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Showing posts from July, 2016

School of Thought: Existentialism | Hri-Write

Existentialism is a philosophical school of thought that deals with human existence, trying to explain the purpose of a human life. Existentialism, like many other schools of thought, is of course only a speculation and something we made up, take what you read here with a pinch of salt ( after all, I don't know any more about life than you do! ) If I were to try to explain existentialism easily, I'm afraid I'll lose out on its intricacies, but I'll give it a shot anyway. Existentialism, at its most fundamental level, says that every person is responsible for defining their own purpose in this world and that we are governed by our free will. Existentialism says that we are not here to 'find purpose', but rather to 'create our reality and purpose'. It sounds simple, but that's because I've tried to break down roughly a few centuries worth of study and philosophical evolution into four sentences. Existentialism originated as a school o...

Space: Why is it so intriguing? Space Blog 2 + resources

I started my blog with a post about space, and that really attracted people to check out the entire blog. I find it only right that I write blogs about space from time to time. So, let's get right into it. Why is Space so fascinating to humans? Think of space as a huge stage, where performances take place every second. Some incredible things happen on this stage. Giant stars exploding, black holes that don't even let light escape, asteroids, giant meteors that have the potential to wipe out most life on earth should they hit us. For some people, space is a way to predict their life, this is called astrology. It lets us imagine, use our creative skills, and to contemplate what could this all really mean. It lets us look in worlds much different than ours, and to delve deep into the past. You must've heard in movies or otherwise, about this 'space-time' fabric or whatever. I'll tell you something very simple, but it'll change the way you look at sp...

Pokémon Go, the augmented reality sensation

So, a lot of cool things happened in 2000. Mainly, I was born. Probably nothing more memorable other than that. If you’ve been on the internet — or, well, on Earth— lately, you've probably heard about Pokémon Go. You may be wondering what the hell is going on. Don't worry, I too was asking "What are Pokemon?", but that was all the way back in 2005, if you've never heard of Pokémon, time to get out of your cave, Cletus.  Nevermind, let me quickly introduce you to Pokémon. From Vox.com: Pokémon is a Nintendo franchise that launched in the 1990s. In its world, "trainers" travel the world to catch varied monsters called Pokémon — rats, dragons, swordlike creatures, and more — and use these critters to fight each other. The trainer’s goal is to "catch ’em all," as the franchise’s slogan suggests, and become a Pokémon master by defeating prestigious trainers known as gym leaders and Elite Four. Well, Pokémon Go is Nintendo's latest creat...

Why hard work beats talent

In a competitive world like ours, performing is the only way to survive. You can't sit for 8 hours on a couch and expect it elevate you to greatness. You got to be ready to give it a 110% every day. Hard work is the stuff that legends are made of. Talent is the head start that some people are given in life. Hard work is driven by a certain motivation. Talent is given, not earned. Hard work is based on principle, because behind every principle (i.e waking up at six) is a promise, a promise that this is the sacrifice you must make for a greater good. Talent can be useless. Some people have talents that will never get them anywhere in life. Yes, it's great that your tongue can touch your nose, or the fact that you can lick your elbow, but when you show up for a job interview, ask yourself what good that does you? "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard enough." Whether you have talent or not, you can have hard work. Hard work is not a genetic m...

How to deal with challenges/failure

For you, I don't know what it is, but if you have a problem in your life, a challenge that you feel you can't overcome, learn to deal with it. It will not disappear on its own. You won't sleep one night and wake up the next day without it being there. The sooner you deal with it, the sooner you get to your rewards, baby!. Deal with the fact that you are a procrastinator. Deal with the fact that you have anxiety. Deal with the fact that you're overwhelmed by your success, deal with the fact that it's hard for you to execute. It's not the end of the world, deal with it. - Eric Thomas I could have been writing this blog two years ago,  but because I didn't believe in myself, and I let people's opinions control my destiny, I didn't act on my ideas. Not only is it important for you to chase your dream, it's necessary you associate yourself with greatness, and not people who aren't striving, who aren't growing, who have become lazy, it...

The Vastness of Space: Understanding the Cosmos and where are all the Aliens?

Space has interested us as far back as the dawn of humanity. It has become quite the realm of our fantasy. Nothing makes a good debate as much as the existence of extra-terrestrial life does. Rightly so, humans have always used space as a measuring stick to validate themselves. "Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another." - Carl Sagan Perhaps it's the fact of belonging to something so complex, vast and elaborate that interests us or maybe it stems from general human curiosity. It can be observed in history that humans have always been doing things that seemed impossible, and that is what separates us from any other species. Humans have always expanded the confines of possibility with curiosity and sacrifice. Space is huge. I'm sure I don't have to explicitly define how small our triumphs are in the face of this mighty universe. Let alone the un...

Popular posts from this blog

Where is all the 'alien life?' - Fermi Paradox and other theories

My first blog, ever, was about understanding the odds of alien life. I've gotten much better at writing blogs since then (or so I like to tell myself), and it would only be right if I reinstate the legacy of that one. We should openly admit that when we happen to be under a starry night and see a sight similar to this, we all have a react in a different and interesting way. Some people are left boggled by the immense size of the universe, others by the sheer glamour of the scene and if you're anything like me, you're paralysed by the sudden realisation that you have a negligible impact on the universe. The point is, we all feel something . When he looked up at the sky, Italian physicist Enrico Fermi too felt something, a thought that lingered around this question, "Where is everyone else?" It's been half a decade since Fermi passed on, but he left us with a fundamental query and idea. Fermi realised that in a universe as old and vast as this, there s...

Why your digital footprint matters

Every second you spend on the Internet, you're actively involved in painting a digital picture of yourself. This portrait helps companies target content at specific markets and consumers, helps employers look into your background, and helps advertisers track your movements across multiple websites. Whatever you do online, you might be leaving digital footprints behind. ( http://www.internetsociety.org/your-digital-footprint-matters ) In short, your digital footprint is everything you do online. Social media activity, app usage, email records. Watching videos, visiting adult sites, using certain plugins, everything goes into this piece of art. Whether you like it or not, everything you do on the web can be tracked. A lot of people seem to think that using incognito features on browsers or routers does any good. It might hide data locally (on your system) but it does nothing to completely hide your presence on the web. A diagram of how your internet works The abov...

'Kids these days', and Juvenoia.

The phrase 'kids these days', has been used since time immemorial by older generations to express their disappointment in the younger generations. We love to talk about just how different life was 'back in the good old days'. In that regard, you see a huge number of 'only 90s kids will remember...' on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites. George Orwell had a brilliant quote that went along the lines of this: George Orwell (1903-1950), was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. There's a neat neologism for this phenomenon, Juvenoia . The point is, it's an endless cycle. Let's examine this situation. A family is sitting around the breakfast table, all engrossed in their own digital life. It's a common situation nowadays, right? However, in 1907, the Journal of Education deplored, "At a modern family gathering, silent around the fire, each individual has his head buried in his favorite magazine." Let...