Ideas and Opinions about the World
Life’s lessons learned.
Back when I lived in New Jersey I would often go into New York City to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I remember a photograph I saw on one such trip and I thought I’d try to find it online. I did. It’s called Diptych, Rope Pull by François Alain Deschamps.
I think perhaps the solution to every problem is trivial, if only you know the domain in which the solution lies. Of course determining that domain is the hard part of finding a solution. Two examples from the newspaper led me to this hypothesis.
One is the crossword puzzle in the daily paper. Once you get a sense of the types of words they tend to use, you can more quickly and easily solve a puzzle. For instance the words Era and Eon appear frequently. Once you know this, any clues that remotely result in one of these words makes the puzzle easy.
Another is the puzzle for children in the comics section that asks you to find six differences between two similar scenes. Once you realize the types of differences they mean, it is very easy to solve such puzzles. For instance someone’s arm is slightly bent, or their hair is slightly longer. On subsequent puzzles you simply look for similar kinds of differences.
These solutions seem to lie in particular domains, such that once you stumble upon them, the problems are easily solved.
Another pet peeve I have concerns merging to one lane when a lane of traffic is closed ahead. Many drivers slow down and merge properly. Some people take advantage of the open lane and zoom ahead so they can cut in line at the very last moment. This slows the line down tremendously for those who “do the right thing” and merge early.
Most people are smarter than the famous scientists of yore. Look at what the average eighth-grader knows and understands about the world. Certainly more than Copernicus, Galileo, and perhaps even Newton.
I’m not saying we are more intelligent or have better insight than these famous scientists. They had a certain intuition and drive for discovery that most people lack. But in terms of mere facts about the world, we probably know more about more things than they did. Granted our knowlege is built upon their work. We’ve had hundreds of years of technoligical improvements upon which to draw. As the world’s population has grown, more knowledge has accumulated, and the collective knowledge of individuals has increased dramatically.
Have you considered how old your thoughts are? You might be surprised to realize that some of the feelings and opinions fresh in your mind today were actually formed many years ago. Perhaps it’s a political view, or something you are planning to do. Try to remember though when you first had that thought. Were you in college discussing it with your roommates? Did it occur to you during your first job? Perhaps it was during childhood.
Sometimes we don’t realize just how much time has elapsed in our lives. Our feelings about some things today may have been formed when we were quite young. It shows that once we form an opinion, we don’t change too much.
I think there comes a time in one’s life when you stop seeing your parents as mom and dad, and realize instead they are people too. It happens when you reach a certain level of maturity. So I imagine some never realize it and some realize it after it’s too late. Perhaps for many, as for me, it happens during young adulthood.
What I mean is you no longer think of your parents as simply parents, but as adults. They are no longer the authority figures, or those who we think have all the answers. Instead each is a person, like yourself, with hopes and dreams and plans. They make mistakes. They have happiness and sorrow. They try their best.
I think there comes a time when these individuals cease to be your parents and instead become your friends.
Don’t underestimate the power of coincidence. Several times I have contemplated taking action to accomplish a certain thing. On some occasions I took no action, but the intended result happened anyway. If I had taken action and the result occurred, I would have thought it was because of my action. This makes me wonder how often we preceive our actions as the cause of a result, when really the result is coincidental to our action. In other words the result would have happened regardless of our action, but we in our own minds take credit for it.
Here are my pet peeves when it comes to driving:
Peeve 1: Someone comes up behind me at high speed, usually in the passing lane, then hangs in my blind spot for several seconds or minutes. They eventually speed up again to pass and continue to the next car ahead, where they hang back behind them as well. Rather than trying to make other drivers paranoid, or to glimpse the occupants of the other cars, I think these drivers simply get mesmerized by a vehicle that is close to them. Once they realize they’re not making progress, they speed up to move on, but then get mesmerized by the next vehicle ahead.
There is a fine line between ignorance and inconsideration. Sometimes it is difficult to classify someone’s behavior as either ignorant or inconsiderate. The similarity leaves me wondering most often while driving in traffic. For instance when I pass someone on the expressway, that driver may suddenly pull over into my lane to pass the car in front of him. Is the other driver ignorant of the situation because he did not check whether the passing lane was clear? Or is he simply inconsiderate because he wants to pass, no matter if there’s another car already passing him?
By definition, ignorant can mean unaware or uninformed, while inconsiderate can mean heedless or thoughtless. I guess someone can be unaware of something because he is thoughtless. Therefore someone can be ignorant because he is inconsiderate.
Another of life’s little lessons: Appreciate what you have while you have it. If you consciously acknowledge someone or something while they are with you, it lessens the pain if you one day lose them. Taking someone or something for granted often leads to regret. Your loss can be mitigated somewhat if you can remember when you consciously enjoyed having it in the first place.
One of life’s little lessons I’ve learned may sound cynical. It is never wise to volunteer advice. And even if someone asks for your advice, they don’t really want to hear it unless it’s what they want to hear. Advice falls on deaf ears until a person is at that stage of life where he is receptive to it, and can appreciate it. Though by that time it’s usually too late.