Friday, June 20, 2008
5:39 PM
i've looked back at most of my previous posts. and i'm quite ashamed of how i used to behave in the past. with the mental capacity that i have now. i find it hard to believe that i used to be that immature. i dare not say that i am very mature now. but nevertheless. i never expected myself to behave in such a way that i would be quite ashamed of.
the things i've done in the past. the way i spoke. the way i typed even. it brings back memories of that time. it also scares me to think i used to be like that. and what on earth was going through my mind as i went through that period of my life.
people grow up and become more mature. but what exactly makes them mature. is it mental capacity or physical appearance. i happen to have 2 cousins. whose names i shall not reveal. these 2 cousins. vary in age. one is primary 1 and the other is nearly pri 4 i think. the younger one. is a minute little girl. and the older one is a boy. however the boy, despite being older, acts more immature than the girl would ever. she often has to prevent the older boy from crying and throwing tantrums just to get what he wants. and she often chuckles to herself and watches on as he throws another one of his tantrums.
if it's the mentally immature that are truly childish. is age really much of a factor? people often talk about people whose age differs greatly being in relationships. but if age isnt much of a factor. then why do people bother so much. isnt it society that makes us think this way. society has the power to destroy logic.
and they often do.
i have learnt in theory of knowledge that we dont truly know what we know. and that we base our truths and knowledge on what we can observe with our 5 senses. and since our senses cant really be trusted, we have no definite knowledge at all. therefore we can often be manipulated by society to think whatever society wants us to think.
think of a facist government for example. the government's word is law. if u were a government official. a sycophant. your job is so manipulate the people, while the high chancellor manipulates you. if u tell one person that a durian isnt edible because it smells bad, they are forced to believe you because of your status.
word spreads. people slowly start to believe that durians are inedible because of their smell. eventually, people stop eating durians. but is it really true that durians are inedible? or is it just because people said so therefore it's true. or is it because the government said so.
or what if millions of people tell you that an apple is now called a pear. and a pear is now called an apple. eventually. after years and years of constantly calling apple pears and pears apples, newer generations will learn that apples are called pears and pears are called apples. how does this change the english language. or any language for that matter?
i also learnt this quote from my tok teacher. (in one of the lectures of course. my classroom teacher for tok is rather useless)
"words are tags given to symbols"
and i find this very true. take into example, a blind man. he feels an object, and he is able to picture it in his mind. he feels a shape resembling an apple, and he thinks it's an apple. what if it's not an apple, instead it's really a shape resembling an apple? in his mind, he gives the symbol of an apple the tag "apple". it is merely a symbol of the apple. it's not a true manifestation of an apple. for true manifestations can be called whatever we want it to be called, as long as we tell people that this word we are using refers to this particular meaning or object. how else are new words created. if u tell enough people that "tribabblemustard" is a new word, people would eventually accept it as a tag for a symbol, making it a new word.
like names. names are merely tags given to everyone of us. what are nicknames for then? it isnt our real name. but people call us our nicknames often enough for it to represent us. and whenever we hear our nickname, we know that they are referring to us. if that's so, then if we tell bob that his nickname is jack, and we call him jack, and he responds, what is stopping us from making his name jack, and calling him jack for the rest of his life.
if our names are just tags, then the only reason why we werent given numbers for names was because opening a conversation with "hi i'm 2846483728" is quite awkward.
as shakespeare once said:
"What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;"
ahhh i love rants.