Jealousy

This topic was a considerably difficult one to think about. First of all, what is jealousy? Is it an emotion? Or a state of being? Personally, I think it's both, because for one thing, you feel jealousy, but you can also be jealous in the sense of pride. Pride is one of those things that incorporates many emotions into itself. Jealousy, by definition, is basically a resentment towards a rival, enjoying success or advantage over another, and having resentment towards another's success or advantage. Why is jealousy so infectious? Why is it that when you see someone that has achieved a state of higher talent than you, inside, you resent their success and talent. There are those of us that have been able to get by that by being thankful for what we have. But because of pride and greed, we want to be more talented or more benefited than that certain person. So why is jealousy so hard to let go of if it's so closely tied in with pride? Well, since pride is the human disease, it is very closely tied in with our character and our personality. We unconsciously have the need to receive approval from those we respect. So when we see that someone else has something better than us or does something better than us, we feel jealousy, because they are better than us. Jealousy is a horrible thing. It forces us to compare ourselves against those around us, and by doing so, we begin to dislike those that are better than ourselves, and look down upon those that are less so than we are. But when we let go of this jealousy, we force ourselves to realize that we shouldn't be something we're not just because someone else is better at something than we are. We need to realize the fact that we can't do everything perfectly, nor are the odds very high of us becoming the very best at something. Very few human beings have achieved the status as being "the best". Usain Bolt, for example, is the fastest man on Earth according to his speed being compared to other peoples'. So does this mean that competition is a sport of jealousy? Yes and no. Yes because it makes us dislike those we are competing against because we are the "enemy" so to speak. And no because this sort of competition is what gets us to push ourselves to the limit, to become better than we already are. So can jealousy be a good thing? Perhaps. Perhaps if somebody was able to completely let go of their pride and enmity, they could exercise their jealousy for the sole purpose of making themselves better, rather than to try and become better than the next guy. But it is highly unlikely that anyone would be able to let go of their pride completely soon enough to actually use it without pride. As you all know the General Authorities are the best example of those having no jealousy, but they have no real desire to become the best at anything. They have service in mind at all times, and they have the benefits and well being of their families in mind. Not becoming the best. So is this what we should do? Focus ourselves on others in order to lose our jealousy? Perhaps, it is the only way.

Time

What exactly is time? Is time merely the method with which we measure the rate of entropy? Or does time actually have a physical effect on this universe and its inhabitants? Time is the sequential measurement of events and provides us with the terms past, present, and future. Past refers to events that have already occurred, present refers to events happening currently, and future refers to events that have not happened yet, but will eventually. So how does time apply to the time/space continuum if time is merely a sequential measurement? This term is deemed spacetime and refers to the geometrical grid that space is made up of; time being the fourth dimensional variable, and thus helping in explaining gravity and its effects. With larger and larger bodies out in space, the more spacetime is distorted and bent around the celestial body, thus the greater gravity. But, the phenomenon known as the black hole is basically a complete breach of this geometrical grid. The gravity of this object is so great that once you've passed the event horizon, it is impossible to escape. And once inside the hole, you are "spaghetti'd" and all of your atoms are separated slowly. But since it's a rift in the spaceTIME, there is no time to speak of, and thus you are infinitely being pulled apart. At least, that's the theory. We'll never actually know what a black hole is exactly because one has never been observed, and even if we found one, it would be too far away for us to get to. And yet there are physical effects that happen with time. An experiment was conducted where two atomic clocks were synchronized. One was left on the ground, and the other was put in a high speed fighter jet. The jet went up, reached its peak velocity, and came back down. But when they compared the two clocks, the one from the plane was a couple of seconds behind the clock on the ground. How could this be? Well, the theory of relativity states that time passes much more slowly when going at extremely high speeds. So does that mean that time is physical? Who knows? No one has ever fully understood time. But, time also has one redeeming quality. Healing. Time heals the broken heart, the shattered soul, the mourning man. But, time never really passes at the rate we want it to. Sometimes, it passes in a flash, and other times it is tenaciously drawn out. But why is it time that heals us? Is it actually the things that we do in that space of "time" that ends up helping us to heal? Or is it really just us waiting for the wound to heal on its own? Nobody really knows.

Opposites

When God created the earth, he separated the day from the night, the light from the darkness. What is that supposed to mean? How could he have separated them if they are the complete opposites of each other? Well, when you think of a desert, what do you usually think of? Dry, hot, barren, dusty, etc. But what happens to that point of view when there is a small stream running through that desert? Well, the extremely fertile, yet dry soil is provided with a source of water, and soon after water is introduced to this soil, life begins to flourish. How is it, that when dry and wet are put together, we get an oasis of life? Sure, the rain forests are full of life. But not like this. Enemies can come to this little spot of water, and become mutual friends. By searching for the same thing, and having found it, they have established a mutual need. And what about light and dark? Is darkness, as a student said, just an absence of light? Or do they, when put together, create something much more amazing and beautiful than ever imagined? Yes. With light, we receive the majority of what we need, such as water from storms, wind to move our ships, and plants to provide us food. In sunlight, we do most of our work, play, and basically use up all of our energy. Then what? If we have constant sunlight, the heat grows and grows until it is unbearable. And so, darkness is needed to create a state of equilibrium. It lets the earth cool, and allows us to sleep and restore the energy used during the day. Males and females. Oh how different they are. And yet they are extremely similar in many ways. And when you put these two together, you get life. Pain and suffering? Put them with joy and happiness and the good is made sweeter by experiencing the bad. A great loss gives way for great gain. Flying inevitably requires landing, working requires rest, and life requires death. So, is it also reversible? Does darkness require light? Does water require an absence thereof? Does pain require joy? Does landing require flying? Does rest require work? Yes. They still work. So why is it, that when something inexplicably good and beautiful comes into your life, that you must lose it? Why is it that when you lose something inexplicably good and beautiful, that you must slowly collect that good which is required? Why slowly? Why is it that it must come this way, when with the other things, the exchange of opposites was almost instantaneous? Who knows. And why is it, that in many cases, there is no good to counter the bad, or no bad to counter the good? How is it that this cycle of opposites can be broken in some places, flawed in others, and perfect in the rest? Why is it that people can give and expound wisdom to those in need and confusion, yet when they themselves are confused and in need, they cannot heed their own words? Who knows. Too many contradictions and hypocrites in the world for anything to make sense.

Confusion And Love

Confusion, in my opinion, is easily THE most devious way to deceive someone. What exactly is confusion? It's disorder. Upheaval. Tumult. Chaos. Pretty much anything that doesn't have very much order. Confusion is in a category of emotion all to itself. It's almost like a concoction of emotions badly blended together so there are chunks that are bigger than others. Sometimes we are confused and angry. Or confused and sad. Confusion opens the door for external, or internal, forces to collaborate against our better character and judgment. When I'm confused about someone's actions, usually someone I care about, I automatically assume the worst, thinking that whatever is making them sad, angry, or other such negative emotions, is in all actuality, MY fault. I always assume the worst in every situation and end up misinterpreting what is going on in their life. Confussion is very aptly named because, if many of you noticed, I spelled confusion wrong at the beginning of this sentence. Confused? Now you are, because for one thing, you don't exactly know WHY I spelled it wrong on purpose, nor do you know why I even brought that topic up. Then again, I'M not even sure why I brought that point up. That's confusing. Then again, so are a lot of things. Such as girls are confusing to guys and vice versa. Love is also a very confusing thing, because it involves many instinctual emotions and desires. When going through puberty, we don't know if what we're feeling is love or lust. Only when we've either lost the desire, or lust, for something do we realize that it actually was lust. Love, on the other hand, is much
longer and stronger than lust could ever be. You never know what you have until you don't have it anymore. That is why love is so confusing. It doesn't end. Love endures through trial and error, pain and suffering, disaster and catastrophe. Through and through love and hope endure. They never fail, nor do they die. The Adversary may attack us with the hordes of Hell, but as long as we have love, hope, trust, honesty, responsibility, honor, courage, and companionship, he will NEVER prevail against us. As long as we hold to our values and principles that have been set before us, confusion will not work against us. But, being human beings, we end up not trusting in these things occasionally. This is when our resolve is at its weakest, and it is also when we must be on our guard. But even with these fail-safes, we still make mistakes that may cause us great pains of guilt and sorrow. When in these pits of despair, we must remember love. It is through love that Jesus Christ suffered for us, not through his own motives and desires. Love supported him in Gethsemane, even when God was forced to retreat the Holy Ghost. Love is what binds us together. Without it, we are
nothing. But with it, we become more than we could ever dream of becoming. We strive to make ourselves better because of love and the desire of approval from those we love. Gordon B. Hinckley said. "Love is the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is not only found at the end of the rainbow. Love is at the beginning also, and from it springs the beauty that arched across the sky on a stormy day. Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. How rich are those who enjoy it in their associations with their family, friends, and neighbors! Love, like faith, is a gift of God. It is also the most enduring and most powerful virtue." But, love is not all about passion and romance. This is also by Gordon B. Hinckley. "True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion." And so, I leave these things with you by saying that I love you all. And for those of the female status that may have some doubts about a guy in your life, I suggest going to the link I have posted and looking at the 11th quote from the top.
"Quotes by Gordon B. Hinckley"

Age

How, exactly, do we age? Why is it that our bodies begin to grow old and die? Why can't our body cells just keep reproducing and keep us young and healthy? Well, after talking with Dad, I came to find out that we have, on a certain chromosome, a set of genes that gets smaller every time the cells split, and as these bits of gene get smaller and smaller, we get older. So, is there a way to either lengthen this gene so that the aging process takes longer? Or could we perhaps come up with a way to keep those genes from splitting during cell reproduction? Either way, it's like searching for the fountain of youth. It's pretty impossible. We know for a fact that when we clone, those little aging genes inside the clone subject cell have already aged, so when the cell is cloned, the subject ages rapidly because of the already aged cell. So, if we are to clone someone, do we use a cell from a fetus? That way the clones are identical? Or do we want to clone EVEN EARLIER? Could we perhaps make 7 different, yet physically identical people? But then again, what mother would want septuplets? Another question is how do our exercise habits affect our aging? Why is it that really obese and unfit people end up dying when they are 50? Could it be that the body is having a hard time maintaining itself, or are their actions making their body cut off more and more of that gene every time the cells split? I'm probably not going to find out any time soon, seeing as I'm not a geneticist. But oh well. We'll find out eventually.

Dark Matter

Dark matter is pretty much THE most complex and difficult to understand thing that I have learned recently. Dark matter, to put it blankly, is not normal matter. There are no protons, neutrons, or electrons. It is an inferred idea because of strange gravitational pulls that have manifested themselves, but not their sources. It was hypothesized to make up for the discrepancies between measurements of the mass of galaxies, cluster galaxies, and the entire universe made through dynamical and general relativistic means, and measurements based on the mass of visible "luminous" matter that these objects contain. According to Friedmann equations,72% of the universe is dark energy, 23% of the mass-energy density of the observable universe is dark matter, and 4.6% makes up the ordinary matter. Thus, 80% of the entire observable universe is dark matter, and only 20% is normal matter. The idea of dark matter was created when a man by the name of Fritz Zwicky observed "missing mass" in the orbital velocities of galaxies in clusters. The difference of dark matter and normal matter is the fact that dark matter is not made up of atoms and such, but rather is made up of neutrinos, axions, and supersymmetrical particles. Scientists have used gravitational lensing to see that light has been bent at places where there wasn't any grouping of visible matter.  There are three kinds of dark matter. Cold, warm, and hot dark matter. Cold dark matter is particles moving at classical velocities. Warm matter is particles moving at relativistic speeds. And hot matter is particles moving at ultrarelativistic speeds. Fritz then went on to try and observe this dark matter at work. He applied the virial theorem to the Coma cluster of galaxies and obtained evidence of unseen mass. Fritz estimated the cluster's total mass based on the motions of galaxies near its edge and compared that to one based on the number of galaxies and total brightness of the cluster. He found that there was about 400 times more estimated mass than was actually visible. And this is where I'm stumped so far, because I'm still trying to figure out the equation of the shape of galaxies which is quite difficult to understand at the moment. So if you want to add anything that I left out besides the fact that dark matter is invisible because it doesn't reflect light, then go ahead and post.

The Facts of Energy

Energy, as we know it, is present in many forms. The most obvious of these forms is lightning, electricity, and static electricity, because these can be felt physically. Other forms are light, radiation, and matter. Matter is the least known of all sources of energy, because frankly, how does it have energy? Well, it's like compacting a lot of oxygen into a block of solid air. Matter is compacted energy, and when fission occurs, the energy is released in exponential forms of explosions, nuclear reactors, and other such technologies. According to E=mc2, energy and matter are interchangeable, and thus, we can use matter as a source of energy. Now, a question that we have been struggling to answer, is this. What happens to matter when it reaches the speed of light? It gains infinitesmal mass, and thus is impossible to attain. But, if we had a source of energy that was made of matter on the ship, when once we reached infinitesmal mass, we could use the infinite mass of the fuel to propell us infinitely. But we would have to burn massive ammounts of fuel just to get up to the speed of light. So if we can't do this, the what can we do with matter and energy? We could create a weapon that fires molecules at people fast enough that it punctures their body, yet only damages what's inside. Or we can use it to map out certain objects in every day life. What if we were able to discover the string theory somehow? The string theory states that there are tiny ammounts of energy vibrating inside every proton, neutron, and electron, and if these vibrating bits of energy existed, then alternate realities DO exist. But since we can't even get a clear photo of an atom, I doubt we'll be getting anything out of that for QUITE some time. But think, that would mean that wormholes could be portals between dimensions, and that black holes are just ways to go from one place to another instantly. But we wouldn't know, because we've never been able to encounter a black hole up close.