Kung Fu Hung-Su

If you don't have what it takes, you can always get what it takes. Start here.

http://calnewport.co...dy-hacks-canon/

I know, I listed Chris Gardner with the real people. Tim Ferriss is also a real person. http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/

This thread would probably do fine in the lounge, but I think it's the Serious Discussions people who would enjoy this most.

I have a few real life role models. Famous people in popular media like Donnie Yen, Bruce Lee, BoA etc - famous people who aren't in popular media like Tim Ferriss (of the 4 Hour Work Week), Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith in Pursuit of Happyness)...

And then there are my fictional role models. Light Yagami of Death Note, Tony Stark of Iron Man, etc.

I try to emulate what a lot of my role models do. Learn from and improve on the best, they say. What might be slightly dangerous is comparing myself to the achievements of these fictional characters, like beating myself up for not achieving in 24 years what Light Yagami had in 17 years. I feel somewhat worse for doing so, but also empowered. This might sound cheesy, but I especially like that fictional role models often have their own theme music - music I cna listen to and feel emboldened by, like they're looking over my shoulder to make sure I really am trying to replicate their success properly.

I don't think this is "strange" behaviour, but I just wonder if any other BoAjjangers do the same? And how do they emopwer you? For those who don't have fictional role models...any reason why not? Do you think what I'm doing is strange, or even dangerous?

First, some formalities.

monogamy
• noun the state of having only one husband, wife, or sexual partner at any one time.

polygamy
• noun the practice or custom of having more than one wife, husband or sexual partner at the same time.



In my naivete, I was not even aware of how common polygamy was in western countries, that it was mostly something we saw in Islamic countries. Of course in western countries it's not THAT common, since marriage has legal technicalities, but that doesn't stop people from having multiple boyfriends/girlfriends, or having a boyfriend/girlfriend in ADDITION to having a wife/husband.

I'm curious, what do you guys feel about people that are polygamous? I find them rather unsettling, it greatly bothers me that if they fancied my girl, they wouldn't have any reservations whatsoever about hooking up with her even if they knew we were an item and we were both monogamous. I understand that that's just their way, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't feel that comfortable with them.

And if anyone here is polygamous...what do you think about us monogamous types?

This is a completely random world and it is all up to chance. Whether your perfect somebody exists is a number's game. But if you are willing to have normal standards you may yet find happiness, at least in a mediocre way. I mean -- companionship.

No, it's not all up to chance. People are far more in control of their lives than you can imagine. I've lost count of how many people I've met who came from tiny country towns and flourished in the city better than I have - taking charge of their lives is more powerful than what the world will throw at you. Also, your perfect somebody is never found. They are forged by you, and you by them.

You do not need love and companionship to be a whole person. But it certainly does help one's self-image, and improves quality of life (most times, but not always!). That being said, I know from personal experience that loneliness is perhaps the most difficult battleground. And you never can win.

Why do you say such bizarre things? That you first say that love and companionship isn't necessary but then say that loneliness is a battle that can't be won?? It would probably be better to say that loneliness is a path that never ends, but that's about as useful as saying that humans are bipeds.

I agree, this is fun xD --omg...does that make us like uber nerds or something?

Okay, you make a very valid point --I do think of destiny as a destination, I guess it's very common? I mean, when people generally refer to destiny they often refer to something that has been achieved, or will be achieved. That being said, it can be viewed as a line can't it? Which I think is a wonderful way of thought!

A line, or a road pre-paved, made from predisposition. Not a destination, but an ongoing series of preordained events. I really like it --it sorta gives me like that strange feeling that it must lead to a whole new maze but to be honest, I can't put my finger on it haha. It's such a pretty feeling.

HAHA I KNOW RIGHT?! I feel all happy and fuzzy

Back to the idea of how much of our lives are preordained, I think it is only human nature to feel disturbed by such a thought (though at times, hypocritically enough, it can be such comfort). I think our ideas of destiny cannot help but be connected to the way in which we deal with our lives psychologically. Often, we hesitate to say that everything we have achieved is predestined rather than born from our free choices and efforts, yet often when bad things happen that are out of our control --we favour the idea that it was 'meant to be' --and suddenly lack of control is favoured.

Naturally enough, say a terrible accident happens to a person you care about, you do not want to feel like you could have stopped it, that it was somehow avoidable had someone, or even yourself done something different, said something different. It is then, much more comforting to rely on this unknown idea of chance, destiny, fate. And yet, if you've spent hours upon hours on a task, which you inevitably achieve, ie. building an intricately detailed modern ship, you would perhaps prefer to credit it to your abilities, skills and efforts rather than luck, chance, destiny or fate.

All that being said, it is very likely that each person's lives is preordained alot. Maybe 8/10 events are 'destined' ---whether by supernatural or scientific/logical means.
You act a certain way because of the influence of your life, of the people you meet, of the environments you encounter.
You think a certain way also because of those reasons.

Perhaps you may do something out of character from time to time ---which results in so called 'unpredictable' results, but no doubt this sudden change of character must have been inspired by something or someone. Therefore, hasn't this sudden change also be pre-ordained?

Of course, even I don't really like the idea of everything being pre-decided by something I have no control over. It is only natural, which is why I said 8/10 as opposed to 10/10.
But perhaps this is the reason there is so much doubt over the idea of destiny? Who wants to believe they have no choice in what happens? Of course nobody does.

However, at the same time, does that mean we should all sit back and merely allow the environment to act upon us? I think not, because I think destiny does not really force us to relinguish control of our lives. It must be some sort of interactive system.

A man who is born poor will remain poor if he does nothing, and yet if he does something he may better his circumstances.
At the same time, even if he tries hard, perhaps he will still achieve no more than he originally began with. Perhaps destiny is made up events linked by choices, where each choice leads to a particular line of other events. For instance, for one man his desire to better his circumstances may lead him to powerful people, and for another, not so much, which then determines whether or not he may succeed --it leads him to his destiny, or destined road of life.

But what determines these events or how they unfold? I hestitate to say chance, for that sort of cancels out whole idea of destiny altogether.
I suppose what determines these events are other events, things that occur in circumstance and environment. In the example presented of a poor man, perhaps one frequents a nearby cafe that a powerful person frequents, and for the other, he doesn't because it isn't nearby or he never paid attention to it. We could say that may be a result of chance but is it chance or simply the way the brain is wired. Behaviorism suggests that humans are always affected by situation and environment. Humans have learnt through our evolution that convenience is beneficial --so if there is a cafe that is convenient to it, we will visit it, if it is not, we will not.

One could say then is it not chance that the cafe was built closer to poor guy 1 and not poor guy 2? But the owner/builder is also human no? Also subject to environmental and situational influences --does that not suggest another link, another pre'destined' event? He was 'destined' to build a cafe there because of the things and people that surrounded him, because of the events in his life etc.

In these messy paragraphs I'm sorta trying to explain my theory of destiny being a result of this interactive system between humans and their environments and again those humans on other humans who are in turn affected by their environments. Actions predestined by other actions, predestined by circumstances, predestined by others who are also subject to the same predisposition creators.

lol --It's so messy isn't it? But I love the mess of philosophy --it's sort of like a crazy, wonderful symphony of thought to me.

ps. sorry I'm making you wade through this ocean of disorganized thought lol

Um, yes, I'm having quite a bit of trouble wading through this hahaha. You posted this like a week ago and I'm still having trouble coming up with a worthy answer haha. But you're so right actually. Humans love to think of our achievements and blessings and success as being the result of our own hardship, and passing off our woes as the natural way of things and so on. It reminds me of this story
The Fable of the Dragon Tyrant. A lot of what i want to say is in that story, but i'll sum here for those who don't want to read it hehe.
I don't believe that there is any natural course of things, only things that for the time being, are more powerful than us.

We were discussing a bit in the "Future evolution of humans" thread as well - that no one can say what is good, no one can prove that something is evil in the universal scheme of things. The world can only punish criminals because the world has a bigger stick than the criminals do. Something like old age, is an enemy that has a bigger stick than humanity does. Natural disasters and such, they've just got a bigger stick than we do - for the time being. The strength of a person's will is quite staggering though. Just as it is staggering how a person who doesn't care, who doesn't know, who can't do anything - can totally mess everything up even if the world throws miracles at them - a person can seemingly create miracles through the strength of his will even if the world seemingly pulls the floor out from underneath him. Like Genghis Khan getting imprisoned seemingly for life but getting out and becoming one of the greatest military leaders in history.

I understand that the world and humans in it are a mess...but I believe firmly now that our own will is stronger. hehe our destiny almost always transcends any mess and chaos the world throws at us. Save for being shot for our pocket money when we wander out one lonely night or something

I think destiny is a line.
A point would indicate that it all ends at some point.
Even if there's nothing left of the world, time still goes on.

Plus, every little action would be fulfilling the "destiny" of that person,
So really, if it were a point, it would be a bunch of points lined up.
And whats a continuous stream of overlapping points? A line.

I didn't really think of it that way haha. More about what a destiny might be - like being destined for greatness in something. You can't just be great for one instant - you have to be great for a while. If you're destined to meet and marry someone wonderful, you can't marry someone and divorce the next day - gotta be married for a while! Destinies are paths to walk on that have better scenery than the paths we're already on. And with lots of your favourite restaurants and your favourite music playing all the time

I can't argue well enough upon this topic, but I want to add onto the topic discussion.

What do you think about the prediction of the end of the world on the day of Dec. 21, 2012?

lol oh dear. I work at Geoscience Australia, we have a whole department here whose only work is watching for earthquakes, tsunamis and the like. Consensus is:

"It's highly unlikely. :]" hehe

I for one, despise the idea of destiny. Not only do I not like the idea, but I also believe that there is no evidence, no evidence to suggest that there are such things as coincidence and fate. I like to believe that I am the one typing on this keyboard. That my meeting lovely people here, my achievements and such were all acts of my own will. But I certainly don't know everything. I'm certainly somewhat confused when people say things like

"We were destined to be together."

What does that even mean?



And not only that, but I am rather disturbed by how my demeanour is remarkably east "asian" in spite of my general lack of exposure to other "typical" east asian kids - that is, I was not really raised by my asian parents, and went to Australian schools playing cricket, footy etc with very very few other asian students, yet somehow, when I talk to asian students around my age at uni etc, I am far more at home amongst them than I am amongst my Australian friends who I have been with since birth. Is my nature somehow preordained and totally unchangeable?