Yeah... my attempts at playing surgeon to such things rarely go like I desire, as well. Fortunately, I have access to X-acto knives and a lighter so I can do it all pretty cleanly.
Oh good, I'm not the only person I know who does that. X-acto knives, hmm... good idea. (By which I mean "probably a bad idea, but I'll probably end up doing it anyway.")
I should have mentioned in #4 that I only ever drink A) when I'm out with other people who are drinking or B) during election seasons, because I don't know how anyone can not feel like drinking during those. I actually enjoy stuff like rum and coke, blooy marys, Bailey's, etc, but when I'm out for more than a couple of hours I have to go with something that forces me to take my time and fills me up, because otherwise I'll be racing through many liquour drinks, thus increasing the liklihood of making an ass of myself by the end of the evening (see #13 again).
#11 is probably the reason why I draw a complete blank when people complain, say, about tax cuts that benefit "the rich". I'm all "Uhh, and?" If you have a choice between world A where 90% of people make $10K per year and 10% of people make $90K per year, and world B which is the same except the upper 10% make $100K instead, it strikes me as a no-brainer that B is self-evidently superior of the two. I am perplexed when very few people seem to agree with this intuition.
On point 7, it reminds me of the phrase "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration" which was supposedly said by Thomas Edison. Several years ago, I would have agreed with you on this point, but I have come to realize the importance of communication. No matter how smart you are in the hard sciences, if you cannot communicate your results and thoughts to a wide audience, then even good ideas will likely go unnoticed. I’ve found some of the most successful (by conventional definitions) are those who are good at writing, articulate, and good at self-promotion, irrespective of how far above average they are in technical science.
I sympathize with point 13. After a party, I sometimes find myself recollecting something silly I said and mentally telling myself to shut up in hindsight. It is a strange phenomena, because the thoughts just sort of pop up randomly in the 12 hours after the party. I think my subconscious is slow at processing these things!
I agree, sort of. Accomplishing anything great takes work no matter how smart you are, but innate brainpower sets the ceiling on what you can accomplish and strongly influences the inspiration/perspiration ratio.
I'm not particularly interested in recognition though, I just want to be able to do stuff better. I'm envious of people who can start off with complete ignorance of a complex technical subject, dive right into it and then basically master it quickly and easily (I like the term "free electrons" for these people). I'm more plodding in my progress and need to put more effort into something before I really "get it".
Okay, I see what you mean. I agree, I envy the free-electron sort. I also admire those who can convey technical ideas well in writing. I think one characteristic shared by free-electrons is their able to sort out the important details quickly. I often get bogged down in the details when learning something new, but I am learning to sort better.
// 2. I am irrationally bigoted against fat people. When I say "fat" I don't mean slightly chubby, portly or big-boned; I mean orca fat. Undulating fat that there's just no excuse for. It revulses me viscerally, and I'm not proud. //
Hahaha yes, same here. It started when I worked at the fun fair, and saw how the fat kids got tired much easier than the skinny kids when bouncing on the trampoline. It's my racism.
// 12. One of my most persistant fantasies is to live my life over again with all the knowledge I accumulated the first time around, like a massively extended version of Groundhog Day. This fantasy started when I was 15 and hasn't gone away no matter how many times I acknowledge the sheer uselessness of it. //
I've had this fantasy ever since I was old enough to remember shit. Someone really should write a novel or make a film about it one day.
Probably would be too hard to cram a lifetime into a film, but as a novel there's potential. Especially since I have a sneaking feeling that even having that knowledge wouldn't solve someone's problems like I imagine it would, just lead them into different ones. Life is tricky like that, always cleverer than you.
Comments 19
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Reply
Agree with #5, #6, #10, #11, & #13.
And my parents tried the whole psychiatrist thing as well, with similar (lack of) results.
I'm gonna have to write up one of these things, but I'll do it when I'm actually fully-awake for the task.
Reply
#11 is probably the reason why I draw a complete blank when people complain, say, about tax cuts that benefit "the rich". I'm all "Uhh, and?" If you have a choice between world A where 90% of people make $10K per year and 10% of people make $90K per year, and world B which is the same except the upper 10% make $100K instead, it strikes me as a no-brainer that B is self-evidently superior of the two. I am perplexed when very few people seem to agree with this intuition.
Reply
I sympathize with point 13. After a party, I sometimes find myself recollecting something silly I said and mentally telling myself to shut up in hindsight. It is a strange phenomena, because the thoughts just sort of pop up randomly in the 12 hours after the party. I think my subconscious is slow at processing these things!
Reply
I'm not particularly interested in recognition though, I just want to be able to do stuff better. I'm envious of people who can start off with complete ignorance of a complex technical subject, dive right into it and then basically master it quickly and easily (I like the term "free electrons" for these people). I'm more plodding in my progress and need to put more effort into something before I really "get it".
Reply
Reply
Reply
Hahaha yes, same here. It started when I worked at the fun fair, and saw how the fat kids got tired much easier than the skinny kids when bouncing on the trampoline. It's my racism.
// 12. One of my most persistant fantasies is to live my life over again with all the knowledge I accumulated the first time around, like a massively extended version of Groundhog Day. This fantasy started when I was 15 and hasn't gone away no matter how many times I acknowledge the sheer uselessness of it. //
I've had this fantasy ever since I was old enough to remember shit. Someone really should write a novel or make a film about it one day.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment