because we always made it up on the spot. Instead, and more recently, it seems that kids are more likely to sit in front of the television all day, relying on technology for entertainment. Think about this…
1 movie (at the movie theatre) = ~1:30 - 2:30 hours of entertainment = ~$11 per movie ticket (where I live, it may be different for others)
1 video game = ~30hrs (most games. ~8 hrs if just campaign, but more if multiplier is included) = $20 - $60 a game (depending on how recent it came out)
1 book = ~8-12+ hours = >$30 (usually)
playing outside with friends = hours upon hours of fun = free
It seems that the more we depart ourselves from the actual experience, we have to pay more, but in return are still less entertained.
Why has there, in more recent times, been such a detest for books? We enjoy the flashy lights, cool camera shots, and explosions of the movies instead of the “effects” our own brains can make, that could be just as cool, if not cooler, than the ones in the movies.
Reading and using the imagination has countless benefits for the brain (the only consequence may just be from reading in the dark)
Something to think about…
Change is not a bolt of lightning that arrives with a zap. It is a bridge built brick by brick, every day, with sweat and humility and slips. It is hard work, and slow work, but it can be thrilling to watch it take shape.
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Thoughtful, moving piece by Sarah Hepola on her long struggle to quit drinking, showing that, like innovation, personal change is a matter of gradual revision and rewiring, not strokes of epiphany.
Body trends
I find it interesting to think about what was considered “hot” in the past and what is considered “hot” now.
For example:
Did you know that being fat and pale used to be the “in” thing? Being fat meant that you were wealthy and could afford food and paleness meant that you were wealthy because you didn’t need to work outside in the fields all day.
Nowadays:
If your wealthy it means that you have more time to be outside and tan, workout, and be fit.
So when did this change occur?
Interesting to think about…
About Inside The Mind Of Carpe Diem
My life, my thoughts and feelings, my insights and opinions, quotes, sayings, whatever. The possibilities are endless.
