"Friday" Five
17 Feb 2018 10:46![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
extrapenguinFrom ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thefridayfive, because sure why not. Also, space_swap sign-ups close tomorrow noon GMT, so get them done quick!
1. Do you believe in fate?
No. Given certain starting points, some end results may be more probable, but a small divergence at the start of one's life – whether that be going to a different school or simply missing a bus – can have large, butterfly-effect-like consequences once the change percolates through time. The universe is an open sandbox RPG, there's no set plotline that it's railroading any of us onto.
2. If Karma was to visit you now, would it be kind or kick you in the butt?
I have been decent to other human beings, so probably no huge kicks in the butt. On the other hand, my life is pretty decent, compared to the statistical average human being, so no huge windfalls should be expected. (On the gripping hand, the only karma that exists is people's reactions to one's reputation. I think people are okay with me.)
3. Do you believe you have lived another life previous to this one?
Nah. There's nothing that would transfer from a dead person to a newborn baby; no souls or spirits or ghosts in the machine. I am me, free to figure out myself and make my own mistakes, able to choose things for myself by myself. (Admittedly, reincarnation is an appealing SF trope, with all its "what counts as a separate person" questions and the wish fulfilment fantasy of getting to fix all one's mistakes.)
4. What do you believe in with an unshakable resolve?
My ability to make my own decisions and construct my own worldview. Sure, sometimes the decision is to ask for help, but that means I can I recognize when I'm out of my depth.
5. What one factor influences your life the most?
I was going to say "Asperger's, because it has affected my thinking the most", but looking at the above, I'll have to change that to "my physics degree, because it has affected my thinking the most". I find myself looking for models, rules, and flowcharts, trying to make predictions about the world. But I am a physicist: every model has its range of validity. Should I find my model to fall short, that is a time for figuring out a new model. And I may not know everything – hell, I may know only of three grains of sand at the shores of the great ocean of the unknown – but that's part of the charm: the Universe is an undiscovered country, and there's a chance I may get to be the first to discover a new phenomenon and share it with the world. The Universe is beautiful and I want to know everything about it.
thefridayfive, because sure why not. Also, space_swap sign-ups close tomorrow noon GMT, so get them done quick!1. Do you believe in fate?
No. Given certain starting points, some end results may be more probable, but a small divergence at the start of one's life – whether that be going to a different school or simply missing a bus – can have large, butterfly-effect-like consequences once the change percolates through time. The universe is an open sandbox RPG, there's no set plotline that it's railroading any of us onto.
2. If Karma was to visit you now, would it be kind or kick you in the butt?
I have been decent to other human beings, so probably no huge kicks in the butt. On the other hand, my life is pretty decent, compared to the statistical average human being, so no huge windfalls should be expected. (On the gripping hand, the only karma that exists is people's reactions to one's reputation. I think people are okay with me.)
3. Do you believe you have lived another life previous to this one?
Nah. There's nothing that would transfer from a dead person to a newborn baby; no souls or spirits or ghosts in the machine. I am me, free to figure out myself and make my own mistakes, able to choose things for myself by myself. (Admittedly, reincarnation is an appealing SF trope, with all its "what counts as a separate person" questions and the wish fulfilment fantasy of getting to fix all one's mistakes.)
4. What do you believe in with an unshakable resolve?
My ability to make my own decisions and construct my own worldview. Sure, sometimes the decision is to ask for help, but that means I can I recognize when I'm out of my depth.
5. What one factor influences your life the most?
I was going to say "Asperger's, because it has affected my thinking the most", but looking at the above, I'll have to change that to "my physics degree, because it has affected my thinking the most". I find myself looking for models, rules, and flowcharts, trying to make predictions about the world. But I am a physicist: every model has its range of validity. Should I find my model to fall short, that is a time for figuring out a new model. And I may not know everything – hell, I may know only of three grains of sand at the shores of the great ocean of the unknown – but that's part of the charm: the Universe is an undiscovered country, and there's a chance I may get to be the first to discover a new phenomenon and share it with the world. The Universe is beautiful and I want to know everything about it.