Monday, January 8, 2024

Who am I?

 

Arul Selvan


This collection of my rational belief, fascinations, quotes, and admired individuals collectively define who I am. Specifically, the list of quotes below inspire and motivate me to strive for self-improvement. Although I may never fully master all of them, I make an effort to live by these principles every day. While I have had successes following them, there are times I fail to adhere to them while attempting to "to do the right thing" and/or "trying to control the outcome". Now, in my retirement stage of life, I seek peace, happiness, and a sense of purpose as I navigate the final part of my life's journey.

My rational belief:

I am an atheist & skeptic because I see there is no evidence to demonstrate a higher power/god's existence, therefore, I don't believe in god or belong to any religious group. In that sense, I fall in-between atheist & skeptic.

I studied geology, which is an evidence-based science, for more than 5 years in graduate school. Later in my post-retirement life, I learned the fundamentals of astrophysics and evolutionary biology from leading scientists like Neil DeGrasse Tyson & Richard Dawkins and many others. All of this combined knowledge helps me understand facts about the existence of the universe over 14 billion years ago and that Earth was formed more than 4.5 billion years ago; definitely not created by some divine "magic" in a matter of days as believed by christian faith-based belief system that doesn't require any evidence. Other religions like Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and many other religions of the world also rely on blind faith rather than empirical evidence.

In addition to religion, I don't believe in simulation hypothesis --- A hypothesis suggests that we all are living in a computer simulation rather than reality. This is total nonsense and this is where I draw the line on reality vs fiction. Especially nutjobs like Elon Musk peddling this simulation hypothesis is a clear indicator that all this is nonsense so one can discard it completely and not waste any time thinking about it. One thing comes to my mind on this is the phrase "I think, therefore I am"

About me:

    This link (arul.selvans.net) describes a little bit about me, where I come from, my background, education, hobbies, career etc.

My fascinations:

  • Theories of blackhole in our galaxy and beyond.
  • Time travel: As per Einstein's theories of relativity, time travel to the future is a proven fact, but can we travel to the past? When we see the light from distant stars or planets aren't we seeing the past?
  • Speed of light, spacetime, possibility of existence of life outside of earth ... and many more.
  • Astrophysics, particle physics and theoretical physics; quantum physics, double slit experiment/particle entanglement etc.
  • Human brain --- dreams, consciences, Autonomous Nervous system (breathing, blood flow, digestion) that operates independently of the brain.
  • Do we have free will or does everything happen following laws of physics, after all, we are made of atoms and particles that must obey laws of physics right? Our decisions could be the result of complex brain processes, which might be interpreted as determinism rather than free will?
  • Human brain is often described as a predictive machine which continuously compares sensory information (vision, touch, sound, smell etc) with internal predictions & simulations about the future, which can shape our present behavior. Having said that, do we have free will or its all determinism?
  • What is "now"? --- From a neuroscientific perspective, there is several millisecond delay (neural latency) in our brain to process the sensory information. From a physics perspective, as per Einstein's theory of relativity, "now" depends on motion and position in space and is relative to the observers. So "now" is unknowable. When you say "now", you are referring to the moment that has already passed!
  • Ancient civilizations (Mesopotamia, Indus valley, Egyptian, Mayan, Incas etc.)
  • I am fascinated with sharks, especially the great white. Also fascinated by octopus as they separated from evolution millions of years ago and they are practically aliens. Another animal I am fascinated with is tardigrades! What an incredible organism surviving millions of years!

Quotes:

  • "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference" --- Arul's modified version of the serenity prayer (since I am an atheist, the prayer here refers to my inner self rather than a divine power)
  • "Life's too short and there is no guarantee in life when it's your turn to go. So, it would be wise to make the best use of our time while we are here and be happy with what we have and not worry about money and material things which we will not be able to take with us when we die. Remember, Egyptian Pharaohs already tired this 4000 years ago and we know how it worked out for them 😀" --- Arul
  • "Be selective in your battles, sometimes peace is better than being right" --- unknown (Arul's favorite)
  • "There is no undo button for human memory; we cannot selectively keep the good things and erase the bad ones" --- Arul's reinterpretation of a tamil song ("நினைக்க தெà®°ிந்த மனமே உனக்கு மறக்கத் தெà®°ியாதா") by Kannadasan an Indian Poet/philosopher
  • "Though our dreams may seem like a random sequence of events, they are actually stories created from our conscious thoughts" --- Arul
  • "Our bad dreams & nightmares are really stories built with bits and pieces of our actual negative thoughts from our conscious minds" --- Arul
  • "There is no God or Divine power. Good & Evil are present in all of us and how we control our actions makes us either good or evil" --- Arul's modified version from the God show narrated by Morgan Freeman.
  • "Religious faith depends on a host of social, psychological and emotional factors that have little or nothing to do with probabilities, evidence and logic." --- Michael Shermer
  • "The whole point of faith, in fact, is to believe regardless of the evidence, which is the very antithesis of science" --- Michael Shermer
  • "In the past 10,000 years, humans have devised roughly 100,000 religions based on roughly 2,500 gods. So the only difference between myself and the believers is that I am skeptical of 2,500 gods whereas they are skeptical of 2,499 gods. We’re only one God away from total agreement" --- Michael Shermer
  • "Many Christians say that they get their morality from the Bible, but this cannot be true because as holy books go the Bible is possibly the most unhelpful guide ever written for determining right from wrong. It’s chock-full of bizarre stories about dysfunctional families, advice about how to beat your slaves, how to kill your headstrong kids, how to sell your virgin daughters, and other clearly outdated practices that most cultures gave up centuries ago." --- Michael Shermer
  • "Religion is just a concept invented by humans when they can’t explain things or when they are subject to sorrow and complete loss of hope" --- Arul
  • "Faith is nothing more than the license religious people give one another to keep believing when reasons fail" --- Sam Harris
  • "You don't need to look very far to find the meaning of life, you can create one for yourself. Every day you should try to learn something you didn't know about the world " --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
  • "Accept people as they are but place them where they belong. You are the CEO of your life. Hire, fire, and promote accordingly" --- Morgan Freeman?
  • "Stay out of these 3 jails; Caring what others think, Living in the past, & Fearing change. Change your mind, change your life, mindset is everything" --- Morgan Freeman?
  • "Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make when in the presence of religious dogma" --- Sam Harris
  • "It's simply untrue that religion provides the only framework for a universal morality." --- Sam Harris
  • "The universe is almost 14 billion years old, and wow! Life had no problem starting here on Earth! I think it would be inexcusably egocentric of us to suggest that we're alone in the universe" --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson
  • "Claiming there is no other life in the universe is like scooping up some water, looking at the cup and claiming there are no whales in the ocean" --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson
  • "We are prisoners of current time where past is inaccessible and future is unknowable" --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson
  • "The rotating planets orbit the sun, like pure wedding dancers in a cosmic ballet choreographed by the forces of gravity." --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson
  • "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson
  • "The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you." --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
  • "God is an ever-receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller as time moves on" --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
  • "Ignorance is a virus. Once it starts spreading, it can only be cured by reason. For the sake of humanity, we must be that cure." --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
  • "Evolution is just a theory? Well, so is gravity and I don't see you jumping out of buildings." --- Richard Dawkins
  • "Religion tells people what they want to hear, not what they need to know" --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson
  • "You can’t convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it’s based on a deep seated need to believe" --- Carl Sagan
  • "Everyone carries a load on their shoulders. If they say they are perfect, then either they are delusional or just pretending" --- Arul
  • "Success follows happiness not the other way around" --- Arul
  • "The measure of success is how we cope with disappointment" --- From the movie Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
  • "Day by day, I'm training my heart to accept disappointments even from people I love" --- Unknown
  • "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change" --- Albert Einstein
  • "The only real failure is the failure to try" --- From the movie Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
  • "The person who risks nothing, does nothing; has nothing" --- From the movie Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
  • "I fear living a life where I could have accomplished something and didn't. That's what I fear. I don't fear death" --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson
  • "You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing things with logic. True power is restraint. If words control you, that means everyone else can control you. Breathe and allow things to pass." ---Warren Buffett
  • "Everyone has a story, everyone has weight on their shoulder, and everyone is a victim of something". --- Unknown/Arul's modification
  • "Accept things as they are" --- Wu Wei
  • "Embrace imperfection" --- Wu Wei
  • "I don't really want to fight no more, cause it's time for letting go" --- Lyrics from a Tina Turner song.
  • "Ride the wave of live -- feelings are like waves, we can't stop them, but we can choose which one to ride" --- a show on National geographic w/ Morgan Freeman slightly modified by Arul
  • "When we stop trying to control everything, everything will still get done" --- Wu Wei
  • "Don't force anything in life, let it flow" --- Wu Wei
  • "Money changes everything" --- Lyrics from Cyndi Lauper song
  • "Money breaks every rule and changes everyone. No one is exempt from it, I don't care who you are, when it comes to money you will change" --- Arul
  • "Money can't buy life" --- Steve Jobs
  • "Money is not a metric for success" --- Sir Richard Branson
  • "Precondition (I need xyz to start anything) will keep you from following your dreams" --- Sir Richard Branson
  • "When you make a mistake, you are actually learning something not to do... so mistakes are not all that bad" --- Unknown
  • "We need to learn how to "want what we have", not "have what we want" in order to get steady and stable happiness." -- Dalai Lama
  • "Don't compare yourself to others." --- Unknown
  • "Nobody is too busy in this world, we all have the same 24 hours. It's all about setting right priorities" --- Unknown
  • "Being a great leader means sometimes pissing people off" (I have followed this throughout my professional career as a leader) --- General Colin Powell
  • "You can't use reason to convince anyone out of an argument that they didn't use reason to get into "--- Neil deGrasse Tyson
  • "A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness "--- Albert Einstein
  • "I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university"--- Albert Einstein [personally I do exactly this all through my life]
  • "Being together is not always a good thing. We came into the world alone and we will leave the world alone, if one does not know how to be by themselves then being together is a nuisance --- Sadhguru
  • "Do you know you will die one day? Oh, I bless you with a long life, but anyway, you will die one day. We cannot be sure about other things in your life. We don’t know if you will get married or not, or if you will get a job or not, if you will be successful or not, but this one thing is guaranteed in your life: you will go straight to your grave! --- Sadhguru
  • "I am a deeply religious nonbeliever. But if there were any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism." --- Albert Einstein
  • "God and nature are one and the same" --- Baruch Spinoza
  • "I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings" --- Albert Einstein
  • "The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible, a collection of honorable, but still primitive Legends. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this" --- Albert Einstein
  • "Never judge people by their past. People learn, people change." --- Unknown
  • "Disrespect will close doors that Apologies can't reopen" --- Unknown
  • "I don't care about losing people who don't want to be in my life anymore. I've lost people who meant the world to me and I’m still doing just fine" --- Unknown 

People I admire (in addition to family/friends):

  • Science
  • Technology
    • Linus Torvalds --- Creator (god? 😀) of Linux which powers the world!
    • Bill Gates --- Not only a technologist but a great philanthropist who truly cares about disease, poverty and help solve world problems.
  • Philosophy
    • Michael Shermer --- science writer, skeptic - love this guy (skeptic/atheist like me)
    • Sam Harris --- Philosopher, neuroscientist, and specializes in educating religious nuts on science and debates them. (skeptic/atheist like me)
  • Politics
    • Barak Obama (President and an overall coolest person in politics)
  • Comedy
    • Bill Maher --- coolest guy! I agree with 99% of his views on everything, although he does have some weird stands on science that I don't agree with.
    • Stephen Colbert --- late night comedy
    • George Carlin --- comedy at the speed of light.
    • John Oliver --- British and American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator.
    • Seinfeld Show --- Obviously this is not a person although Jerry Seinfeld is a funny guy but nothing funnier than this show, ever! If you give me a context in life, I will provide you a funny quote from the show. Speaking of that, here are some unforgettable funny quotes from the show. It would only make sense if you watched a bunch of episodes of the show.

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Last updated: 06/23/2024 06:47:01

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