Words

"Language is the Rubicon that divides man from beast." Max Miller

Words baffles and amaze me. Do they exist at our will or is thier definition higher than our perceptions? Is my perception of what a word means in the moment the most significant thing? Does the way we interpret a word change what it means? Theoretically it's pure definiton remains but it bears little relevance when the assumptions we have are what is being used. Do words have any intrinsic value or only the vlaue our use of them grants?

Just think about it....

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices aquired by age 18." Einstein

I love this quote, everytime I read it I have to stop and think and then giggle appreciatively at the reality of it.

Self Revelation

"Judge of a man by his questions rather than by his answers. " Voltaire

Asking questions is one of the things, I think, that make humanity so remarkable. A person reveals more about themself in the questions they ask and the thoughts that reveals. What a person thinks about is who a person is. In my experience our questions are a glimps of our identity and our aswers are a compilation of the ideas forced upon us by socialization and circumstances. Asking questions is our chance at emancipation from the mainstream.

Individual Thought

"Most people are other people. Thier thoughts are someone else's opinions, thier lives a mimicry, thier passions a quotation."
Oscar Wilde

Sometimes I am afraid this is me, away from school and the stimulation that invites I find myself slipping into the opinions of the majority, or feeling less compelled to challenge an idea. Finding yourslef is a daily activity, if we stop actively pursuing our identity we become someone else's.

Convention

"You wanted to look at life for yourself--but you were not allowed; you were punished for your wish. You were ground in the very mill of the conventional!"
Henry James, Portrait of a Lady.

Sometimes I feel trapped. I crave individulaity and the ability to think freely, choose unbaiasedly, but we have been socialized to censor these very thoughts until we react in a completely conventional manner. Our futile attempt at rebellion is carefully dictated by appropriate forms of rebellion.

Like this blog, I want a place to express my thoughts, so I choose the most socially dictated place to do so, ironic.