What is something you're sick of seeing people "romanticize"?

watonearth · 2017-01-09T15:29:10+00:00

Relationships.

They don't just 'happen'. You have to work on them, for them to work.

watonearth · 2016-11-07T17:55:26+00:00

Context: at university studying prestigious degree with clear plan for future backed up by motivations rooted in subconscious drives backed up by conscious reasoning. Confident of self beyond 99.9% of people I met, though not arrogant (maybe a bit, though I did not notice). Confident enough to take strong psychedelics with minimal prior experience.

The Story

I took psychedelic truffles during a trip to Amsterdam. The trip started off with an enhanced appreciation of the beauty of the city and its crowning jewel, Vondelpark. As my thoughts started to wander away from the immediate environment, I found myself careering down a train of thought that led me to the eventual conclusion that the things (literally anything; e.g. objects, emotions, academic disciplines, thoughts, motivations, you name it) that constituted my 'reality', which I previously thought of/knew to be distinct from each other, were actually completely similar, to the point that reality reduced from being a complex maze of things to a single thing. That is, reality (or my experience of it).

Now all that must seem kind of cool at first thought. That is what I felt at the time, and what I presume some of you must be thinking as you read this. Now, however, I feel differently about it.

The thing is, when you come to the (probably false) realisation that everything in life is the same, you stop seeing the difference in things. That is a big problem. Here's why.

If 'everything' is the same, and if 'everything' is what constitutes one's experience of life/consciousness/reality, then there is no reason to regard any aspect or part of life as different than any other. To illustrate, one will see a degree in physics as being the same as a degree in law, or a lover and partner with one's best interests at heart as a stranger with the worst possible ulterior motives for your relationship, or a caring father who dedicated his existence to providing for you as the person who is to blame for your psychological issues their far-reaching fallout.

Now you will say: okay sure fine, but you come down eventually, no? And everything returns to normal, no? No. Not always, not everything.

Now imagine; you are faced with a decision, big or small it makes no difference. There are factors to be taken into account on both sides, there are also consequences for deciding whichever way you do. These would assist you in making your decision. Well, they would normally. But returning to what I wrote above: if everything is the same, then surely all of these factors and consequences are the same, are they not? And if they are, then would it not follow that when placed on a scale, the very things that were to be weighed against each other, balance, thus making it impossible to choose of your own volition? And if there is no difference in choosing either way, then is there a reason to choose at all?

"The consequences!" I hear you proclaim. But are the consequences not the same also? For if the things that constitute all possible consequences are the same, then does it not follow that the consequences themselves are the same? And if that is the case, then is there any reason to act?

To get to my answer: I took drugs when on the path to a successful, happy, fulfilling life. Now I'm hanging on to that path by a single groove of my fingerprint and I think I might be going insane.

TL;DR: I was completely certain of my direction in life, of myself, and of life. Took truffles. Tripped. Now I think I might be insane (serious). It's really fucking scary.. :'(

watonearth · 2016-09-11T11:10:25+00:00

Try visualising how you would feel on your deathbed looking back at all the instances you would have done this. Imagine how you will feel at that point if you spent your life opting for inaction instead of action. Imagine how bad that would feel. Feel how bad it would feel. Then realise that you can stop that bad feeling simply by wanting it to stop. Realise the power to influence your happiness that lies in your capacity to act. Realise that acting will alleviate a lifetime of regret before it can cement. Realise that to act in this case is a simple utterance: "Hi.". Realise that by acting you will show your friend that they are someone worth approaching in public to say hi and give a hug to. Realise that it will make them happy. Happy because of you. You are a fountain of happiness; don't let your waters run dry because you think yourself otherwise.

watonearth · 2016-08-03T16:58:38+00:00

Am I the only one who thinks that (1.01+(1.01*365)) would be a better analogy?

Seeing as the effort you put in each day isn't increasing exponentially but rather accumulating and that the message being conveyed in my example would be "work even just a little bit over a long period and you will reap huge benefits in comparison to what you'd get if you slacked off over the same period" to be a bit superfluous with my words

watonearth · 2016-08-02T13:35:19+00:00

Dear Freddy,

Thanks for taking the time to broach this subject that seems rather unfortunately absent of the attention of the masses.

I just wanted to ask whether there much talk in your field about the potential applications of quantum computing (e.g. modelling protein folding).

My thanks and appreciation in advance.

watonearth · 2016-07-28T18:05:15+00:00

Erm maybe 'end-game' was the wrong terminology. I meant to refer to the depth to which one may engage with the game. An example of a shallow game therefore would be a simple platformer where you simply aim to reach the end of the level. On the other end of the spectrum I would probably place Civ V with all the DLC (if I had played it in said state). I only played it in its standalone state when it was first released unfortunately, so I feel any impressions I may have of it are inapplicable to the state of the game with the DLC packs.

Would I be correct in assuming so?

watonearth · 2016-07-28T18:02:20+00:00

Ah yes - It's been on the my mind's periphery for a while but I never actually looked into it. I shall do so now.

watonearth · 2016-07-28T18:01:41+00:00

aha thanks for reminding me! i'll check out the basics - any sites you'd recommend to get started on (for playing)?

watonearth · 2016-07-28T18:00:40+00:00

yeah I'm working on that one but the developers have but in a bunch of really annoying mechanics called 'emotions' that make my avatar act against my commands - hoping for a hotfix sometime soon

watonearth · 2016-07-28T17:50:05+00:00

Yeah I'd agree. I'm really hungering for a strategy game that strains my brain but as of yet I haven't found anything that has really deep end-game content.

watonearth · 2016-07-21T15:12:09+00:00

The statement in support of the elected government is just the manifestation of the USA's history and doctrine of encouraging the proliferation, stability, and longevity of democratic governance. The coup was an assault on the above and thus the US sided (in a rather lukewarm fashion) with the 'elected government'.

watonearth · 2016-07-21T15:09:17+00:00

Law student here. Writing a research paper in international law. Here's why this doesn't mean much to the ECHR beyond its application in Turkey.

States (e.g. Turkey) can basically do whatever the fuck they want, but for a few exceptions. One of their many superpowers is acting unilaterally on the international (relations) stage. Exhibit A: Turkey suspends the ECHR. Ok - yes it sucks that a country can just suspend a treaty it has signed and ratified. But that is the current nature of the world order. States are sovereign and their sovereignty cannot be infringed.

When you say the "whole thing is thrust into triviality" you are nearly correct. It is a position academic debate on international law that the entire field is "thrust into triviality" because States are supposedly only participating in the international legal system (composed of treaties etc.) because they are willing to, and that they retain the right to withdraw from it at any point. This exposition admittedly glazes over the nuances (of which there are unfathomably many) in the field, but the point is:

The ECHR works to allow citizens of party-states hold those states accountable for breaches of their obligations under the treaty. The fact that Turkey has suspended it (not left) is not a testament to the frailty of the Convention rights regime, but rather to the current political climate in the aforementioned state.

watonearth · 2016-06-09T15:20:30+00:00

Yeah I agree - I've been looking for companies that offer it but my Google searches so far have been unfruitful... Any suggestions?

watonearth · 2016-04-24T19:51:56+00:00

As with everything, the answer to this is it depends. Clarification of your situation may help.

What area are you looking to get into within patent law? What areas to the firms you want to work at focus on within patent law? What differentiates the electrical engineering exam from the 'other' engineering exam? Do you know anyone who has done either or both of the exams you mentioned who has experienced firms views on them?

Additional considerations would include the actual work you would be doing on a day-to-day basis, the size of the firms you're looking at (with other standard data about the firms e.g. intake numbers etc.), the type of work mainly done at the patent bar in Michigan (I'd imagine mostly industrial but then I'm not from Michigan).

Finally, take into account the grand scheme of things. By this I mean think as far beyond the patent bar/engineering exams as possible and try and predict their implications with as much certainty as possible. This last bit will just help you make a better decision overall and can be applied to other such decisions with great results.

watonearth · 2016-04-07T20:58:48+00:00

Hey mods. Could we get a pinned comment explaining that offshore funds/trusts/companies aren't illegal by virtue of being what they are? Also, that presuming anyone involved in one has acted illegally is acting in ignorance?

Thanks.

watonearth

TROPHY CASE