Evolution is real. But that's not the topic of this entry. It affects us as human beings. Our actions are, for a very large part, due to our evolution, which drives our genes.
Pets:
They have larger head to body ratio. Symmetrical faces. Etc. That makes them "cute" because it resembled a human baby. Gotta love how evolutionary traits end up applying to somethings decidedly non-evolutionary in nature. We domesticate wolves into little barkers. We dress them up and in extreme cases even take them to competitions, where they become an extension of a person's status, not even a lovable pet anymore. Pet industry is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Socializing:
Facebook is big. It taps into our need to socialize. Most people on the planet at social people. Even the not-as-social people can talk on Facebook without the intimidation of real-life social encounters. Facebook has more users than America has people.
Religion:
Worse out of all of them: Billions of people fall victim to this, a simple byproduct of our need to observe patterns. That is a tool for survival in ye' old days. Suppose there are two types of possible errors in pattern seeking.
Type 1 - See false positive
Type 2 - Don't see any pattern even if there is one
You're walking along the African land, and you hear a rustle. Type 1 error - if it was a false positive, no enemies, all you did was waste 5 seconds of your time. Type 2, you're probably dead.
"Be Yourself"
How are you going to do that when clearly you are the product of millions of years of evolution? Forget that. What you do, how do you, what you like are all consequences of your surroundings. While a smile is universally recognized, what is "disgusting" as food isn't always agreed upon. For example: Eggs. Who came up with the idea of eating reproductive products from chickens? Or drinking the milk of a cow. WTF? How about, eating spiders or frogs? Quite liked in some places.
Try as you might to "be yourself", you can't. Hell, you're always yourself. But don't act like you have total control over what you like and don't like. You have a sex drive? That's what I thought.
On the flip side, a few things we think are natural and considered as old and good values are... not so old.
Monogamy:
Guys are hard-wired to fuck as many girls as they can, to spread on their genes.
Family Values:
The idea of a mother and father, the "traditional" mother staying home, dad working, is relatively new. For USA people, this is mostly from 20th century after the World Wars.
What about socializing? Not everybody is an extrovert. Yeah. We need some diversity. But today, parents act like a social kid is a healthy kid. And introverted kid is... not normal.First, let's differentiate between introverts and shy people. Introverts prefer less stimulation. Shy people avoid social situations out of fear. What do we do to kids when young? Expose them to endless stimulation. The kid that doesn't talk is worried about.
Yet, we need introverted people. Those are the ones that think quietly and get revelations. Did Newton invent Calculus after chatting with people from Facebook? No. He went into isolation.
Yet, we are victims. We follow the one with the most charisma, not always the one with the best ideas.ial people tend to have their vision already set out, and might not be as willing to change their vision in accordance to the suggestions given.
Western society prefers the man of action rather than the man of contemplation. Self help books used to be 'character, the most important thing'. Now they are 'how to get most friends and manipulate people'.
Trust
Ever had a friend that is a screwup in their life yet you trust them? Yet you could have another person that always does that they've said they would so far, and not trust them. What we need are common beliefs. When we meet people that believe what we believe, we are more willing to experiement and gone where nobody has before, because the people we trust will protect us if needed. Our survival depends on it.
You can't fight a tiger alone. You need a group you trust. The goal isn't to fix your weakness, it is to amplify your strengths so people can do what you can't do. But it's not based on skills and the application of those skills, it's what you believe. Common values.
Say you're from LA and you go to New York. Everything is new and foreign. You hear a guy talk with LA accent. Your turn around, find out you are both from LA. BOOM. You're both friends. Say you meet the same guy from LA. Would you be friends? Hell no.
Hell, your in the French metro. You hear English. Turn around. Ask him where he's from. New York. HEY! I'm from LA! And you're best friends. You're not even from the same state. Are you friends with all the people in New York?
When you are in an unfamiliar enviroemnt, who have different values, you look for those who may share some of your values, and you start to form a bond because they understand your background.
It's not specific differences in opinion. That's diversity and advantages to problem solving. But we both understand our childhoods, we had the same type of issues. There was once a show, Deadliest Catch, or fishermen because it was a very dangerous job. Two boats. Camera caught a random boat from a competing company. Waves came over, a guy fell over. The fishermen on this boat got out, saved that guy. Why? They are not on the same team. Because at the end of the day, they are all fishermen. They understand tyhe risks and they all took it. They have similar values. They might not have the same religious views or particular pokitical views. But they are all fishermen.
If you're on the French Metro again, the guy from New York says 'You gotta try this one restaraunt here..." you're gonna trust him and go. If you're in LA, some random guy tells you to go to this one restaraunt, you're going to think he's a crackpot. The information given presented about either resaraunt is the same. That's the thing: With trust, you don't "NEED" all the information.
Finding who to trust was important to our survival. We know how to do it. You can go outside to look for people you like and trust. You're going to instinctively talk to them. Either you will have a "good" opinion or you won't. It may take a little while, or a long while. But we know how to do it. It's called making friends. You're the only one that had the gut feeling. Every single thing a person does or says is a symbol of who they are, and we look for those symbols to find those who believe what we believe. Our survival depends on it.
So Tiger Woods. He lied. He told us what he wanted us to hear. He broke our trust. He could've said he liked fucking random chicks from day one, and it wouldn't have been bad at all. But he lies. He seemingly had one set of values, and changed them. Good luck getting trust from people again.
People to do what they believe, not what they think other people want them to believe. If you ask your friends, how do you want me to act and dress so you'll like me more, they'll think you're crazy. Just BE YOURSELF. That's why I like you. I like YOUR values. Change your values based on what others want... the word there is 'inauthentic'. Fake. Untrustworthy.
Apple. Under the leadership of Jobs, Apple rose to new heights. Did Apple ask what you want? No. They told you what you wanted. Those who believe in Apple's vision bought Apple's products and spreaded their recommendation. The values are consistent,.
It's equally as ridiculous for a company to ask how they should run their business. Do what you believe. Companies should hire those who believe what they believe. What you push out should show who you are.
Do people get tattoos of Harley's because it looks cool? No, it's a symbol of who they are. Ever seen a person put a sticker of the Apple logo of their Mac? Ever even seen a dirty Mac? NO. Those objects mean more than just the object. It's a statement of who you are.
Fullfilment:
Why are people not happy in their jobs? It's not the pay or their benefits. There are rich, sad people. It's because nobody helps others anymore. When you donate money to a poor guy, you feel good. You're not donating. Your buying that feeling. It's a transaction.
True generosity requires doing something for others, expecting NOTHING in return. Short of that is MANIPULATION.
I did something for him, why won't he do something for me? It's not an equation. It's nature. It feels good. We do it. When we are surrounds by those we trust and hae common values with, our species go up in progress.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Body Image, Hot vs Beautiful
First, about Hot vs Beautiful:
Guys are not as adept at verbal things. Even more people, across genders, do not bother nor care to analyze social phenomenon. For me, some of these words have subtle differences in meanings.
Hot - You're physically attractive. The opposite gender would have sex with you and probably hit on you. For some more jerk-ish guys, you're a good target for a one-night stand. Not to say that the world "hot" means that you're easy and slutty. But when it comes from one of those types of guys, it's what they are thinking about. Hot is physical.
Sexy - Basically hot. You could have a sexy manner though, the way you carry yourself/seduce a person.
Beautiful - This has a certain aspect of elegance attached to it. It's less 'have sex with that girl'. It could mean something deeper. But on the most shallow level, it is admiring a person. It could be purely physical, but that does not detract from the emotions felt. It can be both physical and mental, in which case it's more well-rounded.
Assume guy likes a girl.
If a guy simply calls a girl hot, there is a higher chance that he'd simply get over her in a little bit.
If a guy calls a girl beautiful, it is possible that...
The girl has captured the guy's heart and took his breath away. The guy feels the girl is the most beautiful girl in the world. (Brought to you by evolution, by the way.)
As a girl friend who she thinks is the hottest girl in the room and you may lose standing with the girl. Ask a girl who she thinks is the most beautiful, she'd pick a girl, if that girl is in the room. The girl can admire that other girl while being a straight girl.
There is can be more respect for a girl who is beautiful. A few guys actually have a hard time pleasuring them self to the image of the girl in question, because it almost 'dirties' up her image. There could be an element of innocence attached. Of elegance. Of 'inner beauty'. Valid or not, that's definitely a possibility of the implied meaning of the word when used in the correct context.
Gorgeous - You look incredible, I'm blown away. I've never seen a guy use this word on a girl the guy never calls beautiful and only calls hot. Therefore, this isn't in the same league as 'hot'.
Pretty - You look pleasant.
Cute - Pretty. Could also infer something about the girl's character, though, "Cute behavior".. Nobody says "pretty behavior".
Body Image
Being a guy, I have more guy friends than girl friends. That's just how it is. Because of this, I may know more about the guy's body image problems. But let's start with the female.
-Breast Size
We've heard of the guys drooling over some busty girl. Do guys really like big breasts? Some do, some don't, I don't. (Watch it get loose and saggy in the future!) I don't think breasts can be fully equated as the same situation as penis size. Breasts don't pleasure the guy directly. Their size has no utility in sex. Yes, the correct size may arouse the guy, but that doesn't equate to 'the bigger, the better'. So girls, quit worrying about breast size. And don't get fake boobs. The men that would take fake boobs rather than the real thing have issues.
-Not thing enough
Just saying, being unhealthy and eating nothing makes you look malnutritioned. And that puts up a red flag to guys because it is an evolutionary warning sign. There's a threshold of being too thin, as well.
-Height
Not as common. But I do notice that a majority of guys prefer shorter girls. Girls tend to be shorter. But I disagree. 5 feet 4 isn't good for me, I'd prefer somebody my height. With every trait, there is guy that hates and a guy that loves it.
Now for the guys...
-Penis Size
Anything under 3.5 inches is bad. Under 3 is really bad. The average is 5-6 inches. Many guys watch porn, see some dude with oversized penis and figures that his penis is small. Also, looking down on your dick form the perspective of your head position, your dick looks smaller than it really is. Also, dick size isn't THAT important, especially when clitoral orgasms are way more common. A good vibrator will work well, but a hand will work nicely as well. (Or a tongue. Whatever floats your boat.) AND, even with vaginal sex, it's penis circumference. that matters. I'm not claiming to be a sex expert, but this is what I've picked up upon from research.
For both genders, the clothes you wear is important. Yeah, everyone loves the idea of loving somebody for their personality, but that is a load of bullshit. We are evolutionary products. We see the secondary sexual characteristics of the opposite sex and judge subconsciously, their fertility. So, wear bad clothes. Girls or guys won't like you. Got acne? Minus points. Etc.
Hell, for the guys that idealize a girl as an innocent, sweet, beautiful girl, the reality here is they are just as horny as you are. If we are back in the stone ages, she'd basically long to get laid over and over. Every time you want to eat, drink sleep, have sex, you are completely dominated by your primal instincts. It's evolution taking over.
Guys are not as adept at verbal things. Even more people, across genders, do not bother nor care to analyze social phenomenon. For me, some of these words have subtle differences in meanings.
Hot - You're physically attractive. The opposite gender would have sex with you and probably hit on you. For some more jerk-ish guys, you're a good target for a one-night stand. Not to say that the world "hot" means that you're easy and slutty. But when it comes from one of those types of guys, it's what they are thinking about. Hot is physical.
Sexy - Basically hot. You could have a sexy manner though, the way you carry yourself/seduce a person.
Beautiful - This has a certain aspect of elegance attached to it. It's less 'have sex with that girl'. It could mean something deeper. But on the most shallow level, it is admiring a person. It could be purely physical, but that does not detract from the emotions felt. It can be both physical and mental, in which case it's more well-rounded.
Assume guy likes a girl.
If a guy simply calls a girl hot, there is a higher chance that he'd simply get over her in a little bit.
If a guy calls a girl beautiful, it is possible that...
The girl has captured the guy's heart and took his breath away. The guy feels the girl is the most beautiful girl in the world. (Brought to you by evolution, by the way.)
As a girl friend who she thinks is the hottest girl in the room and you may lose standing with the girl. Ask a girl who she thinks is the most beautiful, she'd pick a girl, if that girl is in the room. The girl can admire that other girl while being a straight girl.
There is can be more respect for a girl who is beautiful. A few guys actually have a hard time pleasuring them self to the image of the girl in question, because it almost 'dirties' up her image. There could be an element of innocence attached. Of elegance. Of 'inner beauty'. Valid or not, that's definitely a possibility of the implied meaning of the word when used in the correct context.
Gorgeous - You look incredible, I'm blown away. I've never seen a guy use this word on a girl the guy never calls beautiful and only calls hot. Therefore, this isn't in the same league as 'hot'.
Pretty - You look pleasant.
Cute - Pretty. Could also infer something about the girl's character, though, "Cute behavior".. Nobody says "pretty behavior".
Body Image
Being a guy, I have more guy friends than girl friends. That's just how it is. Because of this, I may know more about the guy's body image problems. But let's start with the female.
-Breast Size
We've heard of the guys drooling over some busty girl. Do guys really like big breasts? Some do, some don't, I don't. (Watch it get loose and saggy in the future!) I don't think breasts can be fully equated as the same situation as penis size. Breasts don't pleasure the guy directly. Their size has no utility in sex. Yes, the correct size may arouse the guy, but that doesn't equate to 'the bigger, the better'. So girls, quit worrying about breast size. And don't get fake boobs. The men that would take fake boobs rather than the real thing have issues.
-Not thing enough
Just saying, being unhealthy and eating nothing makes you look malnutritioned. And that puts up a red flag to guys because it is an evolutionary warning sign. There's a threshold of being too thin, as well.
-Height
Not as common. But I do notice that a majority of guys prefer shorter girls. Girls tend to be shorter. But I disagree. 5 feet 4 isn't good for me, I'd prefer somebody my height. With every trait, there is guy that hates and a guy that loves it.
Now for the guys...
-Penis Size
Anything under 3.5 inches is bad. Under 3 is really bad. The average is 5-6 inches. Many guys watch porn, see some dude with oversized penis and figures that his penis is small. Also, looking down on your dick form the perspective of your head position, your dick looks smaller than it really is. Also, dick size isn't THAT important, especially when clitoral orgasms are way more common. A good vibrator will work well, but a hand will work nicely as well. (Or a tongue. Whatever floats your boat.) AND, even with vaginal sex, it's penis circumference. that matters. I'm not claiming to be a sex expert, but this is what I've picked up upon from research.
For both genders, the clothes you wear is important. Yeah, everyone loves the idea of loving somebody for their personality, but that is a load of bullshit. We are evolutionary products. We see the secondary sexual characteristics of the opposite sex and judge subconsciously, their fertility. So, wear bad clothes. Girls or guys won't like you. Got acne? Minus points. Etc.
Hell, for the guys that idealize a girl as an innocent, sweet, beautiful girl, the reality here is they are just as horny as you are. If we are back in the stone ages, she'd basically long to get laid over and over. Every time you want to eat, drink sleep, have sex, you are completely dominated by your primal instincts. It's evolution taking over.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Gay Marriage
Gay marriage. My opinions have been formed by these videos:
And the idea that it isn't natural... it's not natural to wear clothes, eat chicken mcnuggets, or play video games.
I know it's lazy to put up 3 videos and call it a day (or an entry), but these guys explain it quite well. As with all of my entries, I welcome anybody to challenge my current views.
And the idea that it isn't natural... it's not natural to wear clothes, eat chicken mcnuggets, or play video games.
I know it's lazy to put up 3 videos and call it a day (or an entry), but these guys explain it quite well. As with all of my entries, I welcome anybody to challenge my current views.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Superstition, Faith, Human Fallacy, Taboos
First, superstition Religion is a superstition. It is full of beliefs and dogma without real evidence. The denial of that is to some point, a mental illness. What other superstitions are there? Astrology, for example. It's the idea that the planetary movements of planets in the solar system affects your life. Just like religion, it is incredibly egocentric; who do you think YOU are? The universe doesn't care about YOU. You're just a very small spec on a spec of dust called earth. (Religion: God listens to me and actually gives a rat's ass about who I have sex with!) There's no serious reason or evidence to believe in astrology, just like religion. Go watch Penn&Teller's bullshit series, they debunk many superstitions.
Which begs me to ask, why are so many people deluded into believing in psychic powers, etc? It is due to an evolutionary byproduct... We tend to try to recognize patterns to survive... if we do this, that tends to happen; based on that info, do we do this or not do this to reflect the result we want? In a test, scientists gave a bird food whenever it turned to look over its left shoulder. After doing so several times, eventually the bird continues to look over its left shoulder despite getting no food. Of course, this is unlike the savannas we used to be in, there were no scientists testing the fallacies of our logic in 1 gazillion BC. However, it demonstrated how our logic is by its core, flawed. We were not evolved to be intellectuals We were evolved to survive and do what is required to survive. Just like the sex drive, the gullibility to see patterns when there isn't any still affects us today.
Ironically, that's insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
We are scared of NUMBERS. Number 13 is bad, number 7 is good; number 8 is lucky in other countries. Do numbers (which we made up) have powers that change depending on your geography to reflect 8 as lucky in China but 7 as lucky in America? Why do we believe in lucky underwear? Do we really think that wearing a necklace will 'ward of bad luck'? Luck doesn't even exist, it is solely an invention of our minds, and illusion of reality.
Which brings me to my next point: It's taboo to question faith. It's ok to ridicule a guy for believing in Thor today because nobody believes in it. It's more acceptable to distrust Mormons because the religion is new. Christianity is old and familiar with a big audience. But why should that any bearing on my respect for people that believe in Christianity? You might as well be worshiping the great juju of the mountain. In fact, it probably makes sense that I'd have more distaste for the bible because it fools to many people. But somehow, FAITH is a GOOD thing, especially in COMMON RELIGIONS. Faith is gullibility. It is the surrender of reason and logic, giving up everything that makes us different than all other animals. I understand that not everybody has what it takes to analyze things like this, but with all the progress being stymied by religion, and the readiness to be a victim of our ancient, incorrect logic, it irritates me to a very high degree. Humanity cannot move forward when we're believing in space daddies. Humanity cannot move forward when we worship a book calling for slavery, rape, and murder. The sooner we realize that the endless majesty of the universe is well worth learning about, and we quit turning to a burning bush for answers, the faster humanity can improve itself.
The logic we apply to religion and only religion would not be acceptable anywhere else. (Of course, some idiots still play the lottery thinking they will win.) But, most people don't play the lottery because they know it's stupid to. Yet a few will buy tickets, and have 'faith' that they will win. The holy books of religion are so profound, they could not have been written by a human being. Think about how differently we deal with scientific evidence. Isaac Newton invented calculus and discovered the laws of motion in a year. It took 300 years on the part of many amazing scientists to fully add on to his work. Do we call this a work of god? True, Newton was a Christian, but only because everybody was at his place during his time, much like how Lincoln accepted slavery. On the other hand, anybody can improve the bible, scientifically, ethically, spiritually in moments. Clearly this is not the work of an omnipotent being.
Not all religions are created equal. All are ridiculous, but some are more harmful than others. When was the last time you heard a Buddhist bomb a building? Exactly. On the other hand, you have Islamic beliefs. Christianity isn't the worst, but it's one of the worst religions out there. I actually have a friend that is so sexually ashamed, he has never masturbated. And he's 18 going onto 19.
Is religion a mental illness? Possibly. It depends on what you define as 'affects normal life'. I would argue that wasting time every Sunday affects normal life. A mental illness isn't one until it affects your day to day life. The slope is slightly slippery, because then how much effect affects your life? Are some of the other superstitions also mental illnesses? I don't think there's a good way to answer this question. Not all superstitions or even religion, to be specific, affect a person the same way. You can also slightly believe in a bible, or fully believe in it; you can be extremist of moderate.
Lastly, I'd like to mention that breaking the taboos of doubting religion publicly and discussing these issues with believers is the best way to proceed. How else will change occur? If you are religious and reading this, I'd encourage you to start debating with your fellow atheists or people from other religions. You are proud of your god; show it. Don't be afraid to defend your god and why you believe in your god. Not doing so is cowardly. Do not duck under the guise of 'being insulted'. What do you have to be insulted about, exactly?
Which begs me to ask, why are so many people deluded into believing in psychic powers, etc? It is due to an evolutionary byproduct... We tend to try to recognize patterns to survive... if we do this, that tends to happen; based on that info, do we do this or not do this to reflect the result we want? In a test, scientists gave a bird food whenever it turned to look over its left shoulder. After doing so several times, eventually the bird continues to look over its left shoulder despite getting no food. Of course, this is unlike the savannas we used to be in, there were no scientists testing the fallacies of our logic in 1 gazillion BC. However, it demonstrated how our logic is by its core, flawed. We were not evolved to be intellectuals We were evolved to survive and do what is required to survive. Just like the sex drive, the gullibility to see patterns when there isn't any still affects us today.
Ironically, that's insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
We are scared of NUMBERS. Number 13 is bad, number 7 is good; number 8 is lucky in other countries. Do numbers (which we made up) have powers that change depending on your geography to reflect 8 as lucky in China but 7 as lucky in America? Why do we believe in lucky underwear? Do we really think that wearing a necklace will 'ward of bad luck'? Luck doesn't even exist, it is solely an invention of our minds, and illusion of reality.
Which brings me to my next point: It's taboo to question faith. It's ok to ridicule a guy for believing in Thor today because nobody believes in it. It's more acceptable to distrust Mormons because the religion is new. Christianity is old and familiar with a big audience. But why should that any bearing on my respect for people that believe in Christianity? You might as well be worshiping the great juju of the mountain. In fact, it probably makes sense that I'd have more distaste for the bible because it fools to many people. But somehow, FAITH is a GOOD thing, especially in COMMON RELIGIONS. Faith is gullibility. It is the surrender of reason and logic, giving up everything that makes us different than all other animals. I understand that not everybody has what it takes to analyze things like this, but with all the progress being stymied by religion, and the readiness to be a victim of our ancient, incorrect logic, it irritates me to a very high degree. Humanity cannot move forward when we're believing in space daddies. Humanity cannot move forward when we worship a book calling for slavery, rape, and murder. The sooner we realize that the endless majesty of the universe is well worth learning about, and we quit turning to a burning bush for answers, the faster humanity can improve itself.
The logic we apply to religion and only religion would not be acceptable anywhere else. (Of course, some idiots still play the lottery thinking they will win.) But, most people don't play the lottery because they know it's stupid to. Yet a few will buy tickets, and have 'faith' that they will win. The holy books of religion are so profound, they could not have been written by a human being. Think about how differently we deal with scientific evidence. Isaac Newton invented calculus and discovered the laws of motion in a year. It took 300 years on the part of many amazing scientists to fully add on to his work. Do we call this a work of god? True, Newton was a Christian, but only because everybody was at his place during his time, much like how Lincoln accepted slavery. On the other hand, anybody can improve the bible, scientifically, ethically, spiritually in moments. Clearly this is not the work of an omnipotent being.
Not all religions are created equal. All are ridiculous, but some are more harmful than others. When was the last time you heard a Buddhist bomb a building? Exactly. On the other hand, you have Islamic beliefs. Christianity isn't the worst, but it's one of the worst religions out there. I actually have a friend that is so sexually ashamed, he has never masturbated. And he's 18 going onto 19.
Is religion a mental illness? Possibly. It depends on what you define as 'affects normal life'. I would argue that wasting time every Sunday affects normal life. A mental illness isn't one until it affects your day to day life. The slope is slightly slippery, because then how much effect affects your life? Are some of the other superstitions also mental illnesses? I don't think there's a good way to answer this question. Not all superstitions or even religion, to be specific, affect a person the same way. You can also slightly believe in a bible, or fully believe in it; you can be extremist of moderate.
Lastly, I'd like to mention that breaking the taboos of doubting religion publicly and discussing these issues with believers is the best way to proceed. How else will change occur? If you are religious and reading this, I'd encourage you to start debating with your fellow atheists or people from other religions. You are proud of your god; show it. Don't be afraid to defend your god and why you believe in your god. Not doing so is cowardly. Do not duck under the guise of 'being insulted'. What do you have to be insulted about, exactly?
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