16 September 2012
I was reading about the "observer effect" in diffraction last night. It got me thinking about non-locality. How could a particle at one point affect another particle at a distance instantaneously?
The wave function the describes an unconfined particle extends into infinity. Does that mean that every thing is connected at a fundamental level? What is space and time then? What does instantaneous even mean in a world where simultaneity is subjective?
Maybe this will be my proposed topic to investigate for my literature review. Non-locality and entanglement.
Work has not abated. I still find myself relentlessly squeezed to complete my assignments. I keep late nights and exercise less. Instead of cutting down a proportionate amount of food I eat, I have shamelessly feasted on snacks and desserts and large meals.
To be fair, I did go running around school on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. This enterprise was destined to be short-lived, however, as a pain developed in my left foot later in the day. I suspect that it might be a stress fracture because I was not properly cushioning my landing while running. I suppose I could rest it for a week and see how things go for the time being.
I wish that I could understand so many things.
I wish that there were some one to show the way.
09 September 2012
We have our minds open but leave our brains lazy. Every day we go through life half-drunk, in a stupor, skimming across the hours of the day. Every day we unquestioningly absorb the messages spoon fed to us from the media. Shopping is therapy, it is cool to be aggressive, life is meant to be partied away, a person's value is proportional to his grades, important celebrations means spending a lot of money, it is alright to be rude to people who do not matter, so on and so forth. We take all these in blindly without a second thought. Where are our questioning minds? Not everything is true. Some are only partially true. Some are wrong. But still, we do not bother to take the time to think each assertion through. We have failed to exercise our critical thought.
We have been blessed with the faculty of reasoning. It is a gift, and as with all gifts, we can choose whether or not we want to open it and use it. Most of us leave the present alone, without so much of a touch as to push it to one corner. Why should we need it, after all we are being fed a continuous stream of advertising by the television and internet. By giving up the opportunity to exercise our reason, we give up our own freedom. We become slaves to the media, having our lifestyles dictated without really understanding why we live in such a way. We live according to the rules they set. The rules that want us to believe and accept.
It does not have to be this way. We can still live free. We can still claim back our autonomy. Stimulate our thought processes. Look at everything with a critical mind. Ask ourselves constantly, does it have to be this way? Do something different. Read. We read to understand the views of others - writers who have made the effort to think about things. Learn about alternatives, and which one means the most to us. We build up arguments from ground up, and have a solid foundation in dialectics. We build up our own values, not ones that has been given to us. We become more able to defend ourselves against the bombardment of ideologies with strong justification. We become our own ruler.
Have you ever wondered, why am I behaving in this manner?
Do not say,
I'm not sure why, and leave it as that.
That is only the beginning of discovering yourself.
Think about it. And do not stop until you find out why.
07 September 2012
The past few weeks has flown by quicker than expected. Keeping up with the syllabus and assignments has been keeping me busy. If I had to describe what my university life was like in a word, I would call it intensive.
I guess, my motive for pursuing science instead of a more pragmatic field has its roots in my struggle to understand the big questions in life. Rather than business or economics, I chose to read science because I have a deep-seated hope that by understanding
how the world is, I might be able to understand
why the world is.
My course demands a lot of time to be invested. Coupled with part-time work and gymnastics on the side, I have had a scant amount of time left for introspection and quiet time. That is no excuse, however, as all that means is that I lack quality time management.
I decided to take some time to reflect today. An appropriate occasion, too. No better time to ponder over life than on my birth day.
Where have I come to? Where am I going? I thought:
If I went through life, and couldn't figure out why I was here, then I would have failed. A quest for truth, that is what my life is. Sometimes I feel down because I fear that I will fail spectacularly. I fear that I am trying to reach for the stars but will inevitably come up short.
Everyone has their own demons. Everyone has days when the colour leaks away into shades of grey. Those are the days when the rain clouds are dark and thick, replacing the warm glow of the sun with a gloomy hue. Everyone has their own problems. Their emotional baggage that they carry around with them. Everyone has to battle their own demons. No one else can do it for you. Maybe they can help you along the process, maybe they have similar ones. But no one problem is the same, and only you have the real power over the problem. You choose how you handle your demon. You rein in it. Some days you feel tired and then you lose the battle. The demon eats away at your spirit.
Some days are better than others. Some days are full of life.
This demon in me is ambition.
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16 September 2012
I was reading about the "observer effect" in diffraction last night. It got me thinking about non-locality. How could a particle at one point affect another particle at a distance instantaneously?
The wave function the describes an unconfined particle extends into infinity. Does that mean that every thing is connected at a fundamental level? What is space and time then? What does instantaneous even mean in a world where simultaneity is subjective?
Maybe this will be my proposed topic to investigate for my literature review. Non-locality and entanglement.
Work has not abated. I still find myself relentlessly squeezed to complete my assignments. I keep late nights and exercise less. Instead of cutting down a proportionate amount of food I eat, I have shamelessly feasted on snacks and desserts and large meals.
To be fair, I did go running around school on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. This enterprise was destined to be short-lived, however, as a pain developed in my left foot later in the day. I suspect that it might be a stress fracture because I was not properly cushioning my landing while running. I suppose I could rest it for a week and see how things go for the time being.
I wish that I could understand so many things.
I wish that there were some one to show the way.
09 September 2012
We have our minds open but leave our brains lazy. Every day we go through life half-drunk, in a stupor, skimming across the hours of the day. Every day we unquestioningly absorb the messages spoon fed to us from the media. Shopping is therapy, it is cool to be aggressive, life is meant to be partied away, a person's value is proportional to his grades, important celebrations means spending a lot of money, it is alright to be rude to people who do not matter, so on and so forth. We take all these in blindly without a second thought. Where are our questioning minds? Not everything is true. Some are only partially true. Some are wrong. But still, we do not bother to take the time to think each assertion through. We have failed to exercise our critical thought.
We have been blessed with the faculty of reasoning. It is a gift, and as with all gifts, we can choose whether or not we want to open it and use it. Most of us leave the present alone, without so much of a touch as to push it to one corner. Why should we need it, after all we are being fed a continuous stream of advertising by the television and internet. By giving up the opportunity to exercise our reason, we give up our own freedom. We become slaves to the media, having our lifestyles dictated without really understanding why we live in such a way. We live according to the rules they set. The rules that want us to believe and accept.
It does not have to be this way. We can still live free. We can still claim back our autonomy. Stimulate our thought processes. Look at everything with a critical mind. Ask ourselves constantly, does it have to be this way? Do something different. Read. We read to understand the views of others - writers who have made the effort to think about things. Learn about alternatives, and which one means the most to us. We build up arguments from ground up, and have a solid foundation in dialectics. We build up our own values, not ones that has been given to us. We become more able to defend ourselves against the bombardment of ideologies with strong justification. We become our own ruler.
Have you ever wondered, why am I behaving in this manner?
Do not say,
I'm not sure why, and leave it as that.
That is only the beginning of discovering yourself.
Think about it. And do not stop until you find out why.
07 September 2012
The past few weeks has flown by quicker than expected. Keeping up with the syllabus and assignments has been keeping me busy. If I had to describe what my university life was like in a word, I would call it intensive.
I guess, my motive for pursuing science instead of a more pragmatic field has its roots in my struggle to understand the big questions in life. Rather than business or economics, I chose to read science because I have a deep-seated hope that by understanding
how the world is, I might be able to understand
why the world is.
My course demands a lot of time to be invested. Coupled with part-time work and gymnastics on the side, I have had a scant amount of time left for introspection and quiet time. That is no excuse, however, as all that means is that I lack quality time management.
I decided to take some time to reflect today. An appropriate occasion, too. No better time to ponder over life than on my birth day.
Where have I come to? Where am I going? I thought:
If I went through life, and couldn't figure out why I was here, then I would have failed. A quest for truth, that is what my life is. Sometimes I feel down because I fear that I will fail spectacularly. I fear that I am trying to reach for the stars but will inevitably come up short.
Everyone has their own demons. Everyone has days when the colour leaks away into shades of grey. Those are the days when the rain clouds are dark and thick, replacing the warm glow of the sun with a gloomy hue. Everyone has their own problems. Their emotional baggage that they carry around with them. Everyone has to battle their own demons. No one else can do it for you. Maybe they can help you along the process, maybe they have similar ones. But no one problem is the same, and only you have the real power over the problem. You choose how you handle your demon. You rein in it. Some days you feel tired and then you lose the battle. The demon eats away at your spirit.
Some days are better than others. Some days are full of life.
This demon in me is ambition.
Older Post | Newer Post