Religion intolerance and ethnocentrism

 Intolerance is everywhere.  Even when we aren't intolerant, we are still ethnocentric.  I find this to be especially true in religion.

As part of my Theory of Knowledge homework we had to do this quiz (http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx).  This quiz takes your answer on religion and spits out a list of religions that are close to your answers.  When I did the quiz I was surprised by how many religions that I figured were way different than mine were actually similar.  Now, before I tell you my results, I challenge you to take this short quiz!

So I was given a list of 27 religions, ranked in order of percentage, based on my answers.  Here they are:

1.	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (100%)
2.	Liberal Quakers (90%)
3.	Orthodox Quaker (88%)
4.	Reform Judaism (88%)
5.	Baha'i Faith (88%)
6.	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (86%)
7.	Unitarian Universalism (79%)
8.	Islam (77%)
9.	Orthodox Judaism (77%)
10.	Jehovah's Witness (74%)
11.	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (72%)
12.	Sikhism (68%)
13.	Mahayana Buddhism (64%)
14.	Theravada Buddhism (63%)
15.	Neo-Pagan (62%)
16.	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (60%)
17.	New Age (57%)
18.	Secular Humanism (55%)
19.	Seventh Day Adventist (52%)
20.	Jainism (51%)
21.	Eastern Orthodox (50%)
22.	Roman Catholic (50%)
23.	Scientology (49%)
24.	New Thought (46%)
25.	Taoism (45%)
26.	Hinduism (32%)
27.	Nontheist (31%)

There are a lot of religions I've never heard of on this list.  I must go investigate.  How about your list?  Did it surprise you?  Comment below!

The I-don't-have-any-money syndrome

The I-don't-have-any-money syndrome is something I've called an annoying habit most of us do at some point or another in our lives.  None of my friends complain about not having any money to spend on stuff, but that doesn't mean they don't have the I-don't-have-any-money syndrome. 

To have this syndrome one must either say they don't have any money to spend, joke about being broke, or just whine about their current financial affairs.  Then, they must go spend money on something stupid or on something absurdly expensive.

I get really annoyed when people talk about their financial problems and then go buy some five dollar drink.  Here's something that has happened to my mom:  She and her best friend (who was several thousand dollars in debt) went shopping and every time they went to a store, my mom's friend kept pressuring my mom to buy something.  Even though my mom didn't end up buying anything, her friend bought stuff at all these stores.  And it was stuff she didn't really need!

This is what people need to cut back on!  People waste money all the time and don't even seem to realize it!  Never feel pressured to spend money every time you leave the house.  Try to go for the water instead of buying that two dollar pop or expensive coffee.  Don't shop for brand names; the clearance rack really isn't all that bad.  Also, cut back on how much food you buy at the movie theater; it's way overpriced.  (What I do is I buy some candy across the street and then sneak it into the movie theater and that way I save a couple bucks!) 

Just by saving a few dollars everyday, you can dramatically increase the money left in your wallet at the end of the week.  Make sure you set aside this saved money and put it into a savings account.  You never know when there will be a need for it.

Get rid of that I-don't-have-any-money syndrome and start saving! Don't forget to vote in the polls!

Are Roman numerals really useful?

Like many Americans yesterday, I watched the Superbowl.  Well, actually I watched the last two minutes of the second quarter and half time.  In those 15 minutes that I was watching, which by the way I wish I could get back, I saw that it was indeed the 45th Superbowl.

Hip-hip-hooray!  No, that is not what originally went through my mind.   Instead it was, "Why do they have to use the Roman numerals XLV instead of the normal number system currently in use today?".  I mean, we already have our own number system, so why do we use an out-dated number system? 

When I raised my concerns, I was told "It looks fancier."  Lame-o.  It is actually a bit confusing with these seemingly random letters that represent certain numbers.  Then, add in the subtraction notation (IV instead of IIII) and this additional number system that is present in everything from books to sporting events games, becomes even trickier.

Did you know I had a test over Roman numerals in my Geography class last year?  Double lame-o, but it was an easy grade :)  My question is: Why memorize two number systems?

Here's a little tidbit I heard from my Theory of Knowledge teacher today.  Somewhere in this world, (she couldn't remember where), there is a tribe that doesn't have specific word/symbols for numbers!  Doesn't that seem odd?  Immediately, we all askourselves (or we did in our Theory of Knowledge class) "How do they function without concise words/symbols for numbers?"  Apparently, the tribe has a word for one or so and a word for a couple.  From what my teacher said, it didn't sound like any of the words or symbols they used were specific; they were only used as approximations!  I would very much like to observe how they order things.  My imaginative psyche is already making up random situations with this interesting number system: "Yes, I'd like one or so of that shoe."   

Doesn't that blow your mind?!  The pleasure of being a human being!  What's going on in your mind?  Comment below and don't forget to vote in the polls!    

 

What do we read books for?

I was reading the book La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades when I happened across a good quote.  Here is an English translation: "The point is that nothing should be destroyed or thrown away unless it is really detestable; instead, it should be shown to everyone, especially if if won't do any harm and they might get some good out of it."

That being said, why do you read?  As I read this quote, the blinders on the sides of my head vanished ~to some degree anyway.  I read all the time.  I've finished every single book I've ever started (except for The Kite Runner).  I was so traumatized by that book that I couldn't read it anymore.  I'm getting shivers just writing the title of that book down (No offense to the author; he writes very well.  I just can't handle those types of books.)

That means that I've stuck with the bad books as well as the good books.  You know the only reason I ever finished this one book that was excruciatingly boring was because I had high hopes that the characters I liked would actually do something half way interesting.  That was not the case.  As I got closer to the end of the book, I kept telling myself, "Here's were it's going to happen!" or "This is it!".  Then when I finally read the last sentence of the entire book, I couldn't believe that the book had a plot, good characters, but it left me feeling like nothing had happened.  Then, I wondered how could this book get published!  But maybe people besides me actually liked the book.

Quick philosophy note: What is a bad book?  Is there really such a thing?  How can you define this in specific terms besides a vague definition like:  it leaves the reader with a disagreeable taste in their mouth. 

I'm not a hard reader to please~AT ALL!  I can honestly say that besides the gruesome books I've been forced to read in school (which all have stolen a little peace of my heart even if they are scary and a tad bit evil) that aforementioned boring book is the only book I've ever read that I still harbor dislike for.

I really value the characters in books.  They are what attract all readers to a story.  When you read do you attach yourself to your favorite character?  This brings up the Twilight series and the whole team Edward and team Jacob thing.  Do you find yourself doing something like that?  I don't.  I mean, I like all the characters in books.  The only time I really have favorites is when it's for moral purposes (mostly when it's the good people versus the evil people).  So I'm inclined to believe good characters make great stories, but they aren't the aspect that really makes me like books.

I don't analyze books at all.  I'm quite horrible doing this in school,  let alone doing it on the books I like to read for pleasure.  So maybe it's something in my subconscious that judges the book.  I don't have a clue.

I know for a fact that I love books with super tricky plots.  I love long books!  This is another factor.  Maybe it's just the plot that really attracts me to certain stories.  What do you think?

I've also read that we all read books to learn things.  When we read a book, we search for a lesson.  I don't think that's really true for me.  I recognize lessons as I read, but I don't think that's what's driving me to read.

I mainly read fiction, I love made up circumstances, planets, anything!  I like to stretch my brain!  Maybe that's a key factor in how I determine the good books.  Perhaps, I like certain books because my curiosity is in high-gear, but that's just another theory.

In the end, I don't really know what to think.  I know some of you are probably saying "It's a combination of elements, not just one aspect that makes me want to read a book", sure I believe that.  But what aspect really makes the book great?      

Valentine's Day or Singles' Awareness Day?

It is nine days away.  The holiday is almost completely defined by consumerism, from my perspective anyway.  Every year it's the same thing.  Entire aisles are filled with stuffed animals, snow globes, pillows, you name it, with the same messages 'Be mine', 'I'm yours', 'Forever' and of course the standard 'I love you'.  And there is the chocolate as well, but there is always chocolate available in stores, so I don't have a fight to pick with that small detail of Valentine's Day.

This whole holiday is getting on my nerves.  I'm not even legal yet, but from a very young age I've seen the same Valentine's Day crap that fills store shelves for several weeks.  Let me just get this out: No one needs to buy any of this stuff to actually get their loved ones to feel loved.  Have we really gotten this materialistic?  It's sad really.  I can understand maybe getting some chocolates with a special Valentine's Day wrapper for your loved one, but come on, what are we going to do with a cheap little stuffed animal year after year?  Just do something special.  Don't give something you think is special (that really isn't).  As the saying goes, "It's the thought that counts".  And this, by the way, is true.

Something that has brought these mounting feelings (that I have tried to stifle) to my conscious mind is something one of my good friends says every year.  I adore her, I really do, but every year it is the same spiel.  And of course she says it to many people in every one of her classes that day.  Now, I normally don't mind having most of my classes with her, but on February 14th, uggh, I'd rather be at the nurse's office.

So we were shopping one day, literally a month before Valentine's Day, when we passed The Section.  There were six aisles stuffed full of the junk.  So of course, she immediately turns into the first aisle of junk.  We were there for five whole seconds, I kid you not, before she turned to me and my other friend and said, "Do you know what Valentine's Day really is?"  

Before we could reply, she answered her own question, "It's SAD.  Singles' Awareness Day."  Then she laughs, like she always does, knowing that neither of us really cares.  When she says this to my friends and me, we all pretty much fall under two categories.  Either 1) we already have a boyfriend and SAD doesn't apply to us or 2) we aren't as gung ho as she is to have a boyfriend.

My friend isn't one of those girls who fawns over boys and will do anything to get a boyfriend.  She is very intelligent, but I must say she is the epitome of what a man would want from a woman back in the olden days.  She wants kids, she doesn't seem to have an ounce of feminism in her, and she would love to be a domestic house wife.  So at her not-even-legal-yet-age, she is already actively searching around for the man to share her 1900's American dream.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love her, but we have very different ideas of what the perfect life would be like.  Mine is nearly opposite of hers (if you haven't already guessed by now).  To girls like me, Valentine's Day isn't a big deal, but to my friend, well, let's just say she is a tad bit more melancholy.

What are your opinions?  Comment below!

   

Would you want to know when you are going to die?

I've never wanted to know when I will die; however, I know there are people out there that would like to know.  For instance, my Spanish teacher talked about this subject for about ten minutes last class and he made it very clear that if he had the option, he would like to know when he will die. 

I'm not sure how normal this opinion is though.  You see, I question my Spanish teacher's sanity. He isn't a raving lunatic, but he has several odd quirks.  I won't go into any details since my teacher is not the focal point of this post, but I will mention that he named his son after his childhood dog.

Okay, on to the real topic of this post.  Why would anyone want to know when they will die?  Many a person can argue that they can live a better, more fulfilling life if they knew when it was going to end, but I don't know about that.  For some people, especially those that are highly motivated, I can believe that they could do more with their lives by knowing when they will die, but I think this would apply to very few people.

There are also people with dark minds in this world.  I can easily imagine a vengeful person or a criminal setting the record straight right before they croaked, thinking that they escaped a long jail sentence.   

And, of course, there is the scary factor.  If I knew when I was going to die, it would be forever lurking in the back of my mind, always there and always nagging at me.  That is not how I'd like to live.

Most of my Spanish class was of the same opinion as me.  We tried to point out all the bad things that could arise from knowing when one will die, but my Spanish teacher was quite stubborn and did not see things from our point of view at all.  He did, at one point, say that he wouldn't want to know how he would die.  Apparently, all the possible ways he could die seemed to scare him.  Ah, well, my Spanish teacher is an oddball.     

What is your opinion on all of this?  Comment below!  

Tidbits

It isn't that I don't have enough blog post topics.  I assure you, that is not the case.  I just feel like this blog post should tie up some lose ends and say what needs to be said about these last few eventful days.  Frankly, the other topics just aren't as appealing as these tidbits.

First off, I'd like to inform you I am looking forward to an early spring.  If you haven't heard, Punxsutawney Phil has "decreed" that winter will be shorter this year.  This is the 16th time in the last 125 years that Phil has predicted an early spring.

I'd like to see if these records indicate if Phil's predictions were right.  In my opinion, Phil's life-extending elixir has gone bad~ not that it ever did anything in the first place.  I don't know if Phil realizes this, but the winter weather has been a little extreme lately and I don't think it's about to change anytime soon.  I mean, I just had four snow days in a row this week; a six day weekend! 

I'd also like to take this time now to ponder.  Do you know your best friend's favorite color?  After writing the post about bedroom wall colors, it got me to thinking.  I don't know the favorite color of one of my close friends and I've known her for almost 11 years.  Is that bad?  I mean after all, friendship isn't about superficial things.  But at the same time, after a decade, one gets to practically know everything about someone.  How should I interpret this?

Now, how's that New Year's resolution going?  Or in my case an amended New Year's resolution.  According to a flyer lying in front of me, only 10% of people who make New Year's resolutions actually stick with them.  I am proud to say I have stuck with my amended resolution!  Have you?  

That's all for today!  Don't forget to comment!

Why is your bedroom painted the color it is?

Some of you may be wondering about the poll titled "What is your favorite color? There is a point to this I swear :)".  I'm happy to inform you that today your questioning mind will receive answers.

The other day, I was thinking about the color spectrum.  At that point in time, I was sitting in my room, which is painted bright orange by the way, when a thought struck me.  Kids all across the U.S. paint their rooms their favorite color.  (This is probably true in many other countries, but since I've never had the chance to look in some kid's room in Russia, Portugal, Japan, Great Britain, etcetera, I cannot include the rest of the world in my thesis.)  Then, somewhere along the way into adulthood, something changes.

I don't know if you've realized this, but many adults don't paint their room with their favorite color.  Why is this?  My parents' room is painted a pukish green and neither of their favorite colors are that color.  Also, some adults paint their room a boring beige color.  Is this supposed to symbolize that they've lost their zest for life or that life has taken away their character?

Here's another big thing I've heard as an excuse: "I painted my room a pastel violet because it is relaxing and peaceful.  A bedroom is for sleeping, so why would I want to paint it a glaring, florescent purple instead?"

My response to this is: Your favorite color is something that you are naturally attracted to.  It should represent you as a being and have a deep psychological meaning that you aren't really aware of, but either way the color should be calming to you.  (If you're interested there is a cool website on color psychology here: http://www.digitalskratch.com/color-psychology.php)

My room may be an incandescent orange, but it is relaxing and it is me.  If my room had DNA, it would match up exactly with my own DNA. So the question of this post is: For all of you out there whose room color does not match up with your favorite color, why is your room DNA separate from your own?  Comment below!

Do you believe what Phil the Groundhog "says"?

Well, folks, it is officially February first and boy has it started off with a BANG!!  The fact that it is almost Groundhog Day and there is a ginormous winter storm that will affect more than 1/3 of the U.S. population makes for a great blog post topic today!

As of right now, I'm positively chipper!  School has been canceled and the day is all mine!  YESSS! Have you been affected by this blast of snow, ice, and bitterness? Comment below!

This brings up my next point: Groundhog day.  I'm going to make a prediction.  There will be six more weeks of winter.  Pretty good guess considering the weather, don't you think?  I wonder if Phil will "agree" with me tomorrow.

By the way, if you haven't noticed the quotation marks I've put around the words that personify Phil, then go look back 27 words.  To me, Groundhog Day is a bunch of hogwash.  Nevertheless, I think it is an awesome day.  I must say, it's a festivity that is quite original.  And I am a fan of originality. 

So here's the question of the day: Do you guys believe Phil's predictions?  I've made a poll concerning this issue and so far it's tied!  One vote 'yes' and one vote 'no'.  So if you haven't voted, go click the small, white button to the right of this blog post and vote...now!  (And don't neglect the other poll below it.  Polls feel left out too, you know! :P)


Cheers! And to the 1/3 of my fellow Americans who are also in this gargantuan weather system, stay warm!