Death of Hypatia®

Category: Know Thyself

  • Know Thyself #174

    Know Thyself through LYRICS:

    What does the following song sung by Jack White mean to YOU:

     

    “Want And Able”

    Who is the who, telling who what to do?
    Who is the who, telling who what to do?
    Who is the who, telling who what to do?
    Tell me who, tell me who, tell me whoWell, Want and Able were crossing the road
    Want had a feeling there was something he was owed
    But Able broke it to him that there’s a social code
    So walk straight down the middle now and do what we’re told
    Walk straight down the middle now and do what we’re told

    Who is the who, telling who what to do?
    Who is the who, telling who what to do?
    Who is the who, telling who what to do?
    Tell me who, tell me who, tell me who

    Want said that didn’t feel so good
    To never be fulfilled, forever stressed out and impatient
    Always saying, “Just over the next hill.”
    Always saying, “Just over the next hill.”

    Who is the who, telling who what to do?
    Being able is to freedom what wanting is to cruel
    It’s hard to tell it seems, which one of them’s the fool
    Is freedom a gift, that we only give to the ones that say I love you?

    Who is the who, telling who what to do?
    Who is the who, telling who what to do?
    Who is the who, telling who what to do?
    Tell me who,tell me who, tell me who

    Now, Want and Able are two different things
    One is desire, and the other is the means
    Like I wanna hold you, and see you, and feel you in my dreams
    But that’s not possible, something simply will not let me

    – John Anthony White

    … more “Know Thyself #174”

  • Know Thyself #173

    Know Thyself through HOW YOU EXPRESS YOURSELF

    This post is almost a continuation of WIBCI Post #172 from a few days ago, which began:

    I love words. I’m in awe that with 26 letters, spaces, and punctuation we can learn about the entire world.

    I love authors, not for the words they wrote, but for the thoughts they provoked, in ME.

    When mastered, with 26 letters, spaces, and punctuation we can teach the world about ourselves.

     

    Imagine if we all had the ability to communicate what we think and feel completely with others in as few words as possible. Imagine if we had the ability to articulate ourselves, clearly and concisely, the first time.

    I’m not suggesting it Would Be Cool If we were able to explain ourselves with less effort, if it were the effort I was concerned with conserving I would use AI. I’m suggesting it Would Be Cool If we were able to express ourselves with precision. In such a way that everyone understands in one take. In such a way that could not be misconstrued. In such a way where understanding is accomplished on Both Sides and there is trust that motives are not behind the words said and not said.

    Ernest Hemingway is known for his brevity, his ability to tell a story and create emotion in few words. When challenged by a friend whether he could tell a story in 10 words or less he wrote:

    For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.

    Imagine what you could accomplish if YOU had this power. The power of not only Knowing Yourself, but the power to communicate it to others.

     … more “Know Thyself #173”

  • Know Thyself #172

    Know Thyself through CONSCIOUS LIVING

    Imagine you had a dream where you found yourself in front of Pythia the Oracle of Delphi. Nothing about the surroundings, the people, the scene, the smells, the sounds were surprising. You can remember feeling like you fully, viscerally, would believe anything this woman before you was to say about your life.

    Pythia stares at you and into your eyes for an extended period of time, closes her eyes, breathes deeply, snaps open her eyes, and says:

    When you wake you will live the most important deciding day of your life. One in which your actions and conduct will be the basis of the rest of your life.

    The Oracle claps her hands and you wake up.

    You fully remember the dream and still feel and believe every word that was spoken to you.

     

    WIBCI you had the time, energy, and courage to sit with yourself uninterrupted until your ideals hit you over the head so hard that you can’t stop yourself from returning to the world trying to reach them and make them your reality?

    If you decided to act as if you had this dream tomorrow…look at your phone before you go to bed and see how much time you spent on it during the last day….

    If tomorrow you are going to act like it is the most pivotal day of your life, I imagine you would want to spend less time on your phone. If the next 24 hours are of the most important of your life, how much time would you spend scrolling, swiping, texting, or playing on line games? How much of your communication would you like to be face to face or your voice speaking to another voice over a telephone line? How much more thoughtful will you be with your words? How much time will you spend judging the actions of others?

    On this day….

    How would you act?

    What would you say, and to whom?

    What would you do, differently that day?

    What is the worst that could happen? Well, I believe the worst case is that all that is realized is what life is like when you live it as consciously and present as possible, what it is like when you are the best you.

    Best case, to me, is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    Win/Win, no?… more “Know Thyself #172”

  • Know Thyself #171

    Know Thyself FLASHBACK

    Know Thyself through YOUR FAVORITE COLOR

    Below is a post from 5/22/2025 where I asked you to think about your favorite color, not because I care, but to get you to think about your likes and dislikes. I mention below in the post that this is a question that adults can answer, but most likely has not been rethought since they were young. When I was a kid I was allowed to choose a new color for my bedroom. I thought about this sincerely as this was the room that was MINE and where I spent the majority of my time, it mattered and I chose my favorite color blue. I’m sure I had my reasons then. I would still choose blue today, but I know why this is my favorite color TODAY….because I thought about it.

    I like blue best because it feels like freedom. Blue is the color of the boundless sea and sky. The color makes me feel unrestrained and limitless.

    That’s why I like blue. I do not like yellow, but that is a conversation for another day.

     

    Know Thyself Post #6

    Know Thyself through PHILOSOPHY:

    What’s YOUR favorite color?

    If you ask any 11 year old girl this question, I bet, more often than not, they answer quickly and unequivocally.

    I would also further wager they could tell you why and possibly when this conclusion was made. They know what they think about color because they have actually taken the time to think about it. They were still for a moment, turned off the world, and really thought about it.

    When was the last time YOU really thought about something?

    So…What’s YOUR favorite color?… more “Know Thyself Post #6”

    05/22/2025… more “Know Thyself #171”

  • Know Thyself #170

    Know Thyself through the SELFLESSLY KIND

    Another Blast from Last Year, I’ve been on a little introspection recollection lately looking over past posts and I like this one:

     

    Know Thyself Post #7

    Know Thyself through HISTORY(yours):

    Try this:

    Think about someone in your life that has been selflessly kind to you.

    Not nice to you because they found you attractive.

    Not nice to you because of any perception of your wealth.

    Therefore, this means it probably eliminates anyone you met as an adult.

     

    Try and picture someone (probably from childhood) that always acted in a way they thought best for you, even if it was a detriment to themselves. Can you picture them?

    Next time you are making a decision that bothers you morally, make the decision like this person were watching you.

    Imagine if leaders did that…

    What do YOU think?…

    … more “Know Thyself #170”

  • Know Thyself #169

    Know Thyself through TEAMS

    A Know Thyself Blast from Last Year, TEAMS is a term that comes up often on this website and worth a republish:

    Know Thyself Post #8

    Know Thyself through PHILOSOPHY:

    How many Teams are you on?

    Death of Hypatia defines Teams as follows:

    Teams: / tiːmz / n: A group of equal and mutually respected individuals who, when acting as/or on behalf of said group, consider what is better for the group above that which may be better for them as individuals

    Rules/Caveats/Considerations:

    • You can NOT be on a Team of one
    • You can be on  a Team as a couple, but, both must be equal
    • You can be on a Team when playing sports. You are not on the Team if you act in a way that is better for you but NOT better for the Team
    • You can NOT be on a Team if you own it or profit from it
    • Team members do NOT lie to one another
    • Team members do NOT cheat/profit off one another
    • Team members do NOT ask you to hate

    Do YOU have any teams?….

    I sadly think I have less Teams than last year, but the OG are still strong.… more “Know Thyself #169”

  • Know Thyself #168

    Know Thyself through EYE CONTACT

    Try this two day self introspection experiment:

    Day One: Next time you have a day which will include a decent amount of human interactions – notice the amount of eye contact that is made during your face to face interactions. This does not mean every person you pass by, bump into, or purposely avoid direct contact with on a regular basis. I’m talking about those you have conversations with throughout your day; people you see when you wake up in the morning, travel about your day, work with, get food from, hang with, and those whom work about you. Without changing what is natural NOTICE if/when you greet each person whether your inclination is to make eye contact or not? What is theirs? Do you maintain eye contact throughout the interaction(s)? Do they?

    Day Two: On a second day which will include a decent amount of human interactions, preferably the same interactions – purposely make eye contact with every person you have a face to face interaction with all day. Don’t veer into the deer in headlights creepy zone; initiate it on all greetings, and maintain it properly throughout the conversation (for instance: when they are talking directly to you or when you are talking directly to them). If you are around people from the previous day, see if initiated is eye contact reciprocated more? Are the conversations better?

    When I did this on the second day with intended eye contact I felt like people were more invested in the conversations, more present. They even asked me questions and seemed genuinely interested in the answers.

    Made me think there might be something to this human interaction thing…

    What do YOU think?

     … more “Know Thyself #168”

  • Know Thyself #167

    Know Thyself through your PASTIMES

    pastime /pas-tahym / n / :

    1. something that serves to make time pass agreeably; a pleasant means of amusement, recreation, or sport.

      to play cards as a pastime.

      Synonyms:
      avocation, diversion, hobby, entertainment

    Per the most recent episode of NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me according to Forbes Magazine, American’s favorite pastime is:

    Gambling.

    The people of this country spent more on Gambling than every other art and entertainment the world has to offer. The people of this country spent over 300 Billion dollars on Gambling. Americans spent more on Gambling than Museums, Movies, and Music COMBINED. It averages to $1000.00 per adult. There were no stats given for $ won by consumers…the house always wins.

    Gambling.

    I fall outside the norm in this case. Dickens never cost me a dime, I learned something, and thought about myself and my beliefs. Better odds.

    What is YOUR favorite pastime?… more “Know Thyself #167”

  • Know Thyself #166

    Know Thyself through YOUR MEANING OF LIFE

    I do not believe there is a universal meaning of life. I don’t think my goal is to figure out the meaning of ‘it all’. I agree with Joseph Campbell when he was interviewed by Bill Moyers in The Power of Myth on PBS:

    Joseph Campbell:

    People say that what we are all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that is what we are really seeking. I think what we are seeking is an experience of being alive, so that the life experiences that we have on the purely physical plane will have resonance within that are those of our own innermost being and reality and so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. That’s what it is all finally about and that’s what these clues help us to find within ourselves.

     Bill Moyers:

    Myths are clues?

    Joseph Campbell:

    Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of the human life.

    Bill Moyers:

    What we are capable of knowing within?

    Joseph Campbell:

    Yes.

     

    I think I am responsible for the energy expelled on making my life meaningful.  To be able to do this, I must know WHO I AM. What I think, what I feel. You are different than anyone who came before you, different than anyone who will come after, and you are the only being who will go through your collection of experiences. I think it better to figure out what your differences are rather than fixating on fitting a mold and disliking those outside it.

    To me that would be a life with few regrets, and that is what I think the point is, to have as few regrets as possible. That constitutes ‘meaning’ to me.

    I don’t believe anyone on their deathbed wishes they had spent more time ‘thumbing through’ on their phone.

    What’s YOUR meaning of life?… more “Know Thyself #166”

  • Know Thyself #165

    Know Thyself through LEARNING

    I believe that:

    The more you learn, the more you CAN learn

    If you have read any of my earlier posts, you will know I’m not a fan of AI. I believe it has its place; it is useful for computation and calculation. But I believe all else should be left to the mammals.

    Your brain is a muscle, when it is used, it grows and becomes more powerful. When it is neglected it atrophies.

    atrophy / [a-truh-fee] / n /:

    1. a wasting away of the body or of an organ or part, as from defective nutrition or nerve damage

    2. degeneration, decline, or decrease, as from disuse

     

    So why aren’t we using our brains instead of AI? Why aren’t we using our brains to remember instead of Googlin everything? Is convenience and inactivity the ultimate goal we are attempting to reach?

    Did no one see Wall-E?

     

    wall-e-2-fat-humans - ..STBY...

    … more “Know Thyself #165”

  • Know Thyself #164

    Know Thyself through WHAT YOU PROJECT TO THE WORLD

    I’ve often thought about having a Death of Hypatia® line of T-shirts. Only one style and color available; B&W baseball T-shirt, white front and back with black collar and three quarter sleeves, on the back centered between the shoulder blades would be the logo:

    and on the front you could choose from a variety of snarky witticisms/DoH beliefs that express what I feel about the world.

    Here are some examples; picture black capitalized words in Times New Roman on two lines when necessary (indicated by / ), I said I often thought about this, so yes I am quite specific:

    • MORE EXPERIENCES/THAN FOLLOWERS
    • BETTER FOR THE MOST
    • I THINK THERE I AM/IN NO NEED of AI
    • KNOW THYSELF
    • SMARTER THAN THEY/WANT ME TO BE
    • HUMANS RULE
    • WIBCI
    • AI IS STUPID

    I also wanted to offer T’s with nothing written on the front, so you could advertise YOUR thoughts to the world.

    What would YOU tell it?… more “Know Thyself #164”

  • Know Thyself #163

    Know Thyself through MOTIVATION

    How motivated would you consider yourself to be? If you have a goal, how motivated are you to achieve it?

    Try and think of the last ‘goal’ that you obsessed over, what was that which you thought about at all convenient hours and some not so convenient hours? Now regardless of whether or not you achieved your goal, while you were preoccupied with this captivating objective, on a scale of 1 to 10, how MOTIVATED were you?

    motivation/ ˌməʊtɪˈveɪʃən / n / :

    1. the act or an instance providing with a reason to act in a certain way

    2. desire to do; interest or drive

    3. incentive or inducement

    4. psychol the process that arouses, sustains and regulates human and animal behavior

     

    For this particular exercise and this particular scale, a person with a motivation level of a ‘1‘ would be as follows:

    Someone who dreams of this goal, wants it so bad, deserves it so much, has feelings of anger for those fortunate to have what they have not, and has many people to blame for not having it; which really pisses them off because…they REALLY WANT it.

    On the opposite side of the spectrum for this particular exercise and this particular scale, a person with a motivation level of a ‘10‘ would be as follows:

    Someone who focus on and works for this goal, figures out what has to be done to get it…and just does it; usually with little to no blaming.

     … more “Know Thyself #163”

  • Know Thyself #162

    Know Thyself through POETRY

    I found a poem a wrote a while back and I thought it wasn’t terrible…

     

    Horse Hair

     

    Upon Dreaming I sought refuge on the grass.

     

    I yearned for the support of a thousand blades, surfaces, and snowflake intersections.

     

    Notice the difference apparent alongside on the manufactured path.

    All bits slammed together;

    no pores,

    no spaces,

    no room,

    no movement,

    no changes,

    no growth.

    One frozen form, void of beginnings, and without soul.

    If ice takes hold here, its evolution I fear

    will be slippery and periling.

     

    On grass I Learned arguments for trees,

    under obelisks with roots, branches, and leaves

    If damaged, the mass continues to sustain,

    flex,

    And live.

    Like cloth, chainmail, or rope together banded,

    transferring energetic tension;

    Healthier because OF its’ parts.

     

    Thrust swords into sand, individual grains are not overcome;

    they swallow your sword.

    But if that sand were tortured, boiled, and melted into

    a made thing,

    void of characteristics,

    oddities,

    and humanities.

    It, artificial and translucent,

    Illuminating others’ possibilities;

    Arresting others’ freedoms.

     

    Thrust this false power into something real and watch it

    shatter,

    separate,

    and be no more.

    Upon Reflection I prefer trees to swords,

    and find kindred among those in the grass.

     

    Not great, but I know where I was when I wrote it, so I forgive it; I was mad at all the things we made, mad at all the things we ruined, and I just wanted to feel safe again, like in the grass, where it’s real.

    Have YOU ever written poetry or have poetry  that someone wrote to YOU from any point in your life? Try and find it and read it. Can you remember what it meant to YOU when you wrote it or received it? What does it mean to YOU now?

    … more “Know Thyself #162”

  • Know Thyself #161

    Know Thyself through LITTLE VICTORIES

     

    Learn new things about old friends.

    – me

    If you get to experience this, it’s like finding a cherished object you didn’t know you lost. It rounds out a little bit more, your image of this person; an image that only you can see.

     

    … more “Know Thyself #161”

  • Know Thyself #160

    Know Thyself through DAZED AND CONFUSED

    Dazed and Confused is a 1993 cult classic film, called the ultimate ensemble film about the beer and drug infused initiations and exploits of rising high school freshmen and departing seniors on the last day of school, in May 1976, written and directed by Richard Linklater, and with the tagline:

    It was the last day of school in 1976, a time they’d never forget… if only they could remember.

    This movie is a cornucopia of quotes with an amazing soundtrack. Alas, my favorite quote is not, ‘Alright, alright, alright’. Although this is classic I prefer what the teacher says as the students exit her classroom for the summer. Plus the movie is about the summer of  1976…… the bicentennial, and here we are ON the 4th of July celebrating 250, so it seemed appropriate:

    Okay guys, one more thing, this summer when you’re being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don’t forget what you’re celebrating, and that’s the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn’t want to pay their taxes.

    Ha! Great movie. I had some teachers that helped me think like that…..… more “Know Thyself #160”

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