New Blog: 3BlindBarren

Hi everybody!

I want to announce a new blog I'm starting in this series, titled 3 Blind Barren. This new blog is about the things that we just accept about life without questioning that may or may not be true.

Journeys

Roughing it  by Mark Twain

I have been on another one of life's journeys and haven't written. Oh how I wish you could observe my life and understand me. How I wish you could be here with me and see the things I have seen.

I have found that it is in the times that I am not writing that the most is happening, and the times that I write are the times when less is happening but I am thinking and contemplating. I go in and out of these phases and that's okay. I come back from these journeys and I have grown, I have learned things.

I look at this circumstance and think: Oh how I wish I could return to my old friends. How I wish I could catch up with them because I know that they too have been on journeys, they have learned, they have grown. But not everyone goes on grand journeys. Some people's journeys aren't long and aren't challenging and they don't grow as much or learn as much or change as much, but they are still journeys and they still change a little.

There is a wealth of knowledge to be found when speaking to someone you don't agree with. But not if you don't speak. You need to really speak to them, approach them with the confidence that they will cause you to change and that you might find things you agree with. You need to be willing to dive deep into what they are saying and ask questions so that you keep up with their line of thinking. You do not need to agree with everything, but you need to try and understand them. This is real speech.

When you aren't really speaking with someone, you are on a slow, uneventful journey. When you are truely speaking to someone, they might even take you on a journey. And when you are out in the world experiencing life, risking life, enjoying life, and developing your relationships, then you are on a hard, eventful journey, and you will learn more than if I told you about my journey.

Christmas-Holiday Songs

What Child is this?
Away in a Manger
Silent Night
Oh Holy Night

When you look at Christmas Music (songs made to represent Christianity and Christ's birth) from a folklore perspective, you immediately classify them as "hero worship" songs--songs that are designed to praise the deeds of a hero, someone who has done something outstanding that affects the lives of others.

But I have a question: Why don't we have more Holiday hero worship songs--sure, we have Santa, but he's not real--the metaphor is real, but the person isn't ACTUALLY real.

Things have changed in my life and I need to find the true meaning of Christmas all over again--to me it will always be "Christmas" but what am I really celebrating?

I think the thing that I'm celebrating on Christmas time is the good deeds of those around me. The charitable acts, the dignity, the respect, the courage of man--these are the things I care about. 

To me, Christmas is a time of year to recommit myself to being a man. It's a time of year to recommit myself to being forgiving and merciful. To be thankful. To love. Christmas is about performing kind deeds and helping others.

This year, I'm going to focus on searching for those people who are honorable, who are courageous, who are capable of putting their own wants and desires aside in order to accommodate others. I have a great respect for those people, even though I don't always recognize or acknowledge them. That's what the true spirit of Christmas is about, and I wish more songs were written about these people and their deeds as opposed to some king born long ago whose affect continues to reach me only because his followers continue to worship him even though he died long before they were born and his kingdom is no longer his own.

USU Makes a Deal

If you live in Logan, UT or Cache Valley...or anywhere near there, I am hosting a fund-raising event for a non-profit organization, Wasatch Social Ventures,  which is the organization responsible for raising funds for the Huntsman SEED program. The fund-raising event is called USU Makes a Deal, and is patterned after the TV show "Let's Make a Deal." We are going to charge $5 for admission (or $8 at the door).

Here is the event page for USU Makes a Deal
https://www.facebook.com/events/117270405089323/

And here is some more information about the SEED program, which sends students to 3rd world countries on a mission to educate people about starting businesses and to extend those people micro-loans to start up their dreams:
http://huntsman.usu.edu/seed/


Tell all your friends for me!

'Analyze this for me'

When people tell you to analyze something, what they're really saying is, "give me your expert opinion."
This is different from "synthesize," which more or less means, "Dig up all the information you can and tell me about everything you find--both good and bad."

Most of the time, when someone asks you a question, they're asking you to analyze something--to use your reasoning skills and come up with your own argument about whatever their question is.

Do you like eggs? --analyze this carefully and tell me if you like eggs. it's your opinion.
Where do you live? --analyze this carefully and tell me where you live.

Who is better, Romney, or Obama? --Again...analyze this carefully and tell me who is better (it's an opinion regardless of how good your argument is).

But what about when they say:

What are some options I could use to solve x? --synthesize all of the possible outcomes and summarize them for me. Don't give me your opinion, but based on what you come up with give me the pros and cons.
What is Obama's stance and Romney's stance on topic z?--Synthesize the two arguments (Obama's argument, and Romney's argument) and summarize them for me. Don't give me your opinion.

Typically, people want your Analysis of information more than your Synthesis--synthesizing something can take way too much time and people want simple answers.

Isn't it amazing that your brain can perform two similar, but vastly different functions when someone asks you a question, even without knowing the distinction between what synthesizing or analyzing is?

1%

Everyone who has ever lived is at least 1% persuadable.

Arguments are all around us--this is the basis of Rhetoric Theory.
People are always taking one side or the other--sometimes they do it knowingly, other times they do it ignorantly, but they always take a side.

Some people appear to be unconvincable. They seem like they will never change their stance on an arugment.

The truth is... no one is 100% firm on their opinions and stances. Everyone can be persuaded one way or another. People who seem to be 100% in behalf of their argument are really only 99%; the argument then becomes a matter of discovering in what way they can be pursuaded and whether the cost-benefit of persuading them is worth it.

Most people who are 99% aren't worth arguing with because people tend to be more firm on trivial matters than important ones, and trivial matters aren't worth arguing over.

The Film Director's Magic

Film Directors have magic powers--everyone knows that. You watch a movie and they talk about "movie magic."

Some directors are better at it than others.

But to be a movie Director means that you have honed your ability to understand human beings. The director's main responsibility is to portray real human beings in unreal circumstances; but to do that, they need to know how humans think, act, react, feel, and express themselves.

Whether sadly or fortunately, the Film Director's "magic abilities" extend to real life: they know better than most people how others around them are going to think, act, react, feel, or express themselves. These others can be friends, loved ones, family, and even enemies.

Few people understand the depth that a film director can perceive--nor do they trust in their experience. But after everything is said and done, it was the film director who chose to take this responsibility. In society, film directors are responsible for making mankind know and understand its biggest strengths and weaknesses: it's people.