Welcome to this week’s 5BF: one huge update over many incremental
ones, children as the doers of philosophy, the unbecoming of family and how to
stay calm, happy birthday to me, and more…
1 – on turning 24
Yesterday, on Thursday June 3rd, I turned 24 years old. I opened
one of my most cherished books, which is a book of quotations on every age from
1 to 100 called ‘100 Years’ by Joshua Prager, to open and see who said what about
turning twenty-four years old. And here’s what was written: ‘She was
twenty-four years old. She wanted to inhabit facts, not dreams.’ (Salman Rushdie
Shalimar the Clown) Despite being unaware of the context from which this
quote is taken, I think Rushdie is talking about the infatuation that twenty-year-olds
have with certainty and power in life. In a chaotic time period of one’s life in
20s, of course one would like to know a few things for certain, some ‘facts’ about
morality, and love, and finances, and one’s careers. The dreams are alright to keep
us floated and foreseeing, but it is on something more concrete that we could possibly
rely on: some absolute trust, strong faith, certain facts. Do I feel the same way
‘she’ felt in Rushdie’s novel? Not necessarily, but I can make good use of some
certainty from this year on: about my abilities and resilience, about winning
love and marrying that love, about actually earning good money, and so on. Yet
it stands true as well that I’ve just begun dreaming, so inhabitation of dreams
shall continue side by side.
2 – buying Pixel 4a
I am a big Pixel fan. Because Google gets to make and then
optimize a phone with their own software all by themselves, the result is one
good-feeling, pure Android experience. Although Pixel phones don’t officially
launch in Pakistan, I’ve been able to get my hands on both the first gen Pixel
and Pixel 2 on public selling websites. By phone for the past three years was
Pixel 2 and I loved using it. The software never got old as new features kept
coming with each new year and new Pixel phones. While the hardware dated out
and the battery started struggling, Pixel 2’s camera to this day kept performing
up to the mark with some of the high-end phones. It was about time for me to
update my phone, and I am so happy to have gone for Pixel 4a and not other phone
by another manufacturer. Software matters and Android 12 with its completely
new design on Pixel 4a is a pleasure to use. Also, because I updated my phone
after such a long time, although new options keep arriving every day, I am
super amazed and pumped to have access and use what by now has become the standard
to phone tech. I believe making one huge upgrade after a couple of years have
passed is a more technically wise and emotionally uplifting choice and small
incremental updates every six months or so. I am a happy guy! The power of
wanting and the joy of getting the same thing – ugh!
3 – this week’s article
Philosophy with children @aeon – ‘I think you overestimate
the maturity of adults’ writes Maggie Nelson in ‘The Argonauts; and on the
parallel lines, we also underestimate the maturity of children. This article
shows how involving children in the doing of philosophy, not in teaching of it,
can help them become more receptive, inquisitive, aware, and appreciative of
their lives. Although a heavy subject that even adults scare away from,
philosophy at its simplest is really a never-ending, fun, and rewarding quest
of understanding life, and who better at it than children.
Liquid Assets @theguardian – sent to me by a friend to read
and review, this article really blew my mind, similar to what the author of it
was feeling. The bottled water industry is insanely growing and it’s totally
absurd how much money people are making by selling water under different names;
water, that is available for everyone, literally. What’s more shocking is that
people are actually buying them, and the author has a really pointing answer as
to why people are so obsessed with appearing good and doing whatever easier
good they can.
4 – movie recommendation
Together, Together (2021) – starring ‘Andy’ from The Office
as a single man who impregnates a surrogate with his child, and another actress
as the surrogate, this movie narrows down on how diverse, complicated, and incredibly
novel our world has become; as for me, it is more for the worse than for the
better. While we’d have to wait to see where this stemming of such complex
change ends up being and what our societies would look like 100 years from now,
to bear and stick through this uncomfortable change, we would need love and
patience – lots of it. Probably because there will be a lack of understanding
everywhere.
5 – this week’s quote
‘Believe those who seek the truth, doubt those who find it…’
– Andre Gide