Friday, July 23, 2010

'Everything must have a beginning, to speak in Sanchean phrase (Sancho Panza in Cervantes' Don Quixote [1605], Book II, line xxxiii), and that beginning must be linked to something that went before. The Hindus give the world an elephant to support it, but they make the elephant stand upon a tortoise. Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos; the materials must, in the first place, be afforded: it can give form to dark, shapeless substances, but cannot bring into being the substance itself. In all matters of discovery and invention, even of those that appertain to the imagination, we are continually reminded of the story of Columbus and his egg (Christopher Columbus [1828] by Washington Irving). Invention consists in the capacity of seizing on the capabilities of a subject, and in the power of moulding and fashioning ideas suggested to it.' - Mary Shelley's introduction to Frankenstein the Modern Prometheus. (Emphasis and notes added)

'What's the most resilient parasite? An idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules. Which is why I have to steal it.' - Cobb from Christopher Nolan's Inception.

In other words, what if there is no such thing as spontaneity or originality? There must be a trigger for every thought that enters our brains. A song may trigger a memory of a person or a place, but imagine if you had never heard that song. The memory would be triggered by a smell or certain weather or even a chain of other thoughts. A thought can be triggered by a What if? but the question was still posed based on natural laws and realities. It just took the inverse direction of a regular thought.

All I'm saying is the beauty of creation is not in the idea itself but the shaping, bending, forming, and ultimately the communicating of the idea.

Another point to address. What about pure inspiration? I believe in it. Sometimes thoughts come to your head without any premeditation. They just appear without warning. So if my theory is correct, then what was the trigger? Here's my other theory. The trigger of true and pure inspiration can only be explained supernaturally or, if you will, spiritually. In the words of Graham Hess in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs 'Is it possible that there are no coincidences?'

Just a theory...

Thursday, July 8, 2010

So... This isn't really a theory. But I've been called to serve in the Korea, Seoul Mission! Oh my head!! Yeah it's that exciting. I got mail from a famous person:) I'm kinda excited about that.

I also have something else to say. Everyone on Earth is endowed with a conscience, yes? It's what tells us the difference between right and wrong. It helps us all make decisions everyday. So I was wondering.... Why are there not laws against some things that are extremely inherently wrong?

Why is cheating on your spouse legal? It's inherently wrong, is it not? In ancient times people were stoned to death if they were caught in adultery. So, what has changed? Just a theory... but I don't think anything has. Besides the consequences of the situation, obviously. It's still inherently wrong but for some reason it's acceptable.

Abortion is another thing that I really don't understand. Why would anyone want to kill a fetus? Let me think of some of the arguments supporting abortion... Perhaps the new mother cannot provide for the child financially, physically, or emotionally. So give it up for adoption to someone who can provide! Problem solved. Perhaps the mother is afraid of the pain associated with giving birth. She should have thought about that earlier, but since she didn't she can get an epidural and feel almost nothing. Problem solved! Maybe the mother is separated from her partner and feels incapable of handling the responsibility. Again, adoption is an excellent solution! The only reason for abortion that seems plausible to me is if either the life of the fetus or the mother is seriously threatened. And even then I think all that can be done should be done to save either life. (I did study this BTW. Just in case someone wanted to be a hater. http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_why.htm)

Look at it this way. If you bought a puppy and loved it and played with it all the time you would be super happy! But eventually the novelty would ware off and it would be begging for food and to be walked and it would poop on your carpet and that sort of thing. Then you would realize the responsibility involved with raising a puppy and perhaps you would feel unready. If this was the case you would go out in the back yard and kill it! Unless you were a sick freak future serial killer or something (No offense to any serial killers that might read this). But honestly if you wouldn't do it to a puppy, why in the world would you do it to a helpless fetus!?

To say the least, I'm baffled... This won't change any laws. I hope something else does, however. So, the big idea really is: If an act is inherently wrong, it should be against the law... Just a theory.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Scientist tell us that we should brush our teeth for about 5 minutes, twice a day. So that would be a total of 10 minutes everyday. In a year you should brush your teeth 3650 minutes or 60.8 hours. But I digress... My point is, why don't we just brush our teeth for an hour every Saturday? That fills the recommendation right? Scientists should be happy.

Isn't that ridiculous? I believe this principle applies to other aspects of life. If you only brush your teeth for an hour one day a week your teeth are probably going to fall out. If you want to be good at anything you have to practice it regularly. If you want to have strong muscles, you have to work out more than once. If you want to learn a language, you have to practice daily.

The other day I was reading Scriptures. I wondered to myself and perhaps to God about what it is that I should be learning. For some reason the word Patience stuck out to me very strongly more than once. Then I remembered that we must crawl before we walk and walk before we run. Two days later I found myself in the Scriptures again. If I were having a conversation with God at that time it would probably go something like this: "Alright, God. I've learned patience. What's next?" and then God replies with "DILIGENCE!" It nearly jumped out of the page at me. In my arrogance, I had assumed that I had mastered what I needed to and that I was ready to move on. I was patient for a few days, yes, but that could be compared to brushing my teeth once. Patience, like most virtues or values, requires diligence to have any effect.

Now, I wouldn't pretend to know, but I think it must be diligence that fuels accomplishment. ... Just a theory.