Friday: 03.08.24.

To Be Done Today.

What I Learned Today?

Trying to Further my Knowledge of Knowledge and the Human Experience

Today I skimmed some books in the library. I’ve had this all-consuming hobby for the past three years of constantly trying to break down all of human knowledge in a way that, to me, seems practically rank-ordered.

What do I mean by that?

Basically, I want to create a list of of each subject worth understanding and if one wants complete mastery over their day-today experience. To use a common example, in this ordered curriculum of knowledge math would not necessarily be a primary subject because it does not affect one’s daily life. However, the ability to cook and knowledge of nutrition would be high priority because someone would normally eat (and maybe even cook) at least three times a day. If you have to eat, might as well eat the best.

How am I Attempting to do This?

I really am trying to analyze my own experience and the experience of the average individual and think deeply about the fields of knowledge they are interacting with most regularly. Also, I am trying to think of the fields of knowledge that are simply most innate; the subjects that one interacts with simply by existing as a human without any effort.

A Glimpse into My Current Thinking on the Subject.

Well, let’s begin at birth. The second a baby is born, he begins crying. To me this indicates a need for an ability to express oneself. This would lead to language. Language to listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Then I’d try to find where these basic skills lead to. In other words, what are their pinnacles? Speaking and writing point to classical traditions like rhetoric. Reading to High Literature. My best guess for developing listening is that this would be found in psychology. (I think Carl Rogers has a work on it.)

Then, the the baby immediately latches to his mother. This indicates the importance of food to the human experience. Food could then be broken down into nutrition and the culinary arts because one needs to know not only how to cook the best foods, but also what the best food are for their body. Then, this has implicit in it a need to take care of the body, so one should then be acquainted with subjects like movement, somatic therapy, and/or exercise science.

Finally, once again, implicit in the child’s latching onto his mother is a need to for physical touch and social relations. This could lead to subjects like psychology, religion, and philosophy because if their is one way to improve social relations it’s by improving one’s moral composition, empathy, and self-awareness.

Now that I am thinking about it we can also consider that the baby is born to a family, within a city, within a country, within a continent, within a world. This would lead to subjects of sociology, economics, history, geography, and art.

Any Interesting Thoughts, Experiences, Insights, or Emotions?

Today, was full of nothing but highly interesting experiences. I had so many chance encounters and conversations with strangers today that to me all felt supremely deep and beautiful. It started with a conversation I had today at lunch with a classmate of mine Vrixton. He is in a wheelchair and I had always assumed he had cerebral palsy, but today he told me his beautiful, though tragic story.

He was a normal, fully functioning human and great pianist until he was roughly 19. Then his depression and anxiety medications, which he was taking due to a stressful at home environment, were changed to Zoloft. After one day of taking Zoloft his health rapidly declined. He is now in a wheel chair and can barely speak. His decline in health, though, wasn’t even the worst of it from his point of view. This period of his life was also ridden with the death’s of every stable member of his family including his mother, which was hardest of it all for him to bear.

He endured so much. He seems hopeful. I felt so much empathy for him. I wanted to cry many of times throughout our conversation and take all of his suffering away. The whole time I wanted to tell him about Jesus, but it also never felt truly right. All in all I didn’t say much. I tried to just listen to him. He takes so long to say simply one word, I thought the least I could do was give him the floor to tell his part. Maybe I should have mentioned Christ to him? The crazy thing is that right now I couldn’t necessarily give a great argument for Christ, nor is my my relationship to him very conventional at this point, yet when hearing of such suffering I couldn’t help but feel compelled to discuss the religious with him.

My day was great beyond those hours with Vrixton, though. But I’ll give the details of the rest of the day quickly. After parting with Vrixton, I walked through the Library for hours pondering everything creatively important to me at this current moment. Then I went home and finsihed the video for Professor Alexander Arguelles. After that Trevor Spinosa and I worked out Legs. We did a 20 repetition day. Finally, we went to the Billiard’s Bar with about 7 other friends and had an amazing time. We met some incredible men. Two of them told me their love stories of how they met their wives and it seriously encouraged me. There is an interesting common factor between both of their stories and a revelation I had last night in the shower, but I’m tired so that will be tomorrow’s story.

Did I Make Something?

I made a video for Professor Alexander Arguelles. I thought it was a very great interview of him Although the pace of his speech and, therefore, the video were slow, I actually loved the content and found it a great joy to listen to. Xing was able to get more interesting answers out of him than I have been able to, and I am sure that is because of their comfort with one another.

My Habits.

Week of March 4th - 10th: