Category: Philosophy & Musings

In my experience, calling yourself out on bullshit and addressing a problem is infinitely better than waiting for that bullshit to infect your perception and sabotage every attempt to improve your position.

The truly fascinating stories (that reflect life, I believe) are the ones where the villains can be used to propagate good, and where heroes become villainous despite their best intentions.  To transcend the trap of simplistic dogma, I try to apply the standard of [effectiveness bounded by ethics] to each individual circumstance.  I am open…

While there’s no way to prove it, it seems that certain qualities which a person condemns are often reflective of their own faults.  This seems to be true in life, and it DEFINITELY rings true in story.  In a fair amount of stories (and I believe in real-life anecdotes as well), if a person integrates…

I’ve arrived at a place in my life where a tantalizing possibility has begun to arise:  those who practice discipline in a variety of domains can help others out, for they are strong.  They can solve others’ problems, for they are astute.  They can be compassionate when others are spiteful, for they are detached.  They…

If one can maintains their code/standard of behavior through action (particularly under stress or the lack thereof:  when no one is watching), then they never have to worry about whether they’re “badass” or “spiritual” or “noble” or any other high-sounding label.  That person never has to worry about advertising some grandly worded set of ideals.…

Personally, I believe the key to perceiving dogma (and how to escape it) lies in knowing/disciplining myself enough to be ethical first, effective second.  Unfortunately, it seems that if you become ethical and effective enough, people will construct a dogma around you, and stop concerning themselves with ethics and effectiveness.

I enjoy simplicity as much as the next person, but to only see the good or evil in something doesn’t just bar me from seeing that which is effective, but also that which is transcendent.

A scientifically sound model of reality states that billions of years ago, an extremely dense kernel of energy/matter expanded due to unknown causes, instantiated time and space (and thus causality), and through partially understood mechanisms like gravity and exploding stars, eventually gave rise to life on Earth. This, to me, is nothing short of amazing. …

Being disciplined gives me a chance.  Being strategic increases my chances.  Everything else seems to be icing on the cake. For much of my life, I tried to find a shortcut around discipline and strategy.  Now, I suspect that there isn’t any.