A Game No One Wins

Social networking is the equivalent of  a game that no one wins. A game you cannot win. Let me explain.

When you log onto social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook, studies show that every time you see a notification (whether that is a retweet, favorite, poke, photo tag, like, etc.) and reply to it your brain gets hit by a small burst of dopamine. That is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. Social networking can be (and is) argued as addicting, much as alcohol and sex may be for some.

Furthermore, we enjoy using social networking sites because it makes us feel “popular” and “well-liked” and “confident” in ourselves. Problem is, these are all fleeting emotions. Social networking is a game you simply cannot win, because (unfortunately for many of you out there) the number of Facebook friends you have, the number of people on Twitter you never talk to who follow you, or the number of likes you have on your Facebook profile picture do not and never will reflect your quality as a human being.

Also unfortunately, no matter how many likes you receive on your recently posted Instagram picture of the calzone you had for lunch, or how many people message you on Facebook because you’re an attractive brunette and you post slightly provocative pictures, there will always be someone with more likes or more friends.

Social networking can be useful but in moderation. This maxim of “in moderation” also applies to many things in life, such as alcohol, desserts, cigars, and bagels.

 

To This Day

This is a powerful video on bullying but above all, it’s a video grounded in the hope that you are not alone and that it will get better.

Then go listen to this song by Forever the Sickest Kids off their upcoming album J.A.C.K. It’s inspiring.

The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives

This brilliant TED.com talk by Jonathan Haidt is on five basic values that inform how conservatives and liberal view morality. It’s not just extremely interesting, it’s quite informative (as all TED talks are) so go check it out. I’m not a double-major in Political Science and Philosophy for nothing.

By the way, Jonathan Haidt is awesome. Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania, a school I hope to attend graduate school at? Teaches at New York State Stern School of Business? Taught Psychology at the University of Virginia? Heck yeah.

In Progressionem

Latin for “in progress.” That, in a nutshell, is my life as of right now. Patience is not one of my many virtues, I must admit to you, and waiting for life to show me the way forward is not something I take kindly to.

The past three or so years have not been easy on me and some sort of stability would be nice. I have applications out to transfer colleges for undergrad, and while I heard back from one, the other won’t release admission decisions for another month and it’s hard to plan for the fall semester without actually…you know…knowing where I’m transferring TO. That part is rather important.

All I do know, is that I want to add a Philosophy major so I’ll be a double major in Political Science and Philosophy and we’ll see where that goes, especially in regards to grad school.

If you have any manner of luck at all, or are religious in any capacity whatsoever, wish me luck or send some prayers upwards for me. Getting accepted into an Ivy League school would fulfill a hope I’ve had for years. Maybe it’s not a real hope (because I tend to be a cynic) but maybe it’s just a fool’s hope.

Where is Home?

Is home where we grew up? Is it where all our childhood memories happened? For some of us, though, we can’t go back to those places. Or maybe we don’t want to. Maybe the pain is too fierce to even wish to.

Is home where we live when we come back from school/college/work? It can be but maybe it isn’t.

Is home where the heart is? But how would you define that? How do you measure it? You can’t.

Maybe home isn’t somewhere tangible. Maybe home isn’t a place we can drive, or walk, or fly to. Maybe home is a place within us.

Metal & Weightlifting

I took up actively weightlifting in March of 2011. It’s nearly two years later and I can honestly tell you that, even if it may seem funny to you, that for me personally, weightlifting and metal go hand in hand. They inspire each other, if that makes sense at all.

I don’t work out for anyone but myself. Let me explain what I mean by this. Some people work out to impress others of the opposite gender. I really don’t care. Not that I don’t want to look good, but I’ve learned in my life that you often need to focus on yourself and work to improve yourself. Thus, I lift weights and exercise for myself and only myself. Egotistical? No. Selfish? Not really. I do it for me. And that’s all there is to it.

For your listening pleasure, the following is a random sampling of the type of music I currently find most productive to work out to…and on that note, I need to get back to filling out my study guides for my Comparative Politics exam on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the French Republic, and the Federal Republic of Germany.

You Can’t Fix Stupid (or Part One of Adventures in Idiocy)

Webster’s Dictionary defines “stupidity” as: the quality or state of being stupid. 

Here’s a few examples I’ve conjured up from my college experience so far.

a. A student a semester away from graduating who spells “exam” as exiam. 

b. This same student who writes “Iranian Arabs” as Iraneyen Aiuds. 

c. A student in a 2200 Political Science class who openly declares he’s unable to find Ireland on a map.

d. When asked what’s a critical juncture in world political history, a Political Science major replies with “Well, obviously the extinction of the dinosaurs.” To which the professor responds: “NO! Because the dinosaurs, didn’t, you know, have a political system or VOTE!”

e. A group of Criminal Justice majors who discuss the “inevitably” of Russia and America teaming up to nuke North Korea.

This is all I have for now but rest assured, there shall be more. 

British Metal

I have to admit the metalcore/post-hardcore scene in Britain is among the best I’ve ever found. Being the Anglophile I am, I must say the talent in their metal scene is simply staggering. Consider the following bands…

While She Sleeps from Sheffield, England. 

Architects from Brighton, England. 

Heart In Hand from South Coast, England. 

and

Bring Me The Horizon also from Sheffield. 

 

Breaking Their Own Rules

One fundamental lesson that should be self-evident is that when democracy breaks its own rules to fight terrorism, it is democracy which is damaged, and the terrorists who make gains.

The above quote is from an article in the International Journal of Iberian Studies, entitled “The war against terrorism: the Spanish experience from ETA to al-Qaeda” by Paddy Woodworth. I have to read this for a 2200 Political Science class on Terrorism and I thought it was well worth pondering.

More importantly, however, I want to hear your thoughts?

Message to a friend

Reblogged from Run4joy59's Blog:

I've known you for years, since way back when we were young and carefree, not quite as wild as we thought we were, having grown up in small town Indiana.  So...I know in my heart that you're a good person, that you care about other people, that you wouldn't really want to do or say something that would hurt someone else. 

Read more… 1,067 more words

This thoughtful, provocative, and well-written blog post by my friend Patti deserves to be read the world over.