DRAFT

Abstraction is one of the greatest achievements of our evolved mind. Coupling attributions (letters that are otherwise just words/numbers — also words) to objects, helps us handle them in meaningful ways, and predict related future behavior. We can predict the motion of an object of known mass, we can also build an tool to carry it — or else decide that we don’t need one.

I remember spending days crippled by the thought of how much people there are to help, how much I can do about it, and how I am not actually doing anything about it. It felt selfish to be able to go on with my life, while others were in pain. It was impossible to want better for myself, when others did not even have the basic needs. I was stuck.

There is a certain kind of power that is given to individuals through social assertion: society telling individuals what they do is good. It is more than often the case that this assertion is not fair. It is the result of expectations. Society expects, and society rewards. Society expects you to dress well, cut your hair, and respect the elderly.. do so = rewarded.

Failing to address human appeal in arguments with people we disagree with