Category: Imagination

What Have You Started That Didn’t Exist Before?

A plan, a business, a drawing, a person: what have you started that didn’t exist? When have you made something new?

Creation is a funny thing. Often, you start with nothing — a blank page, for example. And then an idea comes, you put that idea down on the page, and suddenly something exists that didn’t exist before. It’s like magic! You created something from nothing, conjured something from thin air.

Another example seems almost miraculous, but in fact is incredibly common: the act of giving birth. A man and a woman, together, create an entire human being who didn’t exist before. While the resulting baby can’t do much on their own at first, eventually they are a self-sufficient adult. It’s the way of the world, but it doesn’t make it any less remarkable.

Intellectual Roundtable is another example. Back in 2016 it started as a simple idea, and after some fine-tuning and some back and forth between Michael and me, in 2017 we debuted our first question, Why do we like what we like? Before we had the idea, registered the domain name, rented some server space, thought of some questions, and then published the first one, Intellectual Roundtable simply didn’t exist. Now, years later, not only does it exist, we’ve published more than 1300 distinct questions.

Indeed, the world is full of things — chairs, books, songs, spatulas, equations — that someone had to think up and turn into something to share with other humans. None of those things existed before, at least not in their current form.

So what about you? What is an example of something that you made, that you brought into being from nothingness? It might be something as simple as a doodle, or as complicated as a building. Because of you, what exists that didn’t exist before?

Related questions: Where do shared ideas exist? Create or consume? What art do you make?

 

What Are Your Three Wishes?

When the genie grants you three wishes, what are they going to be? And no, you can’t wish for more wishes.

Share why if you wish.

What Does Your Pet Think Of You?

We know so little about our own consciousness, let alone that of animals. Which leads to the question: what does your pet think of you?

Animals in general, and pets in particular, clearly have some level of thought. They can learn some basic tricks, and many of them respond to their name. They exhibit feelings, at times being happy, or sad, or angry.

Some pets have even learned a rudimentary way of talking. By programming a number of buttons that say a particular word when pressed, the owner of a dog or a cat can teach the pet to press a button to “say” words like “food”, “walk”, “play”, and many others.

Of course, this may be a combination of rewards training, randomness, and anthropomorphizing. It is difficult to say for certain, since we don’t really know what pets think or feel.

Still, humans that have pets can discern patterns in behavior. A cat owner may notice the cat being able to tell when dinner time is approaching. Or a dog might associate the picking up of a leash with going out for a walk.

It is fun to speculate how exactly our pets see us. Do they see us as just an odd-looking member of their species? Is the owner seen as a parent, or are they seen as a juvenile who needs protection and feeding? (People who keep cats, for example, may be familiar with being “gifted” with a dead mouse or bird.) Or perhaps they understand the concept of different species?

If you have a pet, or know someone who does, have you ever wondered what goes on in the mind of that pet? What do they think of us?

Related questions: What is your relationship with your pet? How does your pet bring you joy? Is your pet part of your family? Cats or dogs?

What Will You Do Today To Make Your Tomorrow Better?

The idea of a better tomorrow is very appealing. To get there, however, will take action, preferably today. What action are you taking?

To some extent, we understand the power we have when it comes to shaping the future. We know that if we want to have a flourishing garden, we need to plant the seeds and water them first.

This illustrates that the action we take today — planting the seeds — leads to what we want tomorrow — a garden.

So, with that in mind, what metaphorical seeds do you want to plant and nourish? What do you hope to eventually harvest and share with your community?

There is a concept known as the butterfly effect: a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can lead to a hurricane half a world away. That is, a small change in initial conditions can lead to a massive impact at a different place and later time.

This idea is often used in time-travel stories. Stepping out of a time machine, a story’s protagonist accidentally steps on an insect, then finds the future altered beyond recognition.

But the same idea can work in the present. One small action now, properly positioned, can have deep and lasting impacts on what comes next.

So, with that in mind, what can you do in this direction? What is the better future you want, and what are the steps today to be taken to achieve it?

Related questions: How much does your past determine your future? Will the future be better than the present? Should we try to predict the future? How do you set priorities?

What Is The Value Of Boredom?

Most of us will go to great lengths to avoid boredom for even a moment. But is there a benefit to being bored?

Let’s face it, it is no fun to be bored. In our culture that is so focused on being productive, having down time when you are not doing anything can seem like a colossal waste of time.

Technology to the rescue! With our smartphones, while waiting in line, for example, you can check your email, or scroll through your social media feed. Of course, you don’t have to be technologically savvy to avoid boredom. You can just as easily carry a book with you wherever you go.

While smartphones don’t have a monopoly on avoiding boredom, they make it very easy. The entire internet is available with the touch of a button. That’s never been true in human history before, and it shouldn’t be ignored. If we don’t want to be alone with our own thoughts, we don’t have to be.

However, is there actually an upside to boredom? Even though it feels unproductive and almost painful at times, could there be a benefit in being alone with your own thoughts?

It certainly seems possible. Many people find value in meditation, to improve mental health among other benefits. For some, meditation is actively doing nothing. No phone, no speaking. No activity, other than breathing. The goal is to be comfortable with doing nothing.

In addition, creativity is enhanced through boredom. Mothers everywhere know that children, when bored, find creative ways to entertain themselves.

What other positives might there be to being bored? Should we actively seek out boredom, at least once and awhile?

Related questions: When is it useful to fail? What is the value of inefficiency? Are we too busy? What do you think about when out for a walk?