luxfelix

And three things that should be avoided in particular: MSG, Aspartame, and HFCS.

Is it a half-awake experience connected to your dreaming?

Maybe love is a stronger form of empathy, just as fury is angry to a greater degree? Or perhaps love is like a feedback loop between two (or more?) people empathizing with one another for their shared virtues and mutual attraction? (If we have the ability to choose whom we love, does that make it conditional love?)

I had a couple of classes where I was the only guy... does that count as alpha? Maybe we're alpha sometimes and beta other times depending on where we're at, who we're with, and what we're doing? (Why is this a controversial topic again?)

I can relate to the anxiety you described, having myself sold artwork and performed improv on stage (butterflies in the stomach). With improv in particular, I'm actively listening and often free-associating and acting in real time, so I experience almost instantaneous feedback of how my thoughts and emotions affect the scene and the audience. It's important to process the information and act in the moment. This is similar to when you mentioned noticing the stares and subtle body language of the customers. Whether selling artwork or selling the scene, however, what helped me recover from an unpleasant customer or disengaged audience was a return to the present moment (reflecting only briefly and more in-depth afterwards) because when reflecting, I am no longer acting but reacting (a bit counter-intuitive maybe?). For example, when driving you have mirrors and indicators that are very helpful to monitor conditions, but when we check a mirror, we aren't looking ahead of us so we check them and other indicators only briefly (staying in the zone). When we pull over or come to an auto mechanic we can then take a closer look. To add to travioli's point, your emotional indicators are there to help in the moment as well as potentially forecasting what is to come (if not attended to and reflecting on etc.).

I started watching the series and am up to episode 6. I can definitely see the dynamics of parenting on characters in the series (and maybe even the suggested defoo-ing of Mako and Bolin's father...? Also, they're grandmother revered a picture of the Earth Kingdom Queen all "Kim-Jong-Il-North-Korean-Style"... especially creepy considering she is also aware of the kidnapping of their airbender neighbor... ). From what I understand of the Metal Clan city, Zaofu, was previously-unsettled land purchased by Suyin. She's initially introduced as "the matriarch" but there's no real indication so far that she runs a state and I haven't heard any other character address her as "the matriarch" since then (as a dance company director she seems as an equal among peers with a nominal title of honor as the city's founder). In fact, she expresses considerable repulsion with the Earth Kingdom Queen as being outdated and needing to evolve (as in renouncing the throne?). She also describes the other residents (living on her land or having purchasing sub-divided lots?) as having many interests, and I would imagine they also share her entrepreneurial spirit. In general, Zaofu reminds me of some sort of Galt's Gulch from Atlas Shrugged or the real world example of economic free zones in places like China or described in this topic: https://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/41466-elevator-city-honduras-private-own-towns/ Also interesting to note: I found a brief origin behind the name of the city, Zaofu, to be a character in Chinese myth (also a constellation) who, in one myth, brings an emperor to heaven as a charioteer, and in another myth, brings a king to the Goddess of the West (herself associated with the Silk Road trade with the West...) and returns where the king rewards him with a city. Good name for the city in the series, eh? To go deeper (Inception-style!), I understand a bit more of Stefan Molyneux's comments about how anarchy (-ish) is the mode of operation for those atop social hierarchies (making deals, logrolling, etc. with minimal force against their peers), and have found that autonomous zones and free-cities like Zaofu are not recent developments, but have rather occurred throughout history and throughout the world as eyes in the storms of global statist domination. I'm likely to make more connections as I watch more of the series.

This reminds me of what Andrew Henderson discusses on his site Nomad Capitalist: http://nomadcapitalist.com/2014/09/01/becoming-expat-entrepreneur-interview-eventual-millionaire/?utm_campaign=Nomad+Capitalist&utm_content=%5B%5Brssitem_title%5D%5D&utm_medium=email&utm_source=getresponse&utm_term=Daily+Newsletter

Thank you WasatchMan. Two other examples come to mind: that of the periodic table of elements and the Drake equation. When the periodic table was designed, not all of the elements were known, but the theory it's based on suggested that previously unknown elements would exist in the sequence. Likewise, the variables in the Drake equation provide a best-guess approach to the discovery of life off Earth. What would an equation/diagram/flow chart for universal morality look like? uM = φ = 1/x + yz ? (where: A value closer to phi equates a universal moral.) I dunno. Though I hypothesize that, since nature (both micro and macro) follows Fibonacci toward phi, and we're looking for a universal morality for this world (following the laws of nature), then any moral claim we make would likely follow that same number.

Update: A recent Idea Channel episode describes the idea of value in social media posts:

Yep, I can certainly relate to that. I would also liken it to the hero's journey as described by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces where we enter these other worlds and return with boons that benefit us in our conscious/waking lives.

You're right in that it sold many copies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games#All_platforms Can it be beneficial? I imagine it could be... We don't typically view anger as a good emotion, but it is a step up from depression; likewise, GTA V could be a way to release steam before moving on to something else. Since you have experience playing it, maybe you could describe the reason(s) you played it and what you gained from the experience? You mentioned you had fun so I'm guessing you benefited, even while recognizing that some of the characters have questionable moral codes... If you're interested, the following video explores some of the dynamics of game design and the resulting player interactions (fair warning, it gets kinda dark...):

That's right, specifically improvisational acting (as seen in Who's Line is it Anyways!?), though I can see similar qualities in open world video games like Minecraft as mentioned before.

I'm not sure why you titled this topic "Boring Parenting" because it doesn't sound boring. Maybe you're being too hard on yourself? We show emotions in different ways and your descriptions point to more tactile expressions. (That could change over time.) The important thing with emotions is to stay in the present moment; the intellectual side is great for taking us out of the present moment to reflect and plan ahead.

I can see how this could be an awkward predicament to explain to others as it might seem to break NAP without context; so, do provide context by informing multiple people, signing documents, etc. to help others help you? This reminds me of the scenario of a doctor needing to amputate a limb to save the rest of the patient's body; the patient doesn't want to lose the limb, so what does the doctor do? (Hippocratic Oath?) If something was agreed ahead of time then there would be less ambiguity.

They say all the great swords have names; mine's "Occam's Razor".

Improv games! There's no better game(s) I know that encourages empathy, creative thinking, and confidence in overcoming the unknown like improv! How's that for transferable skills?

My pleasure RuralRon. And I say post it as well WasatchMan.

Is the Sunni-Shia war similar to the Protestant-Catholic wars of religion? (A reason for separation of church and state?)

What I got from your previous comment was that since people are prone to find excuses to reject the NAP anyways, it's probably best to keep explanations concise without many asterisks or exceptions such as WasatchMan's original post mentioning boundary conditions. This is something along the lines of rounding off after two decimal points or something where we get that theoretically the number goes on forever, that level of accuracy is not necessary for what we are communicating. We could say 2/3 or 0.6666666666666667 to describe two divided by three; they both follow the same method of division even if the quotient is expressed differently. Or for another example, we still use flat map projections even if they're not truly accurate because they're accurate enough for getting around. If there are boundary conditions, it's probably more like an order of magnification.

But there's so much to gain from connecting with another passionate individual, even if they work in another field. I thought something similar to this was stated in one of his previous posts.

Thank you RuralRon. So the less asterisks the better, eh?

If the information in the following video is true, it sounds like they are both ultimately in danger from neighboring states with competing claims (from a state/geo-political perspective): Though I wonder, could a stateless society of Jews and Palestinians working together resist pressure from their neighbors? I'd hope so; and I'd hope also that all in the region could reconcile as individuals where it seems the states don't.

Maybe it's similar to how we have gravity which is treated as a (near/for most purposes) constant here on Earth and then we have lift which opposes gravity, but then when in outer space, lift and gravity don't seem to have as much of an effect? The boundary in this case would be the proximity to Earth (asymptote?)? Or in another example, NAP is a universal for people but not animals, the boundary here being the ability to understand NAP?

Ah, I see what you did there. I've heard about this before. Is this because of the minerals, opium, etc. (all of the above?)?

I just remembered... http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kvk3497Aw31qzbmsz.jpg http://allfunnypic.com/wp-content/uploads/funny-Wall-E-fat-people-iPad.jpg