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Subject:
Is life complex, or simple?
Category: Relationships and Society Asked by: dtnl42-ga List Price: $20.00 |
Posted:
22 Nov 2004 04:41 PST
Expires: 22 Dec 2004 04:41 PST Question ID: 432258 |
Are our lives simple, made complex by ourselves, our "society" and things like technology? Or is life really this complex |
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There is no answer at this time. |
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Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: geof-ga on 22 Nov 2004 05:23 PST |
A human life would be simple, if it was lived alone, naked, and feeding on uncooked plants and raw meat. But as soon as one moves to any form of social living, life becomes complex, even in "primitive" societies. For example, take what some people call "the simple life", of Amazonian Indians or Australian Aboriginals. As well as all the practical problems of hunting/growing food, making your own home & clothes, and trying to remain fit & healthy, there would be all the mental/emotional complexities of observing religious and social customs & rituals. In some ways, life in technologically developed societies is simpler, in that many things which "primitive" people have to do for themselves (hunting, home-building, planting etc) are done for us by other people and machines; but we make up for that by finding yet further complications, often in the form of diversions and entertainment, such as the Internet. |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: benjaminsisko-ga on 22 Nov 2004 17:40 PST |
Hi Dtnl42, I think neither. Life, (in itself) is simple (survive and reproduce) But OUR lives are made complex by ourselves, our society and things like technology. Kind regards, Benjamin |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: mast-ga on 23 Nov 2004 14:00 PST |
From the Bible, Good News translation (there are more accurate translations): Ecclesiastes 7:29 This is all that I have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated. |
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Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: vsixu-ga on 24 Nov 2004 03:50 PST |
La vida es compleja. Ya que su condicion natural se fundamenta en la interaccion con multiples subsistemas propios asi como sistemas externos incluyendo los subsistemas internos de estos sistemas externos. Totally Complex |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: ferdelance-ga on 27 Nov 2004 06:43 PST |
Question-how complex is the human brain?Your answer lies there grasshopper. |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: kohmatsu-ga on 27 Nov 2004 22:03 PST |
They are both. It is a duality in your perception. When your conscious of this, you may choose your answer. |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: omnivorous-ga on 28 Nov 2004 10:12 PST |
Life begins simply with a protein or two But that's way back at the ori-gene; Then they organize to build the animals you see, And pretty soon there are 23 chromosomes and you. So is life complex or simple? At the base it's A, T, C and G But zip them together, multiply them Millions of times and it's me. |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: neilzero-ga on 01 Dec 2004 08:31 PST |
We can make our lives less complicated by making a short list of things you consider really important: chldren, spouse, not getting fired from your job. Tentatively, we can consider all else trivial and/or optional. An occasional item will need to move temporarilly to the important list and you should do a bunch of the trivial things, but without stress. Neil |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: alex101-ga on 03 Dec 2004 11:48 PST |
It is simply complex. |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: raxis-ga on 06 Dec 2004 14:40 PST |
I believe that the greatest complexities of our life are created by social interaction. Even groups of apes weave complex social structures that they must follow and manipulate to better position themselves in their group. A human removed from society would suddenly find his/her life very simple without the need for social interaction. |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: mucci007-ga on 07 Dec 2004 19:03 PST |
Life is what you make it. |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: fractl-ga on 08 Dec 2004 06:36 PST |
The human mind is capable of much more than the simple skills we need to survive. Just like a tiger pacing in a zoo cage, we need something to do to keep our sanity. A combination of this need to challenge one?s self and the social nature of mankind has led to the current complexity of life. Can one live a simple life? Even during the easy, monotonous, automated tasks one performs the mind tends to wander into new and exciting realms, looking for a problem to solve or a scenario to play out. Just as simple things make the mind reach for complicated ideas, one must go through many complicated procedures to force the mind to be simple (perhaps the Zen koans are a good example of this. Our lives are simple and complex. We simply need them to be complicated. The onslaught of tasks, the prioritization, the rush, panic, frustration all come with the territory. Some people choose to subject themselves to more or less than others; some are forced into situations that are over their heads. On the very basic level though all the complexity is superficial. If your only goal is survival, when friends, family, language and law disappear, life (or the sustaining of life) becomes a simple task; simple in that it does not require much thought to do, not that one can survive easily. A direct response to your question would then be that our LIVES (the act of living) are simple. Made complex by our MINDS. Society and technology are products and outlets for our urges to communicate, create and contemplate. Life (the whole kit and caboodle) is complex. -Fractl A GA discussion on idle minds (thinking in the shower): http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=428860 A few Zen koans...to get you thinking about thinking about not thinking: http://www.tarunupadhyay.com/koans.html |
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Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: proplan-ga on 10 Dec 2004 09:52 PST |
Sounds like you are trying to understand your purpose in life? or why life appears complicated/or difficult at times? Perception is everything. You could interview 100 people with similar situations (stressors) and receive 100 different answers. This is what I do know about the "human experience" we call life: every one has different "coping skills" some more mature than others, every one has been "behaviorally shaped differently by experience" (life: parents, siblings, environment), everyone as a different personality structure fixed at an early age , everyone makes life "choices" that either negatively or positively impact them and those around them. So what power do you have over life and life's circumstances. Not much, except for what personal choices you make and how you choose to respond to situations or circumstances. The AA model clearly describes what power we really have, "God grant me the power to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. The answer to your question is highly personal and individual. I would suggest, you observe how others, perhaps with circumstances more "complex" than yours, cope or deal with adversity. Ideally, hooking up with a "well-balanced" mature mentor and "mimicking" their behavior until it becomes a part of you is beneficial. DG, MSW |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: cynthia-ga on 10 Dec 2004 10:52 PST |
The only time a person can affect their life is in the present moment. We live a long progression of "present moments" and in each and every present moment, we have free choice. The past is over, and the future is not here yet. I believe that as long as a person remains fixed in the present moment, life can remain simple. If you poison the present moments you live with feelings of guilt or regret about the past, ...or worry, or dread about possible future events, life does indeed become very complex. |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: fractl-ga on 10 Dec 2004 11:36 PST |
Due to the nature of space-time living in the present is not only a good idea, it's mandatory. Mentally concerning one's self with the past or future, due to the nature of the human mind, is equally mandatory. To ignore one's past is to deny what makes you individual. If you forget the past you forget the lessons you learned or the happiness you have experienced. One must also anticipate what will occur in the future. You need a goal to work towards and a future to hope for. Life disregarding ones past and future is much like living dependent on a drug. You may be happy at one moment, sad the next but you wont remember any of it the next morning. One extreme case of this is in the movie Memento. Our ability to gain knowledge and to predict our next steps is what makes us so capable. I remembered a snake bit me 15 minutes ago, and that?s why I am planning on going to the hospital now. Creatures that can?t think on this level may live a more carefree life, but I?m not sure if they know the feeling of satisfaction one has when a difficult task is finally completed. An ant may not feel depressed or overwhelmed, but for all it?s efforts I doubt it feels any joy either. A human who tries (against ones own mind) to ignore the past and think little of the future will have a tough time surviving. There are some things (like a career) that ones present self must bear to allow the future self to live. There are other things (bad memories) that the present self may not want to deal with, but must to prevent that pain from recurring in the future. We need complexity in our lives, a mind that is constantly challenged is more capable of surviving and accomplishing it?s goals. Seeking a simple life is a step backwards down the evolutionary ladder. We have achieved great things with our minds in the past millennia, and I will try my best to contribute to that legacy. If it ain?t broke, don?t fix it. -Fractl |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: alekzander-ga on 19 Dec 2004 03:16 PST |
First, Complex is not the same as complicated, Complicated is something that can't be decomposed into simple... Simple is what can be understand. I think that complicated things once understood are very simple, or complex... Thus, Life is Complex, even if we report at physycs (the proprierties of the particles and the relationships between them are very complex), or at our society, even our universe is a complex System, but being complexe it can be discomposed and discomposed (in the society domain- actually psichological)until we raeach the individual... the so called "brick" of the system. But the individual it self is not simple, because we can enter another sphere (medicine for example)... and we cand discompose him into other parts.. of an other system. So , we are complex from the structure of our body, through our way of thinking, and through this larger organism, long living.. the society. But to understand the system, we must analise (this breackeing into simpler parts) and the one that trully understands I think is the one that can see the complex as simple, never forgeting that simple often becomes complicated... |
Subject:
Re: Is life complex, or simple?
From: oaths-ga on 12 Mar 2005 10:12 PST |
Would the answer be simpler if strong but caring social structures are achieved? http://www.oaths.com |
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