THE ART OF BEING HUMAN - science vs humanism

 Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.
Leonardo da Vinci

So as humans, what do we rely on? Science or the humanistic feels of love, passion, and general feelings/emotions? Well the answer isn’t one or the other. We live in a world where hardly anything exists in isolation. Separation and isolation are unnatural in nature so always being black and white about what we see in front of us won’t really give an accurate picture. One thing I will point out in the beginning is that it is impossible for a single human to be completely objective. No matter whom you are. No scientist, no politician, no leader, no hero, no one can be completely objective. Everyone is subject to error and our powerful subconscious loves to play with our emotions and urge us to act upon them, sometimes on a whim.

What does being human mean? Whether you answer this question from a scientific point of view or a humanistic point of view, the answer will almost always consist of both sides of the spectrum. There’s the scientific side and the philosophical side. Without the passion and desire to spread our ideas and the joy of fulfilling a legacy, science would be lacking considerably around the world. We can owe that to the humanistic side of the spectrum. Without science, we would not have the world we have today, the accomplishments and progress we see all over the world, from medicine to technology, would be greatly hindered. There is no clear cut answer. Both go hand in hand. Looking for a black or white answer is coming from fear. We humans dislike feeling confused, and sometimes we like to go with clear answers to avoid that confusion and feel comfortable. That’s a big mistake because as you can see here, there is no clear answer and when we set answers in stone, now we have hardened like the stone, losing our flexibility and never changing.

There is many times where people choose the irrational path in life. Kill a million just to save one person. Make others suffer just so they can get some pleasure or money. Make themselves suffer, just so someone can be happy. So many times we may look from the outside and think to ourselves, “what’s a matter with this person? How can they do such a thing?” What we’re forgetting is that they are feeling something that can’t be described by words and only expressed by action. That “something” can’t be explained or defined by witnessing the action. That unique feeling can only be felt. Unless you are feeling what another is feeling, it is impossible to understand them or their actions, no matter how much you think you do. Their lives, their passions, their experiences are unique to yours so their reaction to every little thing, the sensation they get is also unique to yours, no matter how similar you feel you are to another.  We live in a society that punishes instead of trying to understand. Unfortunately, as systematic as we try to make this society, “morals” still dictate our global societies and cultures. Morals aren’t scientific; they’re all based on opinions of a few. Think about that. Who has the right to punish another for these universal morals? No one stops and really tries to get into another’s shoe. Empathy is overrated and many who believe they are sensitive to empathy, usually aren’t.  

Without the factors that make us human, science wouldn’t exist and wouldn’t have any room to grow. We have to embrace both logic and emotions together. They both work together. It’s unnatural to separate the two. Will, determination, ambition………These are all human traits that influence the development of science.  There was a wonderful time in history when both science and humanism were in harmony. It was an age of great development and rapid progression in technology and society as a whole. The Renaissance bought the creativity and philosophy of the abstract human mind together with logic, science, mathematics, physics, and shook the world completely. Why? There was no discrimination, minimal resistance and no social reinforcement. Ideas were roaming freely with little to no restrictions and people began to look at the world around them and mold it to whatever their mind desired. They began to feel each other. There was no disconnect from one another. 

So here we are today. Confined to mainstream society, stuck in our shell of “do’s” & “don’ts” and fearing anything that isn’t 100% or isn’t technical. Our judgment has gone out the window and we’ve become guardians of our own mental jail cell.  The world isn’t black and white. Things don’t have to be one way or the other, they can be both and they can work together. Science has bought us so many good things, but also so many horrible things. Both are generated from human emotions. One can get mad and develop a weapon, but one can also love and create new energy sources for the entire plant. Do we blame science and logic or human error?..........Remember, they aren’t separable.

This Week’s Challenge:  Try to use ONLY your non dominant arm for a whole week. Don't cheat, try to go a whole week. If you mess up, start over. This is going to be interesting folks. Feel free to comment below.

The Complex Plan

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."

                         -Charles Darwin

We’re all human.  There are many times where we make plans and they fail miserably.  Not go wrong, but FAIL miserably.  Sometimes we know for sure that our plan will go a certain way.  We even work so hard at it and go through all the scenarios.  We work on it very intricately.  At the end of the day, why is there such a high chance that it will still go horribly wrong?

I won’t give too much of a run around here, but let me first explain that a plan is like a hypothesis.  It’s only a guess.  Until we have been in a certain scenario, we can’t get an accurate prediction from and for our actions towards the outcome.  If we do have experience in that certain situation, what happens? Our plans aren’t as thought out as they would be otherwise and we already know what to expect.  I’ll start off by giving a simple quote that most of you have probably heard of.  “Paralysis in analysis”.   Chances are, most of you have heard this term before.  The answer is simple if you just consider this rule of thumb when it comes to planning.  The more simple and direct a plan is, the less room there is for error; the more complex a plan is, the MORE room there is for error.  One thing to note is that there are way too many variables to account for when we make a general, detailed plan.  The more complex the plan is, the more unknown variables that are unaccounted for  enter the picture. 

I’ll give an example of this.  Say you’re going to do stand up for the first time.  Okay, you got your jokes down, this is your first time ever on stage………what to do………what to do…..Here’s a though process and a formation of a plan…. “I’ll get up on stage. I’ll go up from the right side and I’ll run up with a smile on my face” Now this is going smoothly in your imagination. “Next, I’ll make sure to comment on how shitty this place is and I’ll start off with the joke about the old lady crossing the street”.  Okay, this seems like a simple plan, right?  Well, let me throw in some unexpected variables.  You get up to go on stage and there is no right side, so you go up the left really awkwardly.  Then as you are going up, you get really nervous and tense up.  When you get to the top, the mic isn’t working so it takes a few minutes to get it running. Now it’s up and you awkwardly go right into your “old lady” joke.  

Let’s take a look at how much more smoothly a simpler plan would work.  “I’ll run out there, feel the audience and kill the show!” Now what do we have here?  We’re flexible.  Being fluid and non systematic gives you an opportunity to adapt and make best of whatever comes your way.  So you go out there, and seize the opportunity as it comes.  That way there isn’t room for error and it won’t throw you off balance.  So you fun up the left side of the stage, pick up the mic, it doesn’t work, you wait a minute and it comes on and now you make a joke about how poor their electrical work is and you’ll kick off the evening smoothly.

Go with the flow.  That’s the most important thing to remember here because when you do, you are the most flexible and adaptable.  If you come up with a complex plan and something goes wrong, it will hinder the rest of your plan.  Plans should be simple ideas, not intricate blue prints.  A plan is nothing more than a hypothesis.  Sometimes it works out, but just remember this rule of thumb.  Have a simple  plan, a general idea of what to do and just allow the details to fall into place as you move along with the plan.  You want to be fluid and adaptable, not stiff and robotic.  The most important thing is to be effective and being able to adapt to a situation is a really good quality to have when it comes to effectiveness.  “Expect the unexpected”? I say no…….Adapt to the unexpected.

This week’s challenge:  Call someone who you haven’t talked to in a really, really long time and make an effort to hang out with them.  It doesn’t sound too crazy of a challenge, but it is when it comes to comfort.