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Name: John
Country: United States
State: California
Birthday: 11/19/1984
Gender: Male
Interests: read to find out.
Expertise: pending
Occupation: Student
Industry: Computers (Software)
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
8/17/2003
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| i suppose in reality, no one can tell you you've done the right thing; you just have to make it so. | | |
| there is day and night at dawn - with a spectrum of hues that spread from the deepest of blues to the fullest red. seems the whole world could be in any light you choose. the sun scatters such pleasant dreams with arcs of white banishing dreams and only the truth remains. there is one path, no such luxury, and the Redness of Dawn but a sweet memory until the break of a new day. | | |
| To those who don't know, the past few months I've been studying for the LSATs through a program called Blueprint... that's not so much an update as it is a background story.
I was doing some practice for my reading comprehension bit... a lot of these passages have actually been pretty interesting. This one in particular struck a note familiar enough to make me laugh... genuine, embarrassed, and haughty. Oh the joys that arrogance brings.
I'm going to go through the pain of typing this out... sorry, LSAC, I won't put up the questions, I promise. If I'm breaking any copyright laws here, someone let me know and I'll take it down.
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Freud's essay on the "Uncanny" can be said to have defined, for our century, what literary criticism once called the Sublime. This apprehension of a beyond or of a daemonic - a sense of transcendence - appears in literature or life, according to Freud, when we feel that something uncanny is being represented, or conjured up, or at least intimated. Freud locates the source of the uncanny in our tendency to believe in the "omnipotence of thought," that is, in the power of our own or of others' minds over the natural world. The uncanny is, thus, a return to animistic conceptions of the universe, and is produced by the psychic defense mechanisms Freud called repressions.
It would have seemed likely for Freud to find his literary instances of the uncanny, or at least some of them, in fairy tales, since as much as any other fictions they seem to be connected with repressed desires and archaic forms of thought. But Freud specifically excluded fairy tales from the realm of the uncanny. "Who would be so bold," Freud asks, "as to call it an uncanny moment, for instance, when Snow White opens her eyes once more?" Why not? Because, he goes on to say, in those stories everything is possible, so nothing is incredible, and therefore, no conflicts in the reader's judgment are provoked. Thus Freud, alas, found fairy tales to be unsuited to his own analysis.
However, the psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim, with a kind of wise innocence, has subjected fairy tales to very close, generally orthodox, and wholly reductive Freudian interpretations. Bettelheim's book, although written in apparent ignorance of the vast critical traditions of interpreting literary romance, is nevertheless a splendid achievement, brimming with useful ideas and insights into how young children read and understand.
Bruno Bettelheim's major therapeutic concern has been with autistic children, so inevitably his interpretive activity is directed against a child's tendency to withdraw defensively or abnormally. According to Bettelheim, a child's desperate isolation, loneliness, and inarticulate anxieties are addressed directly by fairy tales. By telling the child such stories themselves, parents strengthen the therapeutic effect of fairy tales, for in the telling, parents impart to the child their approval of the stories.
But why should fairy tales, in themselves, be therapeutic? Bettelheim's answer depends on the child's being an interpreter: "The fairy tale is therapeutic because children find their own solutions, through contemplating what the story seems to imply about their inner conflicts at this moment in their lives." Bettelheim proceeds on the basis of two complementary assumptions: that children will interpret a story benignly, for their own good; and that Freudian interpretations will yield an accurate account of children's interpretations. The child, question for help, and the analyst, attempting to find helpful patterns in the stories, thus read alike, though in different vocabularies.
**
This is why I think television is BAD. It validates and rationalizes... well.. pretty much anything we want it to, given the sensationalism that sells. It's what people use to silence the cries of their guilty souls. Forward thinking. Change is good. So just take it with a grain of salt.
In trying to give the passage some validation... first of all I realized I'm nowhere near qualified to do so and then I realized that Freud's status as 'Father of Modern Psychology" is actually trailed by something of a mythic. He's not really seen as a source of legitimate and sound theory anymore, no one really gives his theories a stamp of scientific approval.... However, he continues to be part of our culture. In normal daily speech when we nonchalantly refer to human tendencies I'm willing to bet that Freud and/or his theories and ideas are what people refer to the most... It's kind of interesting that he himself should become something of a fairy tale that we use to validate our own and other's behaviors.
As for those of you who try to use television or fairy tales to make sense of your lives... well... who am I kidding? We all have our own fairy tales. We simply, or at least should for the sake of the future, pick the ones that exemplify our highest ideals and values. | | |
| i had a conversation with a friend the other day and the subject matter from that conversation keeps coming up, so I figured I'd save myself some time. Anonymous limelight, here you go. I just think this says a lot about ideals, loyalty, and values, what to really watch out for, and what it means to be mindful
3:52:23 PM A: and i guess sadly
3:52:29 PM A: i still want to believein the end there are happy endings
3:52:36 PM B: in the end... i think you can't trust blindly
3:52:56 PM B: trusting blindly is a very stupid thing to do
3:52:59 PM B: and doesn't take energy
3:53:06 PM B: it's stagnation at its stupidest
3:53:10 PM B: you have to trust actively
3:53:40 PM A: what does that look like?
3:53:56 PM B: the two of you might be in uneasy situations
3:54:03 PM B: but you have to do the difficult thing which is to trust each other
3:54:14 PM B: considering that you might get hurt
3:54:19 PM B: and give the other person that space
3:54:26 PM B: the more you do it
3:54:28 PM B: the easier it is
3:54:38 PM B: and slowly you build real trust.
3:54:47 PM B: it's not blind, it's established
3:54:56 PM B: but it has to be a disciplined product
3:54:58 PM B: i've never had that.
3:55:28 PM A: interesting
3:55:32 PM A: i've never heard that take on it
3:55:37 PM A: is that what marriage is?
3:55:42 PM A: i mean, that IS what marriage is
3:55:44 PM A: right
3:55:47 PM B: i think this is a precursor to marriage
3:56:01 PM B: but most people will end up seeing marriage as a shortcut towards it
3:56:27 PM A: yea
3:57:40 PM B: yeah... so in the end.. trust is an investment
3:57:53 PM B: kinda like... finances and creditors
3:58:04 PM B: my parents can buy an expensive car on credit... cuz they have it
3:58:16 PM B: any dealership that sells me a car on credit
3:58:28 PM B: regardless if i pay them back or not
3:58:33 PM B: that establishment is doomed to fail
3:58:50 PM A: what
3:58:51 PM A: why
3:59:00 PM B: well.. i don't have that kind of credit
3:59:03 PM A: cuz right now u culdn't pay them back?
3:59:04 PM A: ic
3:59:07 PM B: say i could.
3:59:10 PM B: it doesn't matter
3:59:15 PM B: if they go around making those kinds of deals
3:59:24 PM B: they're gonna fail
4:00:26 PM A: ehhh
4:00:29 PM A: the argument could be made that
4:00:43 PM A: to remain in business and sell cars they still have to invest in SOMEONE
4:01:22 PM B: yeah... but that's why you gotta take baby steps right
4:01:32 PM B: and trusting blindly means... not considering the consequences
4:01:46 PM B: not considering the possibility that you could get hurt or cheated
4:02:00 PM B: you have to actively trust someone through those situations
4:02:03 PM B: in order to build anything up
4:05:26 PM A: that's true
4:05:30 PM A: hmm interesting
4:05:49 PM B: and turning a blind eye to the possibilities is.. well... first of all stupid
4:06:05 PM B: and second, missing out on an opportunity to really build something of substance.
4:08:07 PM A: le sigh
4:08:12 PM A: i hate relationships
4:08:18 PM A: bc of course that 2nd part is true
4:08:22 PM A: but so much easier said than done!
4:08:29 PM A: i'm afraid investments won't come to fruition
4:08:32 PM A: then i'll be left with nothing
4:10:46 PM B: yeah.
4:11:07 PM B: well.. it goes the same for everything else
4:11:11 PM B: you have to put energy into it
4:11:17 PM B: or else you're doomed to fail
4:11:24 PM B: or be just mediocre
4:11:26 PM A: but that's under your control
4:11:30 PM A: relationship is 2 part
4:11:32 PM A: and risky
4:11:33 PM A: haha
4:11:41 PM B: yes...
4:11:44 PM B: well
4:12:07 PM B: this is what i have to learn
~~~cut for privacy~~~~
4:18:13 PM A: haha
4:18:18 PM A: but emotions are involved!
4:18:22 PM A: so much diff
4:18:48 PM B: yeah...
4:18:59 PM B: it's just a wildcard i guess
4:19:16 PM B: when you say emotions
4:19:20 PM B: what exactly are you talking about
4:20:34 PM A: i dunno
4:20:39 PM A: i think u can be rational and logical all u want
4:20:42 PM A: and have all these theories
4:20:46 PM A: and yea that works when it comes to businesses
4:20:53 PM A: but those are based in rational thinking
4:20:58 PM A: when emotions are involved
4:21:02 PM A: things are irrational
4:21:04 PM A: and dont make sense
4:21:05 PM A: haha
4:21:08 PM B: so...
4:21:12 PM B: when people say emotions
4:21:20 PM B: and this is an idea i've recently developed
4:21:31 PM B: it's like saying games of chance are based on luck.
4:21:39 PM B: the trendy example now is poker.
4:22:22 PM B: emotions are those fleeting rushes that have a bit of novelty thrown in because something's new or because it's been a while.
4:22:29 PM B: that's fun.
4:22:39 PM B: but it's not meaningful and it's not rewarding.
4:23:00 PM B: in the end, you need to actively love whoever you choose to.
4:23:13 PM B: and if you do this right, they will love you as well.
4:23:31 PM A: whoa whoa whoa
4:23:41 PM A: so u're saying theres no unexplainable chemistry behind love?
4:23:45 PM A: that love can be explained
4:23:47 PM A: and u can choose who u love
4:23:51 PM A: based on X factors
4:24:04 PM B: mmmm... i don't think it's purely scientific
4:24:21 PM B: but for the sake of the long term scenario
4:24:23 PM B: i do.
4:24:33 PM A: maybe.. maybe.
4:24:37 PM A: i haven't figured that part out yet
4:24:39 PM B: back to the poker example
4:24:40 PM A: what makes a marriage work
4:24:46 PM B: undeniably there's luck involved.
4:24:54 PM B: however.. it's all probability
4:25:00 PM B: odds and statistics
4:25:03 PM B: in the long run
4:25:05 PM B: you follow the rules
4:25:08 PM B: with discipline
4:25:13 PM B: and pay attention
4:25:18 PM B: you'll at least break even.
4:25:47 PM B: this example works beautifully actually.. haha
4:26:04 PM B: what most people play for is the fun.. or at least i do
4:26:12 PM B: i pay very little attention to pot odds and things like that
4:26:14 PM B: i have fun
4:26:17 PM B: but i pay for it
4:26:26 PM B: but, if you play with discipline
4:26:40 PM B: yeah, anyway, i think you see what i'm getting at as convoluted as it is
4:28:04 PM A: lol
4:28:05 PM A: yea
4:28:13 PM A: it's a great metaphor
4:28:44 PM B: so yeah.... basically... don't go into things that you know probably won't work
4:28:54 PM B: or if you step back for a moment and think to yourself 'i don't want to be with this person'
4:29:04 PM B: then screw that.. haha
4:29:15 PM B: however, when there's something worthwhile you really gotta give it a go
4:32:02 PM A: agreed
4:32:10 PM A: unless, of course, you have life plans
4:32:12 PM A: like yourself
4:32:28 PM A: although i do think at this age we're now at a place where we have to make a few sacrifices for those who are worth it
4:32:34 PM A: whereas before in school i'd be like F that
4:32:50 PM A: but now u dont want to be single forever and this is the prime of ur life
4:33:12 PM B: yeah i donno.
4:33:28 PM B: some days i feel like.. 'what am i doing.. in the end the most important thing to me is finding a good mate'
4:33:40 PM B: other days it just seems like something that can wait
4:33:49 PM A: yea | | |
| this bridge has already rotted. the putrefaction that remains is not worth burning. i took an underhanded look at the other end and found poisons so foul that i have to leave that entire section of my life behind, bringing only lessons learned and to be learned.
consider the disdain for association now as the whole. people don't change, they only learn how to use the best of what they are. that's all that's left for me to do.
it's not the lows of a person's existence that breed disgust. digust is the sheer disappointment of the highs.
if you don't understand this now or later, don't presume to know me or draw judgment.
i heard someone say last night all that separates the past, present, and future, is but a moment... and the past, present, and future is but a moment in itself. | | |
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