Written by Evan Bailyn on 05/12 at 09:16 PM -
4 CommentsWe all navigate our lives with our senses, stopping only rarely to appreciate how unique and interesting each one is. What is smell, after all? The ability to detect tiny particles that float out from matter and experience them in various chemical categories, such as sweet, fruity, and bitter? And touch? The ability to register the microscopic contours of matter and interpret them as a neurological feeling? When we break down what our senses really are, it becomes possible to invent new ones – an exercise that, if nothing else, introduces our imaginations to new possibilities. Here are three senses I’ve invented:
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Written by Evan Bailyn on 01/20 at 02:56 AM -
12 CommentsI’ve pondered the grandest of all philosophical questions - the meaning of life - since at least my early teenage years. I’ve also asked a lot of people their opinion on the subject. The most common answers I get are:
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Written by Evan Bailyn on 01/12 at 11:25 PM -
8 CommentsFate is a concept we all formed a definite opinion on at a young age. Nowadays, we rarely give its existence real consideration, instead using it as a quick explanation for situations we can’t understand, stating “That’s the way it was meant to be.” But is fate real?
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Written by Evan Bailyn on 12/05 at 04:09 AM -
4 CommentsSometimes it strikes me how many lives exist apart from my own. Countless minds produce countless thoughts which never touch my consciousness or make any impact at all on my existence. I wonder how it can be possible for my inner world to be so familiar to me but non-existent to everyone else. Occasionally when I am in a room and somebody leaves, I try to take on their perspective, mentally following them outside and leaving myself behind. I picture that I am privy to their state of mind, with all of its uniquenesses and peculiarities. Although it is rare for me to feel truly immersed in another mentality, there have been instants when it seems to occur, giving me hope that our psyches are not as solitary as they seem.
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Written by Evan Bailyn on 10/13 at 09:46 PM -
27 CommentsOne night as I was lying in bed, I saw the place at the end of the earth. It was a hill, blanketed in virgin snow, at twilight. At the edge of my vision, the branches of a pine tree hung calmly, lending their aroma to the cool, comfortable air. On top of the hill was a log cabin with a chimney from which wisps of smoke drifted out into the purple-grey sky.
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Written by Evan Bailyn on 09/02 at 08:38 PM -
42 CommentsIn a society where the vast majority of people act adultlike, it helps to have a fantasy world - a place that nobody can ever see or influence no matter what is happening in your physical environment. Keeping such a place inside you, hidden away from everything else, can greatly counterbalance all the external events that are out of your control. However, even those who regularly use their imaginations to escape often do so in a passive way, minimizing the benefit of their mental hideaway.
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Written by Evan Bailyn on 08/29 at 11:54 AM -
11 CommentsTime is one of the largest ideas we never truly understand. It is a concept of the same magnitude as space and energy, but unlike them, it cannot be physically witnessed; time is simply something we believe in.
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Written by Evan Bailyn on 08/08 at 09:48 PM -
6 CommentsAll of us are under some pressure to do what is right, whether from ourselves, our family, or society. We do our best to stick to the right side of things because we feel immoral doing otherwise. Yet most of the time, we accept this ambiguous word – “right” – simply because we haven’t really thought about it. There will never be a shortage of people to opine on what the right behavior is, and yet very rarely do people admit to the subjectiveness of their beliefs. For many, it only becomes clear that there is no correct point of view when two people they respect have completely opposite opinions. Even then, one will usually relieve oneself of the discord of not knowing who to believe by taking a side. All the while, it should be clear that neither side is right: each person is merely stating his own opinion, and the only way to figure out what is right is to ask yourself.
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Written by Evan Bailyn on 04/15 at 11:01 PM -
10 CommentsIt is a small fantasy of mine to become invisible. My desire to be unnoticed usually presents itself when the pressures of life bear down on me so much that I instinctually retreat into my subconscious. When I feel the need to withdraw from reality, some aspect of the environment I am in becomes my secret hideaway. If I am in the bathroom washing up, it is down in the shadows between the bottles of moisturizer, shaving cream, and hair gel. If I am in the park, it is the recess between the roots of a large tree. It is usually a place that is small, dark, and cozy. There, I wish I were lying safe, where no one could find me.
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Written by Evan Bailyn on 03/19 at 11:25 PM -
8 CommentsThe world is filled with things we cannot control. We put ourselves out there, aware of the risk that bad things might happen, just to give ourselves the opportunity for good things to happen. We hope for the best and try to avoid the undesirable vagaries of nature. But when we depend on people, careers, or events in our lives, we are opening ourselves to possibilities we cannot foresee.
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