Parallax

Just occurred to me that parallax effect is not limited to the physical space. It is quite as applicable to the mental space.

So what is parallax?
The difference in appearance or position of an object when viewed from two different locations.

Impact of parallax?
- Observation is relative your position
- If you move, you perceive that the object under observation moves relative to you
- The difference in the angle of sight between the right eye and the left eye creates a parallax, our brain considers the parallax and gives a perception of depth perception.

Isn't it also true of our mental perceptions?
- We judge differently depending on our own positions.
- Our perceptions vary with time as we change or move on
- Most of all having contrasting view points (or eyes) gives us a better depth and understanding

Morals and Ethics

Is there a difference between the two?

I can sense a subtle but important difference by find it hard to verbalize and point out exactly.

The way I see it is (which could be totally off the mark)

Ethics : relate to code of conduct and the generally accepted good practices
Morals : relate to concept of what is right and wrong

Ethics guide as to what is acceptable to a group (company, society, country, family etc)
Morals are individual oriented and more ambiguous than ethics. What is 'moral' for one might not be so for another (take vegetarianism for e.g.)

Probably 'shared' set of morals over a period of time which get codified as ethics.

Elusive Nirvana

Life is a constant tug-of-war between belonging and standing apart.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is depicted as a pyramid (copied from Wikipedia) starting at Physiological -> Safety -> Love/Belonging -> Esteeem -> Self-Actualization.

Even though I don’t completely disagree with the theory, I don’t think it is as straight and simple as is depicted by a pyramid. My observations show that it is range of mountains to conquer rather than a peak to surmount.

Each starts off with their own pyramids to climb. Given that each of us is unique in our preferences, needs, circumstances, our pyramids differ. Each one has different footprints for the 5 components that make our needs (physiological, safety, love, esteem, self-actualization). We constantly strive to climb to the top of our pyramids. And yet, as we climb up, on the way and in the process, we change our circumstances, our environment, our needs and hence the pyramid itself. The pyramid is a dynamic entity.

To simplify, we start on our climb up, we acquire the basic needs and finally a sense of belonging to our environment. Once we belong, we immediately strive to be perceived as 'unique' - a class apart, probably this comes from trying to fulfill the need for 'esteem'. As we acquire a sense of esteem and associated uniqueness, we start disassociating ourselves from our current environment and start identifying with a different set of people/ class/ society/ circumstances. As the dissociation becomes stronger, we hop on to the new environment.

In the new environment with all its associated 'newness' and awkwardness (which is really a new or modified pyramid) we start the same cycle by trying hard to belong .. And then to prove that we are unique and finally un-belong by moving to a yet another pyramid.

This is the circle of life - two steps forward, one step back. The 'Nirvana' or "Self Actualization' remains for ever far and elusive.

Yoke and Yolk

Shuffling through my old stuff, caught an old analogy of mine ..

We all start with a fragile shell and a gooey yolk, depending on how life cooks us we end up being hard boiled, soft boiled, poached, scrambled or beaten!

There is nothing either weak or strong, but thinking makes it so ..

Who is to say what is a strength or a weakness? I have long noticed that my strengths are my weaknesses and my greatest weakness of times my biggest strengths. There are many who will give testimony to the fact that they cannot counter tears which are in fact a symbol of weakness and yet, in their own way also the person's strength.

Reminds me of the story of the mighty Oak tree vs a blade of grass. When put through a storm, the Oak is upright, resistant and finally uprooted, the grass bends but survives, who is to stay which is stronger? Stubbornness or resoluteness are both two sides of the same trait. It can be both a symbol of strength in sticking around in difficult situations and yet is also in some way a weakness at being inflexible. Knowledge is power but often I have realized that 'not knowing' is also a strength since it come with no preconceived ideas and is able to bring an fresh/individual perspective. So we fret at being only a mere generalist and lacking specialization that could set us apart, and yet, this generalization is also a value we bring to any task. It helps us see the overall view which gets missed by an expert deep inside in one area. And yet specialization mostly certainly is a strength in itself.

Strength and weakness depends on the particular circumstances, how it is applied and most of all in what it is believed to be - a strength or weakness.

Go with the flow

I am like a river, I have nothing of my own. What I get I pass on, no less, no more.

If I river passes on more water than it gets from the mountains it become dry and shrivelled, if it gets too much or keeps too much without passing on the gift, it swells and become obnoxious and destructive. It can take pride in bringing life and prosperity to all around its path and yet, it does nothing more than pass on the gift of the mountains and the glaciers. If the mountains take pride in filling up the river with sparking cool waters, it really does nothing but pass on what it gets from the skies. If the skies where to swell on showering the mountains with pure white snow, they do it only because of the infinite depth of the bitter, salty waters of the seas which boil over and fills the skies and makes life possible for everyone.

As with a river, so also with life. We need to go with the flow. When we get a gift, it is impossible to repay the person who helped us, it might not even be appropriate. It would be like a river flowing backwards. It wouldn't set the flow in motion. Oftentimes the person who gives you a gift is because s/he already has a excess of the entity. The person providing us is not always the best recipient of our gifts. It would be counter to nature. It would probably make more sense if pass on the our gifts to someone else and set this flow of life in motion.

Gender Diversity

Ended up discussing the push for gender diversity at workplaces. I don't agree that this is a means to set things right. Why do such topics make me so passionate, even agitated?

A part explanation could be the fact that all my accomplishments, however humble are well earned and have been on no account due to my age, sex, religion, caste and the like. I hate to have such 'drives' give ammunition to those people who think otherwise. Such drives take away some of the sweetness of my hard-earned personal victories.

Success

Most of the time success drives a person to excel and do even better next time. It is the proverbial carrot for the efforts. And yet, if a person faces regular success for a long enough time to make it a habit, the fear of failure - the fear of not being 'successful' can become potent enough to prevent experimenting and making the person stick to the 'more known' and 'less risky' path. Without evolution, with experimenting, success if hard to come by, thereby accelerating the path away from success.

Perfection

Nature is perfect and yet, perfection itself is unnatural.
Kind of strange :-)

Perfection is a tricky subject.
If used as means of motivation to do better, it is priceless. However oftentimes, the stress of trying to achieve perfection can take away the sense of achievement and pleasure in a well done fun activity. In the worst case, a person is can give up because perfection is unachievable and anything else is not good enough.

Agreed that 100% is better than 99% but if all the way is impossible to reach even half way through is better than not attempting.

(Otherwise none of us would have cleared our school and college, we'd be forever stuck in some grade trying to achieve the perfect scores!)