The Meaning of Happiness and Anger

Happiness and anger are two of the most basic human emotions that we portray quite frequently. But many of us never seem to be able to grasp the full understanding of what it means to be happy and why we get angry.

First, let's take a look at happiness. What does it mean? Why do we feel happy? What purpose does it serve?

Emotions, themselves, are quite a complicated thing. But that's not what we're here to discuss. This blog (or I guess discussion board) is intended to understand and explore various topics; not go into the finer details of things. We can leave those aside for textbooks.

Moving on...

Happiness seems to serve as a way for us to express our feelings of completeness, satisfaction, worry-free, stress-free, etc. It seems to be the only end result of our emotional functions that is expressed through muscle contractions on our face (i.e. a smile) or through laughter.

But why do we do it? I mean are we really happy when we say we are, or is it more of being satisfied for the moment? In many cases, I would think that it's a temporary thing since "normal" people are not happy-go-lucky 24-7. Life has its ups and downs and it varies day by day.

Next...

Anger. Why do people get angry? I mean if you think about it, what happens when you get angry? You lose focus of what you were trying to do, you might (in a fit) break or slam things, you might hurt yourself in your anger fit, and then soon after you feel silly about it or you feel sorry that you became angry.

So if we've all been angry at least once in our lives, why do we still get angry? Isn't it somewhat strange? As mentioned, we do go through ups and downs every day, but why do virtually every one of us get to the point where it bothers us and we need to physically let it out?

Let's think about these 2 things for a moment.

What will it take for someone to be completely happy, and what will it take for someone to rid themselves of all feelings of anger? Some claim that things like yoga exercises will do it. Other people claim that becoming more religious or something along those lines may do it.

It might do it for some people, but it might actually be just another layer to cover the fact that we are upset or not as happy as we want to; a societal mask if you will.

Being social animals, we often are concerned with how others will view ourselves. Some also over-obsess about this and get feelings of inadequacy in the face of others. It's normal to have some level of concern as we are social beings, but a few individuals take it to the extremes.

Going back on track...

Pure happiness seems to be an ideal for many of us. We try so many things in our lives to "correct" the way we think, do certain routines and thought patterns when we get angry, etc.

All of these are simply distractions which often get distracted and make us angry all over again. There has to be some level of understanding that the individual is capable and incapable of certain things, and certain things in life has to be the way that they are.

For example, trying to change habits for a person proves to be quite difficult in most cases. A habit is almost like a routine of some sort. Being social animals, we all have some level of routine-like behavior that we do each day. When the routine is disrupted or has the potential to  be disrupted, we get uncomfortable, and that feeling of being uncomfortable leads to dissatisfaction which in turn results in anger.

People tend to get very defensive about themselves and exert attention towards other people or other things; another distraction to our already-distracted lives.

You may be wondering how can you achieve happiness or what the meaning of happiness is. That is up to the individual to decide since happiness is more relevant to the individual, and the encounters & experiences such individual has.

However, understanding happiness is more along the lines of an ideal; a goal if you will. Being social animals, we often function along the lines of a goal or a "prize". The "prize" may be quitting cigarette smoking, getting better grades at school, getting a job, buying a certain item, earning enough money to do something, etc.

This "prize" is an end goal that we have in mind, of which we assume will make us feel satisfied with ourselves. It may involve the assistance of others, but the end result is How and what do I need to do to ________? Other people may be involved but we're often out for the sake of ourselves first and then others.

With the anger issue, anger may as well be an expression of the self displaying distaste at delaying or preventing ourselves from reaching the "prize". This distaste is often believed to be a direct result from another, when sometimes it could be the self that is preventing the self from obtaining such "prize".

So the next time you're about to do anything, really think about (at least for a moment) the ideas that were discussed here. It is likely that it will be relevant to the situation you are in.

The Potential That Technology Yields

As many of you are aware (since you're using it), technology holds quite a significant potential. By technology, I am speaking in general terms and nothing specific.

The world and society as we know, is constantly changing to what seems to be around technology.

This theory (or "law" if you will) might not be so obvious to some. But to those of us who are more immersed in the world of technology and related subject matter, this is something that we see quite often.

My question is, will there be a time when this technology will strictly be a disadvantage to us? At the present, it seems like it is only beneficial.

In the field of medicine, robotics (and related items) as well as computers are being used to treat patients. New technologies are being developed to assist and better the lives of many individuals.

The following link provides an example of what direction technology is going towards:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lXRHPKIvLc
What we see here is quite a graphic example of how quickly what we believe to be "human" is merging with what we believe to be "machine".

Although this might be a bit too extreme, it seems like this is a possible scenario that technology will go towards.

There are already android-like machines being used today. Although not fully-automated, self aware, etc, it is quite shocking that many of the things that were considered impossible is slowly moving towards the realm of possibility.
We are at the cusp in technology where something from the likes of a Star Wars movie is becoming more real.
Is this the right direction? Do any of you have any concerns what so ever about the risks that involved here such as over-dependence or maybe (hopefully not) a post-apocalyptic scenario like that of "The Future" in the Terminator films where the world is overrun by psychotic cybernetic beings with the intention of overtaking and wiping out humanity? That example might be an extreme (again) and something that seems like it's impossible, but look at the progress technology is has made within even the last decade.

It's been a while.

If there is anyone who has been following or even casually reading my blog, I greatly appreciate it. It has been quite a while since I made a post.

The reason why I have not posted was because I honestly did not have any ideas, and I lost some interest in continuing this endeavor.

However, I've grown some interest in this again, and I will start writing more entries. I will try my best to get at least 1 entry a week. I might post multiple entries a week (like I did before), but basically, whenever I have the time, or if I have an idea, I will try my best to get something out as soon as possible.

I won't guarantee anything, but I think it's about time that I start writing more entries to this blog.

If you have any requests for topics, please feel free to post it in the comments or to email it to me.

Thank you.

** I Won't Be Posting Anything New Here For A Little While **

The reason is because my computer has broken and I am currently in the process of trying to save up as much money as I can and then buy a new one.

In the mean time, I will brainstorm some new topics that I might want to discuss here and jot some notes down for myself.

Please continue to read the posts that I have made so far and comment.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
-- Charles I. Kim

Harry Potter

* I am in no way a big Harry Potter fan. I am a casual fan so I may get some technical aspects of the series incorrect.
* I do not own any part of the Harry Potter franchise. I do not own any part of the documentary being referenced here.
* Harry Potter and the documentary are just being referenced for discussion purposes only.

Do you enjoy Harry Potter? Do you believe that it is a harmless story of magic and wizardry?

Believe it or not, there are some who believe that Harry Potter is a detriment to society. Honestly, I don't believe that this is the case.

If anything Harry Potter is actually something positive for the youth of this generation as it gives something to related to other people, enjoy themselves, learn not to fear being able to express yourself, and gain an sense of appreciation through others.

I stumbled upon this documentary which is where this Harry Potter topic came from.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/62149/we-are-wizards

"It just kinda gave me a place to belong. It gave me a group of people I'm part of. I probably have more friends through Harry Potter than I've made anywhere else."

Much of this documentary is riddled with fandom brought to an extreme and where fans and corporate "owners" of the Harry Potter documentary battle it out.

In all honestly, I fail to see the significance of this controversy.

The fans of the franchise are expressing their enjoyment out of Harry Potter, yet the corporate owners of the IP (initially) go after them for many reasons only to eventually decide that maybe it's time to re-evaluate things.

In the beginning portions of this documentary, the woman claims that Harry Potter "...entices children to dabble into the ocult." and that it "...ultimately will destroy society."

How so? I understand where she is coming from in regards to the occult issue, but that's really taking it from a surface-only point of view. If one were to read the books or watch the movies, one would quickly realize that there are more themes and morals that are discussed in the movie. In a sense, the magic and wizardry are just the icing on a cup-cake (for lack of a better metaphor). The "core" cake portion of it (i.e. the themes and morals) are what is important.

However, I will acknowledge that this woman who made the comment may be getting at something that is possible. Many of Harry Potter fans are younger children. Children, especially at the younger age, tend to take things that they see, hear, and experience from a face-value perspective; that is there is little to no processing of underlying meanings.

Even still, I believe that as life progresses, and as long as the child has a relatively stable childhood and is able to progress into young adulthood without much turmoil, the child will develop into a mature individual who is able to differentiate between "good" and "bad" morals.

It's quite shocking how something that may appear to be "just a movie" or "just a book" to cause such a ruckus. But, in the society that we live today, imagination is nearly crossing the boundaries of what appears to be real.

Most are capable of being able to distinguish what is moral & amoral, and what is "real" and what is "imaginary".

But, we see here (with the documentary) that there is always room for discussions and interpretations of the ramifications of massively popular items in a culture; of which can be extremely impressionable on an individual.

What do you think about this? Please comment below.

Fads

You know what fads are. They're synonymous with popular trends; things that people, or rather groups of people, believe are some thing of worth that without, their social standings are somehow diminished.

What is it about our human need to feel like we belong to something, even if in the back of our minds we may (or may not) be aware and understand that this "thing" is going to be short-lived and another "thing" is going to be the thing to own, to do, to be like, and associate the self with.

From a business type of point of view, fads are an excellent way to sell products quickly to the masses. But that's not what we're here to discuss.

We're here to look at fads from a psychological point of view. These fads specifically are technology related (in some way, shape, or form even if not directly a tech item or good).

What tech related trends are the thing to be involved in lately?

World of WarCraft? Second Life?
FaceBook? MySpace? Twitter?
YouTube?
BlackBerry?

What are the things that you need to own or be a part of to be "cool"?

First, I would like to begin by emphasizing that none of this existed a few years ago. It's only recently that this technology boom really escalated to the point where these things are a necessity (seemingly) in our day to day lives.

Imagine what would happen if all of a sudden, none of these things existed tomorrow. People would probably freak out. It would be a mess.

Now, let's take a more purposeful insight into these fads and trends. Essentially, these are all OCTs (online communication tools). Why do we rely on them so much? Maybe it's because the real world seems a bit lacking or some is is of lesser importance in our everyday lives. But, none of us are willing to really admit that and these fads develop; in a sense to substitute and relieve ourselves of these feelings.

For all those who have a FaceBook account...Let's think about it. Why exactly did you join FaceBook? Personally, I created my FaceBook account before I went off to college in an attempt to have 1 way to communicate with people that I know of and went to school with. It was also a way for me to get into contact with people who I have not seen in quite some time.

To this day, I'm a bit surprised at how many "Friends" are listed under my FaceBook account. Are these really all my friends or are they more like acquaintances?

But there seems to be this sense of belonging as the number of "Friends" listed in my FaceBook account grows.

A pertinent article can be read at:

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/university/ut-s-psychology-department-studies-multiplayer-games-1.957105

It is a psychology study done on online multi-player games.

An interesting bit is a quote taken from the article that states...

"I think the main goal of the game is the socialization...That goal definitely applies to other people who play World of Warcraft."

On the outside, some may see this type of OCT as a game and only a game, as that is what World of WarCraft (and some others) are marketed as.

But what some fail to realize is the real life applications and values that can be derived from being involved with these OCTs.

Of course there is a potential for getting addicted as with any thing in life. Things happen and you get more involved in it and feel that you should spend more time with it.

Even then...I do feel that there is much value to be learned.

And with fads, there is also much value. We get a general overview of the things or subject matter that the individual has at least some interest in, and, the means by which the "fad" is done (be it in the form of a game, owning a certain item, being part of some group.

Clearly if there are so many fads and many members of such fad, we can't all be "wrong", now can we? As virtually all of us are or have followed a fad. To be labeled as "abnormally unique" would be something that would apply to everyone in a sense.

What do you think about this? Please comment below.

Piracy

Greetings. I know it has been quite some time, but I decided that it was about time that I posted something new here.

Anyway, let's back on the topic of discussion.

Piracy.

What do you feel about this issue of piracy? There are many different opinions about the matter.

Some believe that it is beneficial whereas others (majority of whom "own" the product) believe that it should be completely dealt away with.

From a business mindset, piracy is a bit of a nuisance in that potential profits are being lost. However, from another perspective, piracy can somewhat be viewed as a form of free advertising for the product.

In general, there is nothing really "lost" per say as it's not like (in most cases) the "pirate" is not directly profiting (as in monetary terms) off it the use/acquiring of the product itself.

In many cases, the "pirates" are obtaining such items for personal use. Others feel that maybe the product that they have interest in is a bit overpriced and maybe the means by which one were to obtain a "legitimate" copy of the product is time consuming as well relative to using whatever mediums are out there and "obtain" the products at no direct cost via the use of the Internet.

What we are facing in modern times with "piracy" should really be taken a bit more seriously but only after giving it more thought.

The authors of products (that are being pirated) often do not require as much monetary gains as many profit via other means.

Let's take an example.

Musicians (as music "piracy" is often the bigger issue). As many are aware, there are now services where you can download music at a small charge. This includes applications such as the iTunes. Though the prices are within affordable range, the price on each music, video, TV episode, etc are a bit pricey.

Yes you are receiving a "legitimate" digital copy of the product but it is understandable that many people would probably consider (at least for a brief moment) if there was some way to have such media file without paying any money?

This is not far fetched.

This inquiry we have is often without the intention of profiting monetarily. The intention is for personal entertainment.

That's the key here. INTENTION.

There are of course people who "pirate" and then amass a large library of such media files and sell them to people at a decent asking price.

Realistically, that scenario is really what should be confronted. The intention is to amass large quantities of media (various types), and sell such media to people for a monetary profit.

If the intention is just for personal entertainment, what harm is there? Not much really.

It would seem that this apparent issue with "piracy" is a bit vague on how the laws would deal with it. Not much thought has been put into it so a decision is hastily made; often in favor of the "author" of such product.

If the intention is to make money by "pirating" data, then that is understandable to bring about some kind of a punishment of some sort.

If the intention is for personal entertainment, there is no "pirate money" being made. The only profiting made here is strictly personal entrainment.

What do you think about this? Please comment below.