I just finished watching a documentary called "Torture: America's Dirty Business," created by Channel 4 (UK). The illegal detentions and torture conducted during the Bush/Cheney years were abhorrent.
War is one thing, but torture is another. It is true that war causes more suffering to more people than torture. War is often evil, as well. But in the case of torture, the moral dilemma is clear and striking. In war, some things are necessary, but there is no necessity to torture a prisoner. There are no belligerents in a secure prison. A prisoner is powerless to resist. He cannot harm anyone. During the period of a prisoner's confinement, the State is responsible for his care. It is wicked for the State to inflict pain and suffering upon a helpless prisoner. This is not the way to gain support and influence people. Those who cannot see why torture is evil have a difficulty in grasping the difference between right and wrong.
The powers of the West cannot sink to the level of their enemies. We have a higher standard of conduct than those that we battle. When our enemies commit evil, it marks them for what they are. There is a spiritual cost to committing evil, and the cost is very high indeed. "Winning at any cost" is a bad business, because so many costs are hidden and difficult to appreciate. Torture one person, and a hundred new enemies are made, and some of these enemies might have been our allies, or at the very least remained neutral, if we had kept to the path of righteousness. Without a strict code of ethics, the distinction between who is good and who is evil is diminished. The torturer loses the support of good people by committing torture. It is more valuable to retain the good opinion of good people than to seek short-term gain through underhanded means.
From a practical standpoint (if such a consideration is even worth discussing), torture is an ineffective method of obtaining information. A person undergoing torture will say anything at all that their captor wants to hear. But that fine point pales in comparison to the ethical question.
I am pleased that Obama has reaffirmed America's opposition to human rights abuses. Foreigners should be aware that the majority of Americans disapprove of the abuses that were allowed to occur under the Bush/Cheney Administration. Such abuses proved counter-productive to American interests in every way imaginable.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
I Love Marmite
Derived from yeast and loaded with B vitamins, Marmite is a salty black spread that is popular in the UK. I became acquainted with Marmite through a similar product known as Vegemite, which is popular in Australia. Many Americans such as myself were introduced to Vegemite by the 1981 hit song "Down Under" by Men At Work, in which the singer mentions being given a Vegemite sandwich. I don't believe I ever actually tried Vegemite. I started researching it online and soon discovered a competing product named Marmite.
Marmite seems more nutritious than Vegemite, because Marmite has vitamin B-12, which is difficult to obtain in diet except through meat and dairy. I think the "Vege-" in "Vegemite" is meant to boast of its purer vegetable base. Marmite, despite claiming to be 100% vegetarian, may derive its B12 from animal sources, which is all right by me, as I'm an omnivore*. As for the New Zealand version of Marmite, I'm dissuaded by reports that it is sweeter and less flavorful. The more flavor, the better, as far as I'm concerned. Another selling point for me is that the UK version of Marmite is gluten-free. Gluten seems to cause my partner migraine headaches, so I try to avoid purchasing foods that contain it. About .5 to 1 per cent of the U.S. population suffer from a similar wheat allergy.
Both Marmite and Vegemite are difficult to obtain in the U.S., but it is not impossible. I made an order with some friends who were traveling to the city, and they bought three 120g jars of Marmite for me from one of the gourmet stores. Yum and double yum! For a quick snack, nothing's better than a slice of whole grain toast slathered with "black gold." Peanut butter is fine and dandy, but Marmite's the thing if you have a craving for savory food. I suggest buying as big a jar as possible, because the bigger jars have a cheaper per-gram price, and nothing's sadder than reaching the end of a jar of Marmite.
* Marmite's source of B-12, which is not found in yeast extract, is undisclosed on the packaging. If I were a vegetarian, I wouldn't trust tags like "100% vegetarian."
Marmite seems more nutritious than Vegemite, because Marmite has vitamin B-12, which is difficult to obtain in diet except through meat and dairy. I think the "Vege-" in "Vegemite" is meant to boast of its purer vegetable base. Marmite, despite claiming to be 100% vegetarian, may derive its B12 from animal sources, which is all right by me, as I'm an omnivore*. As for the New Zealand version of Marmite, I'm dissuaded by reports that it is sweeter and less flavorful. The more flavor, the better, as far as I'm concerned. Another selling point for me is that the UK version of Marmite is gluten-free. Gluten seems to cause my partner migraine headaches, so I try to avoid purchasing foods that contain it. About .5 to 1 per cent of the U.S. population suffer from a similar wheat allergy.
Both Marmite and Vegemite are difficult to obtain in the U.S., but it is not impossible. I made an order with some friends who were traveling to the city, and they bought three 120g jars of Marmite for me from one of the gourmet stores. Yum and double yum! For a quick snack, nothing's better than a slice of whole grain toast slathered with "black gold." Peanut butter is fine and dandy, but Marmite's the thing if you have a craving for savory food. I suggest buying as big a jar as possible, because the bigger jars have a cheaper per-gram price, and nothing's sadder than reaching the end of a jar of Marmite.
* Marmite's source of B-12, which is not found in yeast extract, is undisclosed on the packaging. If I were a vegetarian, I wouldn't trust tags like "100% vegetarian."
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
How to Ace a Test
My recent exam was challenging, though I slew worse dragons in my time. The questions varied in difficulty. Some were easy, but others were ferocious, fire-breathing monsters. I had feared that being out of practice for so long would tell against me, but my old skills are undiminished. I scored in the ninety-ninth percentile. It was a pleasant surprise.
Over the years, I have developed an effective strategy concerning tests. I will share as much as I can here. I will begin with general recommendations and then proceed to specific studying and test-taking skills.
An interest in how things work--the how and why--helps enormously in every aspect of life. Without intellectual curiosity, one would be at a severe disadvantage regardless of occupation. Above all else, be humble. Not knowing something is no reason for shame, but represents an opportunity instead. I respect those who know something I do not, and like them even better if they are willing to share their knowledge with me. Those who are unwilling to share knowledge are like misers. They may lack a certain sense of social responsibility. I have known senior computer programmers who horded their secrets, out of concern for job security. I was a senior computer programmer as well, and I shared my secrets with anyone who asked, because my confidence was based upon my competence, not my knowledge. Knowledge is for sharing, not hording. But some view the workplace in a Darwinian light, rather than a team where cooperation can be of mutual benefit.
A student will face many tests in school and they will determine his success or failure. It is important to use an effective strategy for studying and for test-taking. Here is mine. Make of it what you will. I approach an important test with the utmost gravity, like an upcoming battle where I am the general. I accept implicitly that the test is fair and the professor, teacher or testing organization is fair. Usually, in my experience, they are. All accountability is mine alone. The buck stops here. The possibilities are life (pass) or death (fail). Either alternative lies within my grasp. If I feel like I cannot pass an exam, then I avoid it. A wise general chooses his battles. War is serious business. Never wage war unprepared. Defeat demoralizes. Success invigorates and leads to future success. When necessary, retreat. When prepared, engage.
The more time you have to prepare, the better. If the test-giver permits the option of postponing a test, and if you feel like you need more time to prepare, then take advantage of the offer. Never be in a hurry to get the test over with. Failing to make the necessary score is a tactical defeat, which is bad for the morale of your troops.
There is no getting around studying, which consists of memorization and practice. The higher the quality of your studying material, the better. In my case, I had an adequate study guide, not the best, but adequate. I focused upon my weak areas and crammed. Memorization is absolutely required in order to pass the vast majority of tests. I read important passages over and over, day after day, until I knew what they said without reading them, which is the final goal. If you can place your hand over a page, and without looking at it, recite the relevant facts, then and only then have you learned. If you examine the page and discover you missed a few details, focus upon those details until they, too, are mastered.
There is a balancing act involved with studying. Don't overdo it, or you may risk burnout. One reaches a certain point of saturation, after which one encounters the point of diminishing returns. The brain requires a break. Ideally, the break involves a catnap. In sleep, the mind processes the information which has been absorbed during the day. Irrelevant information is discarded, while important facts, like what you are studying, are assimilated. For this reason, you must attach grave importance to the study material, and possess a keen desire to have it inside your mind. The desire is half the battle.
I call the desire to succeed the will to power. "The will to power will overpower" can even be expressed as a formula: will^power (will / power). Some employ this philosophy to improper ends, such as domination over others. The proper end is competence and performance. The idea is to perform to the utmost, not to be a cutthroat. Right-wingers see things differently, with their enthusiasm for social Darwinism.
Give yourself moderate rewards for studying, such as video games or favorite foods, but avoid all inebriating substances. Strict sobriety is my rule, at least while preparing for a test. Exercise relieves stress in an effective manner. Walking is best to stimulate circulation, which feeds the brain, but I like to do push-ups as well.
Good nutrition (in particular, all of the B vitamins--I love Marmite) assists brain functioning. Eat well and often. Never allow hunger or any other discomfort to interfere with studying. In fact, nothing must interfere with studying, not even the social demands of friends. Prior to a test, one should enter monastic mode. Social engagements serve as a distraction. Your focus must remain upon crunching logic and memorizing vast amounts of data. Friends can wait. You will obtain better friends as a successful test-taker than as a failure. Besides, real friends will respect your dedication and discipline in making sacrifices in order to perform well. Those friends who do not understand the necessity are unworthy.
In the week prior to the test, all decisions should be evaluated in light of whether they will help or hinder test performance. Get adequate sleep. If the test begins at 8:00 AM, then in the week prior, wake up by 6 AM every morning, and perform timed practice tests at 8:00 AM. It is crucial to be fully awake, alert and in optimum physical condition the moment the test begins.
A moderate level of caffeine--say, a cup of tea--is all right, but too much will hinder test performance. If you are addicted to caffeine, you had better take your usual dose in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Leave nothing to chance. If #2 pencils are required, bring five, already sharpened and ready to work. Research everything that will be necessary for the test: photo identification, money, or extra layers of clothing (if the test room is cold). Is there any danger of a traffic jam delaying your arrival to the test center? Give yourself plenty of time to arrive. If you get there too early, you can always remain in the car napping. That's right, napping. In the moments just prior to a test, napping is a better option than studying, because stamina is crucial, particularly for a lengthy test. If you spend too much time studying right before a test, your brain is likely to suffer fatigue, leading to careless mistakes. I have taken tests that last many hours, and stamina is important on such tests. Time pressure results in careless mistakes, if your energy levels are low.
The goal of a test-maker is to deceive the test-taker by placing choices on the test that will exploit a test-taker's uncertainty and gullibility. You must accept that the test-maker is a great liar. He is not your friend, but your enemy. He places choices on the test that seem appealing, but are false. You will defeat him for several reasons. First, your studying has prepared you. Second, you are confident, because you have studied, and you know that you know the answers. Third, you hold the test-maker in contempt. Why? Because it is very difficult, if not impossible to deceive you. You have practiced so many times on different practice tests that you have grown wise in the ways of the test-makers.
In cases where you know the answer, make your choice, and then double-check it to make sure that no other choice fits. Sometimes, there is a certain degree of correctness among two answers; one may seem to fit the context of a question, but the other really does fit in every way. After you have double-checked, move on. I am not in favor of double-checking at the end of a section, because the questions are cold by that time. I like to complete a question for good while it is warm and fresh in the mind. I don't like to go back and double-guess. That is a bad habit to get into, because first hunches are more often correct.
In cases where you do not know the answer, eliminate as many choices as possible, and then guess from among the remaining choices. If you can narrow down the selection to two choices, then you have a fifty per cent chance of choosing right. Here again, make your choice, double-check it, and move on.
Even where you feel uncertain, a vestige of factual information may exist somewhere in the memory--maybe from many years ago, maybe from a television show you saw when you were a child. In such a case, the brain selects the right answer immediately. You may feel doubt over whether you are right. But something in your gut seems to favor one answer. Go with it. Trust your instinct. Your memories may not be very strong, leading to doubt and confusion. You may feel tempted to second-guess yourself. Don't. Always favor your initial hunch unless you have a powerful reason to believe it was mistaken. You may smell a trap placed there by the test-maker. One of the choices may sound similar to something you have heard or seen before, but upon reflection, you understand it is actually quite different. In that case, avoid it.
Beware of wasting time, especially on the math questions. Take shortcuts. Rather than working out a problem in its entirety, I often guesstimate the correct answer. I may say, "oh, that should result in an amount of about so-and-so." Then I survey the choices. If there is a choice that approximates my estimation, and if the other choices are far from it, then there is no need for me to do anymore work. I make my choice and move on. Much time and energy can be saved this way. Conserve your resources for the really difficult problems, where the choices are too close to permit estimation. Work smarter, not harder. In this way, you are at less risk of running out of time.
Always answer every question. Leave nothing blank. Don't be demoralized by difficult questions, because it is likely that other people will have difficulty with them as well. You do not need to make a perfect score. You only have to do better than a certain percentage of the others. My perfectionist tendency led me to conclude that I had bombed the exam, because some of the questions were extremely challenging. Some of the material had not been covered at all in my study guide. On some questions, I was guessing without the benefit of eliminating any of the answers. Even so, I scored very high, because scores are computed relative to others, not relative to perfection.
It is good to have adrenaline flowing during a test. Some people complain of test anxiety. You should want to have anxiety. Don't fight it. Own it. You should be nervous. If you aren't, then you may not be viewing the test with sufficient respect and seriousness. Nervousness is always good, when engaging in high intensity intellectual competition. Serenity is for later, when you pass the test with flying colors. Remember: it is war. You must prevail.
Adrenaline helps with speed, accuracy, alertness, and general energy levels. However, adrenaline brings with it certain disadvantages. A calmer state is better for tackling complicated math problems. If you have learned to be efficient at test-taking, you will conserve time and energy for the tough problems and breeze past the easy ones. You must be able to slow down, think things through, and be calm and patient with the more difficult problems. Use the extra energy wisely. Don't allow all the energy to lead you into hasty and incorrect decisions.
Sometimes it is possible to take breaks during a long exam. During the test, once the brain is primed and the adrenaline is flowing, my advice is to just go straight through with a minimum of breaks. There is a real danger of fatigue from adrenaline, if the test-taking is prolonged by frequent interruptions. A break should be taken only to use the bathroom or get water or caffeine.
Those are some of the habits I have picked up over the years that have proven beneficial. The main thing is to be focused upon success. Different people may have different opinions about what works for them. But all have one thing in common, a focus upon the final result. Smaller details, such as recreation, relaxation, or socialization, must be held subservient to the overriding imperative, to do well at school.
I have not known many people to succeed who are not willing to study. But studying should not be unpleasant. If it is, then something is wrong. Studying is most efficient if it is approached with a positive attitude. Approach it as a game, a challenge, a contest. Let it be less like work and more like play.
Now I will not argue with anyone over the observation that memorization is less important than creativity, ethics, empathy, and other important traits. But memorization remains important. The ability to absorb vast amounts of facts assists in every profession under the sun. Even a prostitute will benefit from a good memory. Making good decisions requires factual information. Without facts, people rely upon prejudice and whim and are often wrong. Many mental abilities can be cultivated and enhanced through exercise, and studying is excellent exercise. Without exercise, the intellectual faculties decay. The brain fossilizes, which is a sad fate for a human being.
The anxiety and nervousness generated by a test are detrimental and unpleasant feelings, but this is intended. A test measures how well you cope with such negative feelings, giving an indication of how well you will perform when you assume the heavy responsibilities of a real job. School is a cakewalk compared to the work environment, where millions of dollars or even a human life may be at stake. A test sorts out who can cope best with such stress. Tests may seem unfair, because they are unpleasant, but what is a fair measurement of student competence? No better system has been devised to my knowledge. Tests are fair enough, as long as everyone is given a test of similar complexity and permitted adequate time and study materials to prepare.
Over the years, I have developed an effective strategy concerning tests. I will share as much as I can here. I will begin with general recommendations and then proceed to specific studying and test-taking skills.
An interest in how things work--the how and why--helps enormously in every aspect of life. Without intellectual curiosity, one would be at a severe disadvantage regardless of occupation. Above all else, be humble. Not knowing something is no reason for shame, but represents an opportunity instead. I respect those who know something I do not, and like them even better if they are willing to share their knowledge with me. Those who are unwilling to share knowledge are like misers. They may lack a certain sense of social responsibility. I have known senior computer programmers who horded their secrets, out of concern for job security. I was a senior computer programmer as well, and I shared my secrets with anyone who asked, because my confidence was based upon my competence, not my knowledge. Knowledge is for sharing, not hording. But some view the workplace in a Darwinian light, rather than a team where cooperation can be of mutual benefit.
A student will face many tests in school and they will determine his success or failure. It is important to use an effective strategy for studying and for test-taking. Here is mine. Make of it what you will. I approach an important test with the utmost gravity, like an upcoming battle where I am the general. I accept implicitly that the test is fair and the professor, teacher or testing organization is fair. Usually, in my experience, they are. All accountability is mine alone. The buck stops here. The possibilities are life (pass) or death (fail). Either alternative lies within my grasp. If I feel like I cannot pass an exam, then I avoid it. A wise general chooses his battles. War is serious business. Never wage war unprepared. Defeat demoralizes. Success invigorates and leads to future success. When necessary, retreat. When prepared, engage.
The more time you have to prepare, the better. If the test-giver permits the option of postponing a test, and if you feel like you need more time to prepare, then take advantage of the offer. Never be in a hurry to get the test over with. Failing to make the necessary score is a tactical defeat, which is bad for the morale of your troops.
There is no getting around studying, which consists of memorization and practice. The higher the quality of your studying material, the better. In my case, I had an adequate study guide, not the best, but adequate. I focused upon my weak areas and crammed. Memorization is absolutely required in order to pass the vast majority of tests. I read important passages over and over, day after day, until I knew what they said without reading them, which is the final goal. If you can place your hand over a page, and without looking at it, recite the relevant facts, then and only then have you learned. If you examine the page and discover you missed a few details, focus upon those details until they, too, are mastered.
There is a balancing act involved with studying. Don't overdo it, or you may risk burnout. One reaches a certain point of saturation, after which one encounters the point of diminishing returns. The brain requires a break. Ideally, the break involves a catnap. In sleep, the mind processes the information which has been absorbed during the day. Irrelevant information is discarded, while important facts, like what you are studying, are assimilated. For this reason, you must attach grave importance to the study material, and possess a keen desire to have it inside your mind. The desire is half the battle.
I call the desire to succeed the will to power. "The will to power will overpower" can even be expressed as a formula: will^power (will / power). Some employ this philosophy to improper ends, such as domination over others. The proper end is competence and performance. The idea is to perform to the utmost, not to be a cutthroat. Right-wingers see things differently, with their enthusiasm for social Darwinism.
Give yourself moderate rewards for studying, such as video games or favorite foods, but avoid all inebriating substances. Strict sobriety is my rule, at least while preparing for a test. Exercise relieves stress in an effective manner. Walking is best to stimulate circulation, which feeds the brain, but I like to do push-ups as well.
Good nutrition (in particular, all of the B vitamins--I love Marmite) assists brain functioning. Eat well and often. Never allow hunger or any other discomfort to interfere with studying. In fact, nothing must interfere with studying, not even the social demands of friends. Prior to a test, one should enter monastic mode. Social engagements serve as a distraction. Your focus must remain upon crunching logic and memorizing vast amounts of data. Friends can wait. You will obtain better friends as a successful test-taker than as a failure. Besides, real friends will respect your dedication and discipline in making sacrifices in order to perform well. Those friends who do not understand the necessity are unworthy.
In the week prior to the test, all decisions should be evaluated in light of whether they will help or hinder test performance. Get adequate sleep. If the test begins at 8:00 AM, then in the week prior, wake up by 6 AM every morning, and perform timed practice tests at 8:00 AM. It is crucial to be fully awake, alert and in optimum physical condition the moment the test begins.
A moderate level of caffeine--say, a cup of tea--is all right, but too much will hinder test performance. If you are addicted to caffeine, you had better take your usual dose in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Leave nothing to chance. If #2 pencils are required, bring five, already sharpened and ready to work. Research everything that will be necessary for the test: photo identification, money, or extra layers of clothing (if the test room is cold). Is there any danger of a traffic jam delaying your arrival to the test center? Give yourself plenty of time to arrive. If you get there too early, you can always remain in the car napping. That's right, napping. In the moments just prior to a test, napping is a better option than studying, because stamina is crucial, particularly for a lengthy test. If you spend too much time studying right before a test, your brain is likely to suffer fatigue, leading to careless mistakes. I have taken tests that last many hours, and stamina is important on such tests. Time pressure results in careless mistakes, if your energy levels are low.
The goal of a test-maker is to deceive the test-taker by placing choices on the test that will exploit a test-taker's uncertainty and gullibility. You must accept that the test-maker is a great liar. He is not your friend, but your enemy. He places choices on the test that seem appealing, but are false. You will defeat him for several reasons. First, your studying has prepared you. Second, you are confident, because you have studied, and you know that you know the answers. Third, you hold the test-maker in contempt. Why? Because it is very difficult, if not impossible to deceive you. You have practiced so many times on different practice tests that you have grown wise in the ways of the test-makers.
In cases where you know the answer, make your choice, and then double-check it to make sure that no other choice fits. Sometimes, there is a certain degree of correctness among two answers; one may seem to fit the context of a question, but the other really does fit in every way. After you have double-checked, move on. I am not in favor of double-checking at the end of a section, because the questions are cold by that time. I like to complete a question for good while it is warm and fresh in the mind. I don't like to go back and double-guess. That is a bad habit to get into, because first hunches are more often correct.
In cases where you do not know the answer, eliminate as many choices as possible, and then guess from among the remaining choices. If you can narrow down the selection to two choices, then you have a fifty per cent chance of choosing right. Here again, make your choice, double-check it, and move on.
Even where you feel uncertain, a vestige of factual information may exist somewhere in the memory--maybe from many years ago, maybe from a television show you saw when you were a child. In such a case, the brain selects the right answer immediately. You may feel doubt over whether you are right. But something in your gut seems to favor one answer. Go with it. Trust your instinct. Your memories may not be very strong, leading to doubt and confusion. You may feel tempted to second-guess yourself. Don't. Always favor your initial hunch unless you have a powerful reason to believe it was mistaken. You may smell a trap placed there by the test-maker. One of the choices may sound similar to something you have heard or seen before, but upon reflection, you understand it is actually quite different. In that case, avoid it.
Beware of wasting time, especially on the math questions. Take shortcuts. Rather than working out a problem in its entirety, I often guesstimate the correct answer. I may say, "oh, that should result in an amount of about so-and-so." Then I survey the choices. If there is a choice that approximates my estimation, and if the other choices are far from it, then there is no need for me to do anymore work. I make my choice and move on. Much time and energy can be saved this way. Conserve your resources for the really difficult problems, where the choices are too close to permit estimation. Work smarter, not harder. In this way, you are at less risk of running out of time.
Always answer every question. Leave nothing blank. Don't be demoralized by difficult questions, because it is likely that other people will have difficulty with them as well. You do not need to make a perfect score. You only have to do better than a certain percentage of the others. My perfectionist tendency led me to conclude that I had bombed the exam, because some of the questions were extremely challenging. Some of the material had not been covered at all in my study guide. On some questions, I was guessing without the benefit of eliminating any of the answers. Even so, I scored very high, because scores are computed relative to others, not relative to perfection.
It is good to have adrenaline flowing during a test. Some people complain of test anxiety. You should want to have anxiety. Don't fight it. Own it. You should be nervous. If you aren't, then you may not be viewing the test with sufficient respect and seriousness. Nervousness is always good, when engaging in high intensity intellectual competition. Serenity is for later, when you pass the test with flying colors. Remember: it is war. You must prevail.
Adrenaline helps with speed, accuracy, alertness, and general energy levels. However, adrenaline brings with it certain disadvantages. A calmer state is better for tackling complicated math problems. If you have learned to be efficient at test-taking, you will conserve time and energy for the tough problems and breeze past the easy ones. You must be able to slow down, think things through, and be calm and patient with the more difficult problems. Use the extra energy wisely. Don't allow all the energy to lead you into hasty and incorrect decisions.
Sometimes it is possible to take breaks during a long exam. During the test, once the brain is primed and the adrenaline is flowing, my advice is to just go straight through with a minimum of breaks. There is a real danger of fatigue from adrenaline, if the test-taking is prolonged by frequent interruptions. A break should be taken only to use the bathroom or get water or caffeine.
Those are some of the habits I have picked up over the years that have proven beneficial. The main thing is to be focused upon success. Different people may have different opinions about what works for them. But all have one thing in common, a focus upon the final result. Smaller details, such as recreation, relaxation, or socialization, must be held subservient to the overriding imperative, to do well at school.
I have not known many people to succeed who are not willing to study. But studying should not be unpleasant. If it is, then something is wrong. Studying is most efficient if it is approached with a positive attitude. Approach it as a game, a challenge, a contest. Let it be less like work and more like play.
Now I will not argue with anyone over the observation that memorization is less important than creativity, ethics, empathy, and other important traits. But memorization remains important. The ability to absorb vast amounts of facts assists in every profession under the sun. Even a prostitute will benefit from a good memory. Making good decisions requires factual information. Without facts, people rely upon prejudice and whim and are often wrong. Many mental abilities can be cultivated and enhanced through exercise, and studying is excellent exercise. Without exercise, the intellectual faculties decay. The brain fossilizes, which is a sad fate for a human being.
The anxiety and nervousness generated by a test are detrimental and unpleasant feelings, but this is intended. A test measures how well you cope with such negative feelings, giving an indication of how well you will perform when you assume the heavy responsibilities of a real job. School is a cakewalk compared to the work environment, where millions of dollars or even a human life may be at stake. A test sorts out who can cope best with such stress. Tests may seem unfair, because they are unpleasant, but what is a fair measurement of student competence? No better system has been devised to my knowledge. Tests are fair enough, as long as everyone is given a test of similar complexity and permitted adequate time and study materials to prepare.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Which If the Following...
I've been taking practice tests all week. In the "Reading Comprehension" section, a brief article on aromatherapy was given, followed by several questions to test reading comprehension, such as this lovely little jewel:
"Which if the following is a likely reason why some people choose aromatherapy as a type of treatment?"
If, indeed. If only test-takers could grade test-makers. And remember: 60 divided by 12 is 50%. And there are a thousand centimeters in a meter. I've been learning all kinds of wonderful things.
"Which if the following is a likely reason why some people choose aromatherapy as a type of treatment?"
If, indeed. If only test-takers could grade test-makers. And remember: 60 divided by 12 is 50%. And there are a thousand centimeters in a meter. I've been learning all kinds of wonderful things.
Vitamins
For a long time I have been in favor of vitamins, because I have imagined that they cause an increase in energy levels. But I want a moderate dose, not a mega-dose. My geology professor in college used to chew a tablet with 1500% the U.S. RDA of Vitamin C every day in order to bolster his immune system, until his dentist observed that the enamel of his molars was wearing away at an unanticipated rate for his age. In the case of vitamin A, too much of it is known to be toxic. Would you like to experience problems urinating? Too much calcium causes kidney stones. Too much iron causes problems as well, and the list goes on and on. For now, I purchase kids' vitamins, because their lower dosages offer less risk of toxicity. Besides, kids' vitamins taste better. Each morning, I take a chewable lion, tiger, bear, or elephant, a capsule of fish oil with omega-3 fatty acids, and prepare a quick breakfast of oatmeal.
Sometimes I forget to take my vitamin, and I don't notice any difference in the way I feel. Perhaps the vitamin fad is a bunch of nonsense after all. It may even be a harmful fad. Are we poisoning ourselves with toxic doses of vitamins and minerals? A great experiment has been unleashed upon an unsuspecting society by hucksters looking to make a profit.
Sometimes I forget to take my vitamin, and I don't notice any difference in the way I feel. Perhaps the vitamin fad is a bunch of nonsense after all. It may even be a harmful fad. Are we poisoning ourselves with toxic doses of vitamins and minerals? A great experiment has been unleashed upon an unsuspecting society by hucksters looking to make a profit.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Misprints
While grading a self-test today, I discovered the following errors in the answers.
1. Express 60/12 as a percentage.
(A) 0.5%
(B) 5%
(C) 50%
(D) 500%
The answer key said (C).
2. How many centimeters are in 56 meters?
(A) 56
(B) 560
(C) 5,600
(D) 56,000
The answer key said (D).
I am not sure what sort of boneheads are working as proofreaders at the publishing company these days, but factual information is difficult to come by even in mainstream newspapers, TV shows and magazines. A recent news article in "The Week" claimed that 60% of Americans feel like Sarah Palin is misrepresented by the media. That sounded odd, and I wondered whether it might be so until I saw the byline: Fox News.
1. Express 60/12 as a percentage.
(A) 0.5%
(B) 5%
(C) 50%
(D) 500%
The answer key said (C).
2. How many centimeters are in 56 meters?
(A) 56
(B) 560
(C) 5,600
(D) 56,000
The answer key said (D).
I am not sure what sort of boneheads are working as proofreaders at the publishing company these days, but factual information is difficult to come by even in mainstream newspapers, TV shows and magazines. A recent news article in "The Week" claimed that 60% of Americans feel like Sarah Palin is misrepresented by the media. That sounded odd, and I wondered whether it might be so until I saw the byline: Fox News.
Freedom Is...
Freedom is when you can tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
I believe that's a quote from R.A. Heinlein, from the Notebooks of Lazarus Long.
I believe that's a quote from R.A. Heinlein, from the Notebooks of Lazarus Long.
Friday, December 4, 2009
The African
I was checking out at Trader Joe's today, when I saw the cashier had left an open box of cookies for customers. I seldom pass up freebies. They were black chocolate cookies in the shape of stars, encrusted with tiny white sugar balls and simply delicious.
The cashier was a big black man with an accent that I couldn't place--either Carribean or African. He was most pleasant, the kind of person you would want to get to know better. After I paid for my groceries, I praised the cookies and asked how much they were. He said he'd find out. They were only $4 for a pound, so I bought a box, even though I don't usually make impulse purchases. As he rang me up, he spoke in a manner that was like a song. "There will be stars in your future, stars in your life tonight..." I interpreted that as a kind of mystic blessing. It was worth $4 just to hear his rich and melodious voice again. I suspect he could sell just about anything to anyone. I wonder whether there was a hidden joke--or even a hidden spell--in the particular choice of product.
The cookies are great. I'm having a second helping now. I love Trader Joe's. Always a good time. Always good prices and good food.
The cashier was a big black man with an accent that I couldn't place--either Carribean or African. He was most pleasant, the kind of person you would want to get to know better. After I paid for my groceries, I praised the cookies and asked how much they were. He said he'd find out. They were only $4 for a pound, so I bought a box, even though I don't usually make impulse purchases. As he rang me up, he spoke in a manner that was like a song. "There will be stars in your future, stars in your life tonight..." I interpreted that as a kind of mystic blessing. It was worth $4 just to hear his rich and melodious voice again. I suspect he could sell just about anything to anyone. I wonder whether there was a hidden joke--or even a hidden spell--in the particular choice of product.
The cookies are great. I'm having a second helping now. I love Trader Joe's. Always a good time. Always good prices and good food.
Monday, November 30, 2009
List of Gay Films
Wikipedia offers a great big list of gay-themed films here.
I find the list useful when searching for something new to watch, although I've begun to prefer shows that retain the same cast of characters. Recommended TV shows are Noah's Arc, Beautiful People, Queer as Folk (British and American version), Little Britain, Little Britain USA, and the first two seasons of Torchwood (the show went south in the third season, R.I.P.) Also worth a try is anything with Kathy Griffin and the Graham Norton Show. Peep Show occasionally works a gay theme into the plot as well, although none of the characters are gay.
I find the list useful when searching for something new to watch, although I've begun to prefer shows that retain the same cast of characters. Recommended TV shows are Noah's Arc, Beautiful People, Queer as Folk (British and American version), Little Britain, Little Britain USA, and the first two seasons of Torchwood (the show went south in the third season, R.I.P.) Also worth a try is anything with Kathy Griffin and the Graham Norton Show. Peep Show occasionally works a gay theme into the plot as well, although none of the characters are gay.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Fiscal Conservatism Awakens
When the wars began, the Wall Street Journal rolled over in its sleep. Hundreds of billions of dollars flew away. The final cost we may never know. When Obama tried to pass health care reform, the Wall Street Journal transformed overnight into an advocate of fiscal conservatism. The idea of poor people receiving medical care from the government must be quite alarming to their constituency.
I'm Still Amazed
In 1976, California's sodomy law was repealed. Imagine. It used to be illegal for two males to be together. It was considered a prerogative of law enforcement to interpose itself in the bedroom of two consenting adults.
By the present time, 2009, the electorate has progressed so far as to be willing to debate the idea of enshrining gay marriage into law. I never expected such a possibility to arise. Even though gay marriage has suffered many defeats at the voting booth, the margin of defeat in many cases is not all that bad.
A long road has been traveled in a political and ideological sense. I can remember when newspapers printed lies about us with impunity. I used to wonder how journalists and newspaper editors could be so ignorant after graduating from college. Apparently they were all just afraid to write anything different from what had been written before. Fear of change seems to be universal. Demonstrating that change is not always bad--that's half the battle. I think the visibility of gay people was essential in overcoming prejudices.
It is reassuring to observe so many steps made in the direction of understanding. Society remains concerned with ethics and efficiency. No human lives are considered insignificant. Society expects each member to perform to their maximum potential and shows an interest in integrating each member to the best of his or her abilities. This is a better scenario than gay males growing up assuming that they are already social rejects, candidates for drug addiction, crime, prostitution or suicide. Rather than such unpleasant outcomes, a brighter future is suggested. Most of the gay men I have known have had professional careers and many have had monogamous partners. I would call this a step in the right direction, toward stability and happiness.
For society as a whole, increased overall efficiency is the significance of gay rights. Instead of a certain percentage of individuals growing up thinking that they are worthless or inferior, they can grow up with a better semblance of normality. Such a development serves to turn back the hands of the Doomsday Clock.
By the present time, 2009, the electorate has progressed so far as to be willing to debate the idea of enshrining gay marriage into law. I never expected such a possibility to arise. Even though gay marriage has suffered many defeats at the voting booth, the margin of defeat in many cases is not all that bad.
A long road has been traveled in a political and ideological sense. I can remember when newspapers printed lies about us with impunity. I used to wonder how journalists and newspaper editors could be so ignorant after graduating from college. Apparently they were all just afraid to write anything different from what had been written before. Fear of change seems to be universal. Demonstrating that change is not always bad--that's half the battle. I think the visibility of gay people was essential in overcoming prejudices.
It is reassuring to observe so many steps made in the direction of understanding. Society remains concerned with ethics and efficiency. No human lives are considered insignificant. Society expects each member to perform to their maximum potential and shows an interest in integrating each member to the best of his or her abilities. This is a better scenario than gay males growing up assuming that they are already social rejects, candidates for drug addiction, crime, prostitution or suicide. Rather than such unpleasant outcomes, a brighter future is suggested. Most of the gay men I have known have had professional careers and many have had monogamous partners. I would call this a step in the right direction, toward stability and happiness.
For society as a whole, increased overall efficiency is the significance of gay rights. Instead of a certain percentage of individuals growing up thinking that they are worthless or inferior, they can grow up with a better semblance of normality. Such a development serves to turn back the hands of the Doomsday Clock.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
A Tale of Two Clinics
In my town, there were once two clinics. One was devoted to counseling poor pregnant women in the hopes that they put their offspring up for adoption instead of having an abortion. It is in a nice section of town in a quaint old house and is staffed by three or four counselors.
Another clinic was devoted to distributing medicine and medical advice to people infected with the HIV virus. It was located on a remote stretch of highway in a trailer and served by one nurse.
Guess which one shut down due to lack of funding?
The AIDS clinic was really a life-saver. I know, because I used to drive an AIDS patient to the clinic to pick up his meds. It was ill-funded even while operational. Sometimes the meds were unavailable due to lack of supply. The nurse on staff (there was only one nurse) had no recourse. Many HIV patients go on unscheduled vacations from their medicine due to lack of funding. All the price breaks announced by Big Pharma are only for the benefit of people in Africa, not for Americans.
By the way, the building that once housed the AIDS clinic has been transformed into a headquarters for the local Republican party.
Another clinic was devoted to distributing medicine and medical advice to people infected with the HIV virus. It was located on a remote stretch of highway in a trailer and served by one nurse.
Guess which one shut down due to lack of funding?
The AIDS clinic was really a life-saver. I know, because I used to drive an AIDS patient to the clinic to pick up his meds. It was ill-funded even while operational. Sometimes the meds were unavailable due to lack of supply. The nurse on staff (there was only one nurse) had no recourse. Many HIV patients go on unscheduled vacations from their medicine due to lack of funding. All the price breaks announced by Big Pharma are only for the benefit of people in Africa, not for Americans.
By the way, the building that once housed the AIDS clinic has been transformed into a headquarters for the local Republican party.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
My Favorite Living Celebrity
There is at least one living celebrity that I would like to know, assuming I had a magic wish granted to me by a genii: Ian McKellen, the actor who played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. I don't really know much about the Shakespearean actor, other than he is one of the few out gay men in Hollywood and has had a great career. That he played Macbeth implies depth and profundity, which no doubt came in useful during his LOTR gig.
Gandalf is one of my favorite characters of all time. I can't but think of him as a role model for what I would like to become, if I could. The magic helps, naturally, but he is always saying wise things that speak to the heart.
Tolkien was a great writer. I don't know why literary critics put him down, but perhaps it is because they come from an academic environment, where the analytical faculties are favored to the exclusion of all else. They judge literature using left-brain criteria. Such critics miss the point of art. They would be better off as proofreaders. Being a good critic means knowing the human animal--what he is and what he can be. There must be a bias favoring writers that really get it, whether or not their prose conforms in every respect to established conventions. An analyst concerns himself with details, but the details of the parts are inferior to the sum of the whole. Critics need to get off their high horse once in a while. Just because something is wildly popular does not make it bad.
Gandalf is one of my favorite characters of all time. I can't but think of him as a role model for what I would like to become, if I could. The magic helps, naturally, but he is always saying wise things that speak to the heart.
Tolkien was a great writer. I don't know why literary critics put him down, but perhaps it is because they come from an academic environment, where the analytical faculties are favored to the exclusion of all else. They judge literature using left-brain criteria. Such critics miss the point of art. They would be better off as proofreaders. Being a good critic means knowing the human animal--what he is and what he can be. There must be a bias favoring writers that really get it, whether or not their prose conforms in every respect to established conventions. An analyst concerns himself with details, but the details of the parts are inferior to the sum of the whole. Critics need to get off their high horse once in a while. Just because something is wildly popular does not make it bad.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Water on the Moon
This is the best news I've read all year. Scientists have discovered water on the Moon. The Moon is better equipped to support life than it at first appeared.
If we ruin this planet, a handful of us may find a second chance on a smaller satellite orbiting around the Sun. There may be enough water to sustain a small village.
If we ruin this planet, a handful of us may find a second chance on a smaller satellite orbiting around the Sun. There may be enough water to sustain a small village.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Why Blog?
The blog receives few comments, which sometimes concerns me. Does my writing do me any credit? Am I making any sense at all? Such doubts may occur to other bloggers as well. But if a blog only receives ten hits per day, with most of these being click-and-go, then one can't expect much feedback.
Why should someone bother reading an unpublished amateur, when there are best-selling luminaries online, offering their thoughts in many cases for free? I don't know. If the quest for readership were all that mattered, then no one would bother blogging. There are heavy hitters servicing just about every conceivable niche. When I visit Border's, I'm overwhelmed by the many different books and writers that I've never even heard of before. I haven't enough remaining time in my life to read all the books, even if the inventory never changed. This is the golden age of literature. Books are plentiful, cheap, well-constructed, proofread until nearly perfect, and can even be ordered online without ever leaving one's home.
I view my blog as a public journal for recording my thoughts, ideas and opinions. It is safer than a word processor, because if my computer ever dies, the articles remain secure in the cloud. In my day, I have seen many a hard drive crash and be irrecoverable. Besides, my thoughts may be useful or at least amusing to others. Who am I to assume otherwise? In the case of a certain cult classic game, there are obvious reasons for players to read igor's little insights. I can't imagine playing that game without my trusty regen.bat, which protects against sudden death.
The blog is more for me than anyone else. I like reading my own material, because I tend to agree with myself. No big surprise there. My blog is my favorite blog of all. I'd rather write on it or read it than watch my favorite show. Since February, the blog has really cut into my television watching. I have a massive backlog of shows I have been meaning to watch. This is the golden age of television, as well, although not television news.
Writing is both therapeutic and an effective exercise of the mental faculties, which slide toward decay in a world of canned entertainment. Whenever someone feels troubled over an issue, they should write about it. Reviewing one's own writing can be instructive, like looking into a mirror. I am aware of at least some of my faults, if not all. I also see some good qualities, which is why I continue.
However, when writing, exercise caution concerning negative events or emotions. For instance, many political writers indulge their spleen to excess. Their hatred is tribal in nature and does not seem grounded in reality. For instance, Limbaugh and Coulter are forever going on about liberals. They do not know what they are talking about. Theirs is non-productive writing. Perhaps they make a great deal of money through their writing. Money is not as important as ethics. I would not trade places with either of them for all the money in the world.
Be careful with the digging up of old bones, such as conflicts, infatuations, or traumas of the past. Sometimes it is best to leave old bones undisturbed in their grave, particularly if one has moved on. By thinking about a subject, one gives it energy. Monsters can rise from their slumber to haunt us once again. Deny them your power. Rather than brood, focus instead upon the present.
However, some of us are reflective by nature and seem to have no choice but to analyze events in the past in the hopes of arriving at a better understanding. There may be instances when one chooses to travel into subterranean caverns in search of self-knowledge. It is a dangerous journey, with fell creatures lurking in the shadows. Here there be dragons. But such an expedition can prove cathartic. Old memories can serve as an instruction, maybe even a useful one, for myself and others. I will only be around for so long. After I am gone from this earth, the only record I leave behind may be stories. They needed to be birthed. I carried them to term and placed them in a nest somewhere out in the world. Then I returned to the sea.
By writing a story, I transcend it. The beast is dissected, with every part labeled. It is pinned down, framed and hung upon a wall. Thereafter, its power over me diminishes. If this is the attitude that a writer takes, then excavations of old bones can be constructive rather than destructive.
Avoid alcohol, the bane of all writers, because in the long run it inspires melancholy thoughts. For an inhibited, reserved writer, booze may seem like just the thing. A friend of mind refers to it as mental lubrication. I have not found it to be helpful at all. As for marijuana, it relaxes the analytical faculties, reducing the quality of prose. Reading, in particular, becomes far more challenging. I doubt marijuana would be of much use to a writer, unless he suffers from writer's block. If therapy is the main goal, rather than prose quality, then marijuana may be of benefit.
For my part, I prefer sobriety when writing or reading. The only drug that I have found useful for intellectual work of any kind is caffeine in the form of coffee, chocolate, or tea. Some writers swear by nicotine, which is supposed to improve concentration, although I have never observed any such benefit. However, if nicotine seems beneficial, then I would suggest absorbing it through a patch, rather than smoking, or else using a vaporizer on unprocessed, cured tobacco. The tobacco in most cigarettes has harmful additives, and combustion renders tobacco more carcinogenic. The goal would be to maximize the benefit and minimize the harm. However, you could easily become addicted to nicotine, which is one of the most addictive substances known to man. This is the main reason that I avoid it.
Sharing one's thoughts with others is not a bad idea, because there is a slim possibility that your output may be of benefit to others. However, I must add with reluctance a warning. On today's Internet, everything is traceable, archives are kept forever, lawsuits are becoming more common, and government oversight of private power is insufficient. A private individual of modest means should consider the many benefits of remaining as anonymous as possible. Of course, there is no such thing as total anonymity, but there is such a thing as "good enough" anonymity. Even at the cost of clarity, it may be prudent to refrain from mentioning keywords such as names and places, at least until such things are rendered irrelevant by the inexorable march of time. There are exceptions, such as a wealthy writer with a lawyer on retainer. It is all right to be the knight in shining armor, if you can afford the suit and horse. Otherwise, remain in the forest among the trees, dressed in green.
Why should someone bother reading an unpublished amateur, when there are best-selling luminaries online, offering their thoughts in many cases for free? I don't know. If the quest for readership were all that mattered, then no one would bother blogging. There are heavy hitters servicing just about every conceivable niche. When I visit Border's, I'm overwhelmed by the many different books and writers that I've never even heard of before. I haven't enough remaining time in my life to read all the books, even if the inventory never changed. This is the golden age of literature. Books are plentiful, cheap, well-constructed, proofread until nearly perfect, and can even be ordered online without ever leaving one's home.
I view my blog as a public journal for recording my thoughts, ideas and opinions. It is safer than a word processor, because if my computer ever dies, the articles remain secure in the cloud. In my day, I have seen many a hard drive crash and be irrecoverable. Besides, my thoughts may be useful or at least amusing to others. Who am I to assume otherwise? In the case of a certain cult classic game, there are obvious reasons for players to read igor's little insights. I can't imagine playing that game without my trusty regen.bat, which protects against sudden death.
The blog is more for me than anyone else. I like reading my own material, because I tend to agree with myself. No big surprise there. My blog is my favorite blog of all. I'd rather write on it or read it than watch my favorite show. Since February, the blog has really cut into my television watching. I have a massive backlog of shows I have been meaning to watch. This is the golden age of television, as well, although not television news.
Writing is both therapeutic and an effective exercise of the mental faculties, which slide toward decay in a world of canned entertainment. Whenever someone feels troubled over an issue, they should write about it. Reviewing one's own writing can be instructive, like looking into a mirror. I am aware of at least some of my faults, if not all. I also see some good qualities, which is why I continue.
However, when writing, exercise caution concerning negative events or emotions. For instance, many political writers indulge their spleen to excess. Their hatred is tribal in nature and does not seem grounded in reality. For instance, Limbaugh and Coulter are forever going on about liberals. They do not know what they are talking about. Theirs is non-productive writing. Perhaps they make a great deal of money through their writing. Money is not as important as ethics. I would not trade places with either of them for all the money in the world.
Be careful with the digging up of old bones, such as conflicts, infatuations, or traumas of the past. Sometimes it is best to leave old bones undisturbed in their grave, particularly if one has moved on. By thinking about a subject, one gives it energy. Monsters can rise from their slumber to haunt us once again. Deny them your power. Rather than brood, focus instead upon the present.
However, some of us are reflective by nature and seem to have no choice but to analyze events in the past in the hopes of arriving at a better understanding. There may be instances when one chooses to travel into subterranean caverns in search of self-knowledge. It is a dangerous journey, with fell creatures lurking in the shadows. Here there be dragons. But such an expedition can prove cathartic. Old memories can serve as an instruction, maybe even a useful one, for myself and others. I will only be around for so long. After I am gone from this earth, the only record I leave behind may be stories. They needed to be birthed. I carried them to term and placed them in a nest somewhere out in the world. Then I returned to the sea.
By writing a story, I transcend it. The beast is dissected, with every part labeled. It is pinned down, framed and hung upon a wall. Thereafter, its power over me diminishes. If this is the attitude that a writer takes, then excavations of old bones can be constructive rather than destructive.
Avoid alcohol, the bane of all writers, because in the long run it inspires melancholy thoughts. For an inhibited, reserved writer, booze may seem like just the thing. A friend of mind refers to it as mental lubrication. I have not found it to be helpful at all. As for marijuana, it relaxes the analytical faculties, reducing the quality of prose. Reading, in particular, becomes far more challenging. I doubt marijuana would be of much use to a writer, unless he suffers from writer's block. If therapy is the main goal, rather than prose quality, then marijuana may be of benefit.
For my part, I prefer sobriety when writing or reading. The only drug that I have found useful for intellectual work of any kind is caffeine in the form of coffee, chocolate, or tea. Some writers swear by nicotine, which is supposed to improve concentration, although I have never observed any such benefit. However, if nicotine seems beneficial, then I would suggest absorbing it through a patch, rather than smoking, or else using a vaporizer on unprocessed, cured tobacco. The tobacco in most cigarettes has harmful additives, and combustion renders tobacco more carcinogenic. The goal would be to maximize the benefit and minimize the harm. However, you could easily become addicted to nicotine, which is one of the most addictive substances known to man. This is the main reason that I avoid it.
Sharing one's thoughts with others is not a bad idea, because there is a slim possibility that your output may be of benefit to others. However, I must add with reluctance a warning. On today's Internet, everything is traceable, archives are kept forever, lawsuits are becoming more common, and government oversight of private power is insufficient. A private individual of modest means should consider the many benefits of remaining as anonymous as possible. Of course, there is no such thing as total anonymity, but there is such a thing as "good enough" anonymity. Even at the cost of clarity, it may be prudent to refrain from mentioning keywords such as names and places, at least until such things are rendered irrelevant by the inexorable march of time. There are exceptions, such as a wealthy writer with a lawyer on retainer. It is all right to be the knight in shining armor, if you can afford the suit and horse. Otherwise, remain in the forest among the trees, dressed in green.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
My Favorite Celebrity
If I could travel back in time and spend a year with any celebrity from any time in recorded history, it would be Oscar Wilde.
Wilde was a gifted storyteller. His contemporaries raved about him. He got himself invited to all the best parties just because he could hold a room spellbound with his stories, insights and wit.
I'd like to go back in time as a young man, in order to compete with and take the place of Bosie, the homme fatale that led Oscar to his financial and social ruin. I'd have been a better influence, I think. Not as reckless, but curious and eager to learn.
In many ways, I think of Oscar Wilde as the Christ-figure of the gay community. The impression is inescapable. Of course, Oscar's fate was milder by far, but he lived in better times. Had Jesus lived in the modern age, he would have survived to a ripe old age. I do wish Jesus came back today and ran for President. But I suspect few people would vote for him. He'd be far too liberal.
Another person I'd like to have known was Robert Ross, Oscar's best friend and the executor of his literary estate. In some ways, Ross is even more interesting than Oscar--more sensible in many ways, wise, good, and cautious. He came out in the 1800's, which boggles the mind a bit. Courage was not something he lacked.
Wilde was a gifted storyteller. His contemporaries raved about him. He got himself invited to all the best parties just because he could hold a room spellbound with his stories, insights and wit.
I'd like to go back in time as a young man, in order to compete with and take the place of Bosie, the homme fatale that led Oscar to his financial and social ruin. I'd have been a better influence, I think. Not as reckless, but curious and eager to learn.
In many ways, I think of Oscar Wilde as the Christ-figure of the gay community. The impression is inescapable. Of course, Oscar's fate was milder by far, but he lived in better times. Had Jesus lived in the modern age, he would have survived to a ripe old age. I do wish Jesus came back today and ran for President. But I suspect few people would vote for him. He'd be far too liberal.
Another person I'd like to have known was Robert Ross, Oscar's best friend and the executor of his literary estate. In some ways, Ross is even more interesting than Oscar--more sensible in many ways, wise, good, and cautious. He came out in the 1800's, which boggles the mind a bit. Courage was not something he lacked.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
On Courage
Many people live in fear of various fates, such as poverty, disease, or death. It is possible for some to avoid poverty and disease. However, death is assured for every mortal, although in the future, I foresee some progress being made on this front. Even if scientists do find a way to extend the human lifespan, how will they forestall the end of the Universe? These are complicated matters. I like to listen to scientists and hear their insights for solving problems. Governments that only pay attention to opinion polls are bound to make costly mistakes. The scientist, also, must be heeded, because it is possible that he really knows something. Most of us just have opinions. It is incredibly difficult to ever really know something. If in doubt, consult other scientists.
Humans do not fear death; what they fear is the unknown. Death is the great unknown. We fear what will come during death and after death. Will there be pain? Will the pain be intense? After the pain ends, will there be an afterlife full of torment? Will we be reincarnated into a lower or a higher form? How will we be remembered: as heroes, as average folk, or not at all? These are the questions that may occur to a soldier, a cancer patient, or an elderly person. They are eternal questions that have been asked from ancient times to the present.
Different seers have supplied different answers. Some answers flatter our ego. These I view with suspicion. Man is ruled by his ego too much. It is a known weakness and must be guarded against. Even very intelligent people succumb to the weaknesses of their ego.
Other answers seem pessimistic--for instance, the idea that everything is only material, random and irrelevant, without any higher purpose. That I view with suspicion also. I assign an ethical value to actions based upon what I perceive as the likely outcomes. It is true that this is subjective on my part. But every human being lives in a subjective state of mind. Objectivity is possible to approach, but in the long term, it is not a sustainable state for a human being. At least I have never seen pure objectivity in anyone I have ever met. It is my opinion that outcomes are important. We should want the good to prevail. To this end, good people should not serve evil. It is sometimes difficult to determine what is good and evil, however. This is why freedom of speech is important, in order to have open discussions with others, that we may arrive at a more accurate answer. Many minds are better than just one way of thinking.
I am not sure what comes after death, because I have not crossed the river Styx. In due course, I will know, and everyone alive today will also know. "Knowing" may not be the right choice of word for an inanimate corpse. I am not sure how to phrase the concept. Death is the great leveler. We will be equal then, even if we were not equal in life.
Finding courage is as simple as recognizing that death need not be feared. Death is a transition from one state into another, from being into non-being. What seems important to an individual may not be so important in the greater scheme of things. We live in small worlds. When we die, our small world is destroyed, and what is left is the greater world to which we return in total, leaving nothing behind. Our constituent parts will be used by other organisms according to the cycle of nature. Our thoughts and ideas, which we flattered ourselves as being special, are already shared by others and will still be considered by others in the future. We are replaceable; or if not, then perhaps we were unnecessary in the first place. Nature is a superb engineer who designs redundancy in all of her systems. Even the Earth is replaceable; or if not. . . does it matter to the Sun? I think that the Sun will go on shining, whatever happens to the Earth. There are probably beings similar to us in other locations in the Universe, too far away for us to contact.
What is there to worry about? What is there to fear? All that is ever at stake is time, and just a short span of time at that. The extra-cautious may live longer. Is life, then, just a contest to see who lives the longest? Is it a contest to see who acquires the most possessions before the end? What kind of a contest is that?
To me, what is more important is living in an ethical manner, which seems simple enough to do. Be honest, when you can. Share your ideas with others, if it is possible. Live with forthrightness. Try to contribute whatever it is that is within you, that spark of light that can be found in the doing. It may not always be possible. Life is an opportunity, although nothing is certain. Some lives are cut short by the vagaries of fate. Never fear, there are others. No sooner does one light fade than another shines.
Of course, there has always been the problem of evil in the world. The present time is not all that much worse than times past. In many ways, the present is better. Think about the Dark Ages. Would you want to have lived during that violent and uncertain period, when the climate was colder? Reading history is necessary if you want to make an accurate comparison between the past and the present. It is tempting to assume that we have the hardest situation of all, but many of our ancestors had a harder time still.
Many good people despair, because evil-doers sometimes have the upper-hand. The wicked are often rich and strong and less concerned with ethics than with power over others. If another does harm to you, even to the point of death, then their crime weighs upon their soul, not yours. The harm wrought by an evil-doer serves to increase the intensity of your light and the light of others. Even in the darkness, light pours forth. Do not underestimate its power. At first, the light seems like nothing. You may not even be aware of it at all. But it carries the force of right, and there is no greater force. Try as it might, the darkness can never be victorious, because it is nothing and cannot create, because it has no energy.
A spiritual crime marks the perpetrator, diminishing their power in manifold ways. It is difficult enough to determine what is right, without tripling one's bets by doing any harm. Others may commit all manner of evil, even in the name of God. They may use underhanded methods to get ahead, to claim a victory over you. Over the generations, such ways are bound to return to harm their own bloodlines in ways they cannot foresee. In harming you and yours, they harm their own kind even more. Few believe this, but history offers evidence. It is a strange thing, almost like a law of the Universe. But do not use this belief in karma as an excuse for doing nothing, for accepting without resistance any evil that ever happens. That too is a mistake.
Humans do not fear death; what they fear is the unknown. Death is the great unknown. We fear what will come during death and after death. Will there be pain? Will the pain be intense? After the pain ends, will there be an afterlife full of torment? Will we be reincarnated into a lower or a higher form? How will we be remembered: as heroes, as average folk, or not at all? These are the questions that may occur to a soldier, a cancer patient, or an elderly person. They are eternal questions that have been asked from ancient times to the present.
Different seers have supplied different answers. Some answers flatter our ego. These I view with suspicion. Man is ruled by his ego too much. It is a known weakness and must be guarded against. Even very intelligent people succumb to the weaknesses of their ego.
Other answers seem pessimistic--for instance, the idea that everything is only material, random and irrelevant, without any higher purpose. That I view with suspicion also. I assign an ethical value to actions based upon what I perceive as the likely outcomes. It is true that this is subjective on my part. But every human being lives in a subjective state of mind. Objectivity is possible to approach, but in the long term, it is not a sustainable state for a human being. At least I have never seen pure objectivity in anyone I have ever met. It is my opinion that outcomes are important. We should want the good to prevail. To this end, good people should not serve evil. It is sometimes difficult to determine what is good and evil, however. This is why freedom of speech is important, in order to have open discussions with others, that we may arrive at a more accurate answer. Many minds are better than just one way of thinking.
I am not sure what comes after death, because I have not crossed the river Styx. In due course, I will know, and everyone alive today will also know. "Knowing" may not be the right choice of word for an inanimate corpse. I am not sure how to phrase the concept. Death is the great leveler. We will be equal then, even if we were not equal in life.
Finding courage is as simple as recognizing that death need not be feared. Death is a transition from one state into another, from being into non-being. What seems important to an individual may not be so important in the greater scheme of things. We live in small worlds. When we die, our small world is destroyed, and what is left is the greater world to which we return in total, leaving nothing behind. Our constituent parts will be used by other organisms according to the cycle of nature. Our thoughts and ideas, which we flattered ourselves as being special, are already shared by others and will still be considered by others in the future. We are replaceable; or if not, then perhaps we were unnecessary in the first place. Nature is a superb engineer who designs redundancy in all of her systems. Even the Earth is replaceable; or if not. . . does it matter to the Sun? I think that the Sun will go on shining, whatever happens to the Earth. There are probably beings similar to us in other locations in the Universe, too far away for us to contact.
What is there to worry about? What is there to fear? All that is ever at stake is time, and just a short span of time at that. The extra-cautious may live longer. Is life, then, just a contest to see who lives the longest? Is it a contest to see who acquires the most possessions before the end? What kind of a contest is that?
To me, what is more important is living in an ethical manner, which seems simple enough to do. Be honest, when you can. Share your ideas with others, if it is possible. Live with forthrightness. Try to contribute whatever it is that is within you, that spark of light that can be found in the doing. It may not always be possible. Life is an opportunity, although nothing is certain. Some lives are cut short by the vagaries of fate. Never fear, there are others. No sooner does one light fade than another shines.
Of course, there has always been the problem of evil in the world. The present time is not all that much worse than times past. In many ways, the present is better. Think about the Dark Ages. Would you want to have lived during that violent and uncertain period, when the climate was colder? Reading history is necessary if you want to make an accurate comparison between the past and the present. It is tempting to assume that we have the hardest situation of all, but many of our ancestors had a harder time still.
Many good people despair, because evil-doers sometimes have the upper-hand. The wicked are often rich and strong and less concerned with ethics than with power over others. If another does harm to you, even to the point of death, then their crime weighs upon their soul, not yours. The harm wrought by an evil-doer serves to increase the intensity of your light and the light of others. Even in the darkness, light pours forth. Do not underestimate its power. At first, the light seems like nothing. You may not even be aware of it at all. But it carries the force of right, and there is no greater force. Try as it might, the darkness can never be victorious, because it is nothing and cannot create, because it has no energy.
A spiritual crime marks the perpetrator, diminishing their power in manifold ways. It is difficult enough to determine what is right, without tripling one's bets by doing any harm. Others may commit all manner of evil, even in the name of God. They may use underhanded methods to get ahead, to claim a victory over you. Over the generations, such ways are bound to return to harm their own bloodlines in ways they cannot foresee. In harming you and yours, they harm their own kind even more. Few believe this, but history offers evidence. It is a strange thing, almost like a law of the Universe. But do not use this belief in karma as an excuse for doing nothing, for accepting without resistance any evil that ever happens. That too is a mistake.
The Difficult Assignment
I remember when I first went to work at my last company, one of the senior people on my team took a dislike to me--I would say an instinctive dislike, like that of a dog for a cat. For a long time, I did not understand why, because I never sought any conflict with others. I think the main problem was that I was male, and she didn't like any of the men in our department, but she disliked gays even more. Since I was both gay and male, that represented a double whammy. The fact that I didn't subscribe to her particular religious beliefs represented the icing on the cake.
She was more subtle than most and knew ways of getting her ends without being too obvious about it. For instance, she found a way to get our boss to transfer her most difficult assignment to me. She had received the task a couple of years ago, but with her cunning had managed to put it off with a variety of excuses. She admitted that it was too difficult for her, which may have been an indiscretion on her part, although she never expected that I would solve it by myself. She was hoping by the confession to discourage me. But I like challenges, if they only involve mind work.
She calculated that since I was just starting out with a new language, the hard stuff would do me in. I'd get canned, and she could work her social magic to get a new recruit that she liked better, preferably a straight white female. Anytime I went to ask her questions about the assignment, she would obfuscate or make a belittling remark questioning my intelligence or work ethic. I took a hint and remained alone in my cubicle, talking to no one, doing nothing but thinking, reading the reference manuals and absorbing many things. I looked at old programs and studied how other programmers went about handling similar chores. Remember, when reinventing the wheel, it is best to reinvent as little as possible. Whenever I found good ideas, I adopted them or made notes of them for future use.
The assignment involved displaying data in realtime on a mainframe screen. Our customer desired the capability of sorting a list of names by alphabetical order (with lowercase and uppercase taken into consideration), and/or by date, and/or by category, and/or by subcategory, and/or by status, and a couple of other fields that escape my memory at this time. Up to ten different flags could be selected or unselected and would alter the results. In SQL, this is a simple matter that requires just a few statements. In the old programming languages, it is not such a simple matter. There was no "SORT" command available of any kind. It was necessary to reinvent the wheel, and that is what I did. I created a series of sorting algorithms, using flags (indicators) to keep track of each of the many different stages of my subroutine. Nested loops held sorts within sorts within sorts. It was a sordid (sorted) affair.
The code was written over a decade ago, and today I am not sure whether my sorts could have been characterized as bubble or insertion sorts. Wikipedia disparages the bubble sort to such an extent that I suspect there would have been complaints over efficiency if I had used it. But I had a vague memory of the various sorting techniques I had learned in college, and "bubble sort" seemed like a fun, nifty name, so that was the label I applied to my technique, whether it was accurate or not. Everything took place in memory, by necessity, without any temporary data files, which meant that each time the user advanced to the next page, the sorting had to be performed all over again. There was not a large amount of data involved.
I was careful to document the program with remark statements, although I have my doubts over how much they helped in understanding the process. The older languages rely quite a bit on GOTO statements, which are rightfully associated with spaghetti code. I tried to use structured techniques, such as subroutines, as much as possible, but it was not always possible due to the limitations of the language, particularly in a realtime environment. As for object-oriented techniques, forget it.
Yes, there were plenty of bugs I had to iron out, but in the end it worked and remained largely unchanged for the next ten years. I think that was one of the tasks that earned me my first raise and guaranteed my job security.
Now of course she wanted to know how I solved it. When I told her I used a bubble sort algorithm, she had no idea what I was talking about and didn't want to know. She never liked listening to technical explanations. Her interests concerned the social hierarchy, and she much more intrigued by the higher-ranked individuals than by anything having to do with the peons. She assumed I had borrowed all the code from another programmer. So she went around asking the other senior programmers if they had helped me in any way. She spent much of every day whispering and gossiping with others, usually about other people in the department or about her husband, who she detested. Only about half her day was ever spent by the computer. No, other than helping with advanced syntax, the senior programmers hadn't had much interaction with me at all. In fact, some of them were unaware I was working there. Some programmers live in their own insulated world and are not quick to notice changes in the outside world, even in their own department.
She was always alert for the risk of someone giving me any assistance or advice, and always sought to nip that in the bud whenever she could. For my part, I am by nature reluctant to ask others for help, especially strangers. If someone else helps me, then I tend to keep an internal ledger with their contribution marked down for future repayment. She did succeed, however, in damaging some of the working relationships I tried to build with others, because she was politically connected, and her boss thought she was the perfect Christian. She did all the little political things. I could see the writing on the wall, in terms of my future at that company. But if you work in such an environment, then perhaps you should do as she did, if climbing up the corporate ladder is your goal.
She was more subtle than most and knew ways of getting her ends without being too obvious about it. For instance, she found a way to get our boss to transfer her most difficult assignment to me. She had received the task a couple of years ago, but with her cunning had managed to put it off with a variety of excuses. She admitted that it was too difficult for her, which may have been an indiscretion on her part, although she never expected that I would solve it by myself. She was hoping by the confession to discourage me. But I like challenges, if they only involve mind work.
She calculated that since I was just starting out with a new language, the hard stuff would do me in. I'd get canned, and she could work her social magic to get a new recruit that she liked better, preferably a straight white female. Anytime I went to ask her questions about the assignment, she would obfuscate or make a belittling remark questioning my intelligence or work ethic. I took a hint and remained alone in my cubicle, talking to no one, doing nothing but thinking, reading the reference manuals and absorbing many things. I looked at old programs and studied how other programmers went about handling similar chores. Remember, when reinventing the wheel, it is best to reinvent as little as possible. Whenever I found good ideas, I adopted them or made notes of them for future use.
The assignment involved displaying data in realtime on a mainframe screen. Our customer desired the capability of sorting a list of names by alphabetical order (with lowercase and uppercase taken into consideration), and/or by date, and/or by category, and/or by subcategory, and/or by status, and a couple of other fields that escape my memory at this time. Up to ten different flags could be selected or unselected and would alter the results. In SQL, this is a simple matter that requires just a few statements. In the old programming languages, it is not such a simple matter. There was no "SORT" command available of any kind. It was necessary to reinvent the wheel, and that is what I did. I created a series of sorting algorithms, using flags (indicators) to keep track of each of the many different stages of my subroutine. Nested loops held sorts within sorts within sorts. It was a sordid (sorted) affair.
The code was written over a decade ago, and today I am not sure whether my sorts could have been characterized as bubble or insertion sorts. Wikipedia disparages the bubble sort to such an extent that I suspect there would have been complaints over efficiency if I had used it. But I had a vague memory of the various sorting techniques I had learned in college, and "bubble sort" seemed like a fun, nifty name, so that was the label I applied to my technique, whether it was accurate or not. Everything took place in memory, by necessity, without any temporary data files, which meant that each time the user advanced to the next page, the sorting had to be performed all over again. There was not a large amount of data involved.
I was careful to document the program with remark statements, although I have my doubts over how much they helped in understanding the process. The older languages rely quite a bit on GOTO statements, which are rightfully associated with spaghetti code. I tried to use structured techniques, such as subroutines, as much as possible, but it was not always possible due to the limitations of the language, particularly in a realtime environment. As for object-oriented techniques, forget it.
Yes, there were plenty of bugs I had to iron out, but in the end it worked and remained largely unchanged for the next ten years. I think that was one of the tasks that earned me my first raise and guaranteed my job security.
Now of course she wanted to know how I solved it. When I told her I used a bubble sort algorithm, she had no idea what I was talking about and didn't want to know. She never liked listening to technical explanations. Her interests concerned the social hierarchy, and she much more intrigued by the higher-ranked individuals than by anything having to do with the peons. She assumed I had borrowed all the code from another programmer. So she went around asking the other senior programmers if they had helped me in any way. She spent much of every day whispering and gossiping with others, usually about other people in the department or about her husband, who she detested. Only about half her day was ever spent by the computer. No, other than helping with advanced syntax, the senior programmers hadn't had much interaction with me at all. In fact, some of them were unaware I was working there. Some programmers live in their own insulated world and are not quick to notice changes in the outside world, even in their own department.
She was always alert for the risk of someone giving me any assistance or advice, and always sought to nip that in the bud whenever she could. For my part, I am by nature reluctant to ask others for help, especially strangers. If someone else helps me, then I tend to keep an internal ledger with their contribution marked down for future repayment. She did succeed, however, in damaging some of the working relationships I tried to build with others, because she was politically connected, and her boss thought she was the perfect Christian. She did all the little political things. I could see the writing on the wall, in terms of my future at that company. But if you work in such an environment, then perhaps you should do as she did, if climbing up the corporate ladder is your goal.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Vast Riches
Ever wondered what Internet advertising pays? Here's an insider's view:
$4.72 is the total payout for hosting ads on this site for over a year. I removed the ads, because it is not worth $5 to annoy myself and my users with advertisements. I did not bother requesting a payout of the paltry sum.
$4.72 is the total payout for hosting ads on this site for over a year. I removed the ads, because it is not worth $5 to annoy myself and my users with advertisements. I did not bother requesting a payout of the paltry sum.
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