Isolating the Variable

[Incredible Bullshitting Man]

Life´s hard, full of everyday struggling, but still we wish to go on. There´s so many variables and unpredictable factors that trying to break life into small, easily manageable pieces seems futile to me, and frankly, I don´t even want to do that. I like thinking, not everything is under human control. There is always chance and possibility of randomness. I live in a bit of a chaotic world, where the challenge comes from trying to use what little control over my life I have to shape my life to my liking, while giving others equal chances to make what they want out of this all.

I´m not the one for analytical and well-structured problem solving. I tend to go by gut feeling, trust my common sense and human capability to adapt to changing situations. I´m pretty confident I can solve little problems, like what to eat today, what courses to take, where to find job etc. It´s those big problems stemming from inside, that I find more frustrating. Feeling of uneasiness, nervousness, feeling of being lost. I usually try to solve those difficulties by introspection, but that always leads from the frying pan into the fire, when I end up finding some shit I had long since forgotten, or feeling hopelessly uncertain about interpretations I make. Anyway, I´m the sort of person, who tries to solve problems the hard way, and who constantly thinks too much.

Well, I hope this rant hits at least somewhere near the topic.

 

[Neesa]

Life´s hard, full of everyday struggling, but still we wish to go on. There´s so many variables and unpredictable factors that trying to break life into small, easily manageable pieces seems futile to me, and frankly, I don´t even want to do that. I like thinking, not everything is under human control. There is always chance and possibility of randomness. I live in a bit of a chaotic world, where the challenge comes from trying to use what little control over my life I have to shape my life to my liking, while giving others equal chances to make what they want out of this all.

I´m not the one for analytical and well-structured problem solving. I tend to go by gut feeling, trust my common sense and human capability to adapt to changing situations. I´m pretty confident I can solve little problems, like what to eat today, what courses to take, where to find job etc. It´s those big problems stemming from inside, that I find more frustrating. Feeling of uneasiness, nervousness, feeling of being lost. I usually try to solve those difficulties by introspection, but that always leads from the frying pan into the fire, when I end up finding some shit I had long since forgotten, or feeling hopelessly uncertain about interpretations I make. Anyway, I´m the sort of person, who tries to solve problems the hard way, and who constantly thinks too much.

Well, I hope this rant hits at least somewhere near the topic.

I totally agree with the whole "analytical and well-structured problem solving" idea because, not every problem can be worked out that way. Sometimes a problem can be emotional or dealing with others' feelings. You can put a math problem or list how to go about fixing a problem as such with concrete methods. Simply because humans are one of the most unpredictable problems ever. People tend to be 50/50. You get a good positive response or a negative response. But you never know. You have to sit there and take it whichever way it pans out. Hell, sometimes the most predictable people surprise us.

Another aspect is that constantly over thinking a problem can make the problem worse, depending on the severity. Especially since there's "Ctrl+Z" on our lives (-snaps fingers- I wish). Sometimes our personalities can clash with a problem at hand. Some people like to try to solve problems without a second thought of how it will affect their lives and any others involved. Some like to sit think it over before reacting. Some like to wait until the problem arises again and possibly attempt to think on it. It really all depends on how the person solves problems. There's no "right" way to do it, really.

Problems aren't put in our lives to make us weaker, but make us stronger. Y'know the generic saying, "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger."

 

[Datalord]

DEAL WITH LIFE, its comes one day at a time, do what you think is right, everyone will screw up sometime, just do what will do the most good in the long run, like the guy in ideocracy who got half the country fired from Brawndo (It has what plants crave) but managed to save the crops.

Bad stuff happens and Good stuff happens, DEAL WITH IT

 

[TehCookie]

The question is if people really see it as a problem, if a 4.0 student get a B to them it would be a huge problem, yet if a C student would be happy, also life is not a math problem you can't calculate everything. Even if you know the reason why you cannot calculate how you feel and expect people to understand, Or you would sound like Bones (from Bones). When you try to eliminate problems you also have to eliminate something else, usually something people don't want to give up like freedom. Their can never be a perfect society one person will always be unhappy (read Brave New World) and the easiest way is to let people attempt to solve their own problems, even if life is unfair.

 

[kawligia]

Maybe over-thinking about the problems and their roots is part of the problem itself. Maybe I should focus on problem-solution instead of problem-understanding.

Discussion Topic
Do life's problems need to be cut off at the head? Or should they be unraveled with the pluck of the offending thread? Or should life be more about working around problems instead of examining them? Or is it all conjecture and a pointless exercise anyway?

How can a problem be solved without an understanding of what the problem is and why it is a problem in the first place? Acting on a perceived "problem" without any understanding of it would be little more than a knee-jerk reaction to the problem's symptoms. Not only is that approach unlikely to solve the problem, it is likely to cause further problems of its own.

Some problems may have no feasible cure and thus treatment may be the only reasonable option. However, that can only be determined by dissecting and analyzing the problem. I don't see any possible benefit to ignoring the source and effect of ALL problems simply because SOME of them MAY be insurmountable. That cannot be anything but raw defeatism.

 

[DirkGently]

when it comes to programming or math, I kinda love picking things apart and balancing the equation, though debugging and I have a bit of an abusive relationship. While I hate it when my own programs fail to work to properly, I do love fixing them. Unfortunately the bug-hunting process doesn't always translate over to real life. Too many small details and you can't get as clear a picture as you can when you're debugging.

 

[Maet]

Alright, alright, I was a dick. I apologize. It seemed a bit pretentious to me. If I'm in the minority with that opinion, I'm sorry. You'll hear no more from me.

No, you weren't a dick. Your opinion is entirely valid, and it's an opinion I share too. NewClassic likes to dress up his posts, and that's fine. I usually do as well (for proper reviews mind), but this is not the point:

I'd read this, but you clearly put way to much effort into a fucking forum post. Get a grip.

Don't be a dick. It's called meaningful conversation. Contribute or kindly fuck off.

Ironic.

I'd read this, but you clearly put way to much effort into a fucking forum post. Get a grip.

You seem to have missed the point of the Escapist. Many of us like in depth discussion. If you don't, there is a small x button to the top right of the window. I recommend clicking it and not returning.

Slightly better, but still missing the point.

Admittedly I'm being a bit presumptuous right now, but cball11's grief appears to lie with the specific formatting and inclusion of pictures in the post, and it's a grief I share in. Making a thread in a forum is exactly like standing on a soapbox, but for whatever reason, NewClassic isn't satisfied with the typical wooden model. He has to give it a paint job, reinforce it, engrave his name on it, and encrust it with jewels. It's profoundly condescending, and it's a habit I would like to see go away.

Dressing up your threads beyond using the enter key and being aware of your paragraphs is superfluous.

As for the discussion, problems are dealt with by confrontation, not at all unlike what I'm doing now.

 

[Ignignoct]

Alright, alright, I was a dick. I apologize. It seemed a bit pretentious to me. If I'm in the minority with that opinion, I'm sorry. You'll hear no more from me.

No, you weren't a dick. Your opinion is entirely valid, and it's an opinion I share too. NewClassic likes to dress up his posts, and that's fine. I usually do as well (for proper reviews mind), but this is not the point:

I'd read this, but you clearly put way to much effort into a fucking forum post. Get a grip.

Don't be a dick. It's called meaningful conversation. Contribute or kindly fuck off.

Ironic.

I'd read this, but you clearly put way to much effort into a fucking forum post. Get a grip.

You seem to have missed the point of the Escapist. Many of us like in depth discussion. If you don't, there is a small x button to the top right of the window. I recommend clicking it and not returning.

Slightly better, but still missing the point.

Admittedly I'm being a bit presumptuous right now, but cball11's grief appears to lie with the specific formatting and inclusion of pictures in the post, and it's a grief I share in. Making a thread in a forum is exactly like standing on a soapbox, but for whatever reason, NewClassic isn't satisfied with the typical wooden model. He has to give it a paint job, reinforce it, engrave his name on it, and encrust it with jewels. It's profoundly condescending, and it's a habit I would like to see go away.

Dressing up your threads beyond using the enter key and being aware of your paragraphs is superfluous.

As for the discussion, problems are dealt with by confrontation, not at all unlike what I'm doing now.

I happen to love it.

He's got a good topic, and the images are so low-budget it's humorous; much like government/corporate mandated sexual harassment training.

It's got a unique charm to it compared to the rest of the crap here, and I'd like to see it stay.

I'm sorry you clicked the thread and were irritated by its contents.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

... cball11's grief appears to lie with the specific formatting and inclusion of pictures in the post, and it's a grief I share in. Making a thread in a forum is exactly like standing on a soapbox, but for whatever reason, NewClassic isn't satisfied with the typical wooden model. He has to give it a paint job, reinforce it, engrave his name on it, and encrust it with jewels. It's profoundly condescending, and it's a habit I would like to see go away.

Dressing up your threads beyond using the enter key and being aware of your paragraphs is superfluous.

It is entirely possible to carry the paragraphs in a format that is more conducive to the essay format, though I particularly like the inclusion of images. I think this is just proof the stimulus to one individual may yield a different result to another.
         Honestly, though, it doesn't particularly matter what type of formatting I use. I could follow informal essay style single-spaced and indented, or I could follow the more forum friendly version and go with double-spacing at paragraph breaks. Beyond the simple statement of aesthetics, I'd rather prefer to deal with this problem the explorative method, that being understanding what about this style of posting (and perhaps the content of the posts themselves) bothers you so much.
         I'll be honest in saying I've found your replies to my posts as of late being read as if I was perhaps condescending to you personally, or perhaps someone you know. Which is odd considering my interaction with you has been rather limited. I find I most often like your movie reviews. The reason for the animosity is quite alarming to a point. I intend no ill-will or pretension when I go about my usual posting habits.
         Because of this, I'd ask that we perhaps sit down and talk through PMs at some point to resolve whatever seems to be going on. Or you can just tell me you hate me and my posting style. It could go either way I suppose.

How can a problem be solved without an understanding of what the problem is and why it is a problem in the first place? Acting on a perceived "problem" without any understanding of it would be little more than a knee-jerk reaction to the problem's symptoms. Not only is that approach unlikely to solve the problem, it is likely to cause further problems of its own.

Well, some problems could easily see the cause to. For example, let's assume the problem is an academic one. I could get tutoring for this specific style of problem and do very well for it because of it. Or I could work with my math habits and figure out what about that specific problem gets me. Sometimes you don't need to know the root of the problem, just how to correct for how it's giving you issues. Though it is treating a symptom, not all problems need absolute curing.

 

[Maet]

         I'll be honest in saying I've found your replies to my posts as of late being read as if I was perhaps condescending to you personally, or perhaps someone you know. Which is odd considering my interaction with you has been rather limited. I find I most often like your movie reviews. The reason for the animosity is quite alarming to a point. I intend no ill-will or pretension when I go about my usual posting habits.

The way you go about posting is condescending. You'll make a thread/statement stating your opinion. Someone with a negative or opposite view point will respond, and you immediately reply holding an olive branch trying to reconcile the issue in a method that I find screams "I win because I maintain my view and respect yours too" (this would've been a good example if you hadn't asked for a rebuttal). You claim to seek discussion, but when I see anyone try to engage you, the potential comes to a screeching halt because you don't want to upset anyone.

It's condescending because the way you structure the posts, the way you carry yourself in the forums, and the name you've made for yourself makes it seem like no one but the people who refer to you as "Nuke" seem worth your time. I wonder why you don't just PM your ideas to those select members since apparently there are only a few people who's views you're after anyway. If cball11 or Peach_hat made a thread in a manner similar to this, they'd get ridiculed, or at the very least accused of trying to be like you a bit too much. I find your thoughts are accepted by everyone by virtue of an italicized user name, and that bothers me.

You're a fine poster and clearly a decent fellow, but the incongruities I observe in your forum behaviour are what bother me:

- Seeking intelligent discussion within the "I post/you post/I resolve" format
- Sacrificing journalistic integrity (I use that phrase apprehensively mind you) because your Watchmen review was not well-received
- Always feeling the need to justify yourself (Exactly what weight is given to your ideas because you reaffirmed your age and major?)

The Escapist is allegedly an above average forum and the desire to keep it that way is admirable, but do we really need to chastise those who make a few spelling errors and patronize the people who want a simple discussion or laugh? The constant need for the senior users to be introspective and psychoanalytical of themselves is foolish.

 

[Bagaloo]

I like the way you structure your posts. The pictures break up the text nicely, and visual stimuli are always nice, especially at this time in the morning.

On topic, I find that examining the problem is (most of the time) what enables me to work around it. Afterall, if you don't examine it, you wont know what you are up against and will be ill prepared to deal with it.

 

[wewontdie11]

Well I find it always better to just tackle life's problems head on first, get them sorted and analyze in detail after. Of course I dont go rushing into things, and some reflection is needed to decide the best course of action but procrastinating on issues to subjectify them for too long can lead to the situation worsening. To misquote Elvis Presley, "A little less contemplation a little more action.".

As for New Classics posts, (after all that's what this thread is quickly becoming about...) sure the images and fancy page orientations are superfluous but I appreciate the little extras, it's what makes things stand out and just makes them a bit more enjoyable to read.

Slight condescension aside, (and in an oddly on topic sort of way) I'm not going to claim I've read all the relevant posts to make an informed judgement but I can understand if side stepping opposing arguments in the manner in which Maet describes is done. Hell I do it all the time when I can't be arsed to argue with somebody on the internet.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

The way you go about posting is condescending. You'll make a thread/statement stating your opinion. Someone with a negative or opposite view point will respond, and you immediately reply holding an olive branch trying to reconcile the issue in a method that I find screams "I win because I maintain my view and respect yours too" (this would've been a good example if you hadn't asked for a rebuttal). You claim to seek discussion, but when I see anyone try to engage you, the potential comes to a screeching halt because you don't want to upset anyone.

It's condescending because the way you structure the posts, the way you carry yourself in the forums, and the name you've made for yourself makes it seem like no one but the people who refer to you as "Nuke" seem worth your time. I wonder why you don't just PM your ideas to those select members since apparently there are only a few people who's views you're after anyway. If cball11 or Peach_hat made a thread in a manner similar to this, they'd get ridiculed, or at the very least accused of trying to be like you a bit too much. I find your thoughts are accepted by everyone by virtue of an italicized user name, and that bothers me.

You're a fine poster and clearly a decent fellow, but the incongruities I observe in your forum behaviour are what bother me:

- Seeking intelligent discussion within the "I post/you post/I resolve" format
- Sacrificing journalistic integrity (I use that phrase apprehensively mind you) because your Watchmen review was not well-received
- Always feeling the need to justify yourself (Exactly what weight is given to your ideas because you reaffirmed your age and major?)

The Escapist is allegedly an above average forum and the desire to keep it that way is admirable, but do we really need to chastise those who make a few spelling errors and patronize the people who want a simple discussion or laugh? The constant need for the senior users to be introspective and psychoanalytical of themselves is foolish.

Ah hell, where to start? As far as the reconciliation goes... I'm a naturally sociable person. I've had experiences in the past that have ended with me being blocked, or shunned from a community, or judged, or any number of other allegedly reasonable ways to ostracize me from a community. Call it what you'd like, but I personally hate having to give up friends and contacts because of a personal distaste, mistaken point, or even just a circumstantial event that may very well have been unavoidable. So call me naive if it makes you happy, but I'd like to think I should offer the olive branch to people I can keep friendship with. I'd like to work out why you have a problem with the way I do things, not some freakin' sense of self-indulgence. If it won't work out, fine, but I'm making an effort in doing what I believe in. Maybe it's a sacrifice of moral integrity, or personal integrity, or whatever you'd like to call it... I don't like being put aside or belittled, and I like it even less when it was avoidable. I'm still trying to make it work, darn it, whether or not you agree with my olive branch be damned. I made an effort.

The "Nuke" persona is certainly one that fell on me by accident. Asking anyone who speaks to me on a regular basis knows that I'm self-depreciating, insecure, and generally "too nice for your own good." I have about as much self-absorbed pompousness as I do the ability to change the world to my whim. What I do have is a style that's been around for years. I actually have a fully formatted guide to basic Ragnarok Online interaction written for a server a year before I joined this site. If you look at the guide itself, the formatting looks terribly familiar. I'd written this way long before I even had be known as NewClassic, much less "Nuke." As far as the everyone agreeing, I think my Watchmen review is proof enough that my writing isn't always there to receive universal love.

As far as the discussion, I'm glad to discuss. I do want to avoid disputes, not discussion. I'm noticing a trend of you having problems with what appears to be myself, not my opinions. Disagreements are those I can work out, personal problems I like to clear out. Call it my insecurity, or naivety, or anything else you'd like, but it's a part of my personality I'm completely content with.

As far as journalistic integrity, here's the small of it. Out of a total of 800 (approximately) words in that review, about 42 of them were in regard to nudity or pornography. Statistically speaking, 5.25% of my review had negatively mentioned nudity or pornography. Of the replies I got (37 total before the rewrite), 11 of them pertained entirely to the discussion of nudity and sexuality in the Watchmen. Total percentage there is 27.3% (27.297297[sup]repeating[/sup]) in reference to something I only hinted on. From there, factor in a statement from Fire Daemon suggesting I'm unclear. I've cleaned up reviews on suggestion before [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.82760], and re-writing my opinions' backing for Watchmen is absolutely no different. The only thing I "removed" from the review is the multiple mentions of nudity (which was condensed into a final footnoted warning), which was the result of a joke I wrote at approximately 3:50 AM the night I watched the movie. I still make fun of it for the grievous sex-scene, and I'll still protest the nudity, but I'm not going to set up an easy punch-line for someone who wants to pretend a review is only about it's opening line.

As far as self-affirmation, I'm explaining. When people say, "You're asking for professional opinions from kids," I do indeed like to remind people that I'm not some great, golden, glowing MonitorHead in the sky. I'm a kid too.

As far as self-analysis, everyone does their own thing. The fact that you appear in each of my threads with an opinion decidedly contrary to my own is no fault of yours, but berating my character in honor of your differing opinion is something else entirely. I get that you don't seem to want to be friends, or at the very least want to be confrontational. I don't like it, and I'm glad to dispute it. Pretension or no, you should approach me with problems instead of kicking dirt on my threads until I get offended.

Good day, Maet.

 

[Lord_Of_Plum]

Maybe I should focus on problem-solution instead of problem-understanding.

I think once you start doing that, you loose your interest in life. I found these few paragraphs from 1984 to help back me up. It too direct, but hey, it's fiction.

Spoiler

In the early twentieth century, the vision of a future society unbelievably rich, leisured, orderly, and efficient -- a glittering antiseptic world of glass and steel and snow-white concrete -- was part of the consciousness of nearly every literate person. Science and technology were developing at a prodigious speed, and it seemed natural to assume that they would go on developing. This failed to happen, partly because of the impoverishment caused by a long series of wars and revolutions, partly because scientific and technical progress depended on the empirical habit of thought, which could not survive in a strictly regimented society. As a whole the world is more primitive today than it was fifty years ago. Certain backward areas have advanced, and various devices, always in some way connected with warfare and police espionage, have been developed, but experiment and invention have largely stopped, and the ravages of the atomic war of the nineteen-fifties have never been fully repaired. Nevertheless the dangers inherent in the machine are still there. From the moment when the machine first made its appearance it was clear to all thinking people that the need for human drudgery, and therefore to a great extent for human inequality, had disappeared. If the machine were used deliberately for that end, hunger, overwork, dirt, illiteracy, and disease could be eliminated within a few generations. And in fact, without being used for any such purpose, but by a sort of automatic process -- by producing wealth which it was sometimes impossible not to distribute -- the machine did raise the living standards of the average human being very greatly over a period of about fifty years at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries.

But it was also clear that an all-round increase in wealth threatened the destruction -- indeed, in some sense was the destruction -- of a hierarchical society. In a world in which everyone worked short hours, had enough to eat, lived in a house with a bathroom and a refrigerator, and possessed a motor-car or even an aeroplane, the most obvious and perhaps the most important form of inequality would already have disappeared. If it once became general, wealth would confer no distinction. It was possible, no doubt, to imagine a society in which wealth, in the sense of personal possessions and luxuries, should be evenly distributed, while power remained in the hands of a small privileged caste. But in practice such a society could not long remain stable. For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves; and when once they had done this, they would sooner or later realize that the privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away. In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance. To return to the agricultural past, as some thinkers about the beginning of the twentieth century dreamed of doing, was not a practicable solution. It conflicted with the tendency towards mechanization which had become quasi-instinctive throughout almost the whole world, and moreover, any country which remained industrially backward was helpless in a military sense and was bound to be dominated, directly or indirectly, by its more advanced rivals.

 

[Maet]

I do indeed like to remind people that I'm not some great, golden, glowing MonitorHead in the sky. I'm a kid too.

Christ, I'm not asking you to admit your insecurities or belittle yourself to being just "a kid." I wanted proof that you're just a normal person behind the "great, golden, glowing MonitorHead," not the MonitorHead itself. I want to see you as part of the community, not head of it's governing council, and it's nice to see that you're capable of that after all.

You clearly know that you don't always have to be "on," using heavily stylized formatting with a dictionary in your hand at all times, and you know you're not able to satisfy, please, befriend, enjoy, impress etc. everyone. Keep the diatribe to yourself, and just enjoy the community before you piss it all away by trying too hard.

Good day, NewClassic. Perhaps one day we'll cross paths with no hostility.

 

[Larenxis]

Firstly, "I often fine that some of my hardest challenges is really figuring out what's bothering me sometimes" should be changed to "I often find that some of my hardest challenges take the form of just figuring out what's bothering me" or something like that. I found it a little funny that the first sentence was like that. Still, the rest of the piece really resonates with me.

I've been very susceptible to bad moods lately, (not what most people would consider bad moods, but my default is gleeful, so it stands out to me) and I know that the obvious problems aren't what's causing it, but they aren't helping, and I've been having a harder time figuring out what's actually wrong. My normal strategy is to think about it (it being my mental and emotional process) hard until I can get the issue into the very simplest of terms. Once I've gotten some nice little statement to wrap my head around, I can normally work out where the fear factors in, and then the plan of action is obviously what doesn't factor in fear. The only trouble is these days I don't have a place to start. I really don't know what's wrong other than the problems that are outside my control, which aren't my deal. I'm kind of groping around in the dark, and nothing's there.

But you say you should work on problem solution instead of problem understanding, and I will tell you right now that that is impossible. In my experience nothing goes away on it's own, and everything will not come up roses until you change your perspective, and (to my great discontent) you can't fake changing perspective.

 

[Inverse Skies]

'I don't like to face problems head on.'
'I think the best way to solve problems is to avoid them'
'This is a distinct philosophy of mine'
'No problem is so big or so complicated it can't be run away from'.

That's what my motto says on my profile here, but I don't actually subscribe to that philosophy. (Cookie to anyone who knows where that speech comes from).

Coming from personal experience most of the problems I come into in my life I like to deal with by myself. I'm that sort of person, the student who doesn't like to get help in class because he'd rather do it for himself. That's me though.

I like to face my problems immediately otherwise I feel guilty about not doing it. I'm also not a person who distinctly worries or tries to pick apart every situation in order to get the best outcome. Most times I just act with what I believe is the best action to take at the time, and if there was a better way I'll never know because I've already tackled the problem and moved on. I guess that's just who I am, I take problems on straight away and don't fret about them, even if they go bad.

I think a lot of the problems present with people today would be a lot easier to solve if people didn't worry as much. I've always been the sort of person who looks to the future, the past is gone. No point worrying about what has happened there. Just be glad for the experience.

So in essence, tackle problems as soon as they come up and don't allow them to snowball or worry yourself about them. They're meant to be solved and if it all goes wrong, it doesn't matter. You've always got tomorrow to look forward to. I always do.