October 27, 2010

• Heads I win, tails you lose

  Some paradoxes and catch-22s for your rumination.

  This is the paradox of cynicism.  A cynic is a person who expects to be disappointed.  Thus, by being disappointed, they end up satisfied.  For instance, consider a person who expects that their romantic life is doomed to failure.  In such a case, they are sad that they failed (in romance) and happy that they succeeded (in their prediction).  So what are they really?

  I have heard that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  This makes me feel bad when I am throwing things away because I think, “Man, it’s terrible that I am throwing away someone else’s treasure”.  So I don’t throw it away.  But then since I don’t throw it away, it isn’t their treasure.  So then I go to throw it away again, but I am stopped by the same consideration.  And there I stand before the trash can for all eternity not knowing what to do with the used piece of floss.

  Suppose there was a person who pretended to be someone else for their entire life.  They never broke out of that character.  But if they really weren’t that person, then when were they who they really were?  Can you be a person that you never are?  But surely they weren’t the other person either, for they were only pretending to be them.  So who was this person? 

  I think there is a lot of pressure that comes with being called a “fearless leader”.  Thus as a boss I will be extremely afraid that my employees will start calling me their fearless leader.  But since I am afraid of it, they won’t be able to call me their fearless leader.  So I won’t expect them to call me their fearless leader, so I won’t be afraid of it anymore.  But then this leads to the fear all over again . . . which leads to the disappearance of the fear, and so on and so forth. 

  That is one I am afraid I will never be able to work out.

  Alright, goodnight everyone!  Have fun making up the lines of your life!  Say something you normally wouldn’t, be a little crazier, a different animal – a duck as supposed to a deer, we shall say.  How does one be more duck like?  I’m not sure.  But if you pull it off, everyone will be quacking up, I promise.  Ok bye!

  • 1:37 am
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