Random Reflections

Why is it that people who believe mankind is purely the product of natural selection are often the same people who regard anything manmade as unnatural or as an interference with nature?  Seems to me that if mankind is the product of nature, everything mankind does is natural by definition.

In a similar vein, why is it that people who fiercely subscribe to evolution are the same people who insist that economic activity must be heavily regulated to avoid the "law of the jungle"?  If the law of the jungle is so wonderful for the jungle, why isn't it wonderful for us? 

I often hear complaints that men are reluctant to make a commitment to a serious relationship, which is certainly true.  What I don't hear is that women are every bit as reluctant to keep a commitment to a serious relationship, such as when it becomes "boring" or somebody more interesting shows up.  Men's weakness is on the front end, while women's weakness is on the back end.

 

It's amazing the number of people who tell me they have a burning desire to learn Spanish, and who pay me to tutor them, but can't summon the energy to review anything we've done or expand their vocabulary between classes.  Unfortunately for the modern cult of the consumer, learning another language is not something you can just buy off the shelf -- you have to work for it.  

Of the tens and even hundreds of thousands of years humans have dwelt the Earth and barely eked out a daily existence, only in the past century or so have we enjoyed the use of electricity, automobiles, airplanes, telephones, televisions, computers, air conditioning, mass manufacturing, reliable birth control, and the wonders of advanced medicine.  Add to that the luck of being born in the First World, and you must conclude that you are one of the luckiest SOBs who ever lived. 

In a similar vein, why am I me?  Why is my consciousness attached to this body rather than somebody else's?  Did I used to be somebody else but just forgot about it?  Will I be somebody else in the future and forget about who I am now?  

I used to fear death until I realized that I've already been dead, specifically before I was born (i.e., I did not exist).

What is it with people who fetishize their pets, especially the people who say their pet's love is more genuine or profound because it is "unconditional"?  This is precisely what makes a pet's love less profound -- the fact that you don't have to earn it, not in any real sense, and that the pet can't ever question or challenge you.  No wonder relationships are falling apart today; people expect love to be on tap like a wellspring of good feelings, no questions asked. 

It's bizarre that the nicer you are in general, the angrier people get when you stop being nice for merely an instant.  People who act like jerks all the time get far less grief and far more respect. 

If there is a food that I hate but somebody else likes, do we taste it the same way?  I don't see how anyone can like the taste of broccoli, for example.  The taste we are experiencing must be different, or the other person must be crazy. 

Do we all see colors the same way?  What if the color I see as red is completely different from the color you see as red, but it just so happens we were brought up calling that different-looking color by the same name?

I was swimming laps the other day when I saw that somebody had left the shower by the pool running at high temperature.  Other people walked right by it without appearing to notice.  This went on for several minutes until I couldn't take it anymore, so I stopped swimming, got out of the pool, and turned it off.  The people's nonchalance reflected a self-centeredness that intensely bothered me, but at least that powered me through the remainder of my workout.