Quandaries of a Chaotic Mind

[ddpej]

Quandary: n. a state of perplexity or uncertainty

My mind is rarely still, as some of you may know; I started this thread on a whim back in 2007. The basic idea is to provoke thought and share some of the interesting ideas that wander through my head. Warning: questions posed in this thread have a history of breaking minds and causing headaches! Proceed at your own risk.

In order to emphasize the inherent uncertainty of the subjects, I've kept all quandaries in the form of questions. I do have my own personal answers -- but the last thing I want to do is to let those influence how you interpret things! If you're curious and willing to swap answers with me, catch me in chat sometime. ^_^


Table of Topics
~> Religion
~> Life/Direction
~> Music
~> Love
~> Danger


Comments, thoughts, and opinions of any sort, on any of the quandaries, are always welcome! I love hearing other viewpoints and ideas, even when they don't seem to make sense. Piecing things together is half the fun! ^_^

[ddpej]

Topic of the Moment: Religion
Originally posted Aug. 17, 2007

~> If all are invited to the communion table who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and I do not, wouldn't that make it a sign of respect toward their beliefs that I choose not to take communion? Why then do some of them get angry at me for it?

~> If I enjoy 'church music', and I have a good singing voice, and I have been lead soprano in the church choir for the last eight years, give or take a few, and I am not a believer, is it wrong to lead the choir as I do? Is it wrong for them to request that I do so? Does singing -- and enjoying -- the music while not believing the words or meaning make me a hypocrite?

~> If one person worships a single, all-encompassing God, and another believes in many, specific gods, why can't both their beliefs be true? Must all our Realities match?

~> If I can look at the beauty of nature with a soft reverence, why is it necessary for that reverence to have a focus? Is it so impossible for me to simply enjoy what I see and feel, without thinking about where it came from or who/what has claim to the credit?

~> If I am clearly doubting the beliefs you've laid before me, why would you tell me that by not actively converting all of my friends to this set of beliefs that I myself don't believe, I am performing the spiritual equivalent of tying them up and laying them before an oncoming train? How can you possibly think that this would help your cause?

~> If I envy others the confidence they get from their faith, does this automatically mean that I want to believe the same thing, or that I want to believe something at all? Is it possible to simply envy the effect without desiring the given cause?

~> If belief is a blind leap of faith, could it be possible that there are some people, some minds, that simply aren't capable of taking that leap?

~> If heaven is eternal, wouldn't that get boring after a few millenia?

~> If it is necessary to experience one extreme in order to appreciate the other, how are the ideas of heaven and hell even possible?

[ddpej]

Topic of the Moment: Life/Direction
Originally posted Aug. 23, 2007

~> How long can a string of events get before they stop being coincidence and start being something more?

~> Is a carefully calculated blind leap really a blind leap? Can a blind leap be calculated?

~> Can a person with a highly logical, fact-oriented brain truly walk off the edge of a cliff believing (without reason) that someone or something will break the fall?

~> Is there any one 'right' path? If not, then what? If so, how is it found? Can it be found?

~> If dreams are a distorted mirror of reality, why are we told to follow them? If they are not, what are they? Are there different levels of dreams? If so, how can they be differentiated?

~> If every moment pulls you in a different direction, how do you know which way to go?

~> If the world expects what you have no interest in giving or doing, do you ignore the world completely? Attempt a compromise?

~> What duties do I as a human being have, and to whom or what? Does every person have the same basic duties, or are they different for each individual? What duty is the strongest? What duty is the weakest?

~> Is "Because I can" an acceptable explanation for walking away from a perfectly good job without any guarantee of something as good or better ahead? How about "Because I want to"? Is a reason even necessary?

~> Should the opinions and thoughts and words of other people factor into my decisions?

~> Where is the line between "Yes" and "No"? Is there a line?

~> Is it better to have a plan and risk the one-shot, spontaneous opportunities, or to go blindly and risk the long-term ones?

[ddpej]

Topic of the Moment: Music
Originally posted Nov. 20, 2007

~> How deeply is emotion intertwined into the presentation of music? Can two people, singing the same notes and the same words, at the same tempo and the same volume, convey two different emotions? If so, could the same effect be reached if the two singers could not be seen? Would it be any different using instrumental music instead of vocal?

~> Which is more desirable -- a technical understanding of music and musical theory, or an innate and untaught 'feel' for music and musical expression?

~> Is music any more or less meaningful as the audience changes? If music is sung or played in solitude, is this different than when performed for a pet? A single person? A small group? A large group? How? How does it differ when played in front of adults rather than children? Men, rather than women?

~> Can performed music be considered more valuable than the more tangible forms of art? Less valuable? Why? How has technology changed this -- or has it?

~> How is music defined? Can it be defined?

~> Music is often used in spiritual rites and religion, as well as in tales of fantasy and fiction. Is there a natural 'magic' in music? Is this purely the result of human imagination?

~> Which is more important -- the music itself, or the means by which it is produced? Is a song the same whether sung or played, whether plucked from a harp or blown from a sousaphone?

~> What separates music from noise? Is there a definite, distinct line between the two, or is the separation relative to each listener? Is there a separation at all? Are there varying degrees of music and noise?

~> How universal is music? Will a song create the same emotions in every group of people across the globe, despite cultural differences?

~> Is music inherent to life? To human culture and growth alone, perhaps, or to all animals? To none at all?

~> Is music a distinct, recognized form of communication, or merely a subset of speech? Is speech a subset of music? Are both speech and music equal subsets of vocalization?

~> What is most important to a song, the beat, the melody, or the emotion? The performer or the audience?

~> Does music have rules?

[ddpej]

Topic of the Moment: Love
Originally posted Apr. 13, 2008

~> Is love the same in all forms, or are all forms different (love of friends, parents, siblings, self, a significant other, pets, a specific race, children, nature, etc)? Are there distinct boundaries between each type of love, or do they overlap, forming grey areas? Does love itself have distinct boundaries, or does it overlap with other concepts and emotions? Are there different levels of love?

~> Which is better -- to walk away from love before it turns sour, or to follow it to the turning point? Which is easier?

~> Does the capacity for love differ from person to person, or does each person share the same capacity with differing levels of limitation and intensity?

~> How is love defined? Can it be defined? Can animals love, or is love a purely human emotion that we project onto other species? Can two people define love differently?

~> Is love a natural emotion, or a learned one? Is love a mere by-product of reproduction -- a justification of one's choice of mates?

~> Does every person have the ability to feel love in some form, or are there some people who are simply incapable of loving? If so, what would cause that difference?

~> If you knowingly and willingly hurt a person you love, can you truly say you love them? Is love affected by words and actions?

~> Is love a choice? If so, which is the default -- to love, or not to love? Can you choose to fall in love, or does it simply happen? Can you choose not to fall in love?

~> Is love necessary in order to feel happiness? If so, in what form? Will the love of a friend suffice, or your own love for yourself, or must you feel the love of a family, or the love of a significant other? Do you need multiple types of love in order to be happy?

~> Which is more fulfilling -- to love, or to be loved? Which is easier? Is one necessary for the other to occur? If so, which must come first?

~> Is love a simple concept that is given deceiving complexity by the chaos of the human mind, or a complex concept that is oversimplified in the human desire for understanding?

[ddpej]

Topic of the Moment: Danger
Posted Nov. 3, 2009

~> Physical harm is a commonly understood form of danger. Are there other types of danger? If so, what are they? On what basis are they dangerous? Does each type have further subcategories? Does each type fit into a broad subcategory within 'danger'? Are there different levels of danger?

~> Is it necessary to distinguish between the presence of danger, the awareness of danger, and the perception of danger? Is there a practical difference? Can one exist without the others? Two without one? If so, which is most important? Most potent? In what way?

~> Is danger subjective -- dependent on a given person, situation, and worldview? Are there universal, objective dangers?

~> Is danger a human concept? If so, do animals experience something similar? Why the difference? If not, do animals and humans react differently to danger? How and why? Which reaction is preferable?

~> Does danger have a purpose? If not, why have it? If so, what? Has this purpose changed over time? If it hasn't, does danger still fulfill this purpose?

~> How vital is danger to life? If danger was no longer present, how would life be different? Would it be sustainable? Would there be a cost? If so, what?

~> To what extent is it feasible to attempt to manage danger? To what extent is it efficient? Can all danger be predicted? Avoided? Are there dangers that should not be managed? Are there consequences to attempting to manage danger? If so, what are they? Are they worth the effort?

~> How are danger and fear connected? Danger and adrenaline? Is either fear or adrenaline necessary in order to experience danger?

~> Is it healthy to court danger? Why? How are you defining 'healthy'? Do different definitions create different answers? For what reasons might a person chose to court danger? What reasons are justifiable? What does it mean to court danger?

~> Which is more important -- danger to oneself or danger to another person? Individual or group danger? Does this depend on the other person or people in question? Should it? Can a person be in danger as part of a group, but not individually?

~> Does every person have an inherent right to protection from danger? Any person? What forms might protection take? Are all forms of protection equally valid? Equally desirable? Is it fair to expect protection? To be given protection without having requested it? If you are able to provide protection, is it your duty to do so? If so, why? If not, does the refusal to do so say anything about your character?