Posted in Life & Happiness

Optimism

Contemporary artists say to the public: “Art should make people think and feel some kind of emotion. Therefore, we make provocative art to invoke the negative emotions too.
To them, I say: “Life is ugly enough to give you those emotions every day – what’s wrong with just looking at paintings that bring out some positive emotions?”

Parents say to their children: “Why can’t you get good grades like others? Why don’t you listen? Why can’t you do anything right?
To them, I say: “We will all be insulted plenty throughout life, do you have to criticise us even more? Can’t you give us even a few words of encouragement, something society will never give?”

Religious people say to atheists: “How can you understand true happiness without God, faith or the belief that there is heaven after death?
To them, I say: “Knowing that I will return to nothing after a short but content life rather than going to hell for even the smallest thing simply makes me ecstatic.”

Pessimists say to optimists: “What’s so great about life? Unless you are a fool, there is nothing worth being happy about.
To them, I say: “And that is why I try to think more happy thoughts and be nice to others. Otherwise I would never make it through this rotten world. People all have enough going on in their lives – why bother making it more difficult when you can make it a little better at no added cost? The time we have is short, so what’s the point of only thinking negative, depressing thoughts? I would rather laugh like a fool, admire the little beauty left in the world and make other people’s lives a little happier before I go.”

Everything in the world depends on your perception, so why not think positively and live happily? No matter what, we can only live a certain time, no more, no less. The key to happiness is to enjoy appropriately, learn as much as possible and to love infinitely.

Posted in Life & Happiness

Matchsticks

  1. There are 6 matchsticks. Make 4 identical, equilateral triangles.
    The hint is that you must think differently to everyone else. If you think like everyone else, you will never find the solution.
  2. There are 6 matchsticks. Make 6 identical, equilateral triangles.
    The hint this time is quite the opposite the first puzzle: think like everyone else.
  3. There are 6 matchsticks. Make 8 identical, equilateral triangles.
    The hint for this puzzle is that you must reflect on yourself.

Answers after the break.

(Sourcehttp://fc05.deviantart.net/fs50/i/2009/288/5/4/Matchsticks_by_oh_yesh.jpg)

Continue reading “Matchsticks”

Posted in Life & Happiness

Happiness

Happiness is:

Finding a pencil that’s been chewed,
Telling the time, learning to whistle,
Tying your shoe, for the very first time,
Playing the drums, in your own school band.

Happiness is:

Two kinds of ice cream, pizza with sausage,
A warm blanket, a warm puppy,
Knowing a secret,
Walking hand in hand.

Happiness is:

Climbing a tree, five different crayons,
Catching a firefly, and setting him free,
Being alone every now and then,
Coming home again.

Happiness is:

Having a sister,
Sharing a sandwich, getting along,
Singing together when day is through,
Those who sing with you.

Happiness is:

Morning and Evening,
Daytime and nighttime,
Anyone, and anything at all,
That is loved by you.

~ Paraphrased from Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

Posted in Philosophy

Power Of The Mind

There once lived a Buddhist monk by the name of Great Master Wonhyo(원효대사) in the kingdom of Silla (during the Three Kingdoms period of Korea). At the age of 45, he set out to the country of Tang (modern day China) to further his understanding of Buddhism. During his travel, he decided to rest in front of a grave when night fell. In the middle of the night, he woke up feeling thirsty and searched for a drink. He found a bowl full of water in the complete darkness and drank it quickly to quench his thirst. He thought to himself “How lucky I am, to find a bowl of such sweet water.” and went back to sleep.

When morning came, he checked to see if there was still water in the bowl. He then realised that the bowl was actually a skull, and that the water was stagnant, putrid water that had collected in it. Realising that he drank the vile liquid from the skull, the monk started throwing up. But then, he realised that in the darkness, he drank from the skull with no problem, and even thought that the drink was sweet and refreshing. To quote:

Objects and rules are only born from the mind; a dead mind is no better than a skull. Buddha’s Three Commandments originate from the mind, everything is born from knowledge. What could I ask for more when I have a mind?

Thus, the Great Master Wonhyo understood the way of Ilche Yushimjo (일체유심조/一切唯心造/“The mind is the origin of everything” – the key principle of Hwaumgyung, an important Buddhist text). He turned back and returned to Silla, where he devoted his life to spreading Buddhism to the people.

Any sadness or frustration can be dissipated if you look back on it. Depending on how you see the world, it can be either beautiful or tragic.

Posted in Philosophy

Four Seasons

Spring. The warm sunshine and the soft breeze form a balance to breathe new life into everything – flowers, trees, hibernating animals, babies. The baby grows on the nutrition that is love. The baby spends the most peaceful, free stage of childhood and experiences new things every day. He learns life slowly as he grows like a fresh sprout. Unfortunately, at this stage the sprout is also vulnerable to harm, and these scars will be a burden for the rest of the baby’s life.

Summer. The hot, burning sun, the boundless, clear ocean. The hot, burning love and desires, the boundless, clear possibilities life brings. The boy spends the happiest moments in his life, and discovers what he wants and who he is. Through this he also develops obsessions; his main obsession is love – so hot that it may even burn up into ashes or cause scalding wounds. He enjoys the present, without knowing the weight of the world and true pain. To him, the future is a land of infinite dreams and hope. His boyhood times burn like a roaring flame, and happiness reaches a climax.

Autumn. The leaves, bleached yellow, fall gently. The endless and cloudless sky. The cold wind. The boy, now a young adult, laments why life and love are so painful, and why he must suffer so much. The future that was once full of dreams has now become a hopeless reality. As the leaves die away, so do the boy’s hopes, romance and his identity. Can he pull through this bitter adolescence? What does he wonder while staring at the dead leaves? No one truly understands his thoughts and pain, and he trudges along a road strewn with leaves. The passion and heat of summer have completely disappeared.

Winter. There is no life. Only white snow covers the world, turning it into a blank page. The man feels that there is no meaning to life, and looks back on his life. The dream-like spring, the passionate summer, the despairing autumn, the end of the four seasons – winter. But then, he finally realises. The naive spring, the foolish summer, the pain he overcame through autumn. The man looks back at how he has grown and developed, and turns his attention to his inner self for the meaning of life and peace. After overcoming his mid-life crisis, he clears his mind and reaches nirvana.

Spring. A spring comes again, new life arises once more. The old man calmly smiles and thinks. He now understands the true meaning of life and is satisfied with his. He sees a baby facing another set of four seasons and thinks: “That child will walk a similar journey as I did.” He now knows that life cycles, and that spring will indubitably return always.

He is now completely at peace.

Posted in Life & Happiness

Blindness

Cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, corneal disease, diabetes, trauma, optic nerve disease; myopia, hypermetropia, astigmatism, colour blindness…
There are many causes and types of blindness, but by far the most powerful, debilitating and dangerous blindness is prejudice – the blindness to what is deep to the surface.

This disease affects 100% of the adult population and causes a severe impairment in judgement, leading the patient to make wrong assumptions. Much like colour blindness, prejudice robs the world of colour, transforming it into black-or-white. The patient’s visual acuity falls dramatically, not being able to see the beautiful scenery of the human soul, and instead seeing a distorted, superficial image.

Despite the devastating effects of the disease and extreme prevalence, the treatment is simple. Just as you would treat someone who claims that “the room is too dark” – take off your sunglasses and see the world for what it truly is.

(Sourcehttp://www.deviantart.com/download/193661196/aph__color_by_lolitamyangel-d37atxo.jpg)

Posted in Philosophy

Lines

There are two lines.
If they are parallel, they have many things in common but will never meet.
Sadly, all other pairs would still meet just once and then go their own ways for infinity.

One solution to this problem is making one line bend at an angle to make it continue in the same trajectory as the other line.
In life, there are moments when you must bend your line. Those who do not know how to bend will tread alone, ad infinitum.

image

Posted in Science & Nature

From Cell To Birth: Childbirth

The onset of labour signals that the birth of the child is imminent. Strong contractions of the uterus under the influence of oxytocin cause intense pain for the mother. This escalates as oxytocin creates a vicious cycle for more and more powerful contractions. Other signs include a bloody show, where blood and mucus leaks out, and the water breaking, where amniotic fluid bursts out as the membranes rupture.
When the cervix has fully dilated to 10cm wide, the baby is ready to come out, and this is the end of the first stage. It may take over 24 hours for this stage to be over – all the while the mother is in extreme pain as her body transforms for the process.

The second stage concerns the delivery of the baby, and follows a precise series of steps.

  1. The baby, oriented head-down, facing either right or left, leans against the pelvis.
  2. The baby begins to descend, passing through the pelvis.
  3. It flexes its head as it comes through the cervix, turning towards the mother’s back as it does so.
  4. As the head crowns, the baby turns back to its side-facing position so the shoulders can come out.
  5. The rest of the body comes out with the shoulder. Forceps may be used to help.

The passage of such a large head and body is only possible through the massive dilation of the cervix, the stretch of the vagina, and the soft, malleable skull of the baby (a newborn’s head often looks conical and alien-shaped). Quite often, the opening of the vagina is not wide enough, and the opening may be cut open more to ensure it does not rip.

After the baby is safely delivered, the umbilical cord and the placenta are also delivered, thus ending the third stage (afterbirth). The cord is clamped and cut, and the baby is then thoroughly checked to ensure it is healthy and has no developmental issues.

Although in the past childbirth was extremely risky and often led to the death of the mother and/or baby in the process, nowadays protocols and health professionals ensure that both survive the procedure, thus ending the incredible 40-week journey until the birth of a new life. Only after understanding the arduous steps and the risks a mother takes to give birth to her child can one truly appreciate the value of life.

(Full series here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/arkrepro/?order=asc)

Posted in Science & Nature

From Cell To Birth: Fertilisation

Once the sperm enters the vagina, the real battle begins. The vagina is highly acidic, an environment in which sperm can only survive 2~3 hours. It is crucial for the sperm to enter the uterus through the cervix, but only 1% of the 200~300 million sperm make it through.

Even within the uterus, they must brace harsh conditions as they travel against gravity. After about 5 hours of intense swimming, the sperm reach the top of the uterus. Here they face a choice: go left or go right. Half the sperm make the wrong choice and head down the eggless fallopian tube and ultimately die. The rest navigate their way through the maze of folds in the fallopian tube, often getting lost or sticking to the wall thinking that it is an egg.

About 200 sperm finally make it to the egg, which sits in the ampulla of the fallopian tube. But as always, there is competition even at this final moment. Only one sperm can win the race, and the fastest one will ultimately produce a new life.

When the first sperm touches the egg, a series of chemical reactions occur, essentially “priming” the sperm. This causes it to start the acrosome reaction, where it releases a hoard of enzymes from its head, digesting away the covering shell (zona pellucida) of the egg. It then becomes supercharged, using all of its energy to drive itself inwards until it reaches the oocyte within. As soon as this happens, the tail breaks off, and one final chemical reaction as the calcium level spikes occurs to release more enzymes that prevent the acrosome reaction in other sperm. It also solidifies the zona, forming an impenetrable shield to prevent other sperm coming in (polyspermy can lead to a failed pregnancy).

The calcium spike that causes the above cortical reaction also triggers the egg to divide, so that it reaches the most mature stage. The winning sperm can then combine its nucleus with the oocyte, forming the 46 chromosomes that will set the genetic basis of the new zygote (first stage of a baby).

To reach the egg, the sperm must travel over 20cm – beating its tail over 20,000 times. The probability that a certain sperm will fertilise the egg is 1 in 500,000,000.
Life starts under a near-zero probability condition.


(Full series here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/arkrepro/?order=asc)

Posted in Science & Nature

From Cell To Birth: Sex

The two copulatory organs are the penis and the vagina. Both are designed to maximise the chance of a new life being conceived.

The penis is normally flaccid, but when stimulated through touch or erotic images and thoughts, it can become stiffened to eight times its original size. Contrary to certain slang words, the penis contains no bones – it is merely a sponge.
When the brain signals the penis to become erect, the sponge is relaxed, letting blood flood in, filling it like a balloon. This combined with two muscles and the sheath enclosing the penis achieves the erection which is critical in sex.

The vagina is shaped to perfectly accommodate an erect penis, and receives the sperm that will eventually fertilise the egg. As sex involves the piston movement of the erect penis within the vagina, it is bound to suffer chafing. So nature developed Bartholin’s glands that produce a lubricant, smoothing the process.
The clitoris actually shares its origin with the penis, and thus swells when sexually excited. It is also extremely sensitive.

The goal of sex is simple – excite the penis enough for the man to achieve an orgasm (note that female orgasm is optional, but ideal, for conception). When a threshold is reached, the brain sends out strong signals to squeeze sperm out from the epididymis, and seminal fluid from the prostate and seminal vesicles. The combined fluid (semen) shoots through over half a metre of tube until it is ejaculated out.
The semen collects in the vagina, where the cervix laps up the semen and transports it into the uterus. From here, the sperm’s adventure begins, facing many troubles to conceive the egg at the end of the line.

(Full series here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/arkrepro/?order=asc)