Philosophy of Life

It starts as an intuitive response that cannot be explained. What follows is seemingly random sequences of reasons to try to justify the response, which most of the time are incoherent. It happens everyday. My boss calls them sweeping statements because my reasons do not have a logical sequence. I have also been constantly reminded to not make sweeping statements, which I am unconscious of doing, but very consious to not make any. This is one little story. I was working on a cost estimation for a project, and I had to estimate the number of man days it will take to complete the project per year over two years -- it was a long project that could not finish within a year. I was asked how I derived the number of man days for each year and I said that I arbitrarily divided the number of days across the two years. I really didn't know how to answer the question then. I was asked to rework the whole estimate without making arbitrary assumptions. I consulted my colleagues to learn how...

Why do we have to live and then die? Is there a purpose for the time spent living, in the greater scale of humanity? Is there a purpose to continuously live our lives, lifetime after lifetime? In all, historical records showed 5000 years of civilisation. I could assume that there is no purpose to go through whatever has made the world become what it is today, but that will also mean that the continuity of lives for 5000 years is merely a series of random and unrelated events. There are pockets of mysteries around how superhuman abilities derived, such as the construction of the pyramids and the healing powers of Jesus Christ. However, most daily life observations (earth is round, solar eclipse, medicine, etc.) had been fully explained with science theories and these science theories are also consistent amongst each other. Assuming that there is a purpose which I am unaware of, and there is a reason why I am born in Singapore and not somewhere else on earth, I try to find a purpos...

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" At different ages, we derive a different level of deliberation. 1st level (superficial) - job occupations such as doctor, teacher, chef, musician, builder, etc. 2nd level (conscious of self)- i want to be a master in ... i want to be the best ... in the world 3rd level (conscious of society) - i want to be able to save lives, improve the lives of people in developing countries, share my knowledge of food, make the world a safer place, etc. When I had to decide which university course to apply for, the advice from adults were either to choose what you are good at or what you like. Another way was to look at the salaries of various occupations and decide which would be a desirable way to spend 40 to 50 years of your life. Did I really have a choice then?  The fact that I was born in Singapore meant that I had access to a good education and life choices. However, if I was born somewhere else without access to education, ...

I don't know if I am the embodiment of another being. I don't know if the knowledge I have comes from me or the universe. However, I know that I have control over whether to enable my senses. I am fortunate to attend schools and read books. I live in a safe environment where I can reflect about life instead of fight for survival everyday. I open my mind to have a connection with the universe of nature, things and people. Do I feel the need to be superior? I don't. Do I have supernatural powers? I don't. I look just as human as any other person, but I might be a little bit more inquisitive, domineering, strong-willed, introverted, cautious, ... which defines my character. In school, the boys always performed better in maths and science. Even at national competitions, the boys were always faster at problem solving, thinking, and win the top places. While I could be one of the best in my school, the other girls and I were no where placed at the national level. One th...

When I think about who I am, I find myself having to convince myself that I am a combination of my physical self, my brain (a mentally conscious self), and a sub-conscious. I wonder how an instinct appears in my mind. By instinct, I refer to an intuition or gut feel about the weather, about something bad going to happen, etc. I wonder where the thought came from, whether it was triggered by the environment, or by my thoughts, or by something I am unconscious about. I wonder how I become conscious of something I am unconscious about. I could say that I had the knowledge beforehand, but where did that knowledge about the future come from? I wonder whether luck and coindences are really random chance events. A coincidence could have both good and bad outcomes. A good outcome could be a near-miss accident, avoiding a potentially time-wasting detour, winning a lottery, etc. A bad outcome could be meeting an accident, getting stucked in bad traffic, being hit by bird shit, etc. While...

These are religions that probably are followed by 3/4 of the world's population for centuries: Christianity (31%) Islam (23%) Hinduism (15%) Buddhism (7%) The remaining 1/4 consists of 15% of the people who do not believe in any particular religion, and then another 10% who believe in other religions or flavours. Source: Wiki Christianity and Islam believe in an existence of a god. Hinduism believes in an existence of multiple forms of god(s). Buddhism does not have any form of god. A god refers to a form or concept of a form that exists to perform tasks that are beyond what a human is capable of doing. Let's assume that human beings are by nature truthful and faithful, and believers of religions have had experiences that corroborates their faith, hence preach and share their beliefs with others. Let's also assume that Christians who believe that a god exists, at some point in time in their lives, have had their prayers/wishes answered by what they can...