Thoughts on the Human Experience and Ponies · 3:37pm Oct 25th, 2016
Good morning everyone. Still not dead, and I've been giving a lot of thought to ponies lately, and how they relate to our own experience in life.
Specifically when it comes to talents, interests, and feeling fulfilled in life.
The thought for the idea of this blog came about from listening to and learning about people who are intensely focused on one specific part of something about our world. Be it a desire to collect, catalog, and document every type of oil can since they became common, from every manufacturer, to a desire to curate a collection of road signs from every era, what they mean, or even to spend a lifetime building a castle by oneself.
One and all, these people seem satisfied with their life's work, and working on what they are experts in motivates them in ways that some of us, who don't have the capacity to dedicate our lives to one specific facet of the world we live in. I, for example, love learning about everything about our world. I would love to devote myself to something like that, but then I would feel like I'm missing out on another aspect of our world.
I suspect this is what Twilight feels. She has such a breadth of knowledge, but in many cases that knowledge is very shallow. But a pony like Applejack is an expert on apples, apple farming, and all things farm related to a depth that seems as deep as Twilight's knowledge is broad, similar to Rarity's knowledge of all things fashion, including the unchanging past and the ever-changing world of chic, cutting edge looks.
Are ponies with these kinds of talents analogous to the human with a knowledge and desire to collect and learn about all things rock oriented like Maud? How many ponies are there like the multi-interest, broad but shallow knowledge type people fascinated about the world in general instead of one focused topic? From what we've seen, that seems to be a rather low number. Their society seems to focus on individual fulfillment, and each individual finds a niche in society that suits their interests - or works in a closely related job.
Where does Starlight fall on this spectrum? She doesn't seem to have a broad depth of knowledge like Twilight, or even an interest in learning for learning's sake like Twilight. She seems a lot more unfocused, adrift even as Twilight's pupil.
But she's kind of irrelevant to the train of thought in the paragraph before.
And that seems to be the key to their society's stability. Ponies feel fulfilled, or mostly fulfilled, doing what they do best. I think some humans, like oil can history expert, or road sign history expert, would feel right at home in a society that valued them for their unique, self-fulfilling profession. They don't need an external source of enjoyment. Their joy comes from doing what they love, even if they don't enrich themselves doing it.
From that thought comes the high society ponies. Is that the difference between high society and "common" ponies? Do high society ponies subvert their "baser" instincts to enjoy what they do to enrich themselves? Some, I would presume, do enjoy what they do. Filthy Rich, for example, seems to really and truly enjoy being a businesspony. Similarly, Fancy Pants seems to enjoy being a social leader in the upper crust crowd.
But others like Jet Set seem to enjoy holding themselves over "common" ponies. That seems like more of a mindset "talent" than a useful talent, and it must require them to either be from a very rich family, be especially astute investors or successful businessponies, or requires them to be trend-setters that capitalize on the trends they set in order to maintain their lofty lifestyle. How much of their "talent" comes from upbringing, and how much of it from their individual experience in life? The distinction between upbringing and experience being that which they gain from their parents during their formative years, and that which they gain for themselves through school, friends, and their own pursuits and thoughts.
Anyway... this has been a semi-stream of thought blog post brought to you by a 1953 Penzoil can and the man who's museum it sits in. Life stuff below.
On the other side of things, I'm still doing well. I'm still in love with pony, but life is moving for me at a seemingly whirlwind pace, both spinning me around and casting me to and fro in an emotional tempest. Though not an especially trying tempest. More like a mild storm front with high leading winds up front and a calm, if rainy patch behind.
I am nearly past the leading edge. I've made steps in a personal journey that I have been worried about for close to a year, and gaining ground in other areas as well. The election has been playing merry hell on my emotions and mental stability as well. Which, if I trace back to where I lost focus on my writing, a renewed focus on politics seems to be the first buffet in the storm that knocked me for a wild stumble.
I can't really blame politics or the election on my lack of writing. More, it was that writing was a way for me to escape from several realities that I had put off for far too long, and while I was writing, I didn't have to deal with them. Much.
I'm healthier than I have been in a while, thanks to this slide back into the real world, and have lost fifty pounds over the last year. I can walk more than fifteen minutes without feeling winded - more like up to forty-five if I pace myself and more than an hour if I bring water with me and take the occasional break to ease my soles.
I'm continuing to watch what I eat, which is, more than anything else, responsible for the prodigious loss of weight. No more fast food, soda, sugary treats, etc. Water is my main source of hydration, and sugar-added foods are very low on the priority list.
The downside of losing so much weight is that my clothes don't fit as well as they used to, and thanks to other big recurring expenses that I can't do anything about for at least a couple years, I don't have a whole lot of money to spend on things I would like to spend on - like clothes that fit properly. My clothes are all in good condition, having bought them before I started the big recurring expense issues, but thanks to diet and exercise, I'm not as weighty as I was six months ago.
So... That's where I'm at today.
How are all of you? I hope things continue to go well for each of you.
Good hearing from you!
If I may share my thoughts on that one, I think that's the crucial point here: it's not really dedicating oneself to one aspect of the world that guarantees living a fulfilled life - I think one could live a fulfilled life traveling and trying something new each day - but it's the worrying that what one is doing is not enough, or worrying that one's missing out that interdicts it.
I hope your health will continue to improve, both mentally and physically.
Life stuff from me: Finished my degree, will be sending out job applications next week. In the meantime, I got pizza, beer, and video games. LIfe's good.
4270667
This is quite true. Still, I can't help but wonder what it would be like to dedicate oneself so. But that's when I get all wonky about missing out on other things. I find it quite fulfilling to learn about a broad stretch of topics without diving too deeply into any one. I'm aware that the topics contain far greater depth, but it feels like learning enough to keep a modicum of knowledge is enough to fulfill that desire for knowledge. And that's probably just me. I do quite enjoy learning about programming and technology, so maybe that's my "depth" topic. But it's also my job, so... there's that, too.
I'm glad to hear you're on your way into post-degree territory. I hope you find a job that fits you well!
I'll try to provide more thoughtful response later, but as I'm in-between tasks right now, I'll just say it's great to hear from you, and even better to hear of your improved health. Keep up the good work! :)
...That was a lot to take in...
Hello my friend.
I'm glad you're doing better!
4270750 I feel much the same way, i cannot imagine a life where i do not keep up with all the useful and not so useful things I keep up with these days. While i would like to know what that kind of dedication feels like, I doubt I am capable of it. Personally, I haven't even found something I enjoy doing more than other things yet, which is honestly extremely frustrating. Especially when I see others that have figured that stuff out for themselves already.
Aside from that, life goes pretty well relatively speaking, no big storms yet (although it always feels like I'm at the precipice of one) just a constant drizzle with occaisonal emotional and otherwise problematic patches (including, but not limited to light depression and real life problems) that keep rocking my little boat a bit more than I'm entirely comfortable with.
I've finished my degree and have been pressured into doing a post-grad one, however I've opted to take a gap year before tackling that, as I don't think I would handle it too well at the moment. Have a small time job more so I feel less like dead weight than any possible financial income it would provide (which is close to none, for the record). Thinking of trying to get some work experience at the local hospital, but I'm unsure.
Hope you keep doing well and that nothing bad comes your way!
It's great to hear that you're doing well in all respects. Congratulations on keeping your drive and focus to shave off some pounds
I think the broad vs. deep argument applies all over the human experience. Some people strive to know everyone they regularly come in contact with, others strive to be best friends for life with a select few. Neither is wrong or inferior. People are just different. Granted, some people are in healthier emotional/physical/psychological places than others, but that's a different ball of wax.
As for me and my life? Editing a bunch of things, wishing I had more time to write, and thankful that I have time at all for both. Such is life.
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Congratulations on your continued existence
Regarding the election, the best thing for that is to remember that the point of the news is to sell you soap, shampoo, and nuclear-proof freeze dried pizza, and fear sells. I looked at all sides, made my choice for myself, and now the only attention I pay to it is when someone at work brings up the newest round of outrageousness and we all have a laugh at, for instance, the predicament of grade school teachers trying to find age-appropriate material for class, or the fact that the 2nd debate had people calling to rate the next one TV-MA, or the possibility that the entire "Russian" hacking campaign is in actuality the Democrats trying to save face after being hacked by UFO truthers. Life is far too silly these days, and it is brilliant
Obligatory PhD comics reference:
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4270750
I totally get that, but I think it's becoming increasingly difficult with the way humanity's knowledge has been exploding in the last few decades. I decided at some point that I would not pursue knowledge for knowledge's sake. Or rather, I found myself handling it like that without actively deciding I would. I think it was Bad Horse who said something to the effect of "knowledge without application is just intellectual masturbation", and although I argued against it at the time, it's what I've been living after for quite a while now if I'm being honest with myself. Knowledge that helps building and refining ethical or political opinion is exempt from that, though.
Thanks for the well-wishes. The transition after seven years of university is both exhilarating and daunting - it's certainly the time for big change and taking chances. I know where I'll be sending the first two applications, and while I'm highly motivated to get involved in the respective projects, it would mean moving to the US. I've got mixed feelings about that to say the least.
4271214
It will come to you. It took me almost a decade after I finished high school before I settled on my current profession, which I quite enjoy. Everyone's journey is different, though. Some people know what they enjoy from a very young age, and for some, it comes to them later in life. In my experience, those with broader experience of the world tend to be more able to adapt to different circumstances, though. Being good at life, and rolling with life is also a skill to be cherished.
4270982
Hello to you as well!
4271340
I think, in part, it's been worrying me because my dive back into politics started with something deeply personal and important to me, personally. I'm backing out of it, though, for the sake of my mental health. I've made my choice, and now I just have to weather the storm of stupid until (hopefully not after) election day.
4271296
Thank you! It's good to hear you're still writing and editing. Life is, indeed, life, and it tends to be unpredictable - both for good and ill.
4271807
I will add that my learning for the sake of learning usually does have some purpose - usually some impulse drew me into learning it, either by reading something tangentially linked to it, and being intrigued enough to pursue more knowledge and broaden my understanding of the topic and its connections. Every bit of it does, eventually, help me to understand the world around me better, and how things are connected and, sometimes, why.
4270862
Thank you! It's good to hear from you as well! I hope everything is staying rosy in your neck of the woods. (That was a pun for Roseluck.
)
4271686
Thanks for the share! I'll have to go root around their archives.
4272000
It's good to hear your doing well