February 2010
42 posts
“Sharing something as permanent as the moon with you was a terrible idea.”
– post from dearoldlove.com
January 2010
81 posts
“How can you argue with someone who has two unusual consonants in one name?”
– Shiloh
This is a conversation I had with my best friend...
Genevieve:
do you believe in a higher power?
Kathleen:
i don't know
i mean, i'm incredibly incredibly agnostic
i definitely absolutely don't think there's a god who cares about my day to day actions or behaviors or whatever
i think the existence of the world at all is pretty......supernatural
but i also don't have a solid enough grasp on science to be able to really have a sound judgment on the matter
i'm not sure. i mean i don't think that heaven or anything else beyond death can exist unless a higher power exists......unless it's just another state of being that it takes a certain action (like death) for us to access
that would be pretty cool
because i like the idea of heaven way more than the idea of a god controlling who does or doesn't get into heaven
but i don't really think heaven exists. i can't believe that anyone does
because if it does, it's so completely beyond what we have the capacity to comprehend that it's useless for us to even think about it
thats why i don't understand when people so absolutely believe in certain things, like god wants me to act a certain way or whatever, i can't even imagine being so secure in something that is completely based on some stories i've heard
i don't get that
but it would be nice if heaven existed
clearly i have no idea what i'm talking about
if anything, i think MAYBE a higher power created earth but then never looked back again, so i don't buy into that act of god bullshit.
i don't know what else, i think that's all i have to say on it haha
do you?
Genevieve:
sorry, reading!
I agree with the whole our ability to comprehend thing
i'm in this bio/philosophy reading group
and we're reading "what is life?"
and in it, the author uses science to justify himself
and basically he states that really small particles act randomly
and an increase in size leads to greater order
(which is true and justified with like physics and chemistry)
but he claims that the reason we are so big compared to the size of the particles we are composed of (molecules/atoms etc)
is so that we can be ordered
and our order allows for the order of thought
like our brain needs to be organized of neurons in a specific way
so that we can have organized thought
but then we got into discussing what would happen if there was an organism that was as big as a galaxy
that organism would have even more organization because it is composed of more particles
therefore, it should be capable of higher thought processes
but like some people in my class were having trouble conceptualizing such an individual
but that's the thing, perhaps the fact that we can't conceptualize something if anything further justifies the idea that such a thing can exist
because the fact that we cant conceive of something is proof of our limitations of thought
idk i think there is definitely the possibility for a higher power
but it is something we will never be able to fully understand
or even somewhat understand
so all we have left is faith and guesses
are*
Kathleen:
that totally makes sense, like if it does exist, there's no way we know what the hell it's like, so any attempt to relay that on earth is just a bunch of crap
i do have one question though
if greater size = greater order = higher thought, doesn't that mean that like really big animals have a higher level of thought than we do?
or am i thinking about it too basically?
like maybe i don't understand what he's getting at, idk
Genevieve:
no that thought occurred to me too
i suppose i would say that although to us the size difference between us and even something like a blue whale is very great
it still is nothing compared to the size difference between our bodies and the atoms in our bodies
so therefore the general trend is true
but there's room for variation
and that variation is seen in the relatively small size discrepancies between animals/living organism
s
does that make sense?
Kathleen:
yeah that occurred to me, i just wasn't sure if it made enough sense
i don't know, the whole thing seems a bit implausible to me, as i suppose it should
but that kind of begs the question, like, do you think people planted this idea in us, like oh if it doesn't make sense it's because of some deficiency of our own not because it's simply not true
you know what i mean? and there's no way to ever know for sure, which is annoying
Genevieve:
but isn't that the thing... the fact that we can question ourselves and not be sure of anything is indicative of the idea that we are deficient in some way, right?
just because we are deficient doesn't mean something can't be true
it just means we can't tell whether or not it is true
is that what you were getting at?
Kathleen:
well that implies that the whole point of existence is to know everything, first of all
but what i mean is more like
Genevieve:
I got fucked up in my negatives "just because we are deficient doesn't mean something is true"
Kathleen:
when someone says that something does not seem at all possible (not just that they don't understand it at that present moment, or that they don't understand the intricacies or whatever), people can brush it off and say well we can never know and that sort brings the questioning to an abrupt end
and i mean, maybe we have to consider that that's just a trick to get us to stop questioning
i don't necessarily believe that
i just think it's an interesting possibility
i guess i mean that we're manipulated into not questioning something, like we should just leave it be because humanity can never understand the greatness that is whatever
but if that's really true, we also shouldn't even have the capacity to be aware that we can never understand it
thats what i'm really getting at
if that were really the case, we wouldn't even understand that we could never understand
Genevieve:
hmm that's a good point
it's difficult for me being a scientist because I also really like philosohpy
and philosophy is unique in that it teaches to question
but at the same time that leads to a lack of trust
so it's like I feel like the idea of knowledge gets really convoluted
because we don't know what is or isn't "true"
or even if that statement in itself is true
I suppose creativity is the root of our questioning
and the fact that we can conceive of the idea that we aren't ultimately correct does seem to be indicative of a higher level of thought
Kathleen:
i suppose so
Genevieve:
like, i agree with you
Kathleen:
i don't know, i like talking about it at first because i always feel like i'm getting somehwere
but then i can always think of tons of things to negate whatever i just said and i get so muddled and frustrated
Genevieve:
exactly!
Kathleen:
but i still enjoy that i actually get to think about things every so often
but then the next time i'm wary of it because i'm like FUCK it's going to be so much less satisfying that i initially think
know what i mean?
Genevieve:
haha you have no idea
or you do
hahah
no but really every time i get to class, I'm like ok here we go i got this
and then we start talking about the weirdest shit
and i get super confused
and everything that i thought i understood turns to mush
but i like that we have the ability to question ourselves
and by we i mean literally we "like you and me"
because some people can't grasp the opposing arguments
like some of my scientist friends think that science is always right
just because of its dependency on numbers
and i'm like yea so what
i like trying to think of how it may not be true
even if it involves some crazy ass thoughts sometimes haha
Kathleen:
i hate that anyone ever even thinks they're absolutely certain about anything
i don't know, it just seems...not conceited
but like yeah, there's a bit of conceit in saying that your particular chosen area of interest is absolutely the right one
Genevieve:
yeah idk sometimes i feel like my thoughts are really fucked up
but then again i like it that way
even if i get confused
at least i'm not a conceited ass haha
...hopefully haha
Kathleen:
hahaha yeah totally
hopefully i'm never that person who's like....psychology and international affairs are the only way to go, fuck you
actually yeahh....pretty sure i'll never say that, or even think it haha
Genevieve:
haha good
and i'll never say science/philosophy/music is always right
perfecto
fuck school
why am i even here?
i'm quitting school now
k?
Kathleen:
okey dokey
come swing by italy
Here's info on how to make sikhye! →
It even has a video! Sweet! …literally
Surrealism
Today in Surrealism, we were having a class discussion on something or other, and I found myself drifting off into thought. Though daydreaming (if one can even call it that) is far from unusual for me, this daydream was very different than my usual ones. I started to see things as a picture. I know this sounds strange, and it is very hard to explain, but I had the sensation that everything I...
I really miss
talking to my best friend. :(
WatchGrizzly Bear - “Shift”
Disappointments
These past few days have been rough for me. I think today was probably the worst. I haven’t felt this shitty in a while, and I’m trying to stay positive, but it’s been hard. I want to just escape to a place where I don’t have to think about things anymore, a place where I can just be.
…I wrote this post earlier today. I’m doing much better now. My...
Deadstock?
I was writing my effin article today, and I came across what seemed to me a rather odd oxymoron (sorry, that’s kind of redundant since all oxymorons are rather odd in nature). Livestock is defined as “farm animals regarded as an asset,” so I assume this would include animals raised to be slaughtered and eaten. However, THEY are the ones being called LIVEstock. What is this...
So in my Models and Metaphors of Science course,...
Aww Little Kids Can Be Cute! →
I have so much stuff to do, but I’m being distracted by babies. Wtf haha.
Fuck.
WatchCharlie and Jacob told me to look this up, and oh man, some of the best lines in this one. Vagasil! haha
“When you get a surprise between your thighs. Vagisil!”
“Vagisil. When dryness lingers, get some cream on those fingers!”
“Vagisil. I scream, you scream, we all scream for vagina cream! Vagisil.”
“Speaking of sealed lips, Vagisil!”
WatchChris Garneau covers Elliot Smith’s “Between the Bars” …can I just say that I absolutely LOVE this song!
Watch“Heart It Races” - Architecture in Helsinki …this just looked like good fun. I wish I had been there.
Desires
I just had the strongest desire to be out under the stars where I could sit next to a campfire and play songs on guitar. That’s all I really want in this moment.
I am SO ADDICTED to take-away shows thanks to... →
WatchOh, Fleet Foxes :)
Life-size (no, not like the Disney movie with Tyra...
Shine big, shine bright, you’re a star! (but not really cause then you’d have awesome thinking capabilities as you will see when you read below)
I should be writing this on my philosophy blog, but I forgot my password. Eh, I’ll cut and paste it eventually.
Anyway, today in my biology/philosophy reading group, we discussed the idea of life as described by Schrödinger. In the...
WatchThis is dope.
My Australian visa expired today
For some reason that made me really sad. I guess it’s just proof that I can’t go back there right now. Bummer.
Nightlight (a Twilight parody) →
brilliant! I’m so glad Ellen bought this book so that I can steal it from her!
"Why Can't I Own a Canadian?" →
Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It’s funny,...
Something's wrong with Lily Allen's twat
I was confused for a bit as to the pronunciation of the word “twat.” I’ve heard some people say “twaht,” while others would say “tw-at” (like in Lily Allen’s song “Alfie”), and I never knew which was correct. Well, according to both Merriam Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary, I’ve discovered that the former is correct:
...
WatchDanielle and I watched the entire Children of Dune miniseries in one sitting just to see James McAvoy (who doesn’t appear until the end! RIDICULOUS!)
Seriously, why is Sara Bareilles so effin cool?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Many the Mileys
I just thought that would be funny. ya know, like Miley Cyrus? whatever, you guys. stop being so judgmental. I’m on a flight to Nashville right now and I’m sitting behind a man with a rather pungent odor. I’m not complaining, but I am offering my earnest support towards people showering. On a regular basis. No, seriously. And...
