tomobowie22

[tomobowie22]

Calculus 1-3 is... Not a good way to learn calculus.

Imagine you're learning ju jitsu and there was 3 levels. 1 where you learn a bunch of throws and techniques. 2. Where you actually get to spar. And 3 is like MMA.

That's calculus 1-3, remember a bunch of random mathmatical concepts. Then see how they connect. Then expand upon those concepts.

Australia it is like any other skill. They teach a concept, and show how it relates to other concepts around it. Then go back. And out again, this time a little further and back this time a little deeper into whatever subject is being taught.

I just decided to see what calculus 1 was like, and compared to my public education it makes no sense why it is structured this way.

Imagine learning to ride a bike. First step you learn 4 seemingly unrelated concepts to bike riding. Then you piece them together. Then you're like, on a motorcycle or something.

[tomobowie22]

I couldn't read "paused" backward. Well it took longer then all the other words in the phrase

"I paused my video game to be here"

Possible explanation; trust me this is going somewhere.

Paused is not spelt how it sounds. This could be wrong for at least 2 reasons but I like this is explanation.

Let's say it is true, the two letters making the same sound threw me off. That implies I learned English by listening, then associated those sounds with symbols. Which is what you'd expect. My first exposure to English was at home and not at school.

True it features Au, which could be Aw. But it is not the only word not spelt how it sounds. There's "here" and "game", but game is a special case. I'm very familiar with that word. Some argument could apply to here. Game and here both feature silent E. Since almost no words that end in e make an e sound, but rather change the sound of vowel before the not-vowel.

Which begs the question. Why learn a language by studying it's symbols.

At least 2 possible explanations; either each individual word is uniquely recognisable or i recognised words that end in e almost never make an e sound. If I recognised the word, that means it is, at least for that case, a I have a word first and then link it to a concept.

It makes sense for a verb to be like that. You'd see a thing happen and associate the word. Get better at recognising the word the more you use it. Which boats well for paused but not for game.

But then there's the discrepancy, why I recognised the word game first and here at roughly the same time. But there was a pause with pause?

Paused is no doubt less commonly found then the word game. Which could explain the discrepancy. If I recognised the word first.

In my head, I sounded it out, and linked it to a concept.

We can reasonably assume the steps I took to retrieve that information would mirror the steps I took to receive said information.

Meaning that there's at least 2 processes going on.

1. Associate sounds with letters and syllables and not the other way around. Turning sounds into words, just like how it is taught in school.

2. Associate words with concepts. Thing happens you put a word to it. The more you use the word the more ingrained the association.

As opposed to having a pre-existing concept and finding the word for it. Which does in fact happen. Necessarily because the word would never have been made if no-one ever thought this concept was significant enough to share. Perhaps just having a word for it merely acts as a sign post. A tool your brain goes to to remember a concept. The more the word it used, the stronger the neural pathway.

Why learn a language by studying it's symbols. Perhaps they assume you to already be speaking the language. You presumably have a reason to be learning it. The formal education is just to help but that might also be why some people have such thick accents. They learned by reading. They're reading it in their native tongue and saying it out loud. Unlike with their native language, where they say it in their head and associate the symbols.

Which begs the question

what we'd do without language. Even if you could formulate all the same thoughts (which no reason to believe). Thoughts without sign posts is like driving without knowing where you're going. If you could think the same without words, you could not share them without language. Making any abstract thinking achieved mute, unless you can do something about it.

Which raises the question; how much does lanaguge guide our thoughts. Could it simply be providing the tools to formulate more abstract thoughts. Making it especially difficult if not impossible to control. Like giving someone a marker to highlight cool destinations on map. Or could words/sentences be like marked towns on a map.

It would be pretty difficult to encounter a town not marked on a map if you weren't already familiar with that area. Similarly could certain concepts be abstracted out of existence. Just removing all connotations linking to this idea. Well not for people with experience with said concept. But for people with no personal experience. It could be erased.

This assumes that it is more common to have a word then link it to a concept then it is to have a concept and link it to a word. We might possibly be making countless infinite concepts. Just rarely finding words for them, which allows us to linger on ideas and let them marinate into more complex flavours of said idea. Letting us cut up, prepare and mix it with other ideas in abstract ways.

Words then, would be like a pot to put ideas in. Without words, we'd just have a tonne of ingredients. That's assuming it would be our only tool to understand the world. If we had no pots in our kitchen. We're not making any single pot dishes, but we've got pans and ovens. Can easily make substitutes. These other tools can be things like reason and experience.

[tomobowie22]

Dressing for the female gaze is just reinventing the hijab.

Difference is one is expressing individuality and the other adherence to Islam.

It's said a tradition is a solution to a problem forgotten. Prime example;

We had to reinvent the hijab because of the problem of unwanted male attention exists cross culturally. But the solution needed to be commodified

Individuality is a western construct. Something we as a secular culture value as an extension of democracy. Expressing individuality is expressing adherence to western culture.

[tomobowie22]

Revenge; two negatives make a positive.

Not all animals seek revenge. It doesn't make sense when you think about it. Something hurt you, so why do you want to go back. Wouldn't it make more sense to avoid situations that have caused you harm in the past.

This is a huge problem in society and arguably why we have a justice system enforced by a state. But beside the point. This is a destructive pattern of thought, but where does this irraional behaviour come from?

The answer lies in that two negatives make a postive.

Much like how philosophy is a reflection of the philosopher. Mathematics is a reflection on how we think. It is a product of the human mind and what makes sense.

A bad thing to a bad person is a good thing, a bad thing to a good person is a bad thing. A good thing to a bad person is a bad thing and a good thing to a good person is a good thing.

Two negatives make a positive, a positive multiplied by a negative is a negative. A negative multiplied by a negative is a negative and a postive multiplied by a positive is a positive.

I think this concept that allows for us to consider abstract concepts is also what gives us the tendency to justify revenge. Why catharsis feels emotionally gratifying. On a level, deep in the structure of our brain. Two negatives make a postive.

[tomobowie22]

The alcohol wizard

Alcohol sanitizes outside booboos, drink alcohol and you sanatize internal booboos.

Not bruises, but memories. They're still there, much like cuts, but you don't remember them... for now. The more you drink the less you remember. At a certain point, it's not even about feeling good. You know the hangover will sting. Take little pieces of you.

Alcohol is a stupid bargen; if the good is equivalent to the pleasurable. Sacrificing long term pain for short term pleasure. Alcohol is peace for an unstimulated mind and a sensitive heart. A problem for the people around them. A solution for a desire unrequited.

Unburdened by who are. A slow form of self harm, cutting at your very soul.

Free will is said to be the defining aspect of humanity. Addition is insidious, you don't realise all pathways converge toward a singular point until it is to late.

Alcohol; the most powerful anti-anxilant. Such alcoholism is much more common for those with anxiety disorders. It numbs the pain.

Alcohol, the oldest and most widely used drug. It has been around so long our brains actually adapted to it. A neural surgeon can tell the difference between a brain that has consumed alcohol in the past verses one that hadn't

Alcohol a cure for life when you can't die.

[tomobowie22]

Sleep informs our understanding of death;

a dreamless sleep, you never wake from. Life is like waking up into a dream but you never fell asleep.

Sometimes when we sleep, we dream of strange, scary and wonderful worlds. So we imagine there's another life after death.

Our dreams are impacted by what we do when we're awake. So we imagine this afterlife is impacted by what we do in this life.

Sometimes we wake up in a dream but we're still dreaming. So some of us imagine reincarnation. The ultimate goal of which is to sleep without dreams. Which is only achievable if we have nothing to process.

This goes deeper. From ghosts to Lovecraft. Every non-physical concept relating to death has a direct parallel to sleep.

Some of us can't sleep because we have unfinished business. Likewise this informs our understanding of ghosts. Some of us sleep walk and so zombies.

Psychosis can be described as being in a waking dream. An altered state of mind few will experience. Which leads to a person making connections and insights no one else would. Which makes it easier to believe some people have a special connection to the afterlife.

Imagine life is but the dream of a god. Only to end when it wakes. This is only effective horror because sleep is the closest thing the living will experience to death. When you think about it. This is not much different from the comfort Christians find in God and phrases like "God knows". That all the secrets of the universe and conscious experiences within are also experienced by a being on a higher plane of existence. Only difference is we don't have unique souls, nor do we personally experience the afterlife. We're just different manifestations of the same unconscious that dreamed the universe.