Friday, June 24, 2011

Thursday, April 28, 2011

On rarities and exceptions

We see it happen every day. A smoker decides that since his grandfather smoked unil the day he died, at 96 years old, then it must be alright for his health, though many die every year from lung cancer due to their smoking habbits. Someone dies in a car crash, their fastened seatbelt the cause of their untimely death and suddenly noone should be wearing theirs, though they have saved many lives in the past. An obese woman sees a seemingly healthy large person and decides to stop watching her weight, though it has been proved time and time again that being dangerously overweight causes many health risks. Why is it that something can be demonstrated a thousand, ten thousand times, and as soon as one situation, one contraciting incident occurs, everone's ideas change? Doesn't anyone understand the meaning of a rare exception?

 I can't say that I don't understand it. I am also part of this odd human phenomenon. For example, restaurant A and B are very similar in food selection. Restaurant A has a MUCH higher satisfacion rate than restaurant B. However, one negative experience with restaurant A, such as cold soup or poor service and I am likely to head to restaurant B the next time around. "What are all these people talking about?" I will think to myself as I leave restaurant A. "The data they collected for the satisfaction rate must have been falsified. The people were bribed, or they all have terrible taste!" Luckily, I am accutely aware of many of the tricks my own brain plays on me due to extensive research and field study (googling it, then watching someone do something similar one day at the mall) and so I try my best to stop and truly rationalize.

My advice? Don't fall for misconceptions. Find the fallacies, the myths, and think about your own interpretation of things. Are you believing something for all the wrong reasons?

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Click before reading, in order to feel (and see, and hear) my pain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0&feature=related

Now, isn`t that the worst song you`ve ever heard? I`m really sorry but this is something I feel the need to complain about. The music is generic and poppy and the lyrics sound like they were written by a grammatically challenged preschooler. Never in my life have I been so angry to see someone succeed. Rebecca Black is instrumental in the massacre of the music industry.

There. I just needed to get all of that off my chest before admitting that though I do LOATHE this song with every fiber of my being, I cannot get it out of my head.  #@%##!!!!!!!!!!!
The lyrics: http://www.directlyrics.com/rebecca-black-friday-lyrics.html
PS: Google's auto-complete function read my mind. Try typing "How old is" and see whose name pops up.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Adults in Christmas movies are ridiculously unaware.

I know it's not really supposed to be plausible to begin with, given the premise of these films, but...

COMMON. don't "non believing" adults in Christmas movies sort of suspect something when, come christmas morning, there are presents under the tree that they didn't buy? That's the scene I wanna see. "Hey honey, what's that bike doing under the tree? Did you buy him that? No? What's the card read? "Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas young Sally. Love, santa". Well, fuck me up the ass, he really does exist."

Well, now at least they know what the bags of coal were doing there the year she pulled the fire alarm at school.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

So my boyfriend and I just came back from a Carnival Cruise and I was surprised to see just how many people identified us within a few seconds of elevator chatter, Dillan or myself having let an "eh?" slip out. Immediately, the conversation would come to a halt and some grinning idiot would exclaim, as though he was one of the very few gifted souls that would pick up on this subtle evidence of Great White North citizenship, "oh, a Canadian, eh?". It was always said with far too much emphasis on our supposed trademark word, and loud enough to be certain that everyone within earshot would know that the speaker was the first to come to this conclusion.

This isn't another rant about how we don't follow everything we say with a slow and passive "eh?". The truth is, it's not much of a misconception. We really do say "eh" a lot. However, I've realized something from paying attention to myself.  The majority of the time that I do utter this interjection is when I am seeking input or approval;
"Great weather today, eh?"
"This would work better then, eh?"
"You're feeling pretty tired, eh?"
It's sort of the equivalent of the phrase "right?" for me. I like to think of it this way, even if it's just a flyaway thought:
Canadians say eh quite often.
Those who say eh often must often be seeking agreement.
People who constantly seek agreement don't always think they're right.
People who don't always think they're right are usually humble and tolerant.
Ergo, the use of the word "Eh" is proof that Canadians are humble are tolerant.

Ain't that a twisted fallacy?

Monday, February 14, 2011

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Dear Bruno Mars:

"Had your eyes wide open, why were they open?"
How do you know her eyes were open?
Yours were too, weren't they?