Saturday, May 21, 2011

Through the Looking Glass

Factoid 1: It's all in how you look at things.

My ears deem (certain types of) music as beautiful and inspirational. But to the little hammers and strings inside a piano, music is a demanding, tiring ordeal. To an evolutionist, dark matter and dark energy explain all things. But someone who believes the Biblical account of creation is satisfied with the less complicated explanation: "Let there be light." To quote one of my favorite books: "....from here, that looks like a bucket of water...but from an ant's point of view, it's a vast ocean, from an elephant's just a cool drink and to a fish, of course, it's home." - The Phantom Tollbooth

Factual Fact 2: Having an unflawed perception of reality is vital to understanding.

For example, to death, death is life and life is death. But to life, life is life and death is death. Only a neutral observer, such as a zombie, knows the facts of the matter: that life is defined by moving, growing, and breathing whilst death is defined as (the only legal situation in which a citizen is not arrested for) not paying taxes.

Pseudo-fiction 3: Truth is fixed, and it is independent of any one person's point of view.

If the kool-aid has been poisoned, it doesn't matter how many people believe it to be safe. If extra-terrestrials are fiction, it's of no use to continually sing about them in a severely misguided effort to increase one's odds of abduction. And if Charlie Sheen really does have tiger blood, it might be a good idea to stop making fun of him.

Just saying...

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Existential Owl City

I'm writing this blog for one reason and one reason alone: I don't want to go a whole month without a blog post. Instead of waiting for a burst of creativity or originality, I will simply write my thoughts. I will push on in a Stallone-esque fashion, never considering the ramifications of choosing mass production over quality or even common sense.

School has been out for almost three weeks. I'm not taking any summer classes, but I am instead focusing on actuarial examinations. On May 31, I will be taking a three hour, thirty question, multiple choice test on probability. And it's so much more difficult than it sounds.

Work starts in a few weeks, but it can't come soon enough for me. I'm getting more than just a little broke. It's a curious feeling when all your financial aid money has been spent, and you're left with just the holes in your pocket's for comfort. I feel a bit like Ebenezer Scrooge minus the part about being old and rich and having a beard or a cool top hat. This leaves only the quality of being a miser (misery?) and being frequented by ghosts. Although in truth, my paranormal experiences of late have been limited at best.

I'm looking forward to taking some trips to IOA/Universal this summer, acing my examinations, and earning some cash. Add a weekly paycheck into my life, and things are going pretty well in my life. Life is good. Really good.

Until we meet again, here's a list of random facts:
I hate voicemails.
I love the music of Adam Young.
Chicken fingers are served at almost every restaurant in America.
Group interviews aren't nearly as bad as one might think.
Fifth and most importantly, the ratio of the number of 4n+1 primes below n to the number of 4n+3 primes below n grows closer to 1 as n approaches infinity.