Homo sapiens, oxymoron.
All are philosophers, except those who label themselves so.
Those who know, teach. Those who can, do. Those who can't either, entertain.
Thankful for the care from my fellow beings while doing what I love, desiring and toiling to ensure the most beautiful good. (What I felt after being up all night and watching Special Agent Oso with my 2.98630136 old daughter (her age today has an interesting number under the vinculum, but nothing as profound as in the Ramanujam/Hardy anecdote (it may well be there but I am too lazy to look for it)).) --on Thanksgiving Day November 25, 2010.
Daddy, you're so smart but you don't know how to play. --Umaporn Samudrala [My (then) eight year old daughter referring to the fact that I couldn't play with her My Little Pony set.]
Never attribute to malice that which can be attributed to stupidity.
Sticks and stones may break my bones but names... in the end, it's up to you to decide the meaning of words spoken by others.
The ones who seek power are the least deserving of it.
You didn't require your parents' signature as a kid? --Umaporn Samudrala [My daughter, referring to all the permission slips, homeworks, etc. that we have to sign. Why do humans have to make their lives more complicated?]
The problem is with the idiots who get elected. Until the moment they do, they're all over the electorate, touching, hugging, kissing, what have you. Election day comes and they forget who put them there and make themselves King and God. It happens even with the smallest local jurisdictions.
I am grateful that others have tried and failed, particularly in science. Those efforts were informative, and without them I would not have figured out what was successful.
I was five when I looked up at the night sky and asked "why?" and after that I knew I was destined to do science.The desire to be something greater than yourself should not be confused with the desire for others to see you so.Having the power (and the so-called "right") to kill requires a person of ethics, morality, civilisation, and discipline to find a better way.A rabbit may sense "fear" and act on it in a programmed manner, but we place a lot of emphasis on context and play so much with the word "war" and use and abuse it in our daily social politicial and commercial lives that our monkey brain is entirely confused by what "fear" is. We are also behaving as biological creatures born with some amount of preprogramming that kicks in based on contexts that are ALSO misassociated. So we just have a lot of biology going on between and among humans, and between humans and the rest of the universe, that is seemingly very noisy even if you think of a single human with a singular ego, let alone billions of ego or even consciousnesses.Science is the greatest achievement of mankind. By science, I include everything from philosophy and art to farming and housebuilding. Politics, law, the military, and other professions capitalise on the inability of humans to self-govern and be compassionate. While one may argue these professions are essential, it is akin to saying that a partially effective ointment is essential to heal a pus filled sore.I went to the change the world but the world went and changed me.Mentoring is service.A cruel joke was played on human pets by evolution, where the ancestors of dogs and other animals we call pets were persuaded that we could be trusted. We can't take care of each other (overall) and our environment, what basis is there for assuming responsibility over some other poor creature?As an amateur astronomer/astrophotographer, I see the changes humans have made reflected and refracted through the ancient photons arriving from cosmic distance that strike my sensors in my camera and the photoreceptors in my eye.The universe is made aware by our awareness.The grand illusion is that our identity is derived from events that happen, sensory experiences, memories formed, emotions felt, and thoughts that drive us.Celebrity culture, worship, and lionising individual humans will be downfall of civilisation, such as it is.How deep of a void must a human be facing to look outward to satiate desire and diminish suffering, inherently knowing that external means will never suffice.The only heroes I have are either fictional or those I personally know.Intellectual Property laws are like blasting a message through a huge speaker that reaches everyone in the world, then telling the world to shut their ears, or else!In the end, the same worms will feast on us and the same wind will scatter our ashes.Nice jobs finish last.There are no jokes.On my birthday, I honour my mother every day, on this day particularly, to this day.Not my proudest quote since I think one shouldn't condemn people but instead their actions. It is here however, anyway. I have no respect for politics (even the little I feel I have to practice) and politicians.
Reagan became senile. Bush 1 already was. Clinton acted like he is. Bush 2 was inept. Obama is naive.Trump really threw this country through a wringer. [An original tongue twister.]On social media, everyone is just another opinion.We don't often get the chance to do things that are right and big, but when we do, we've got to do it. (Modifed from Warren Buffett.)
Pseudointellectual ramblings || Ram Samudrala || me@ram.org