#definitelypretentious

[abrahamcrane-blog]

Self-Awareness

I think of everyone I meet, including myself, as some form of character. If the world were experienced in the third person, then no doubt everyone would act more coherently. But, the way we act is often hypocritical, and it is a rare individual who never breaks their code.

Though I myself struggle to reach complete coherency in my actions and words, I no doubt try. A large amount of my ability to retain my own morals comes from this sense of myself as a character. I’m simply one man, amidst a sea of 8 billion others. I don’t stick out, I’m not entirely unique, and I know this.

Whether you like it or not, each of us can fit into a series of labels. I’m a pretentious millennial who fancies himself a sage of sorts, when really he’s just spouting random garbage. There’s probably a million people like me on this site, and probably more scattered around the world who have other ways of venting their creative buildup. 

You reading this right now, try to identify yourself as a character. What’s your place? Are you the main character? If you have a story arc, is it a complex one? We all fancy ourselves to be the protagonist of the world, from our first-person perspective alone. We struggle to see ourselves as one, tiny cog in a massive, useless machine, accomplishing nothing. No doubt it would operate differently were that gear that you are disappeared, but it would not be distinguishable from how it operates now.

This might come off as nihilistic, but I don’t think it is. I believe the universe is meaningless, but only because all meaning in it must derive from its inhabitants. We must be aware of ourselves, and our impact on the cosmos, before we can influence it beyond the path set before us. 

[abrahamcrane-blog]

Generalization

The biggest, and perhaps the most common mistake made is perhaps generalizing. Stating “All bananas are yellow” will only result in you being proven wrong, for most bananas are green at some point, and some turn brown at a later one.

When a human generalizes, it typically betrays two things about them. 

1. They think they are undoubtedly clever. 

2. They lack some sense of self-awareness. 

The problem when generalizing is when you lack the data. You could say “All bananas I have observed have been yellow” to far more accuracy, or you could say “Most bananas are yellow” and be accurate there as well. But an absolute is a dangerous thing.

The problem becomes especially apparent when applied to humanity. Making a broad, sweeping statement that defines a large group of people is an easy way to make mistakes. 

Stating “All muslims are terrorists” would be stating that 2 billion people seek to use violence to further an agenda. Were that the case, the other 6 billion of us would probably experience more firsthand terrorism.

However, stating that “Islam is a religion of peace” makes the same mistake. Were 2 billion people unwilling to harm others, then the many attacks suffered within Europe and Western Asia would not be present. 

You cannot define any group of people by generalizing them, not even if its positive. Ultimately, humanity is an incredibly diverse species mentally, and something as simple as whether or not we will take a life is bound to have more answers then “yes” and “no”.