thoughts concerning psychology

Hey all! How are you spending your holiday time?

The next few posts will probably be vague and philosophical and not too entertaining; (unless you are also vague and philosophical too)
Just a warning XP
Just in case you're interested, these ideas are the result of me sitting in my room all day. When my brain isn't learning something at school, it's churning out strange ramblings such as the one here. Ah well, at least I can blog about it. Sad, no?

We all know how complex the human mind is. We've got a whole science devoted to it, after all- psychology.
Arguably, the father of psychology is Freud. But I'm afraid most of his theories are way beyound me at this point. I just want to make a few general comments about psychology

Psycho-analyzing reduces a person's complex psyche to their past experiences and influences. Having done this, the specialist applies theories onto it. How does this doing the essence of an individual- their fears, hopes, complex personality, complete with whims- enough justice?
I've read a lot of stories and watched shows where a character is forced to see a therapist, usually against their wishes. Therapy is often shown in a negative light. Therapists are often as comic relief characters, incompetent, batty and irresponsible.
On the flip side, the character undergoing therapy is always thinking something to the effect of: "how can anyone else figure out anything about me, especially as I can't figure it out myself?"
Does therapy actually resolve any problems in real life?

I hesitate to call psychology a 'science' (not that my opinion matters any), as opposed to physics or chemistry. Why? Because anything to do with the human mind is so subjective! The so called 'theories' of the field are formed from the results of large scale social experiments. But the human mind is wildly unpredictable. There must be thousands of variables involved in making a decision, all these occurring within a few seconds. Is there even possible way documenting all these variables, investigating, and drawing conclusions from these? Not the mention, how do you compare these results with anyone else's results?

I believe the basic mindset of a person is similar to the basic mindset of any animal- survival. There's no point accusing anyone of being selfish: we are all selfish. Some people hide it better than others. These are the people who are not selfish. I mean, we all have instincts and reflexes ingrained into us to ensure we survive to procreate. That's human physiology.

So how are we different from animals? We are 'civilized', and this, and only this, sets us apart from animals. Good manners and civilized behavior are taught to us by our parents. Civilized behavior are what society dictates, because they enable humans to coexist with each other.

But think about it: civilized behavior is unnatural. Civilization is unnatural. It allowed us humans to rule the world. Society protects individuals from nature. This fact, by itself, proves that civilization is unnatural, because humans are destroying the world. How can THAT be natural?

On a day to day basis, we are all perfectly capable of acting civil towards each other. However, in situations such as the one in "Lord of the Flies", survival instincts kick in.
These instincts are the so-called "sins" that the bible warns us against:
Each individual would want the largest possible portion of food, necessities, etc. for himself to ensure survival--> society calls this greed/selfishness
Each individual wants the most suitable mate for her/himself, so makes self as attractive as possible --> vanity
Every other person are competition in the game of survival --> loving thy neighbours? HAH!
Defending one's own territory --> war and patriotism
And so on.
Can the 'evilness' of humans be contributed to physiology?

Which brings me to a disturbing conclusion. Are all those "nice" people you see at school merely pretending to be nice? Perhaps they are just ingratiating themselves to you so that next time, you have an obligation to help them out?

Humans are social, pack animals like hyenas. Are your friends your pack, then?


On a site note, anyone following the American election?

Things I want to achieve in the next 6 months

Note to readers, which may or may not exist: This post isn't particularly entertaining. 

It's a little mind exercise I'm trying out...and to motivate myself. 

So...here goes:

Things I want to achieve in the next 6 months:

1. Make a dent on wall with a poker card (thrown)

2. Master Zigeunerweisen

3. Improve my reading speed

4. Learn to juggle

5. Be up to date with current news for the next 6 months

6. Write a story and post it on here

7. Write a poem and post it on here

8. Play the last 3 pages of Carmen with piano accompaniment

9. Improve my memory

10. Sleep for 8 hours everyday

11. Eat more healthily

12. Figure out composition

13. Get through ~1/2 of Kreutzer

14. Eat breakfast everyday

15. Strength my wrist more

16. Cut down on fanfiction

17. Read RSS feeds

18. Read NewScientist

19. Get bike

20. Be tethered to reality a lot more

21. Clean my laptop

22. Aim to not lose any stationary

23. Do more 100 lists like this

25. Update this blog regularly

26. Relax muscles when playing violin

27. Be more optimistic

28. Decrease self-loathing

29. Memorize physical routes

30. Aim to not fight with parents

31. Socialize more online

32. Socialize more in real life

33. Do homework on the day its set (if possible)

34. Frown less

35. Aim to not get any serious injuries

36. Drink more water everyday

37. Do not lose the squishy ball

38. Sit up straight when using laptop

39. Practise violin standing up

40. learn different methods and improve shifting

41. Learn different kinds of vibrato

42. Learn different methods and improve intonation

43. Try to be more decisive

44. Try to be more confident

45. Try not to dwell too much on past events

46. Maybe get a new violin?

47. Try to practise violin everyday (break it into sessions)

48. Improve my handwriting speed

49. Be more knowledgeable about a range of subjects (and remember them)

50. Build something grand Second Life (?)

51. Read as many books with the time I have

52. Figure out how to use musicoverage.com

53. Read the more popular articles on bookmarked sites (and follow through on their advice)

54. Improve study efficiency

55. Use my left hand better

56. Try to be less self-conscious

57. Learn how to meditate

58. Improve hearing

59. Keep glasses clean

60. Improve overall hygiene

61. Keep up to date with popular culture

62. Decrease waffling

63. Structure my mind

64. Figure out Blender basics

65. Figure out Blogspot

66. Re-organize my computer

67. Back up hard drive

68. Improve dental hygiene

69. Use 'pegging' system to remember things

70. Get to know people

71. Make more acquaintances

72. Be more outgoing

73. Improve typing speed/accuracy

74. Figure out photoshop

75. Be more active

76. Exercise more

77. Be more focused when needed

78. Form opinions and defend them

79. Learn more brainteasers and remember them

80. Stop looking like a vegetable all the time

81. Learn to lie in the bed I've made (metaphorically)

82. Make shoes less stinky

83. Compose a piece for fun

84. Be more efficient with time

85. Be less dependent on mp3

86. Learn to think critically

87. Be more motivated

88. Be more approachable

89. Learn to be less bothered by the heat

90. Vary my routines to make them more interesting

91. Read and remember all articles on litemind

92. Make entertaining posts on this blog

93. Learn conviction

94. Learn more quotes (and remember them)

95. Improve social skills and wittiness

96. Start arguments with people and win them

97. Access verbs from vocabulary quickly

98. Write an essay for fun

99. Find ways to get inspired, then get inspired

100. Learn to fake laughter

Phew....did these in one sitting.

Now I can look back on this post when I am procrastinating. 

If you actually read these- holy f**king cow skewered on a shish kabob and charred! If you have any tips/suggestions/rants, please share with poor, deprived me. 

Oh yes, this feels pretty awkward. But I'd really appreciate it if you start an argument with me. It'll be very intellectually stimulating both ways. 

If I'm sounding up myself, sorry- that's not my intention. But do tell me if I am. I'll add that to the list.