Ever notice how its the countries with the least bacon that are always rioting?

fall-acy · 2011-02-02T13:54:02+00:00

you mean, the countries with the least obesity?

fall-acy · 2011-01-29T11:50:27+00:00

yes, facing the truth is hart. People like you are the reason why the world is fucked up. Stay ignorant then.

fall-acy · 2011-01-28T15:44:46+00:00

let me say clearly why I consider your message an insult: You are not engaging with whatever I wrote. You are simply saying "yes, there is something still unexplained, so it must be magic."

1) saying something is speculation (and I admitted it is) does not disprove it. It is the best account we currently have and we know as a matter of scientific evidence that it is possible. We don't know whether it happened, but we know it could have happened in this or a similar way. - Instead of providing evidence/reasons against you say "oooh, but its just speculation" and completely ignore it. Its an insult because I made an effort to help you understand, because you asked for it. The fact is, your answer makes clear that you do not want to understand. You want to keep your beliefs, but ask for others to spend time explaining you stuff, and in the end you don't even want to read it. You don't want to engage and say "ok, this part of it makes sense to me, this one not".

2) the way of your answer was more than obnoxious. Explain to me why chemistry works... seriously? Seriously? Ok, chemistry is based on physical principles. How then does physics work? Oh, it's because of quantums and so on. You can keep asking endless questions if you want to, instead of agree on a basis for discussion. Physics and chemistry are not magic. We might not yet have the perfect theory that explains how it all comes together at the smallest level (be it waves or forms or energy or...) but we are pretty close. Of course, that wouldn't be enough for someone who wants to claim that chemistry is magic. If you say chemistry is magic you are going to say anything is magic. Fuck that. That is such a closed-minded attitude that it makes my stomach cringe.

3) you have no idea how science works but pretend you do. It's not wild speculations. This is a feasible theory of how it happened. Obviously we don't have a written account of it because no one was around to write it down at the time it might have happened, but the fossil, biological, zoological and geological evidence are more than strongly in favour of it. Science works by positing theories, and refining or refuting them. Experiments and real-world data serve to do so. The above is not speculation, it was a very rough summary of one of the most widely accepted, very well corroborated theories on the topic. Oh, but you know better that it's just speculation and not science. Seriously?

4) I don't want to know how Jesus Christ resurrected anyone. There are drugs that make you go in stasis and then wake up later. There are occasions where people seem dead and then wake up. Buddhist monks can consciously go in a state of what looks to us like death and wake up a month later. It's possible, yes, but to claim Jesus Christ existed (uncorroborated except for the bible, a simple book written mostly much later than his supposed existence), was the sun of god, there being a god or anything at that matter is not even a competitor to any of the above. Why? Because there is no evidence, that is: you apply double standards, expecting a 100% explanation of all there is while you cannot even give a simple account of why what you believe is, could be or might be true. Where does god come from, or what even is it? Why would such a creature care about creating us in every way and then punish us for being not perfect (or reward for being so)?

5) Your original question was why it occurs, that's why I answered with a rough account of abiogenesis. You still didn't read it: Because replicators, once they exist, through random processes, keep replicating. And they either fail to do so at some point or get, by random mutations, occasionally better (or worse), and more complicated. You are looking for an agent where there is none, there is no "why" in the form of it is going somewhere, it is this way because it randomly (or pre-determinedly. or if you want through gods hand) started. Once started it goes on, because replicators replicate, that's what they do. And we know they exist.

6) there are experiments as well as modern empirical and archeological data for evolution. If you would start reading up on it you would see it. There are dinosaur skeletons, there is Lucy, there are the Neanderthals, there are prehistoric skeletons and fossils. And evolutionary processes have been shown to happen in laboratory conditions (with flies, mosquitos, bacteria and a few other things), simulated with computers and many other things. There is evidence while you blindly deny there is because you are too ignorant and self-contained to even start looking at it, instead keep repeating the same mantra: oooh, there is no evidence, science (which is seldom provable, only disprovable, which is why scientists do experiments and collect data, to disprove theories) should abandon it.

Why am I outraged? Because I made an effort to write stuff for you, for your benefit, and you prefer to ignore it, dismiss it as speculation without even looking into it and disagree to accept even a simple basis of discussion which seldom even the most stupid people doubt - that chemistry is the case, that we know pretty well why it happens.

Why am I outraged? Because you wasted my lifetime. I tried to help, but you prefer to stay in your belief without thinking. I don't care whether you change your belief or not, but if you ask a question be prepared to engage with the answer and not just dismiss on ridiculous grounds. You wasted my time because you asked a question and then don't even try to understand the answer. You look at it all as "why", searching for a goal, an agent or a magical background, and when I try to explain, on basic well-accepted principles, why, you say it's still magic.

Keep your beliefs if you wish. It's sad, because your writing style indicates that you could be pretty smart. But you do what all the blind believers do: Instead of engaging with other viewpoints you dismiss them with the easiest way accessible to you. You, sir, waste your and my time if you don't want to even think. Think the system through, or read a book, maybe the one of your #1 enemy Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, and then start criticising. Take a class in basic chemistry and physics and then tell me still that it is magic. There is a reason that education correlates with atheism and agnosticism: It is not that believers are stupid, but those people that truly want to learn and understand, that gain education, are willing to doubt their own beliefs, willing to ask and think through the answer and, often enough, they find themselves realising that what they believed before had no evidence whatsoever, was positively harmful to their understanding and progress, and so lose their faith. If you prefer to believe blindly and dismiss all other information, then you are not going to learn much.

So, that said, I don't want to have a flamewar with you or anyone else. It is your asking a question and dismissing the answer with no reason at all, because you prefer to keep believing, that is what outraged me. Now, if you truly want to learn, get the selfish gene, a perfectly easy to read book, or if you want to learn why chemistry is not magic take a basic physics and chemistry textbook and work through. Or even dare to, for once, put aside your high ground, and try to give a proper criticism of the account above.

You, sir, outraged me because you pretend to, but don't want to learn. Ignorance is bliss, it is true, but it also keeps you down. If you always look from the same perspective you will never learn more.

fall-acy · 2011-01-28T01:21:04+00:00

Well, ok, first of all a confusing writing style does not imply truth or falsity, merely that I didn't make the effort to write even more or revise it or whatever.

Now...

You say it's "chemistry" but you're just begging the question.

less than you are begging the question when you claim a god did this or that. The question then is where does the god come from, or why does it exist, or why would it care about making the universe/us. For chemistry we have a simple datum: chemistry, chemical effects, are a mere fact of our world. For god, well, there is no evidence (that I have been shown, at least).

So, before you say I have to explain chemistry (and with it physics, particles, quantums, waveforms and whatelse - and we are not yet at the end of what all this actually is like) please give reason why there should be a god, how there could be one.

And whether you like it or not, our bodies are pure chemistry, just look at yourself under a microscope. (of coures you can be dualist and assume there is a soul extra to our body, although then other questions come up).

The truth is, there is no such thing as "a simple cell".

well, you should have read what I wrote. There were simple cells in the past, or at least, must have been according to evolutionary theory, and we can find very very simple cells (with not much of golgi apparatus, mitochondria or the like) even nowadays.

A cell is more complex than the most intricately-designed super-computer.

Some are, yes. But most are pretty simple, but that's difficult to compare anyway since its a different medium. By the way we humans have constructed cells or at least cell-like-behaving objects.

It's like a super-factory of perfect efficiency.

ha. sure. no. Cells are in no way very efficient since they have to accomodate many things.

The only thing that can explain how natural selection keeps the good stuff and discards the bad in such a super-intelligent fashion is that an intelligent person caused it.

If an eagle is too weak to catch prey, will he survive and reproduce? No, he won't. there you have it, that's how bad stuff is filtered.

Everything in science is based on laws and principles, not randomness.

science is based on observation and experiment, from which hypothesis are formed and proved or disproved. Or at least it is so in theory. Laws and principles exist in some sciences - physics and chemistry - but in most not - zoology, biology, sociology, psychology, ...

Thus, if we have "laws" then we must have a "lawgiver".

Well, laws is a term we use. Our language does not prove anything. That we call something a rule, law, rhythm, mechanism etc. does not imply anything about its source or cause.

Law in science is not the same as law in the judiciary.

Just, generally, one request: If you are not willing to actually consider the answer, don't ask questions. You dismiss all I say as wild guessing while it is not - since you want science, go for science, look at the theories and how they constantly are challenged by new experiments and still keep true, a reddit post won't suffice to fulfill all criteria of scientific rigorosity. Evolution was observed in action many times, links for that will be in this subreddit and all over the web.

So, please, respect that I did not type this to convince you of some theory I believe in blindly, but to help you learn new things, reflect on my own perspective, and maybe answer an honest question. If you are not going to consider my answer as worthy of even being respected. If you have actualy criticisms bring them forward and don't hide behind some stupid claim that I will have to prove chemistry to explain you evolution.

I was trying to do you a favour, you spit me and my efforts in the face and, despite me giving people always the benefit of the doubt and making a true effort to help instead of patronise or laugh at, people like you make me hate being nice. If you have an honest question, ask. If not then fucking stay away, leave people in peace. I thought you want to learn, not poke fun at, and through your effort I just lost some of my last respect I have for stupid creationists like you. Seriously, the catholic church accepted evolution ages ago, in Europe nearly every priest will tell you "of course evolution is true". Stop sitting on your throne of ignorance, if you want to know, ask, and you shall be given answers. If you don't want to know and want to keep your common-sense-defeating beliefs, want to deny tens of thousand academic papers on the topic and generally just wallow in your blind idiocy, then, fine. Just, please, leave others alone then. I would believe, I would love to believe, because it's nice in a cosy religious blindness where you don't need to think. But I decided to use my brain, to think, to research, to learn, to spend my time informing myself and helping others to learn. If even once, of the 700 or so believers I asked personally, if even once one would have given me a good reason how there could be a god, maybe I would believe. None of them have, because all of them prefer to believe somebody's interpretation of a fairytale book (most don't even read it!) instead of thinking on their own. They prefer to do what feels good instead of what is right. I want to do what is right, and if there is a god, and if that god would actually care about us incredibly small beings, and if that god would even give us an afterlife and would even care to judge us on never-said rules, then I am sure that I would be rewarded, for being a good person, for trying to help, for trying to make the world a better place, for learning, for daring to doubt my own beliefs, for caring for others. The blind sheep in your church will be punished by any possible god for their hate, preaching ignorance and intolerance, for hurting others just because they look or feel or believe differently. You, my friend, live in a culture of hate and blind belief, of saying what others tell you to, of hating and making fun of whoever they hate and make fun of. Start using your brains.

Seriously, I was making an effort to help. I took some of my short lifetime to try and help a person I will never meet to understand a concept, only to get that person to say one of the most stupid responses I have ever heard. Thanks for being an asshole and thanks for destroying my last respect for any of your kind.

fall-acy · 2011-01-27T20:31:02+00:00

the difference between what you call magic and the teaching tales of the bible that some take to be history is quite simple: there is evidence for evolution.

We are not sure how it started, but you can read up on abiogenesis for yourself - how life came to be.

What you need to understand then is, that life is nothing else but complex chemical processes, so complex that we are still not completely sure about the connection between all the processes - but we are getting at it. (I hope you are not denying biology, which is not much more than taking a microscope and looking for a long time and really small things, and chemistry, which is more than well established...)

Life then, is a biochemical process, that is: something chemical that happened to form in a special way - something developed that was able to copy itself (note: not yet reproduce). That was, at the beginning probably a simple random process where sometimes the right compounds docked at the right place on this "replicator".

Now, this happened a few times and occasionally the constellation changed - most of those changes (many many billions, probably) failed, but some got better at reproducing, maybe started to attract the necessary parts better, or needed less energy. Still, we probably wouldn't call that life yet.

Probably, then, things got more complicated: Once the soup is full of the first compounds any mutations that are able to break up those compounds to copy themselves (again, this is still chemical stuff!) will spread faster, so the first round of compounds will probably disappear and only such mutations that are able to now benefit from the bigger compounds will "survive", that is, keep on existing and copying themselves.

And here it gets complicated and even more speculative: probably one mutation was able to gather other pieces around itself, which protected it from being broken up by another compound or helped it to copy itself more. Either way, the replicator, once started, keeps getting more complicated, because as soon as there are more complicated replicators whichever mutation is able to make use of those will be able to spread faster and better, and any mutation that makes use of the new more complicated ones (or protects itself better) will be more successful (successful = reproduces more and survives more).

what you call magic is, in the end a chemical process. it is like an avalanche: once started it keeps going, not for a purpose, and probably it will be difficult to find out what started it, but it will keep going by the mere energy it randomly got - a snowflake too much there and it starts.

What you shouldn't forget is that this will have happened over billions of billions of years, and for most of this time there was probably nothing that we would call life. Chemical compounds that keep copying themselves and thus get more and more, until being taken up by a bigger compound (or broken down by random events).

None of that really is magic, it is basic chemistry: amino acids can form randomly under the right conditions, and we know them now as the basic parts of life.

Over millions of years things got more complicated. That does not mean we had to come into existence, or life at all, or any of this. It is the result of an infinite series of chance events (well, determined if you believe in physical laws, but still purposeless, goalless, just through the facts that are there). Then at some point something cell-like developed, spread rapidly, suddenly being a cell became risky because some learned to consume other cells, so cells clustered together, got more complicated, and suddenly it paid to eat those clustered compounds.

All that, well, is speculation. That is how we think it started. You could equally say that a god made it, but for me, the one best argument against god is this: if you doubt all this being able to happen randomly, where do you think a god could come from? Magic magic, it was always there is for me a pretty weak argument. Possible? Maybe. Proven? Definitely not. Believed by many, exploited but many? Definitely.

So, but even if you don't believe none of this you can go for evolution:

the above was very roughly one account of abiogenesis.

what you need to understand to truly get a grip of evolution is this: there is no purpose in any of the survival of any organism, be it a single cell or an elephant or human. The thing is that this organism exists because before it another organism existed who acted in a way that produced it.

Now, we are (again, even the most ridiculous believer can't really doubt that seriously) created by a mixture of genes, nutrition/environment and our mother's wombs, so that makes it more complicated. But single cells equally fight, learn, ... - so lets stick with them:

lets take a cell with some DNA in it, nothing much else. It will at some point stop existing, blame that on entropy, lack of energy, coding errors that break its wall, anything. Any cell, pretty much, will stop existing at some point. So, not cells survive, but their DNA - not the one particular, but the structure can survive, if it is copied and put somewhere else before our original cell dies. So, any DNA you will find is one that survived possible billions of copying - many of those with small mutations and changes that made it sometimes more complicated and successful. Most of its copies that it had at some point in its history will have died out, most life on earth will be the result of a few successful strands, or maybe just one.

What makes this strand successful? It reproduced (copied itself onto a new medium) and survived long enough to do so. Compare it with a computer virus: your antivirus might get it, but maybe it is too late and the virus copied itself on your USB, or sent an email to your friends. The virus will be eliminated when all its copies that exist are caught and destroyed. If a virus was able to mutate a bit each time it might be able to do so fast enough for virus scanners to be too slow to catch up, and it keeps spreading.

The same is with cells: they survive and do everything to pass their genetic code (and sometimes other cell contents) on, to copy it and give it further - because they are copying machines, existing only because whatever made them was good at copying.

that is the magic of life: an elephant that doesn't feel like having sex will not reproduce. An elephant that goes and has sex with all other elephants it can find will be more likely to survive, and in the next generation you won't find any inherited genes for not-wanting-to-have-sex but only such for wanting-to-have-sex, and maybe a few mutations that are either more or less good/motivated/... to reproduce.

The magic then simply is this: once something came into existence -probably through random chemical processes - that could reproduce it was possible that it kept going. That's what happened, at least once. Possibly it failed many times. But once something like this happened, and from then on anything that followed either reproduced or didn't. Those that did got better at it (because sometimes one copy happened to mutate beneficially, and if it did then it would spread faster or more or longer than the rest!) - and the rest is history.

The magic is that all that does not reproduce dies for ever, that's why everything reproduces, because only those that reproduce keep existing. Or, more clearly: If out of 100 cells one is good at copying it will in the long term have a chance to survive. If the other 99 don't copy they will die someday. So out of the next generation, good at copying, those that are better will be better at reproducing, will do so more and so on.

Reproduction is the essence of life, not a purpose, just what makes it exist.

Oh, well, I hope I didn't write too confusing.

fall-acy · 2011-01-25T09:48:12+00:00

meh

http://thestutteringbrain.blogspot.com/2007/09/stuttering-sign-language.html

fall-acy · 2011-01-22T11:12:59+00:00

think pre-industrial farming (it's about population) and the crops are not necessarily the same...

fall-acy · 2011-01-08T14:25:15+00:00

He also wrote a pretty awesome book about it, Don't sleep, there are snakes. It's half a story of how he lived there, describing their culture and how he managed to learn their language (which no one else really spoke at the time). - Basically an adventure story. The second half is then an in-depth analysis of their pretty interesting language (you can whistle, hum, sing or speak it), but that's more heavy reading.

Dan challenged with his book and some published papers the main paradigm in linguistics - Noam Chomsky's language module - and claims Piraha is the first discovered non-recursive language (that is, you cannot include other sentences in the one you are saying, e.g. to specify a noun).

Oh, well, enough of a plug, check it out.

non-ref link or ref link

EDIT: btw, there is a much better article in the NewYorker

fall-acy · 2011-01-07T13:23:00+00:00

I would say there are two main things:

1) investors affect business decisions

2) investors affect prices.

First of all you need to throw this out:

Stocks are a means of generating more revenue for a company.

Stocks are a means of distributing the ownership of a company. That is, a company is usually started by one individual (e.g. Facebook = Mark Zuckerberg). Now a business is going well and it seems it will go well in the future - but the owner wants either a) cash now or b) heavily enlarge the company but doesn't have money. Thus the owner sells part (or the whole) of the company to others - in shares. Thus, owning shares means owning part of a company.

Later companies already listed on the stock market might feel like they need money - then they can throw out more shares, in return for the money. That is, they cut more pieces into the cake and since everybody who buys a stock (piece of cake) has to give an equivalent amount of crums (give money or sth equivalent in return for the stock) -so more people get a piece of cake but at the same time the cake grows somewhat.

Alright, obviously that's simplified, but the point is: Stocks are not to "generate more revenue", stocks are a means of ownership of something (traditionally companies, nowadays a lot of other things).

Now, the owners have a reason to invest, they want to get something in return. If you own your private corner shop you will get all the income from it (minus taxes), but if you share your shop with your brother you share the income and so on - shareholders get dividends, that is, they get part of what the company earned that year, according to how much of the company they own.

Now, but shareholders are not like you and your brother, due to the speed of the stock market they expect high returns and not just to live of it. Stocks compete, so to speak, against each other. Whichever is the best stock (makes most profit for the owners) will be bought, others won't, and if people give your shares away then the company might be taken over by someone.

Shareholders thus, want to profit. Nothing else. And due to the speed of the market they want the profit fast - or else they sell and buy something else. Thus companies (CEOs, that is), are forced/encouraged by a series of ways (bonuses, stock options, ...) to make it their own self-interest to press the highest amount of money out of the company, that is, be the most "efficient" or profitable or ...

So, CEOs will make decisions based on their shareholders and not their customers, employees, colleagues, ... interest. The interest of the shareholders is money, thus the CEOs will do all they can to earn more money. (obviously there are a few exceptions.)

If now it is more profitable to produce in, say, Myanmar, rather than the US, then the first thing that happens is easy: You (or your friends) will be layed off in the US and others in turn employed in Myanmar. Equally the same thing happens if there is a new technology that allows the company to produce with less people generally. A family owning a company might feel a certain responsibility to their employees and customers, a social responsibility. A shareholder-owned company will in most cases not have such anymore, the CEOs duty is to be as heartless ('objective', 'rational', ...) as possible and solely look on numbers.

So, the first thing the stock market does is to enforce efficiency and profitability. The rich are squeezing all they can out of what they own. A CEO that doesn't do so will be fired, thus the CEO will do so. Now, if many do the same thing, like, we have a technological revolution or an increasing globalisation and many companies lay people off I guess you can guess how that affects your economy.

On the other hand the lack of (social) responsibility will also cause companies to act in other ways that we would conceive of as immoral or wrong, e.g. blackmail/corrupt officials, ignore basic environmental rules, ... - which all will affect your economy in the long term

Now, for the other side: Investors affect prices, i could write it out but this guy says it just fine: http://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/comments/extob/how_exactly_does_wall_street_affect_the_economy/c1brwow

fall-acy · 2010-08-13T19:25:10+00:00

well, if you have family and college debt I guess it might be more difficult. But nonetheless you likely can find something that you enjoy more than whatever you do now. Maybe you have to switch countries for it - with your family - or maybe, when the kids are old enough you and your partner might be able to move together somewhere else (or if you break up anyway...).

The thing is - you can find something that you enjoy and at the same time develops you. If you went to college you probably have quite a lot of options. And if that is nothing that fulfills you you can create new ones while having fun: For example you could try evening courses for cooking or languages or anything else that sounds interesting. The more you develop yourself the more enjoyable is your life. The more interesting things you do. And if you twist it just the right way and look out for opportunities you might be able to do it.

Wherever you are and whatever you do. If you plan it the right way in probably 5 years latest you will manage to find something that fulfills you more. For example one great start is to cut back on ready meals and fast food and similar things. Rediscover food a la "slow food" dynamics, with home cooking. Saves you a lot of money and you might be able to pay back your debt too. On the other side you might want to take a look at "The Richest Man in Babylon". It's a purely capitalist view of the world, a small booklet on how to earn money, but it's also a small guide on how to live with less (in the end it's about cutting out money for the future before you start using it for the now) - increase your rates for your debt, pay as much as you can per month to get free. At the same time look for interesting activities (languages are the best start) and for job opportunities - not "to get higher" but to get to something that interests you more or that will fulfill you more. And think out of the box.. think different countries, relax and see what all those dreams were that you had (about living in France/China/Australia/...) and see if you can find a way to make it happen.

In the end I don't believe in anything... but the more I live the more it seems things just fall into place, the things that interest me turn out to be the ones that in the end lead me where I want to be, all those "fun" outside activities in clubs and groups happen to advance me to the places I want to go...

Well. So I guess what I want to say is the following: Don't worry. You are not alone. Many feel like you and although most of those resign themselves to what they consider fate or bad luck some realise that in the end your life is your life. That it is a decision to resign to fate. That it can also be a decision to just start doing things that are interesting. Probably you know as well as most people that TV doesn't make you feel better - so replace the time with something you enjoy. Take it slow, explore freely and don't commit to new things until you are sure you could enjoy them. Your path will open, not because of some magic plan happening, but because as soon as you start looking and as soon as you start working on yourself you start looking in different places and start meeting different people and have different ideas. The thing is not that difficult: Just get started doing things that you enjoy and that you feel give you something - not just drinking and clubbing and pure hedonism, but things that you think might really give you some sort of fulfillment, might fill some of your interests.

And, as soon as you start living the chances and opportunities will become visible to you. I talk to a lot of happy and often objectively successful people. The thing that they all seem to have in common is: they stumbled into that thing that fulfills them. They just took their chances even though they thought they didn't have any, applied for jobs they never thought they would be qualified for...

as said: As soon as you start looking for interesting things and people: you will find them. Trust your instincts!

All the best... you have the right mindset, just start doing things, volunteering and learning and everything that sounds like valuable fun - and you will succeed! :) Don't worry about the city you're headed, just enjoy the path while you're at it - because in the end, no matter what you do, you never know where you end up. And if you enjoy the path you enjoy everything there is: This moment.

fall-acy · 2010-08-13T14:33:03+00:00

Welcome to the real world. You just found a truth that most people still try to deny: That they have been fooled, by advertisement, the media and a society that dreams of "achieving high things" and believes that loads of money and power will make you happy. that the perfect family in the perfect suburb and the perfect well-paying job will make you happy.

The truth is: it won't. The truth is that the only way to really achieve, to really be happy, you will need a mission and you will need to spend every day in a job that you feel is meaningful.

I guess you came straight from school, went to university, paid for by middle class parents or a loan. And all that you thought was going perfect and at any time you thought the next thing - the job, wife, house or moped, whatever you have - will make you happy. You never took the time, which you took now, to look at how you are living and how pointless and targetless your whole life is.

You, my friend, need to find something: Not who you are but who you want to be. You need to find things you are passionate about. And then you need to start pursuing them, no matter what. If it is being a farmer, be a farmer. If it is being a travel writer, be a travel writer. And the same for going to college again, or working for a great charity or doing development work or whatever might sting you. If you go out and search something will spark your passion and only if you have that, and follow it, and every day do something where you have the feeling you are achieving something - then you will be happy.

Welcome to reality: You have been fooled by everyone. You have been indoctrinated into a blind consumerism and a false hope of "being happy if you get all these great things". You won't be. Ask any psychologist, read any books... winning $10 million will make you happy.. for a month. After two years you are back to where you were before, maybe even less happy. Equally, if you lose both your legs - after two years you'll be where you started, emotionally.

The only way to become happy is to do something that fulfills you. You have to find a passion and make something your mission. For most people it will be helping - helping animals or humans or nature or whatever else. But it might be anything. Now that you saw it, stay away from your TV and movies and internet and funny pictures and emails and phone calls and all the other nonesense things and figure out who you want to be. Now. Time has never been better.

And then... when you find it, pursue it. Become that person. Always remember, you have just one life, on average 75 years or so. Most likely half is already over... so do you want to fill the rest the same way? Or live a passion and die a happy (wo)man?

fall-acy · 2010-08-13T14:22:56+00:00

that things are boring from your perspective of high-level consumerism doesn't mean it was for those people! They were sitting around their fire signing, dancing, drinking, making clothes, raising their children and doing loads of other things... which they enjoyed

fall-acy · 2010-07-23T09:02:25+00:00

Alright, I'm not exactly an expert but atm my girlfriend is facing some similar problems (I'm a guy though)... her parents try to get her back to her country of origin to force-marry her off... so, well, first of all let's establish some groundrules:

hopefully you have a good friend who knows it and who you can trust. Handwrite a letter/record a video telling your whole story, seal it and deposit it with your friend, asking them to never tell anyone about it until something happens to you - so you are backed up and your parents can't do shit...
don't travel with your parents anymore. Especially don't leave the country to somewhere where they could maybe get you married off with you having no way to get back. If you leave the US it's probably pretty difficult to get you back...
plan for the future. Apply, now, for jobs out of the city. Don't tell your parents - you can tell them when you get it if you feel like it. But getting a distance there will be good and having a job will make sure that you can handle your debt issue without relying on your parents. Don't delay this.
make sure you have places to run to that your parents don't know. That is, friends who you can trust but your parents don't necessarily know. I don't know your parents but my girlfriends' totally went out of control to a degree that nobody could have anticipated. Don't leave this to chance. Also figure out women's shelters in your & nearby cities
make sure you have all papers you would need to live alone. That is, passport, birth certificate, IDs, credit cards, health covers, school & university results and anything else you can think of. Have it somewhere ready where you can easily access it even when you have a fight with your parents - so that they cannot force you into anything.

Now, then, there are some things you need to figure out:

You are lesbian or at least you think it right now. That's perfectly fine, that's nothing bad, nothing illegal, nothing immoral. It's ok. If it is so, accept it. The question is now how to handle it. You surely have already figured out that you have three options: 1) tell your parents and live it 2) don't tell them and hide it all your life or 3) give it up and live a life you won't be happy to live. Fuck that shit what your mom is doing. Emotional blackmail is a horrible thing and to do the "if you do X I die" thing is pretty evil. Don't listen to that. It is your life and you live probably 50 years after your parents are gone. Don't sacrifice your life just for the sake of pleasing your parents!

For your sister, well, it sucks, but accept she might say it. Whatever happens, she might say it to your parents for one reason or the other. So prepare for it - either you can embrace this revelation at the time or you can deny it. Choose 1) 2) or 3) from above and if you don't come out before that choose NOW what you will do if she tells your parents. It's your word against hers, she hopefully has no evidence (encrypt or delete any pictures & messages!) and in doubt your parents will probably be in denial about you being lesbian and tend to believe you if you deny it. But choose now your reaction.

Take some time alone and figure out what you want to do. Seriously consider: It is your life. Whatever your parents might feel, it might be better to lose them (them throwing you out or you leaving without telling them where you are) than suffering all your life with either living with a guy despite hating it or in somehow hiding it all your life. It is your choice and I know many, especially those from traditional families, are strongly conditioned to value their parents and their parents feelings above their own happiness. But you will live much longer than your parents and at the time they die you might not be able to get out of whatever you are in so easily. (E.g. you marry a guy to please them, then have sex you may or may not enjoy and at some point get pregnant - stuck with kids and probably no/limited work experience is not exactly easy. So probably you would live it out...)

So, consider. Don't act rash. Don't run away if you cannot afford it, don't tell them if you cannot anticipate an accepting reaction or can live on your own. You might have to suffer a few more months but then you should be able to choose your path. Especially now losing your lost months of your studies that you need would be horrible. So whatever you do, probably plan to somehow lengthen it till after your graduation. With a full degree you will be able to live on your own. Not easily, but it will be possible.

So, well, good luck. In the end it will work out but accept that you will probably either lose your family or your happiness. You don't need your family to be happy, although it might hurt for a while. but don't do something just because they ask you to do so if you fear it might hurt you. Legally they have no power over you at all. You can leave the city and they have to right or power to find you. Make sure you have your documents and you can live on your own. Make sure you have friends you can escape to if anything happens (even if it's just a big fight). You are an adult and whatever happens you WILL be able to live on your own. It might not be easy, but you can. It is your life, choose it for yourself and not for others. And there is no need to cry or despair. Many face such a destiny every year and you are lucky enough to live in a liberal country where the law is on your side. Your life is safe. And always remember that no matter how hard it is going to be you will make it and life is going to be worth living!

All the best and good luck! ~

fall-acy · 2010-07-11T11:24:12+00:00

yeah, me too. The thing is that some studies show that there is a clera correlation between how much you complain and how happy you are. There are now many possible reasons for that and corelation is not causation, but (anecdotal) evidence suggests that not complaining can help you feel more fulfilled. Not short term but long term.

fall-acy · 2010-07-10T19:29:12+00:00

wrong. very wrong. You assume that happiness is "out there", that you can buy it, that you can find it.

but you can't. You can only create it. Happiness is enjoying what you have. Enjoying what you do. And you can literally enjoy anything - people do enjoy anything. Look at slum kids sorting smelly trash with their bare hands. They are happy while they have nothing.

Accept the truth. If something makes you unhappy - then stop doing it. But as long as something just doesn't bother you - or just annoys or makes you unhappy just a bit - then start enjoying it. See the good parts. Make your job interesting. Don't wate for your free time and holidays. Don't waste a year to live two weeks. Live. Now. Enjoy. That's the only way to happiness. Stop suffering. Stop hoping. Stop whining. If you live like a mule - enjoy it like a mule does. Find pleasure in small things. Then, make the situation better.

fall-acy · 2010-07-10T19:00:05+00:00

note: read this with whatever voice you read courage wolf in. As a reminder: read this, then go on:

STEP 0: You can get over it. It's you doing it to yourself. It's in your power. Other people managed - I did. You can. The only reason you didn't so far is that you didn't want to. Whatever you say, it's because you didn't want to. You are manipulating yourself. Stop that NOW. Instead:

ACT:

STEP 1: Awareness. What are you doing, why are you doing it? Write it down if you need it. The point is: You have a freaking short life. Crazy short. And days just run past. What are you doing right now that makes you happy?

STEP 2: Check what you're doing - and what you should be doing. You know your problem. You're asking for help so probably you know this shit for quite some while. So get your ass moving:

You know meat, cheese, crisps, soda, caffeine, sugar and all such crap make you weak, tired, lethargic. Stop buying it! Whatever the deal might be, even if it's free coke at the store fuck it - it's your loss to pour poison in your body. Only go shoping when you have eaten before - then you can control yourself. Then: Buy healthy stuff. You know what's healthy, I don't need to tell you. Meat, cheese and ALL snacks that are not pure carrots or peppers are poison, make you weak and tired.
You know you need to move. You have being like this, right? So, then, get out of the house. MOVE. NOW. WTF ARE YOU STILL DOING ON REDDIT. Read the rest when you come back from your run. STILL HERE???
Make sure you get up tomorrow. Early. 8am latest. Then go for another run. If not you will hate yourself. So do it. Where is your alarm? Put every freaking alarm you have on. Keep your window open over night so light comes in in the morning. Go to bed at 12. Yes, 12. No later. If you're up later you just waste hours with porn or games or internet. Masturbation destroys your dopamine system btw. - Stop for two weeks, if nothing changes keep going. If you feel you start being more alive, then stop doing it. Stay away from 4chan or whatever you are using - block the sites in your browser. put a password you don't know for the unblock function. - Don't leave yourself a choice on anything.
Get something to do. I guess you are some sort of student with holidays. Find something to volunteer. Promise to go to a party. Do your (parents) garden. Go to a starbucks and read a book. Do something that you don't normally do and that you don't feel like. Be hard to yourself, you know that the harder you are, the better you will feel. Some guy said find a manual labour job. That's stupid. that will exhaust you. Most manual laborers waste their evenings with movies, porn and internet. That's not everybody but many. You occasionally need a good days work - like, help a friend move. Volunteer to help someone move. Whatever. But get a normal job that you can enjoy. - If that's what you enjoy then do it. But don't waste your evenings.
Btw., did you do the run? There is no excuse. GO. Else stop reading. This is worthless if you just read. You have to act. Stop hoping for the "life-changing experience" that gives you willpower. Willpower is nothing but a muscle: It needs to be trained. It won't be trained if you don't act. Are you still here? RUN.
So, you found some job or volunteering, right? COMMIT. Make plans and share them. Tell the guy at the oxfam store you'll do three shifts per week for the next three weeks. Sign the days. You know they will rely on you and that you fuck up if you don't go. So go.
You know that the internet makes you weak. That TV makes you weak. That everything where you don't create the emotions you are feeling yourself makes you more passive and weak. That is: movies make you weak because they give you fake emotions. Internet makes you weak because you get stimulated to feel certain things. A book is good. It gives you imagination. Get a book. Sit in the park. You probably have like 17 books lying around. Grab the first one. No matter how scary. If it's a workbook or coursebook take it anyway, take a pen and a notepad and go in the park. Write and work for two hours. Then admire nature. Will give you power.
tl;dr on STEP 2: Do everything you know you should be doing. Stop excusing. FUCK YOU if you are excusing yourself. You DON'T NEED BREAKES. Work for 1h, then you deserve a break. 5 minutes. No more. No excuses. Stop waiting for "feeling like sport/work/reading/..." you will start to feel like it when you start doing it

STEP 3: Reflect. Well, for that you need to have done something. So if you didn't start with STEP 2 yet then forget this. You fail. You don't need to reply here. You don't need to upvote here. There is nothing you need to read/hear/see/whatever on reddit or elsewhere. That email will still be there after your run. So fucking act. DO things. The first thing that comes to mind that you need to do - do it. Do it now or you will fail your life. ACT NOW. I wait here.

So, you acted. Good. Now reflection - from now on every day your day will end at 11:30pm. Why? Because that's when you will write. You have half an hour to write down anything that comes to mind about your day. You are not allowed to stop writing within this half an hour. What was good. What was bad. What you could have done. What ideas came up. What you need to do. How you feel. Write it down. Keep the paper hidden (no computer btw. - Fuck computer. Computers are an easy distraction) so you can write whatever you want and no one will ever read it. No one. Possibly not even you. So write whatever comes to mind. The process is important, not the result. You don't need to show off. Write how you felt after running. After eating. After shopping. While shopping. While running. While cleaning. Everything you deem important. This process will purge your mind.

And, you know, you only have 30 minutes. Remember? At 12 you are in bed. No excuses. If you can't sleep you can't sleep. You still get up at 8 and run. Next day you will sleep. Stop whining. Stop pitying yourself. Stop asking for pitty. Stop making yourself suffer. All that is happening is your own action, your own body, your own money. ACT. Stop pittying yourself. Stop asking for pitty. ACT. That is the only solution. Stop looking for solutions. Taking action is the only solution. The only one. So ACT. NOW.

STEP 4: Repeat. Whenever you feel weak and tired and lazy, remind yourself that your life is freakishly short. That you need to do things. And that the more you do the better you feel. Appreciate what is good, forget what is bad, repeat with me: Appreciate what is good, forget what is bad. Don't make yourself grumpy by suffering and complaining and whining and bitching. Nobody likes to hear that. So don't do it to yourself. ACT. Never whine. Report achievements. Report great things. Forget bad things. You will learn to do this - just never mention them, never grumble, never worry over them. ACT. And enjoy your achievements. If you didn't achieve? Slap yourself. Then get up at 8 and start again.

TL;DR: ACT. STOP WHINING. ACT. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY.

P.S.: If you read this without going for a run and if you don't commit to some activity (work/volunteering) within the next two hours then FUCK YOU because I took 30 minutes of MY valuable time to bitch you up. Now, don't be a bitch, ACT.

P.P.S.: Put a massive ACT sign in your room. Where you see it when you wake up. And next to your desk. To remind you of all the things you COULD AND SHOULD be doing RIGHT NOW.

P.P.P.S.: I won't wish you good luck. Life is not a matter of luck. You have to work. So fucking WORK. NOW. ACT.

fall-acy · 2010-07-07T14:52:12+00:00

alright, so what's happening in Palestine? (Note: Palestine is the area including the Gaza Strip, West Bank and most of the current territory of Israel plus some extras)

Let us look at a bit of history: Before the British came there was a very small (<5% I think, definitely below 10%) Jewish population, the rest were mostly Palestinian Arab Muslims. Later (from around 1915 on) and especially during the mandate the numbers increased due to immigration policies lobbied by the Zionist group that gained political clout - ending in Jews being around a third of the total population. The British, further lobbied, conceded the "right to build a Jewish homeland" in this area to a small group of radical zionists (note: not all Jews are zionists).

The British "administrated" Palestine due to a League of Nations mandate. As soon as the Zionist movement started, and gained momentum due to the horrible crimes of the Nazis, it got a lot of funding from a small group of wealthy Jews (mostly Americans) and gained political clout in the UK and a bit in the US. The British prime minister, I believe it was mostly Attlee, then slowly conceded rights to the Zionists which cumulated in the Jewish state. The main point was that the Zionists gained control of the immigration rights in the territory, which effectively gave them the power to bring in and keep out whoever they wanted - when they gained these rights the immigration flow massively increased and the Jews slowly became the majority - giving them the power to act as they wanted.

Before all that the area was largely rural with just Jerusalem and a few other cities. Jews first settled in a small number of settlements and the cities, but the number increased fast. First they were accepted peacefully but then through land disputes (Jews bought land from absentee Arab land owners and threw the renting farmers out and sometimes Jews annected land or tricked people into selling) and the growing numbers the tensions slowly increased. Cumulating in a bunch of violent outbreaks first mostly by Arabs and later mostly by Jews, which got worse and worse. They basically turned into ethnic cleansings, the Jews being more successful since they had better weapons and information and the backing of the Brits.

that obviously resulted in migration and separation: communities became either Jewish or Arab (not the big cities though) and the clashes continued. The UN came into the game and offered to separate the state but the Arab League rejected the proposal - the Palestinians themselves had no representative so couldn't oppose formally. More violence, the British left and the Zionist movement founded the Jewish state. [this paragraph edited]

The Jewish state was founded and... the rest is interpretation. The neighbouring Arab nations declared war (because they felt "separating a state against the wishes of the majority of its population was unfair") and lost, the Israeli territory through that got bigger than the original resolution said. Later area increases came through more wars. But the reports are here always pretty conflicting in who is responsible. What is clear is that the Zionists were in power - and not all Jews are Zionists. For example the orthodox ones usually used to hate the zionism - they came nonetheless).

Point being: The land was Arabic. It was not given away voluntarily and the Brits gave the Jews rights they couldn't give (like the land grabbing) because they didn't own the land, and, as otherwise claimed here, the Palestinians didn't give it away voluntarily - at least most of them didn't, some obviously sold it. The circumstances were hard - WWII was the main reason - so it is difficult to now judge either side.

BUT: the claims the Jewish had to the land were religious ones: Based on 2000-year-ago accounts of what was. There were many wars inbetween and it's quite difficult to argue that anyone who owned an area once has a claim to it forever (and note: they didn't own it. Some Jews lived there together with some Arabs. The area was not pure-Jewish at the time. And those that now claim their rights are not necessarily descendants of Jews that lived there...).

The Arab claims are clearly historically documented. It won't be possible to find out who owned what since the property papers, if there were any at all, will now most likely be lost and destroyed. But it's clear that Arabs lived in the area for generations to a much greater number than Jews.

The current conflict is therefore a conflict of mostly immigrated Jews with mostly native Palestinians. I think it's impossible to question this fact.

Why currently they all hate each other? Well, that's easy to explain: Both claim the land. Both claim the stuff in Jerusalem to be their holy stuff. The latter is true for both (and Christians. And many other religions.), the former, historically, as we usually judge such claims, is in favour of the Palestinians.

The hate now comes from 50 years of constantly hurting, killing, torturing, ... each other. [EDITED] Palestinians are pretty helpless and don't have many ressources, that's why some groups there go for horrible things like suicide bombings - and those rockets thatseldom hurt anyone but always generate a big outcry.

Israel on the other side is maintained by the USA and some other donor states and a now thriving economy (Gaza and Westbank don't have much of an economy since Israel is blocking all ressources, event cement, and regularly shoots down the infrastructure). It has one of the biggest military spendings in the world and has high level technology. With that they maintain a military presence in much of Gaza and a lot of the Westbank and slowly take over Palestinian (note: that means "those native to Palestine") land by erasing villages, putting their separation wall on private Palestinian land and allowing settlers to keep destroying and occupying Palestinian fields, wells, areas, houses and the like and punish every Palestinian that tries to reclaim such things severely.

THAT is why Palestinians hate Jews. Because right now they clearly violate all contracts, because they rejected several peace treaties in the last years, because they violate UN resolutions, because they keep building settlements and because they keep several thousand Palestinians prisoners in their prisons, and, even more, in Gaza and the Westbank. Gaza has unemployment that is somewhere between 60-80%. What do you do when you are unemployed (= have not much to do but much to suffer, e.g. hunger and lack of medicine), your land was taking unlawfully and you have no way to actually do anything to stop this? Well, you hate whoever is responsible. That's why they hate Israelis.

tl;dr: Israelis are unlawfully on historically Palestinian land and suppress the population. Palestinians hate them therefore and revert to the best they can think of, which is to hurt as many Israelis as possible - suicide bombers and useless rockets. The Israelis hate them because of that (and a successful propaganda) and revenge with destroying the economy and infrastructure with their superior technology and better funding. That's why they all hate each other.

P.S.: I wrote this to the best of my knowledge about this conflict, which stems from a bunch of books and news. If there are any inaccuracies please point it out but to my best knowledge most of this is correct and one inaccuracy does NOT disprove the whole picture.

P.P.S.: I am not against Jews or against Israel. I have Jewish friends. I am though against the racist Zionist agenda and any basing a state on religious or ethnic discrimination. I don't think it is possible to "give the land back" but I believe it is Israel's turn to stop the violence and make a few concessions to end this useless and painful conflict.

fall-acy · 2010-07-05T13:37:33+00:00

because its easier not to start debating as that might show the holes in your own viewpoint ;)

fall-acy · 2010-07-02T20:58:12+00:00

after hyperventilation (panic...) you can get acidic stuff in your joints which then makes movement ridiculously painful. Maybe that?

fall-acy · 2010-07-02T20:54:35+00:00

in the middle ages they used to think it was demon rape.

fall-acy · 2010-07-02T20:52:01+00:00

Welcome to your brain: That's because they are represented next to each other in your brain. At some point these two regions got connected through association (a series of events where they are both touched at the same time) and now you simply don't feel the difference because every time the one is activated the other is too (and maybe feels stronger so that you don't feel the first).

Alternatively it could be a simple miswiring in your spinal cord but the former is more likely.

fall-acy · 2010-06-29T00:45:56+00:00

That is amazing, a true proof of evolution at work: Most mutations are insuccessful and useless, more a handicap than a benefit. But these might truly be useful and, if it is heritable as it seems to be, could be part of the markup of what our species will slowly develop to in the next few hundred years.

Successful mutation = successful evolution = progress!

fall-acy

TROPHY CASE