Imagination is more important than knowledge - Einstein
4/28/2007
Many little birds said
I have spoken to many little birds or many little birds have said to me, the same trend of thinking, why waste time posting? We have a great system, a new paradise, make the best out of it. Go out and make all the money that you can and enjoy life, more wine, karaoke, golfs, Batam etc. That's life and living for the successful Singaporeans.
Let me qualify. Firstly, that I am not wasting time. My postings are done on my spare time which I can find plenty throughout the day. A little thoughts here and there and ideas pop up. And I am still trying to grab some money as best I can to have a little life the Singaporean way, the Singaporean aspiration.
Now, how first world is a country that thinks this way? Read the msm or listen to the bird talks, it is all about the great buys and the big profits from the rising property prices, the killings in the stock exchange, the million dollar salaries. There is a lot of buzz of this kind. But where is the buzz that will see a little renaissance in this first world wannabe extraordinary island? If there are any worthy social or political discussions, very likely they are conducted behind closed doors. Snippets did came through in the msm, probably considered not too harmful. And there is also the official line of discussion by those who can set the agenda.
I saw this article in the morning paper talking about what it takes to have more Einsteins. Walter Isaacson's theme is best summarised in this phrase, 'The whole theme of the last century, and of Einstein's life, is about people who fled oppression in order to go places to think and express themselves...he believes that the only way to have creativity and imagination is to nurture free thought - rebellious free thought.'
How does this compares to what the little birds thought was best for this little island? Make money and live life! Isaacson was talking about producing great talented people with great minds. And one of the prerequisites is to 'nurture rebellious, imaginative free thinkers, rather than try to control expression.'
Actually this is probably the most important message the the msm is trying to put across discreetly through this little article.
The absence of alternative or rebellious views on social and political issues is stark. And to some, it is good for everyone. There is only one source of political view and one truth and one superior thought, and we are selling this to the world as the model for the future on how to govern a state. That is how extraordinary we are.
Time to talk to the birds and be another little bird. Birds of the same feather flock together.
Imagination is more important than knowledge - Einstein
Imagination is more important than knowledge - Einstein
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5 comments:
> My postings are done on my spare time <
Ain't not such thing as spare time. All of us are mortal. The time we have is finite. ;-)
> We have a great system, a new paradise, make the best out of it. <
I would say, "go and make the best of it regardless of the system". But you are right — while not "perfect", there is infinite opportunity to live life to the fullest in Singapore.
Money — the stuff with a picture of a deceased notable, in S'pore's case, a dead president — is simply a medium of exchange or, the means to an end, not the end in itself. A Man's Life is the end in itself, because at the end of it there is judgment — whether the human concerned lived a "good" life, or blew the opportunity to realise their potential and enjoy their physical existence totally.
Therefore money can never "be everything", and since our time is finite, it is foolhardy to spend any more time than necessary "chasing the Almighty Dollar". Energy is finite too — what is the point running around trying to grab as much money as possible, only to come home dog-tired everyday, suffer anxiety and health problems, and probably die young from a stress-related disease like heart failure or cancer? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
At the end of it all, the true joy in life comes from pursuing one's passion, and consistently realising one goal at a time, which includes adding value to one's human relationships with people one has chosen to include in one's life.
Being human, is all about being human and interacting with other high-value humans. I say "high-value" because we are all free to choose our relationships, and since our time is finite, we need to choose wisely or suffer the consequences of having our happiness affected.
The PAP govt is always talking about "the future". However too much focus on the future takes away one's attention to the PRESENT — and the present is where all the action, opportunity and fun is. The PRESENT is where "production" is done, where choice are made so that the future is more or less secured — but not in total, because there is a large degree of uncertainty.
Taking uncertainty into consideration, it becomes apparent that concentrating one's attention in the PRESENT is to ensure that one can at least have a fair degree of certainty.
Modern culture, unfortunately, focuses too much on SUFFERING. It seems that the goal of humankind is to "alleviate suffering". Obsessive thinking like this is very unhealthy.
People who have a more mirthful outlook on life — like me — prefer to concentrate on the abundance of possibility and opportunity out there regardless of the negativity in the world. This outlook, inherited from my parents, God bless them, has served me well. I rarely have a "bad day" and the word "depression" is virtually non-existent in my lexicon. Reason, Purpose, Self-Esteem — to quote the Objectivists — is the basic framework which works for me.
I have always held the belief that the PAP can do what they like — so it is pointless trying to change the cuntry. Also, the people get the government they deserve, so it is pointless embarking on a crusade to "change others". For starters, who has the infinite time and resources to do this? No one. That having been said means it is a silly pursuit to attempt to alter that which you have no control over. And it is even SILLIER to get mad or feel sad about it. However, that doesn't mean to totally ignore it, and blogging or expressing one's opinion on what is going on does give a "voice" to one's mental constructs. For instance, I blog because I like to write and I love to PRACTICE. However I contend that getting "depressed" over what the govt is doing is definitely unproductive, and will affect the "victim" as well as his relationships with others.
Under my very own Sovereign Individual Law (SIL), no negative thought is worth more than 5 minutes of one's attention. Any negative state lasting more than one hour qualifies a person, IMO, as a NEUROTIC and under my SIL these people are to be avoided like the plague, until they either choose to seek help, ask for help or change their minds. Yes, we are all empowered to change our minds.
I don't agree that we need more "Einsteins". What I think the world needs, not just Singapore, is more High Self-Esteem individuals — people who KNOW they are worthy of value, love, prosperity, good health, good relationships and happiness, and who develop or possess the WILL to do what they NEED to do, so that in time they will be able to do what they WANT to do.
I disagree with Einstein's quote. Knowledge and imagination are both important. To succeed in any pursuit, both are required. You need IMAGINATION to "invent" stuff, but you need intelligence and knowledge, and focused ACTION to bring it into physical reality.
Dreamers need to be do-ers too. Otherwise humankind would never advanced.
I write mainly because I love to write and have many ideas. Since I type at 150 words per minute and think at 300 words per minute, writing is no longer a chore.!
Also keeping active at over past half a century helps to keep Mr. Alzheimer at bay.
Hopefully, I leave beind a little legacy of my thoughts and experiences behind for my relatives and friends and young people who are interested to read my blog.
would earning a few millions give a person high esteem?
hi oriental express,
welcome to the blog. hope you enjoy the kopitiam talk here.
cheers.
> would earning a few millions give a person high esteem? <
In my view, it is the other way around: you need high self-esteem FIRST to be able to create wealth.
Without high self-esteem it is impossible to ward off the negative thinking and "victim" mentality — ie. when something "bad" happens, as it always does when people "pursue their happiness", you will need the high self-esteem to keep going and not lose heart, or start blaming other people or circumstances, or become depressed just because you've experienced a "setback".
High self-esteem individuals KNOW WITH CERTAINTY that they are worthy of success — regardless of what others might think — and that they have REASONS for living as well as a SPECIFIC PURPOSE in life, which they pursue with PASSION.
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