03.14.08
Posted in motivation, philosophy at 9:42 pm by nogre
A Philosophy Job Market Blog is a great blog. This is a quote from the last sentence of my previous post:
If anyone asks me about solved philosophy, I’ll tell them about the life and world-changing ideas that make philosophy amazing…
I felt that I ought give some sense of what makes philosophy amazing after writing this last sentence of the last post, but most of what I find amazing takes a while to explain and requires you to know something about me, how I thought and what I now think. Not that this would make for bad blog material – I try very hard to explain things I now believe – but I figured that many philosophers have had a similar experience and subjecting y’all to a biography isn’t my goal.
Then today PJMB busts out with ‘I Mean the Game of Going Insane‘:
In comments, Anon. 5:14’s talking about the howling fantods:
I’m (happily but stressfully) in the middle of my tenure evaluation, and I’ve been remembering lately just how much worse–worlds worse–l I felt during my two years of being on the market and not getting a job. (Sometimes three times really is the charm.) One day just after finding out, for the second year in a row, that I wasn’t going to get a job, I was sitting at the front of the classroom looking at my watch to see if it was time to begin. I looked down and saw the socks I was wearing. They were perfectly ordinary socks. No different from any of the other socks I usually wear. But I was gripped with a deep, undeniable feeling that they were The Wrong Socks. I was wearing The Wrong Socks. I couldn’t do anything right. Not even socks.
Howling.
I studied philosophy like my sanity depended upon it. It may very well have– I try not to have illusions about my failings and I can see how things could have gone very wrong for me. No one speaks of the dangers of philosophy. It is all too easy to lose reality; you lock yourself away working for long enough and there may be no telling how you will emerge. You may start to fear your socks.
One of the more scary facts about insanity is that you won’t be able to tell when you are going insane. It takes an experience such as Anon. described above before you realize something is wrong. And I’d have to qualify that experience as lucky and minor because no one got hurt: imagine it wasn’t Anon.’s socks but Anon.’s significant other’s socks that suddenly caused a breakdown.
Now it might be nice to round out this post by claiming that for all the dangers that philosophy may pose to yourself and others there is an equally great upside of triumph and understanding that may be reached. As I said, “the life and world-changing ideas that make philosophy amazing.” You probably weren’t thinking that I meant something like not having to worry about fearing your socks. But imagine Anon 5:14. I won’t say that Anon is better for that experience of The Wrong Socks, but that the difference in Anon from that day to now is ‘worlds‘ of difference.
It does all boil down to who you are and what you want. If you’re willing to gamble your sanity on the chance that you may one day be happy (if stressed) – Anon may have, and I did so knowingly – then you need not worry about any of this. After you have made your bet, it does no good to worry about it while waiting for the cards to show. If this is news to you, then yes, amazing and world-changing things are possible, but just know that you may have to change equally and change doesn’t come cheap.
When I think about solved philosophy, I remember the confusion, the disturbed contorted thoughts and pain that could have been averted if only the right arguments were available at the right time. This sounds personal, but all the good arguments I have come up with have remained so and have life beyond me with those I’ve told. If I have helped someone understand this world a bit more, then I have solved a philosophical problem.
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01.31.08
Posted in art, design, motivation, products at 4:28 pm by nogre
Lifehack.org is giving away a db clay wallet for the best tip on how to be or stay creative.
Here’s what I said:
Creativity comes from ruthlessness.
Being thoroughly ruthless with what you have and what has been done will allow you to create something new. If there is something that is equal to your abilities, i.e. you do not have command of it, then that thing is something new, at least for you.
If you are unwilling to be ruthless then you will know that the work you are doing does not require your full attention and you will be selling yourself and your creativity short.
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12.27.07
Posted in motivation at 10:18 pm by nogre
The deal, which sent the Patriots the 110th selection overall in the weekend draft, was completed when Moss passed the Raiders-administered physical examination after arriving in the Oakland area on Sunday morning. With the draft choice acquired in the deal, New England chose University of Cincinnati cornerback John Bowie. [link: ESPN]
Oh, wait, no, that’s the other way around. Just in case anyone needed reminding of ridiculous things.
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11.12.07
Posted in SEO, art, design, fun, internet, marketing, motivation at 8:56 pm by nogre
Perhaps two people know this about me but I am a design junkie. Notcot.org is my favorite blog of all time. Recently I’ve even contributed a few posts (#7106, #6974). I’m not sure what it is about design that I like so much. There is always that form/function distinction but I don’t think that is exactly what attracts me. It is more along the lines of personal engineering: with the right stuff you can do different things. You have the right tools and you can build a house (or a website); you have a spiffy outfit and you can get into an exclusive club; you have the right ideas and you can change the course of humanity.
Anyway, here’s some links (or slingks as Apartment Therapy calls them) to people with good ideas:
Check out the art galleries here in NYC with this handy printable list of the best galleries.
Running from Camera: Exactly what the title says and yet surprisingly entertaining. (via It’s Nice That)
Hi, My name is Joseph. I work in a cupcake.: Again self-explanatory. (swissmiss)
Wordcount: a visual representation of how often English words are used. ‘Pope’ is one behind ‘Logic’ and four ahead of ‘Discourse’. I couldn’t make this up if I tried. (via DamnIWishI’dThoughtofThat via Spoonbuzz) Surprisingly I found this site through my lesser infatuation with marketing (as compared to design) since it is more a work of art/design. However if you consider Search Engine Optimization choosing words lower on the list will inherently make your site more unique and hence searchable. I think I got lucky by tagging ‘relativity’ (#15559) before ‘biology’ (#6746) or ‘physics’ (#4543) and definitely before ‘philosophy’ (#2821).
Brevity is possibly wit: Overheard in NY – One Sentence
Witty and thankfully not brief comic/graphic novel (the only one I have ever liked, so this is high praise): Platinum Grit – and by the same people of wit (though not a comic): Poke the Bunny. You really should.
Who Killed Bambi? Art blog finding all those out there pushing the bounds of death and life.
Japan is good for so many things: Trends in Japan is full of products and ideas. Currently #1 on my wishlist for ridiculous things (which is my normal wishlist btw) is a Homestar Pro (no not that homestar) PERSONAL PLANETARIUM. I’m from NY. I have to drive like 4 hours to see stars otherwise.
On the topic of Japan Ping Mag is worth a look. It’s a Tokyo based design magazine.
And because you should always end with a bang, the Superest is my new favorite fun blog. It’s superhero competition with ‘The overprotective parent’ being vanquished by ‘Doug the Slacker Next Door’ who was vanquished by ‘The Charismatic Recruiter’, etc.
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10.25.07
Posted in internet, marketing, motivation, products at 12:01 am by nogre
Y’all should check out Spoonbuzz. It’s a blog dedicated to marketing in the best possible way: making your vision of yourself and your world a reality. I guess the way I think of it is a cross between motivational speaking and down and dirty marketing advice from a ‘I want to be in marketing for the next 40 years’ guy. And that is a direct quote because Josh is a buddy of mine. So go to his blog and sign up for the rss feed.
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