On Friendship

Why does man hold what we call "friends"? (1)Is it because being around someone with similar views to yours raises your self-esteem? (2) Is it because social recognition and acceptance is an important facet of being human? (3) Is it because exposing yourself to others and their views and opinions serves to enhance your understanding? (4) Is it for the benefit you receive for having someone who wishes the best for you and is willing to assist you?

Of course, we hold friends for all these reasons and more.

(1) We as humans naturally flock to people who have similar thoughts and opinions to us.  This is a natural thing, because by spending time with people we respect and agree with, there will be a lighter atmosphere and more can be accomplished.

On the other hand, spending time with people we disagree with can often lead to strife, disagreements, and awkward moments.  Why then do most of us have at least one friend that has differing views from our own? I think the most likely explanation for this is that the other factors of friendship can overpower differing views.  Furthermore, there can be a positive side.  By spending time with people we trust and respect, but who have different views than ours, it will be easier to understand those opinions, and possibly even incorporate some of their tenets, thereby expanding our scope.

The reason we spend time with people we agree with is so that they will support our thoughts and ideas, and make us feel better about ourselves.  Also, we support our friends, so there exists a happy reciprocity.

(2) Almost all of us feel it, and in fact it can lead to problems, in particular for the younger generations.  The desire/need to be socially recognized and accepted.

For most humans, an aspect of our personality is to spread our influence amongst society.  I find it similar in a way how animals have the need to spread their genealogical traits amongst the species, but instead of physical characteristics, we have the desire to spread the things of our own creation, and other things that we think other people should know about.

This desire to be known and respected is an impetus to make friends.  When we have friends and acquaintances, we can spread our social influence better.

(3)  By having friends, we have a confidant that we can bounce ideas off of, and gain more understanding.  By combining ideas, we can reach better ideas with more influence and power, and more possibility for personal gain.  Also, just hearing your friends ideas, and having them share their knowledge with you can make you a smarter, more well-rounded person.

Friends serve another purpose by providing a way to check if your ideas are rational or not.  Having a friend tell you a flaw in your thinking can be less hurtful than having a large group of peers sneer at you.

(4) A friend is someone who wished the best for you, and help you out when you are in need of assistance. For this reason, the more friends you have, the better. Maybe even better than having a plethora of friends is having a couple of very close friends, who are like family to you.  These people you can hold near and dear to yourself your entire life, and they will be there to guide you, and to help you to be successful.  And you will do the same.

Now, to quickly expand on this quote I put in this post.  There has to be reciprocity in a friendship. A friendship where only one person is benefiting if doomed to either fail, or to a fate of nothing more than casual acquaintanceship.   By being a friendly person, more people will be drawn to you, and you will have more opportunities for friendships.  You also need to be a good friend to the friends you have, or, first of all, you will lose those friends, and second of all, you will decrease chanced for future friends.

Where good ideas come from (video)

This is an interesting video about connectivity and breakthroughs.  I agree with his thoughts about how the internet will foster better creativity through more consumption of information and thoughts.

On Media Bias and Celebtrities

There's always someone famous in the news because of some scandal.  Recently, it's been people like
Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, and Charlie Sheen.  The media can earn lots of money on these "Guess what s/he he did now" stories.  I'm not going pretend like I don't enjoy hearing about these people's escapades; it's fun to see how they live, be flabbergasted at their behavior, or admire their unabashed courage.

What I don't find appropriate is when the media passes judgement on those people's action.  Sure, you may find it bizarre the way Mr. Sheen acts, and that he has two girlfriend, but it is not the media's job to tell us what to think of him.  I enjoy them reporting about the celebrities, and most of the interviews (when they are unbiased), but I don't want them to tell me what to think of him.  Of course, it is a different story when they commit a crime.

That's just my personal opinion of how a good, legitimate news source should behave though, of course they have done nothing wrong.

There's nothing wrong with a news source having a "left or right swing" to it, but they shouldn't pretend to be fair if they do.  Another thing that bothers me, regarding media bias, is when a biased news source attacks another news source by claiming they are biased.

In my opinion, however,  the job of the media is to present information to the masses, and have them interpret it the they will.

So basically, I just want the media to be what they claim to be.  If they are going to be biased, theres's nothing wrong with that, but they shouldn't be hypocritical and claim that they aren't.  If their target audience is a certain political party, then they should admit it, not claim to be unbiased and attack another source for their bias towards another party.

On Environmentalism

Quite prevalent in society today is the "green movement", which is people wanting to be environmentally friendly.  I don't have a problem with conservation, I really don't.  I enjoy nature as much as the next man, and I think National parks and other places set aside for conservation are a fine idea.  I think preserving Natural Beauty is a good thing to do.  Also, protecting other species is just fine.

However, I think todays society is taking this "eco" stuff too far.  Fine, I'll recycle, but don't freak out it I put some paper in a trash can.  And please, stop saying that wasting papers is destroying natural habitats, because it's simply not true.  Trees are a crop, which are grown on farms.  Complaining about a few papers thrown out instead of recycled is even more ridiculous than berating someone for eating corn.  It's a crop, we can always grow more, we're not hurting anyone, what's the problem?

Pollution is a slightly more serious issue.  Yes, it can be a problem in big cities, and yes, it would be a better idea to use renewable energy.  I would support a shift towards better energy options, but it is insane to hear people saying burning coal should be outlawed, or that we should attempt to immediately and completely switch to solar/wind power.

Seeing "eco-friendly" on every dang product is kinda getting on my nerves.  It's just a marketing attempt, which is fine, it's just annoying as it seems to be popping up one everything for stupid reasons.  For example, the keyboard I am typing on (a great Logitech solar keyboard, which I love) tried to brand itself as being "green, on it's packaging.  It says it is eco-frinendly because is has a "fully recyclable box".  Last I checked, pretty much all cardboard is recyclable. This type of marketing campaign seems to be hoping people read things quickly and only look at the pretty nature scenes. (Recycled, or recyclable.  There's a difference, but they look similar.) There's really no reason why this should bother me, it's just a pet peeve of mine.

Some ridiculous green claims

On Money (from Atlas Shrugged)

Today I was reading Atlas Shrugged, and in it a character was giving a speech about money.  The speech was in response to someone commenting that money is evil.
In this speech, Ayn Rand presents us with some interesting thoughts, which I thought I'd paraphrase here.

Money is earned by people for their work, and exchanged with people for their work.
People who come across money in a non righteous way will eventually lose their money.
Money does not corrupt people, people corrupt money.
Money is given it's power by the fact that others are willing to trade you for it.  This justifies your work to earn it.
People who claim money is evil are afraid of money because they do not earn it properly.
Throughout the ages looters have stolen money.  In Atlas Shrugged, the looters are socialists.
Money is the root of all good, as it is our inspiration to work.  It holds us to a moral code.

On listening to music

Why do we listen to music?
Is it because of the emotions it inspires us?  Sometimes I listen to music because it matches the mood I am in, and therefore seems to sympathize with me in that moment.
Other times I listen to music to inspire a new mood.  "Pump-up music" for example.
Most of the time though, I listen to music because there is something pleasurable, that I myself cannot explain, that comes from certain tones and beats in succession entering our ear.  I can't tell you why this happens, it just does. At least for me.  I know of a few people who generally are disinterested in listening to music.

If you have any ideas what happens to be so pleasurable about listening to music, comment it.  I'll let you know if I ever figure it out.

On the Human Spirit

We hear a lot about spirits.  The human spirit.  Is there a human spirit, or just chemical processes in the brain?  Again, there seems to be a dichotomy of the religious and the logical (scientific) minded.  The logical will tell you that everything can be broken down into science. Math>Physics>Chemistry>Biology>Nature and Nurture> sense of wright and wrong>religion (or lack thereof)>spirit (or some derivation of that).  The religious, or perhaps I should say romantic, may find it delusional to think science can explain everything, instead choosing to believe that somethings cannot be explained, and are simply enigmatic matters of the heart.  Of course it is likely that we will never know for sure who is right about the human spirit and other such issues.

On the Limits of Man's Power (Death Penalty)

While discussing the behavior and thinking of man, and important topic is the limit of their power.  Religious people will say man is but a servant to a higher power(s), and that we are only in existence to please that power, and because he(they) love us.  An arguably more logical thinker will claim that, having proven themselves in Darwinian natural selection, man has the highest level of thinking, and therefore the most power, and enough power to make the most crucial of judgments.

What I am working myself towards here is the death penalty. It has been around for centuries, and recently is morality has been called into question.

From my perspective, (1) it could be decided that a group of intelligent humans should be able to decide who lives and who dies, as set up within guidelines to avoid corruption.  It could also be decided that (2) intelligent human life if precious, and no other human necessarily understands any other human's life, and therefore should not be allowed to take it away.  The highly logical thinkers will likely agree with the first point, while more religious people will stand fast by the claim that their god instructed them not to kill.
I myself usually find myself in support of the death penalty and in agreement with the first point.  I would be interested in hearing your views though.

On self serving and more (observations of human behavior)

Can humans, or any other form of  life for that matter, have any motives aside from self serving ones?

On the surface, it would seems that humans are capable of serving others, and doing things for the greater good, but aren't they really just acting to feel good about themselves, and therefore being self serving?
And then people who go through painful and difficult ordeals? Are they not going through these difficult ordeals with an eye on the future?

Would religion follow this rule? Well people follow religions because it is what they feel is the right thing to do, either because they have been raised that way and told so, or decided on their own accord.  Are they therefore, in the end, serving their own motives by doing what they think is right?  They consider it right for two reasons: religions benefit people's lives (provides a moral framework, encourages you in a time of hardship), and to avoid divine punishment (to stay out of hell, for example.  Conversely, getting into heaven would be a divine reward.)

This brings me to a point in the support of religions, they tell people how to act properly.  They tell people to be courteous and helpful to their fellow man.  I am their fellow man.  See there, though i may be in support of societies working for the common good, that is ultimately because they will help me, or by helping them help others, I will feel good about myself.
So, we're all self serving, and there is nothing wrong with that.  When people are too self-serving, it is frowned upon, but couldn't that be because when they are too self-serving, they are less willing to help you?  Aren't we being self serving by denouncing people who are too self-serving?

How about the sharing of knowledge?  Sure, some of it is for profit (publishing, and such), but what of not-for-profit reports and such.  Do people share what they have learned in an attempt to in some way impact society?  Don't they want to see what this impact in society is, and then feel satisfied because they have become important, and made some sort of difference?  What of people who feel it is their duty to share their findings/knowledge?  By doing what they feel is their duty, are they being self-serving by doing what they feel they should have done, and therefore being satisfied with their actions?

Well, what of us learning things that were already known (as in school).  One reason could be that, by being knowledgeable, we can demonstrate our knowledge to others, and then have them look up to us?  Doesn't it feel good to have others be impressed by you and your knowledge?    Furthermore, knowledge often brings us money and power.  Doesn't having money bring about self worth in most cases?

What though of people who are ignorant, and who enjoy being ignorant and intend to stay that way?  Well, i suppose that was a bit blunt.  Most people are knowledgeable in at least one area, it just may not be in an area that most people consider important.  Doesn't it boil down to the company you keep?  If your acquaintances look up to people who are knowledgeable about sports, you will likely find it important to know a lot about sports. However, if you are a scientist, you will most likely find it beneficial to understand a lot of science.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Upon receiving a recommendation from a friend of mine, as well as my debate coach, I have begun reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.  I've read  that the book can change your life, and, although I was skeptical at first, I am starting to believe this claim.  This great work of literature is a novel, and a great one at that, but it was written by Rand to bring her Philosophy, which she called objectivism, to the forefront.  Through the story, which is about a business woman name Dagny Taggart and her struggle against a people and government becoming ever more socialist, Rand preaches to her readers that it is human nature to be selfish, and that we should all have the desire to achieve.  Furthermore, if others fail to achieve, it is not up to a government to help them by sharing your success.
Before reading this, I already had thoughts that I was the most important person in my life, and although is is important to keep other people in mind, I looked after myself first.  Reading Atlas Shrugged has acknowledged these thoughts, and instead of chastising them, supports them, which is quite a refreshing fact. This book is not just a philosophical novel though, it is also inspirational,  and therefor a self help book in a way.  It is also refreshing to be reading something that defends capitalists as American government today grows more socialist.
If this were a review (which is has basically become at this point), this book would receive 10/10.  It is a long book, but it will be worth your time.
P.S. It is likely you will see a lot of Ayn Rand's thinking show up in my writing, because this book has influenced my thinking so much.

On Education

In America today, or at least at my school anyway, all too many people resent receiving an education.  While I do occasionally sympathize with them, I find their view quite shortsighted and uninformed.  Receiving an education, while frustrating and stressful at times, is the best gift one can receive, and we should be glad that we can receive a free education in America (and most other countries).  What could be better than having the ability to expand out scope on the world?    Furthermore, educating ourselves only benefits us!  With a better education comes better jobs, nicer things, and an overall better life.  More young people today need to realize this, and accept their education a little more happily.  Maybe, if we taught kids at a younger age how important education is, and how it will impact their life, they would take their schooling more seriously.

Hello and welcome

Hello visitors and potential readers of this blog.  I am Thomas, the author if this blog.
Let me first explain the current title of the blog.   First off, I am a friendly person, and I do generally consider myself an atheist.  I say this somewhat hesitantly, because I am not quite sure if I am also agnostic as well, or whether I am simply apathetic.  The point is, that at this current time, I choose to accept scientific explanations for the way things work in our world, and I reject the idea of any deities. Also, this is subject to change; these are simply my beliefs at the moment.
The reason I created this blog was to get my thoughts out onto the internet for people to view and comment on if they wish, and to share interesting articles that people of similar mindset to me may find interesting.  Let me be clear that I welcome all critical analysis of my opinions.  I have never been one who enjoys it when people try to convert me, but I won't think less of anyone for it, they do believe it is right after all, and it is not hurting me.  One other thing you should know about me is that I believe all human accomplishments and thoughts can be traced to selfishness and individual's people self interest, and that I refuse to find anything wrong with that.  I will always look out for myself before anyone else.  Not that I am unhelpful and completely apathetic.  I actually enjoy helping people and being friendly.  But I won't claim that I do this "out of the goodness of my heart". I 'm friendly and charitably because it improves my image of myself, and other's image of me.  Well that's enough to know about me, you should get a rough picture by now.  I'll explain more in later posts.