Living Life Logically--Day 17

Quickie blog.

I talked to teachers and career guidance counsellors at the college today; they said they'd help me find out more, but I would have to do my own homework and research too, on astrophysics and careers in astronomy.

Geographical location and facilities are big influences, so the U.S.A or U.K. would seem like the best places to go. Australia is alright, but facilities wise it's not like what the U.S. would have.

I've also checked out job and employment statistics (U.S.), and I must ask myself if I'm really willing to commit to academia and a life of research instead of an industry, like medicine.

The option of me just learning and reading up on physics and astronomy on the side while pursuing a career in medicine seems the most sensible choice still.

If I think about this any more, I'll go crazy. Best to just focus on A-levels for the time being, and wait for my thoughts to calm down.

Living Life Logically--Day 16

The last two or three days have been a bit...emotional for me.

It's mainly about the decision to study medicine, or to become an astrophysicist. Or more specifically, cosmology with all the dark matter and all that.

See, I just found out that career opportunities are quite limited. And the pay isn't great, but if you're doing what you love then it shouldn't matter.

And you have to be good at computers...and I'm not that into computer science. But mainly, it's maths and physics, and I like both subjects a lot.

For a girl from Malaysia, where could I work? People would say NASA of USA has the best technology; but what about other countries? I have to find out more before I decide to plunge totally into astrophysics.

What disturbs me is that I became interested in stars and galaxies and space and sci-fi and life in outer space before I ever found biology and chemistry and life on Earth interesting.

Most people would say follow your heart and do what you love. I'm inclined to do so, but then again my parents are quite pro-enter the medical field. My mother has hinted to me though that she'll support whatever I decide to do. =)

It's like some mid-life crisis, only I'm not even middle-aged yet.

The other disturbing thing is that when I was young (6-8 yrs) I was really interested in space; then I forgot about it from then on until late last year or so. And then this year I read some stuff about quantum physics combined with some astrophysics. And boom. Interest rekindled. Is this some kind of prompt to ask me to decide wisely, before I enter univesity and it's too late to turn back?

Or is my sudden rekindled interest in physics merely a passing fancy?

I also find images of outer space and planets and nebulae very beautiful, compared to people's organs and X-rays and CT scans.

I really need to talk to other people to find things out; that's the logical side of me talking. The logical side also says to consider income and supporting myself.

Hmm. The logical and intuitive sides of me are both urging me to actually discover what I really want to do with my life.

Even though this is quite unsettling for me, I place my trust in myself, and I'm sure the answer will be clear after a while.

After all, it's only logical to do what you love for this lifetime, and make the most out of it.

Living Life Logically--Day 15

Today's post is about logic and a decision.

So last night, I bought some random sci-fi from MPH and I found myself feeling very excited as I stared at the spaceship on the cover.

Spaceships make me happy. And excited. And I feel that at last, there may be some hope for mankind.

No, it didn't happen after watching Star Trek. I've always been interested in space and whatever else there is out there since I was young. Star Trek just happened to bring that interest back. =)

I'm not sure if this is permanent or not, but I find my interest in Physics growing beyond that of Biology. I still like Bio, just not as much as I used to. I'm guessing that the sudden interest came after I read some stuff on string theory and quantum physics and relativity...

It's all very fascinating to me. I especially like the fact that modern physics is so far out from what we call 'logic' and 'common sense', but yet it is true. It's been proven, to some extent at least. An example was the photon polarisation experiment which proved that something is measurable only because we INTEND to measure it.

Well, now I'm not sure whether to pursue a career in physics or medicine. It's always been medicine, but now I hesitate, because the idea of being a physicist is quite...tempting. I'm particularly interested in modern physics with all its sub-atomic particles and such.

I like the fact that modern physics is coming closer to looking at consciousness, and how our thoughts can affect physical matter. It's the whole Law of Attraction at work, and I'm excited at what physics can actually prove.

Hmm. And the Large Hadron Collider at CERN may actually be suffering from time travel consequences. Google "time travel LHC".

It's an exciting time to be alive.

I was thinking about this problem last night before I fell asleep and I had the weirdest dream after that.

My whole family went to a cinema and we were planning to watch Superman or some film like that, can't remember. Then, suddenly, the screen went dark and I saw planets coming onto it and...

...the film turned out to be Star Trek. And not only that, a whole new storyline that was just too random and weird. (let's just say it involved Kirk and Spock hanging out by a river with drunk people) Then I woke up, and felt like I didn't sleep at all! Like I was moving from the dream world into the real one, smooth transition, no sleep in between.

Geez, I don't know whether my obsession with spaceships and aliens is finally manifesting itself, or whether it's a sign that I carry on with physics instead of medicine.

What would I do, logically?

Well, I've listed some upsides and downsides.

Physicist upside:
1)I get to wonder about atoms and string theory and consciousness and time travel all the time.

2)It's so very exciting to me.

3)I get to do maths, which I like.

4)I feel that I want to understand more about the fundamental nature of reality.

Downsides:
1)There's a LOT of math involved. I don't know for sure if I want to touch that.

2)I don't get to be around as many people as I would if I studied medicine. And I find people interesting.

Medicine upside:
1) I get to improve people's quality of life.

2) I get to meet a lot of different people, which I like. Even if most of them will be sick.

3) In a mechanical sort of way, the human body is interesting.

4) I still get to wonder about consciousness and the brain.

Downside:
1)It just doesn't seem as interesting as physics now. I like schizophrenic atoms more.

Well, I guess the best answer I can give now is to still pursue medicine, while at the same time, I can always read up on the physics on my own. After all, the math IS a lot, and I just like to understand the concepts.

Well, I don't really want an either/or option. I'm looking for a way to combine both my interests, and I think that is the best way to go about it.

What do you guys think?

Living Life Logically--Day 13

Today's my birthday. Hit the sweet 16 mark. Got some very thoughtful gifts today (thanks guys for the delicious fruit cake, and the poster of Zachary Quinto, Eric Dane and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and the spongy gooey choc cake from my family, and the cutest cow plushie on Earth from my cousin.

Thank you friends and family--you guys are so meaningful.

Since I haven't blogged yesterday, I will blog today. Today's post is about logic and fame.

So I have done some logical dissection thing on our celebrity crushes. (Living Life Logically day 3) Wouldn't it be great to meet someone you really respect and admire? And not only just in a (oh my god he's like so hot) kind of way. It goes for liking what they're good at, and their skills.



Well, I want to meet the 3 guys mentioned above in the 1st para. But I wouldn't just spaz and be hyper if I do (at least I hope not!) I don't know, guess I'd just like to have a good conversation instead of random hyperness eh. Y'know, tell them how much of a positive impact they've had on my life and all that (I get happy just watching TV shows and movies) and I'm a fan of your work and how can you act in so many different roles and blah.

Hey, I'd even like to meet Einstein (if he were still around) and Stephen Hawking and famous people in the sciences. (I get happy just reading about science too). Listen to them talk about non-locality and spacetime and black holes and wormholes and stuff like that.

I've actually even thought of becoming famous, just to see what it's like to have hordes of fans expressing their adulation.

Hey, but fame does come at a price. I mean, just look at them tabloid magazines. There's just no preserving your privacy sometimes. I wonder how celebrities and what not feel about it.

So if I do become famous, I don't want to be very famous and stuff; it'll be the end of any private life, I think. Hmm. I think, for the record, I want to be famous for some contribution to science. Yeap, I think being famous for the performing arts has pretty much beeen covered already. ;D Maybe I'll be semi-famous. Famous within my community or area which I live in, I think. Yeah. That seems better.

I want to talk a bit about the Law of Attraction. My friend Esther is a big believer of it. If you hold a thought long enough in your head, it will manifest. I believe in it too, because it has worked for me.

So Esther asked me: "Why don't you just manifest meeting all these people that you want to meet?"

Good question. However, sometimes I always think that famous people are too far away from me. Well, I guess it's time to change all of that. Article about Anton Zeilinger and quantum physics in SEED magazine: http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_reality_tests/ aims to prove that we do indeed create the world we live in, just by thinking it.

Of course, it would be quite far-fetched to say that if we don't think about the Moon, it doesn't exist. But...it might be proven one day. ;D

But on a small microscopic scale, Mr. Zeilinger and team have tried to measure the polarisation of light particles (photons). Now I don't exactly know what that is, but the point is that they were trying to measure something which defined a photon.

So people generally think that the polarisation exists before we take something to measure it, so it is already there. It's just like how we think our world already exists without us thinking about it.

But the experiment showed that the polarisations truly didn't exist before being measured. In other words, the polarisations only exist because we tried to measure them. if we didn't try to measure them, we wouldn't have polarisations to measure. I guess you could say our thoughts of measuring them create the polarisations.

So now he is trying to prove the same result with larger objects such as mirrors. I'm not exactly sure what he plans to do, but it's the start of a new way of looking at things for me.

So can I really use the Law of Attraction to manifest meeting famous people? Well, Mr. Zeilinger's experiment has given me hope. To put it logically, if the mind really affects our world, then by thinking negatively I would only send out negative results. Hence, a positive mind would send out positive results. So, wouldn't it be better for me to send out positive thoughts?

Well, sorry for the long post. Had a lot to talk about. I'll post more on the Law of Attraction (LoA) tomorrow, and other things.

Living Life Logically--Day 11

Today's post will be on logic and the supernatural.

My friend Lina says that all her logical friends seem to see things in black and white. They don't allow for exceptions or flexibility. Now, to me, doing that seems illogical. I admit that logic isn't always infallible; being too logical restricts your opinions and options.

Last night, I had a little discussion with my cousin Ee about the supernatural. Our other cousin, J, used to work at a TV production company. They sent her out on weird assignments like filming ghosts and other ethereal things.

So J said that she has actually seen some of these supernatural beings. They usually reside in 'kampung' or rural areas. J was a camerawoman, and was filming a group of people when one of them had his eyes turn red and he went crazy, just chasing people around. And she caught it all on camera.

When a close relative of yours tells you this sort of thing, there really is no reason for them to lie. So, I quite believe J. Even my mother has told me that she has seen my deceased grandmother's spirit. So, I don't think it is logical to totally disapprove of ghosts and things.

J stayed at a nice 5-star hotel during an assignment once. Suddenly, at 12 am, the TV which she'd left on kept going on and off. She had two phones and they kept flicking on and off simultaneously. Logically, she would have run out of the door, right? But she was so freaked out she couldn't move. Would be the same for me too if I were the one.

So she did the next best logical thing--contact Ee's mum by phone, even though it kept going on and off. Eventually she reached Ee's mum, who told her to repeat a Buddhist chant to herself. Religion, as she sees it, is just to give you strength when you need it, no need to be too fanatical about it.

So J repeated it over and over, and it made her clamer. eventually she gained courage and rushed out of the door to the receptionist. She learnt that they had got her room number wrong, but the records were lost and they didn't know who gave her the wrong key. "No-one's supposed to get your room," they said.

As I see it, all this sort of spirits and stuff are like pools of energy. According to what I hear from my family, they attack you when you are in low spirits, or in general negative and gloomy. My belief is that when you are in that sort of state of despair, your energy seems to match theirs, so they affect you more. When you are positive, you are on a different energy level, so they don't affect you at all.

I did blog about consciousness once (see Living Life Logically Day 4). It wouldn't be too far to say that spirits and all may just be yet another different representation of consciousness. It just seems logical to think about them this way. What about you?

Living Life Logically--Day 9

Today, logic was put to the test. A nice, big test.

I find it really funny that when I tried to live logically, somehow my sentences got "cut"--I spoke only the basics of the sentence, and sounded quite emotionless. Instead of "Oh My God that movie was like, the greatest thing since sliced bread!" I said ,"Fascinating movie. Food for thought."

I started laughing when my sisters told me to cut it out, talking that way. I just have to THINK that way, I guess.

Anyway, my parents gave a me the "you are growing up so you'd better be more responsible" talk. Apparently I don't help out enough, I don't keep track of my money properly, and I don't consider timing and circumstances when I ask for favours from them.

To consider it logically, this means I'm going to have to start being more helpful around the house if I want to make a nice, good impact on them. Oh well, another challenge to overcome. =)

Well, today my father got really angry due to various reasons, among which involved him fetching me to the other side of town last night at 8.00pm (so he couldn't rest) and also him fetching me to Japanese class today (so he had to put up with lunchtime jams).

I think the poor guy is stressed, from work and all. No, I do not intend to sound patronising, but I really think that is the reason. He worries too much. About what? I think, practically everything, about the house, about me, about my sister, about his job, well, even about himself.

I'm aware that this is rather personal, so I don't know why I'm typing it here. But perhaps it does help me to think about it in a clearer way. Why do most adults I know look stressed? Or maybe it just happens to be in my family's genes. =P

I haven't found a logical answer to why adults around me look stressed, but I think I've figured out how to minimise their stress. I guess, I just have to lay low, and avoid saying anything incendiary. And also at the same time, just keep a positive mindset, and just concentrate on doing what I'm supposed to do (studently stuff, house help, etc...)

I figure that if adults don't have to worry about me, they'll have less on their plates, at the least.

But this much I know: I definitely don't want to look and be so worried by the time I reach adult-money-making-hood. I just don't think it's logical to be so worried.

Living Life Logically--Day 7

I feel quite good about my logical progress so far, after a week. Even though there were times of annoyance, at myself and other people, I'm comforted by the fact that some logical assurance was enough to make me see things another way. Yes, even though it sometimes took hours or a day to come to terms with the logic.

I'm going to give an example: Waking my sister up after her nap. It's practically impossible. She'll sleep on and on for two hours even though she has told you to wake her up after 15 mins. Normally when I try to wake her I'll shake her roughly or something, maybe poke her hard if I need to.

This time, I tried talking logically to annoy her. It worked. I said stuff like, "Well, you have a test tomorrow and it would be unwise to continue napping." and also "You should eat something for energy."

Well, she got annoyed and woke up, not forgetting to curse me as I walked out of the room. I usually respond with a simliar curse. To take it logically, she's just grumpy because her nap's been interrupted, so I tried ignoring her for a bit. And sure enough, 15 mins later she's all smiles.

It may seem like a lame example, but I'm afraid I don't have a better one. :D

I'm also testing out a theory: sleeping early and waking up even earlier. I figured that since I'd have to be at college by 8.30 for five days per week and have to get up early (about 6-ish), I'd try to wake up earlier (4.30am) and do stuff. Like unfinished homework. Or the revision for chemistry (with Ms. Nor you have to be on your toes, aye.)

...So at night I'd sleep at 9.00 or 9.30 instead of the usual 11.00 or 12.00. And I could find plenty of time to do things like watch movies and learn how to cook by the time I came back home. It's quite logical to me, because I get distracted at night easily (by numerous things) and I don't get much done. Solution: do stuff in the morning.

So...anyone heard of the Big Bang Theory TV series? It's a sitcom about these two physicists, Leonard and Sheldon, who live across from Penny, a stereotypical pretty "dumb blonde". Actually, Leonard and Sheldon are the typical geeks/nerds you come across, with their social circle of Myspace friends, and TV marathons of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek.

...The TV marathons part sounds like what I would do. =P

So imagine two smart guys and a simple girl. result: Funny! I've only watched the pilot episode so far but I already like it. Leonard and Sheldon talk about serious science all the time, like string theory and quantum physics and events and causality, but they still manage to inject humour into it. And they're so logical but awkward, which makes it all the more entertaining.

Signing off, people. Have a great weekend.