1st the worst, Second the Best, Third the One with the Holliday Gift Suggestion

Wow. I've learned a lot in the last few weeks, and for brevity (which is clearly my strong-suit), I will resort to an itemized format-Top Three Things I've learned this week.

1. Stanford (Men's Basketball) is going to have an entertaining season. Okay, maybe this shouldn't be first, but they JUST lost to a buzzer-beating shot...and it's very, very painful :(.

2. From Cog-Sci (and then a little more from NPR): Our decisions are influenced by a number of non-logical, non-rational factors. Things such as whether we hold a warm or a cold cup of coffee for just a second or two can heavily influence things like whether we judge a person, based on a few sentence description, friendly or non-friendly. There are likely tens of thousands (that's just a made up estimate, but it sounds impressively accurate) of these seemingly bizarre correlations, ingrained by evolution (and quirk effects of evolution), and we are unlikely to discover all of them in my mind. To find out more, including why holding a cup of warm coffee might be correlated with friendship I highly recommend the NPR Radiolab program on decisions: you can find all of Radiolabs programs at http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/ (product placement for NPR baby!) Some people have suggested this strongly challenges the notion of conscious free-will (since there are so many of these correlations that are unknowingly and strongly influencing our decisions). I take a much more moderate approach. For many decisions, I know am not fully and rationally thinking about why I make them--and I think it is quite likely that these 'heuristics' are influencing my decisions in non-rational ways--and I am not overly concerned. I know my choice of cereal is a matter of non-rational, emotional love--it's not conscious free-will, it's destiny! I nonetheless believe, however, that for more significant decisions, while some of these heuristics are nonetheless influential, rationality and consciousness can be the most influential components. At a minimum, our own consciousness of rationality suggests it plays at least a partial role (unless it is a post-fact phenomenon, but I doubt this, but I'll leave that topic out for now). Further, I think by learning some of these heuristics, we can be aware and attenuate their impact (if it is harmful) in our more important decisions.

3. From Constitution Class (section): The official Washington D.C. License Plate has the moniker "taxation without representation." My prediction: this stuff is going to be more popular than tickle-me-elmo was in 2001 this holliday season.


I think that's going to do for tonight. Much more to come tomorrow night

Lab Report

So I've been 'working' for 30 minutes now, and I have the header "Results and Calculations: Part 1." Productive 1/2 hour. I think I need to learn how to study on Friday nights for the next couple of weeks.

Grassroots Philosopher

Hey!

So the first open-slam for Teeth (website) is next Friday, November 13th, which is pretty exciting. I've been working for a while on the first poem I will perform for the slam (if it goes well, I will perform another poem for the final round of the slam).

I think this poem has a lot more imagery than past poem's, so I like it in that sense. I've also been trying to play a little more with word-play, which resulted in a trade-off with a little less syllable structure and rhyme scheme. So those are just stylistic things, but hopefully the main component of any of my spoken words is always the structuring through vocalization of a sort-of-abstract idea I've been mulling over, so I hope you get a good sense of the idea! And with that, I've wasted enough blog space, so I'll paste my poem below. Hopefully after the show, I'll have a video of my performance to post.


Will this one’s for you.
See Will Shakespeare says “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
And while I didn’t particularly like Romeo and Juliet in school
I promise it’s not for lack of love
When I say I can’t agree with Shakespeare
Because if only all men and women were players
Were actors
But take me for example
Me, I’m not yet an actor
Me, I’m just a wannabe
I’m just a wannabe good in life cuz that alone would suffice
I’m just a grass-roots philosopher
Theorizing on what’s wrong and what’s righter
I guess that’s what makes me a Writer
So I write this as I continue to ponder
Hoping that through thought, I become stronger
Knowing that it’s damn cliché to take life as fodder
When you realize that thought goes much broader
I hereby certify I understand,
But I also stand under
the weight of being a wannabe
Because if you stopped me today, see
And you asked me for what this life is
If you asked me for my two cents
I’d be compelled to ask you to take a mail-in rebate
Because I couldn’t quite provide you with fate
But I wouldn’t leave you empty-handed
I’d tell you sir or ma’am, I’ve been branded
Right where my ventricle conjoins with my amygdala
And if you look close enough, you can see it
I haven’t sold out, so the brand isn’t commercial
No the brand is philosophical
And I wear my philosophy on my sleeves
I just don’ know what to do with my sleeves
So they just hang there with their insignia proclaiming
“I’m just a wannabe,”
And I know as a wannabe
With my two, too-long philosophical sleeves
I make a sight that’s little more
Than a child dressed up in a Self-Righteous costume
Hoping that all the now-closed doors I knock on
Give way to treats, not tricks
Illumination, not confusion
And I know like all wannabe’s
I’m little more than a cacophony of loud uncertainty
But I promise that I’m a unique brand of wannabe
a wannabe good in life
A grass-roots philosopher
Theorizing on what’s wrong and what’s righter
Compelled by my realization that this life is valuable
And I keep an open mind, but that point is non-negotiable
So let me repeat
This life is valuable
See I contend sometimes we’re too preoccupied with studying what’s inherent
With our A,C,T and G’s
the lettered building blocks of DNA
And for good and edifying reasons
But it’s been established
That l-i-f-e is more than the four letters in the word
More than the four letters of DNA
More than what’s endowed from the start
You see reality is far more than a sum of inherencies
And I’m not implying life does not have a sufficient, inherent meaning
Endowed from God or religion, objective and ad perpetuum
I’m just saying if that’s the case
I couldn’t prove it
But I’m not overly concerned
Because if life has no-inherent meaning
Then life at birth is simply a blank refrigerator door, definitely stainless steel, probably modern and chic
but also barren
And it is no more right to add the fridge magnets and pictures and notes
It’s just more beautiful
You see without an inherent, objective meaning
If our refrigerator door does not come
With alphabetic magnets that spell out destiny
It is no more right for me to leave the doors un-lettered
Than to arrange the colored magnets thematically
To spell out love or human rights or happiness
If I am not tasked a task
That leaves me the victim of a beautiful strife
To decide to write or not to write the poem of my life
To be or not to be
And I’ll be straight up I’ve chosen Shakespeare
But just like I can really only scan Shakespeare
Stopping to Glance at the left-hand definitions of old-English words
I can only point to an fMRI scan of my life’s script
and show you right there, right there where the image lights up like a neon site proclaiming “We’re open.” That’s where my life has meaning
and I can tell you with my personal assumptions
I’ve localized the meaning of life to
in the simplest terms-being good.
But like the scientist that can’t explain
the mechanism that produces that thought
lit up in the fMRI scan
I couldn’t tell you how I plan about validating my meaning of life—of being “good.”
And it east me up like there’s a 100 undergrads converging on free food
Until I’m left footing the bill working as a wannabe
A Wannabe good in life
A grass roots philosopher theorizing on what’s wrong and what’s righter
And I know that makes me loud and self-righteous
Unsure and cocky
But I assure you
That's only because I do believe
in Shakespere's Vision
in which all the men and women can be actors
So I’m working and growing
And my manuscript will be written
And then I’ll be able to see through Shakespeare’s eyes
And I’ll be ready to join the Thesbians
Through my actions I too will become an actor
And that’s a reassuring thought
Because they say a picture is worth a thousand words
And I spit cuz I don't that's true
But I do know an act is worth at least a thousand pictures.
So right now I’m just a wannabe
All moralizing sentiments and hand-drawn pictures of righteousness
But one-day I’ll just be an actor.
And, so Will, this one’s for you.

Spoken Word Updates!

So a few updates on how spoken word is going. I'm part of a group on campus called Teeth http://www.teethpoets.com/Members.html (I'll be up there soon!), which is quite exciting. Yale has many, many incredible spoken word poets and it's been a pleasure to watch them perform and learn from them. A couple of spoken word groups also worked together to bring in a very talented professional poet, Shihan, to campus today, and his performance was AMAZING. You can check out one of his poems at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LusRcLdvDgc. I figure I also owe you guys a poem, but I can't quite show you a new one I'm working on, because it's really not ready, but here's a significantly edited version of an earlier poem (well, a significant addition was added). It's called ingratiating for gratitude.

I’ve never been ravished by foreclosure before
And I in no way mean to make light of the plight
But I can’t help imagining the angle between my actions and foreclose runs 180 degrees
Parallel.
Because while my announcement is not white wood with a flap swinging in the breeze
Sharp point planted in the grass, so seemingly mundane
But Bank Name seared into the hanging plane
My signs are no less vivid nor clashing.
I too, am desperate to unload to any reasonable buyer
An artificially low outcome doesn’t seem too dour
I’m constantly putting myself up for auction
I just want to regain somethin’
My foreclosure though wasn’t caused by a contracting economy that’s appalling
A loss of work, or income that that was free-falling
My foreclosure was the result of adding another job
You see Currently
I’m selling out.
Which is funny cuz there’s not even money
But I assure you
I’m selling out
And I’m looking for an out
[…]
Split and sautéed in a sauce that’s pooled
But I still expect my auto ten percent gratuity
Cuz this, this must be a large enough party
And im hoping you like me even more
Cash in another ten percent at the door
But then here’s how the evening was usurped
See, you’re ticked off wish you were in Europe
Where the only things that are tips, are the extremity of an object
And I, I’m wishing I was working on a new project
Because speaking of objects, there’s more than that I’d like to see
See, I’m still just a waiter
But I’ve waited far too long for this obsession to abate
So I don’t mean to hate,
But I strongly dislike
I’d like for it to take a hike
This predilection where I’m constantly estimating if I’m liked
So no, I don’t have a resume or an alternate frame of view
But I assure you, I’m looking for something new.
Because I know if I can shed this current work.
My progressively mortgaged me can be regained
The judge ruling this foreclosure was just insane.

Prof. Earth

What up world. I know you have a ton of students, and I don't really have any specific questions at this moment, but I figured I'd take this time during your informal office hours to formally introduce myself. Hopefully, I'll get to know you a lot better over the next few years, and you can get to know me better too.

Short Spoken Word

(SEM Microscope. Image from: http://rsic.puchd.ac.in/images/image002.jpg).

It's about being short. But it's my longest one yet. What up! (It's longer not as much because I have more to say, but because I want to start making my spoken words a little longer). I'll try to have a video of it being performed on facebook soon, and I'll also soon hopefully make a post about some of my thoughts and experiences since I started college (briefly: I am trying out for two spoken word groups, one tomorrow and one saturday!), but for now just this spoken word.

Five Foot Five

Part 1: Me
To the metric system
Or I suppose it’s just the American
Us and our unilateral action
But to whatever measurements system we use
I stand 5 foot five inches
And that’s short.
Naturally you might be asking
Do I have a Napolen Complex?
So I respond, no.
No, I don’t have a Napolen Complex.
(Although if I did, I probably wouldn’t tell you.
But no I don’t.
In fact my whole life I have and will work tirelessly trying to fail everything to prove I don’t have a Napolen complex.
Just kidding.
So here’s the truth
I don’t have a Napolen complex)
In fact I have a nothingness complex
Not no complex, but nothingness
Cuz you see to myself sometimes I seem microscopic, nanoscopic,
I sell myself short
In exchange for an expanse
Of excuses and pity
But here’s the thing
The rates on excuses and self-pity
Just crashed, and their value is vacuity
As evaluated by the international board on being real.
The new value of the old set equates
To Empty emotional space
perhaps even debt
What I’m trying to say
Is it’s not something I want.
It’s not something I value,
or that has value.
And I know I’m about to make things a lil distended
On The Microeconomics lecture I just attended
But the opportunity cost for standing up full 5’5’’
Is Nill.
Do ya feel?
Other than the activation energy required
To break the self-conscious chains acquired
There is no cost of self-confidence
Only the exothermic enjoyment
Like I was oxygen, and here’s my breath of fresh air.
There is a reason for you to talk to me
like there is a reason for me to talk to you.
To learn, to laugh, to ‘shoot the shit.’
I am five foot five. I am right here.
And This poem, is my homogenous catalyst
This poem, is meant to fill the cyst
Of my fragile willingness to engage.
So in the adapted words of Bon Qui Qui
security..it’s time for this cyst to go.


Part 2: Others
Because here’s the worst part
Of my diffidence
Its like bad vector transformation
It’s one thing to inflict myself
But then I map my own insecurities on you
So 1. You now also need an SEM microscope
Or at least huge ass binoculuars to cope
And have the ability to perceive me
And 2.
I’m embarrassed to say this truly
But your value is adjusted retributively
To the physical appearance of you I see
But I’m tired of making you the judge of me
More so, me the defensive, vapid judge of you.
And it’s time to end this corrupting view.
The cessation only requires proper functioning
Of that inner strength of confidence.




So therefore. Part 3: Conclusion.
I am five’ foot five, readily in sight.
Hello, my name is David, it’s a pleasure to meet you all here tonight

~DKSays

Perspective

Perspective is a fascinating phenomena. Outside of an academic setting (like college :O), outside of the physical sciences there is very little 'fact'-- but there is a lot of room for perspective to maneuver.

I've written in the past on both sides of the spectrum: in middle school I believe I wrote a poem comparing perspective to a very tall mountain, Everest if you will, from which the view is unparalleled, edifying--but at which elevation it is impossible to dwell forever. Your perspective simply can not always dwell at the loftiest levels of insight--sometimes it has to climb down a bit. Just like in a book, conflict is an inherent part of life. Maybe it is genetically ingrained with the purpose of continually having us problem-solve--without problems you can't solve--or maybe it is something else. But conflict is an inevitable and even necessary part of life. And a perspective too high would preclude conflict.



At the same time, there is a very fine line between conflict and drama--between truly concerning conflict and problems begot from a gross descent into non-perspective. Even genuine conflict, wherever that barometer may lie, can certainly be overwhelming, confusing, and distorting at high and/or frequent doses. I've written with vehemence (or attempted vehemence) about my desire to raise my usual level of perspective-to stop dwelling on the petty problems that distract me from the true conflicts that are on the horizon (see way previous post: spoken word script 3).

Tonight I seek to be a true moderate, I do not intend to promote a side or caution against a side. I simply seek to note and appreciate how truly refreshing it is to have those moments when your perspective is deepened. Like a reset button on your problems, those issues that have been torturing you for the recent past just seem to lose their edge or flit away entirely into the realm of insignificance. The only appropriate image I can conjure for how amazing it feels is those old sprite commercials where someone would take a sip and then go "Ahhhh." I've never felt those emotions those actors seem to portray sipping soda, but I certainly feel them sipping on perspective.

Ahhh.