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Everyday Junglist
Bio
Practicing mage of the natural sciences (Ph.D. micro/mol bio), Thought middle manager, Everyday Junglist, Boulderer, Cat lover, No tie shoelace user, Humorist, Argan oil aficionado. Occasional LinkedIn & Facebook user
Stories (582/0)
Memorization is a Waste of Time
Author's preface: Below is a republication of an article originally published almost three years ago. The title of that particular post was "Quit Trying to Remember Stuff." It got very few views even for one of my posts. Republishing now in the hopes it may do a little better this time around with a slightly more straighforward though less interesting or provocative (in my opinion) title.
By Everyday Junglist12 months ago in Psyche
Love is Not Quantifiable
Of all the emotions, love is one of the most talked about and debated. These discussions happen between friends and family members and lovers themselves. There is great deal less serious academic/philosophical discussion, though there is some, and there are even some purportedly "scientific" studies of the topic. I put scientific in quotes because in my view the study of emotional states like love falls mostly (though not entirely) outside the purview of the sciences. Mostly, the discourse on the topic is driven by romantic poets and romantic literature in general. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that it does tend to romanticize the topic much more so than any other emotional state. And yes, of course romantic poets and authors are going to romanticize the topic of love, because that is what they do. They are romance writers after all. Unfortunately all of this sometimes leads people to believe that love cannot be an object of serious thought or discussion. I disagree with that contention and hope to illustrate why with an example here.
By Everyday Junglist12 months ago in Humans
To Steal a Thunderbolt
"You want to steal Zeus's thunderbolt?" Loki asked incredulously after listening patiently to his old friend Jupiter's ridiculously insane plan to sneak into Olympus and snare the God kings most powerful weapon. "That is quite possibly the dumbest idea I have ever heard, and your plan has about as much chance of working as Hera taking Athena as a lover on the side. And, if you were caught, would make Zeus exactly as angry. I shudder to think what he might do to you, or Hades forbid, me, if the plan fails as spectacurlarly as it surely will in its current form." Jupiter was unfazed by Loki's initial reaction. He was always a pessimist, and quick to temper, and he had suspected this would be the trickster God's immediate response. However, he knew the idea of it would be impossible for Loki to resist, and he also knew Loki was smart, very smart, especially when it came to theiving, and he hoped his input, and, ideally, participation in the heist, would better his own chances of success. With Zeus's thunderbolt in his hands, Olympus could finally be rid of their ancient, failed, so called king, and become his to rule.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Fiction
Micro Heist
"What's the difference again between a robbery and a heist?" "Gheezus Christ on a cracker Rob you are a dummy" Kleman replied with an exasperated sigh as he often did whenever addressing one of Robbie's incessant questions. "A robbery is stealing some stupid shit from some nobody on the street. A heist is stealing some important shit, like gold or a famous jewel or shit like that, from somebody or someplace important. In our case that would be a museum" Robbie looked puzzled as he contemplated Kleman's answer. He was not exactly sure he really saw the difference. Stealing was stealing in his mind. Then again, his mind was of the slow variety and contemplation was not his strong suit. But, what he lacked in brains, he made up for in spades in courage and loyalty. At least, that is what Kleman liked to tell people when they asked him why he had partnered up with that "retarded kid Robbie." In truth, he had taken on Robbie because he simply did not trust anyone of normal intelligence. In his experience with former partners, the smarter the man, the dumber the plan. Robbie was perfect, exactly because he was so dumb.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Fiction
Leisure and Family Formation
For as long as people in the western (particularly Christian) world have opined about the nature of the family, the contention has been made that humans have an innate desire to form and nurture families. That assertion is often made in support of various (suppossedly) pro-family political policies or positions. Less often it is made in support of the argument that human beings, particularly in the western world, emphasize work too much, and should place a higher value on leisure activities. These so called "leisure" activities include such things as spending time with ones family. I happen to agree strongly with the idea that human beings in the Western world do not value leisure nearly to the extent they should. However, my reasons differ greatly from those made by the British logician/political/religious/social philosopher Bertrand Russell in his book In Praise of Idleness which contains a collection of essays he wrote on the topic of leisure. It should be noted that the book itself was published with a general target audience in mind, and thus the arguments contained within it are watered down, and often do not withstand much genuine philosophical scrutiny.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Families
When Everyone’s a Critic, No One Is
I imagine that most people view Vocal hearts as a relentlessly positive reward based system. Liking a given piece is a form of affirmation, a way of indicating that you agree with what has been written, or appreciate its style, or find it interesting, or funny or whatever. Criticism on the other hand is, by it’s very nature, a negative pursuit. To criticize a thing, to be critical of it, to be a critic, is to point out and emphasize all those things that are suboptimal, or incorrect, or illogical or whatever, in the thing being criticized. How could the Vocal like system then be a form of criticism? It is simple really, if the giving of hearts is a positive affirmation of a story than withholding of hearts is a form of criticism of it. Of course it is not that simple, many people, myself included, often times forget that the like option even exists, or are too busy to bother with the extra five seconds it might take to click the little heart. You may rightly ask, am I really that busy that I could not spare five seconds to click a mouse button a few extra times? Of course not, but I still use that excuse, and I am certain I am not alone. In any event, I do think that I am more the exception than the rule, and for most readers and writers on the site intentionally not liking, can be viewed as a form of criticism. And so what? What is wrong with that? you might be asking. Great question I might respond if you were asking and then I would point down about a half inch and say read on to find out.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Journal
Wittgenstein, The Private Language Argument, and Artificial Intelligence
Author's preface: This piece was first published way back in 2018. A follow up post also from 2018 was published soon thereafter. I am combining the two and republishing here essentially unedited. I think they still hold up fairly well even five years later.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Futurism
Digital Redlining
Vocal likes to think of itself as one of the most politically correct and family friendly websites on the internet. It can point to its' highly developed and detailed censorship program, and the strictness with which it enforces the policies described therein as evidence of this. Despite this view however Vocal has a serious, very non-PC problem in its own backyard. It sits at the very foundation upon which the entire site is built, the so called writing "communities" where authors are forced to submit anything they wish to have published on this site. Simply put these communities are a form of digital discrimination. Their sole function is to exclude works which do not "fit" with their value and beliefs. To keep out anything different or threatening. To ensure only that which aligns with how they want to be viewed by the outside world is allowed to see the light of day. No author can opt out, as I surely would were it possible, and choose not to submit to a community. You can not publish here without choosing a community to publish in first. In addition to forcing all authors to submit to a community, within each community lies a dropdown containing a set of search keywords, among which you must choose at least one. Again, you cannot opt out and chooose none, and worse yet, you cannot asign your own key words as search terms. They are fixed for each community, and as far as I can tell unchanging. They also happen to be very, very restrictive and have very limited applications. Certainly this is the case for the topics I tend to write about, and/or in the style and genre in which I write. I take it as as point of great pride that the majority of what I write does not fit neatly into any one box. In fact I tend to view anything I write which fits neatly into a community here or has obvious keywords within a given community with a healthy dose of skepticism. Generally speaking those works are my weakest.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Journal
The Blue and the Grey
Grayson had just shit himself. This happens from time to time with young children who are potty training. Unfortunately for his mother the shit had erupted from his diapers and gotten into the carpet in his room. Little Grayson was crying, after all nobody wants to be walking around with crap in their pants. Mom was almost in tears too. Shit on her baby and all over the room. Young mothers have an incredible ability to multitask. It comes with the territory. She consoled and changed her crying son while simultaneously scrubbing and cleaning fecal matter out of the carpet. It was truly an incredible site to behold.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Fiction
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