Just created a new blog about humorous things to think about. Check it out at About World.
miércoles, 26 de agosto de 2015
martes, 31 de marzo de 2015
Why do I run
I know this is yet another off topic entry, but I think it's worth it. This little piece of text is dedicated to all those people who don't understand why I like to run.
Running has many parts about it. The first one which many people do not know about is the focus it gives you. I strongly believe, and it works for me that way, that running is another form of meditation. You might be thinking "how would anyone be able to focus when running?". But you have to look at it this way: Zen meditation claims that the pain that comes from sitting in the same position for a long time is a good thing since it helps you stay in the present. When running there are tons of pain sources and other bodily signals which anchor you to the present time. In meditation you normally focus on your breath. When running you normally focus on your body; how your legs are striking the ground, how your bowels are holding up, how your arms starting feeling numb after a while, how your breathing needs to be kept in check so as to not get tired easily. In meditation you hold a position for a long time. In running even if you are not static, after the first 5 minutes the running part becomes an unconscious movement, letting you focus on the details of what is happening.
Running is also excellent because like any sport it gives you the chance to move your body and interact heavily with your surrounding. I think this is a key part to balance out sitting in front of a computer for hours. Alma sana in corpore sano.
Another thing which running gives you is the ability to push the boundaries of what you think you are able to do. Once after running a 10K, half-marathon or the marathon you suddenly realize that what you thought were your limits is wrong. This is a very powerful realization because it extends to other fields. It lets you see that the mind is a really strong detractor from a lot of activities where you would otherwise go further than you had imagined.
Yet another benefit of running is that it boosts your serotonin levels. Running will make you happy, that's for sure. I think people that take antidepressants should really try out first running. It is free, it is natural and when done right the only side effect is getting fit.
There probably are many more reasons why to run, but I would like to mention my favorite one. Imagine you are at the race day. You entered your first marathon race after training hard running 60+ km every week. You have trained so much, that you can notice through your skin muscles and bones you had never seen before. Now imagine you are at kilometer 28, only 14 to go, and everything is going great except you suddenly hit the wall. You suddenly feel like Mike Tyson punches you hard in the stomach and have to slow down, then you realize your muscles are so close of cramping that you become afraid of moving your leg an inch too far leading to total failure, your knee ligaments start feeling like an over tensioned guitar string about to snap, you soles are hurting bad from the various blisters accumulated thus far, your arms start feeling numb because of dehydration, your mouth is dry and your skin is already on its third layer of minerals left over from evaporated sweat. And as if all this wasn't enough to handle, the worst part is that if you let your brain loose, it starts talking you into giving up, it feeds you with all kinds of excuses and reasons why you won't finish the race. It is at this moment, when every part of the body has left you, that you see who you really are. Because at that moment the only thing carrying you forward is what I believe to be the purest form of yourself. At that moment the one taking the decision to continue is only yourself bereft of any other biases. And understanding that you alone without any help can push forward is a life defining realization. Coming to realize how strong your will of power can be is a wondrous and powerful sensation.
For me specifically it has let me realize what life really is. Life is about deciding what the world should be and not letting the world define you. It is about controlling your environment and guiding it towards where you want it to go. You and your life are that which you want them to be. The possibilities of what we can do are endless, bound only by our physical limitations. There are people who think that if you are born good at something then that's who you are, and you should do that for the rest of your life. I think that is completely wrong. I think what should guide your life is what you think it should be and nothing else. This is also a very strong teaching in leadership. I think that a good leader can only be so if he realizes that he first is a leader of himself and maybe then of others. We all need to lead ourselves through our lives, and we cannot begin to make a change until we realize it.
Because of these reasons and many others, I like to run.
Running has many parts about it. The first one which many people do not know about is the focus it gives you. I strongly believe, and it works for me that way, that running is another form of meditation. You might be thinking "how would anyone be able to focus when running?". But you have to look at it this way: Zen meditation claims that the pain that comes from sitting in the same position for a long time is a good thing since it helps you stay in the present. When running there are tons of pain sources and other bodily signals which anchor you to the present time. In meditation you normally focus on your breath. When running you normally focus on your body; how your legs are striking the ground, how your bowels are holding up, how your arms starting feeling numb after a while, how your breathing needs to be kept in check so as to not get tired easily. In meditation you hold a position for a long time. In running even if you are not static, after the first 5 minutes the running part becomes an unconscious movement, letting you focus on the details of what is happening.
Running is also excellent because like any sport it gives you the chance to move your body and interact heavily with your surrounding. I think this is a key part to balance out sitting in front of a computer for hours. Alma sana in corpore sano.
Another thing which running gives you is the ability to push the boundaries of what you think you are able to do. Once after running a 10K, half-marathon or the marathon you suddenly realize that what you thought were your limits is wrong. This is a very powerful realization because it extends to other fields. It lets you see that the mind is a really strong detractor from a lot of activities where you would otherwise go further than you had imagined.
Yet another benefit of running is that it boosts your serotonin levels. Running will make you happy, that's for sure. I think people that take antidepressants should really try out first running. It is free, it is natural and when done right the only side effect is getting fit.
There probably are many more reasons why to run, but I would like to mention my favorite one. Imagine you are at the race day. You entered your first marathon race after training hard running 60+ km every week. You have trained so much, that you can notice through your skin muscles and bones you had never seen before. Now imagine you are at kilometer 28, only 14 to go, and everything is going great except you suddenly hit the wall. You suddenly feel like Mike Tyson punches you hard in the stomach and have to slow down, then you realize your muscles are so close of cramping that you become afraid of moving your leg an inch too far leading to total failure, your knee ligaments start feeling like an over tensioned guitar string about to snap, you soles are hurting bad from the various blisters accumulated thus far, your arms start feeling numb because of dehydration, your mouth is dry and your skin is already on its third layer of minerals left over from evaporated sweat. And as if all this wasn't enough to handle, the worst part is that if you let your brain loose, it starts talking you into giving up, it feeds you with all kinds of excuses and reasons why you won't finish the race. It is at this moment, when every part of the body has left you, that you see who you really are. Because at that moment the only thing carrying you forward is what I believe to be the purest form of yourself. At that moment the one taking the decision to continue is only yourself bereft of any other biases. And understanding that you alone without any help can push forward is a life defining realization. Coming to realize how strong your will of power can be is a wondrous and powerful sensation.
For me specifically it has let me realize what life really is. Life is about deciding what the world should be and not letting the world define you. It is about controlling your environment and guiding it towards where you want it to go. You and your life are that which you want them to be. The possibilities of what we can do are endless, bound only by our physical limitations. There are people who think that if you are born good at something then that's who you are, and you should do that for the rest of your life. I think that is completely wrong. I think what should guide your life is what you think it should be and nothing else. This is also a very strong teaching in leadership. I think that a good leader can only be so if he realizes that he first is a leader of himself and maybe then of others. We all need to lead ourselves through our lives, and we cannot begin to make a change until we realize it.
Because of these reasons and many others, I like to run.
miércoles, 25 de marzo de 2015
Some random thoughts
Some life FAQs and my answers:
1- Is there a God?
Up to you. There is no way you can prove either way so it really is waste of time to talk about it.
2- Why are we here?
No one knows. The only thing we do know is that we started of from some cells in some ocean. The cell's objective (and what we call life) was to survive and to reproduce. It seems like life's objective is to control as much energy and matter as possible. But again is up to you.
3- What is consciousness?
And yet again, no one knows. Personally I like a lot Hofstadter ideas as written in his book The Eternal Golden Braid. Mixing self representation with swarm intelligence lets you take a peek into the great mystery that consciousness represents. However I think it goes much deeper than that.
I think that in order for a system to be conscious, the first step is for the system to be able to simulate its environment. Once it can simulate it, then it can represent itself in this new environment.
But that's just the first step. I think life in embedded in the world of ideas, with each idea being in its own turn another living system, fighting for its survival in the brain. Remember how life struggles to reproduce and control? I think that from the moment humans were able to talk to each other, ideas have been leaping from human to human in there attempt to reproduce and survive. Ideas which behave as if they were alive, trying to control as much space as they can. And so what if consciousness arises from such a setting? What if consciousness is just life occupying the space created by our minds trying to simulate the world?
Conjunctures only, but fun to think about! By the way, would be a good idea to have an AI system based off of how ideas fight each other to gain "brain time". Maybe it could solve some optimization problems?
1- Is there a God?
Up to you. There is no way you can prove either way so it really is waste of time to talk about it.
2- Why are we here?
No one knows. The only thing we do know is that we started of from some cells in some ocean. The cell's objective (and what we call life) was to survive and to reproduce. It seems like life's objective is to control as much energy and matter as possible. But again is up to you.
3- What is consciousness?
And yet again, no one knows. Personally I like a lot Hofstadter ideas as written in his book The Eternal Golden Braid. Mixing self representation with swarm intelligence lets you take a peek into the great mystery that consciousness represents. However I think it goes much deeper than that.
I think that in order for a system to be conscious, the first step is for the system to be able to simulate its environment. Once it can simulate it, then it can represent itself in this new environment.
But that's just the first step. I think life in embedded in the world of ideas, with each idea being in its own turn another living system, fighting for its survival in the brain. Remember how life struggles to reproduce and control? I think that from the moment humans were able to talk to each other, ideas have been leaping from human to human in there attempt to reproduce and survive. Ideas which behave as if they were alive, trying to control as much space as they can. And so what if consciousness arises from such a setting? What if consciousness is just life occupying the space created by our minds trying to simulate the world?
Conjunctures only, but fun to think about! By the way, would be a good idea to have an AI system based off of how ideas fight each other to gain "brain time". Maybe it could solve some optimization problems?
martes, 3 de marzo de 2015
Posting some cool sites I've been working on
Hey so I've been programming some webapps. I have been using my own home-cooked webapp framework, but will move maybe to struts for my next project. In the meantime I leave you these jewels:
www.apartmentsml.com
www.tm1consultant.com | www.tm1group.com
mindflow.hostzi.com
www.apartmentsml.com
www.tm1consultant.com | www.tm1group.com
mindflow.hostzi.com
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