A Word Game

   My mother and I had a bit of fun this evening on a short shopping trip. One of us gives two letters and we take turns stating words that begin with those letters until one of us runs out of words to add. The rules are simple: all words must begin with the two letters mentioned, and no word can be repeated. Any other rules can be added or removed at your discretion, such as no proper nouns. The last person who thinks of a word wins the round.

   For instance, let's use the example "BO". Assuming someone has used the word "bore", another person cannot use the word "bored" or "boring", being as they are the same word in a different tense. One however may say "boar" since, while being a homonym, it is spelled differently and has an entirely different meaning. Try it. It's funner than you might think.

On Time

   I have never had a good sense of time. It has always been something of a curse to me, that time seems to pass more quickly than I give it credit. When pondering this, I discovered that I have a very vague understanding of the physics behind time, and so I suppose it stands to reason.

   Being as I am one who loves a good mystery, I decided to delve a little deeper into the subject. I already knew that time varies based on an object's mass, that is, its gravitational force. I had long believed that time was a man-made thing, stagnant and boring. But upon researching further, I find that there is a whole world of knowledge that I couldn't even scratch the surface of, and even more that will take me a while to understand. I'm sure I will be posting more on this topic later.

   Here is an excerpt from a clever website I came across:

"There are a few dozen GPS satellites floating high above the Earth. Each satellite carries an atomic clock that, when on Earth, is perfectly precise and in sync with Earth time. However, when lifted to the less dense gravity of the upper atmosphere, the satellites’ atomic clocks speed up. Were an observer to fly up to one of these satellites and watch the on-board atomic clock, he would see no difference in the length of a second. It would still be that familiar tick, tick, tick of Earth seconds. At that level of gravity, he, too, would be moving faster through time and would therefore see one second to be one plain old second. But, from here on the Earth’s surface and from within our denser gravitational field, we can see that the seconds pass a little more quickly on the satellites."
(For more information, click here.)

Just completed: A Study in Scarlet by A. C. Doyle.
   A fantastic tale. The first of the Sherlock Holmes series does not disappoint. I really wish I'd read these in order ages ago.

Now reading: The Sign of the Four by A. C. Doyle.

The Windows to the Soul

   How often do you place yourself in the shoes of another? It's a good habit to get in to, and one that deserves practice. Consciously, give it a try today. Choose a stranger out of a crowd; anyone you see. Try to imagine what is going through their mind at that very moment.

   Look at their eyes; do you see joy? Fear? Uncertainty? What might have brought about this portrayal of emotion? Even those that conceal their emotions from their peers are betrayed by their eyes. One can experience a hundred lives every day if they only pay attention to the eyes of others. They truly are windows to the soul.

   So often do we feel like we're alone in the world. Look around you; you'll find that it is far from the truth. The more you look into the lives of others, the more you realize it. Everyone is just like you: uncertain, weary, hopeful. Though our bodies change, we are all still like children, searching for stability.

"Happiness" Updated

   My mother and I were speaking this morning on the topic of happiness, and I posed the same question to her: what else is there to happiness aside from safety? I added the hypothesis that perhaps interest is a part of what creates happiness. She disagreed, stating that it is a side-effect of happiness, and not a cause of it.
"You'll find interest in whatever you do, if you are happy" she says. "Boredom is a side-effect of discontent."

Interesting.

Also we both agree, though we are reluctant to say it.
Money does buy happiness, if our theory holds true.

The Definition of Happiness?

   When attempting to decide upon a career choice that brings happiness, money always enters the picture no matter how hard one may try to separate the two. Our world is so centered around money that we may hardly escape the need for it.

   We all have heard the old adage "Money cannot buy happiness" and perhaps it is true, but money does net us a feeling of safety, which is at the very core of happiness. Still, safety cannot be the only part of happiness, can it? What else must be present for this mysterious ideal to be brought about? Also, is it true, then, that money does indeed buy happiness after all?

Evening Tea

   Tea time is the most important part of my day. My mother and I have decided to have tea in the (more or less) traditional English style, and I find myself astounded that our ancestors ever grew out of the habit of evening tea. Such a welcome pause it is for the mind and body; I highly recommend it for all, particularly those with the greatest burden of weight on their weary souls.

   For around half an hour each night, I take a journey back to a simpler, more peaceful time at evening tea. I encourage you to take even a single cup of hot tea each evening at the end of your long and arduous day. You most certainly owe this small luxury to yourself, if at least for rising each morning and facing the day’s tribulations without falter. Kudos to you; you deserve this!

Philomathy: the love of learning.

   Curiosity is the greatest boon to man. If he never grows bored of life, and always sees interest in his world, he will never cease to be entertained. There is always something to learn; some deeper level of existence to delve. Whether it be the deepest facets of humanity, or the most commonplace task depends on the man himself. Hardly does it matter; curiosity of all types keep the mind fresh and spry.

   Personally, my own curiosities lean toward the study of humans. We think we must be experts on human behaviour being as we've lived with each other since the birth of time. What I have found, however, is that we seem to transfer our own actions and feelings onto others, and expect them to act and react the same way as ourselves.

   This blog will reflect my studies and hypotheses on such topics, as well as more commonplace curiosities that I find myself preoccupied with (namely books, as I am a confessed bibliophile as well). Please do not think me greater or less than any other being with alternate curiosities, it‘s not my desire to be pompous; as I stated before, all curiosities are equal. None are greater or less important than any other. It all depends on the man.