Emotions in evolution

A very interesting idea just popped into my mind this morning... And it came so surprisingly naturally that I believe that there must a purpose for its birth... and of course a place on my blog... Before we get into it... let me first describe to you the theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin (if I remember correctly)...

The THEORY of evolution is all based on the principles of the 'survival of the fittest'... if you have a selective advantage over another of your species.. you will have a higher chance of living to the age of reproductivity.. and thus produce more offsprings as compared to the selectively disadvantaged variation of your species... And thus, in the long run... the other variations of your species die off while you increase in numbers till there is none of the other left.. and only you remain...

On that note, Darwin formulated a theory that states that all the characteristics that we possess as humans today are indeed a result of thousands of years of natural selection and every single aspect of the homosapian works in a way to ensure that his survival is optimised....

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With that said, I was seriously wondering... why oh why... did human beings retain the capacity of having emotions in our system in the years of evolution....

Most of us know that emotions are a dangerous thing to possess.. They make us irrational... To have illogically good opinions of people we love... and equally illogically bad opinions of people who appear to endanger us... Emotions such as anger lead us to do dangerous things like launch into a fight with a fellow human being... And extreme sadness often leads to suicide... which is obviously counter productive to survival...

Why then did the human kind retain the capacity of being emotional? What kind of selective advantage does being emotional have compared to a human being who is totally void and immune to any extreme emotional response? Such a human being would be logical at all times.. he would never emotionally compromised... He will always be able to make the right decisions... But maybe.. just maybe.. living itself is not based on how many right decisions you make... and indeed the heart (emotions) have a selective advantage over the brain... Perhaps to survive optimally, you need to have a comfortable mix of rational and irrational decisions...

Perhaps... it is indeed the capacity to enjoy and endure the spectrum of painful and pleasurable emotions that make living worth it... Maybe, in the absence of emotions, humans will lose their magic and charm.... and thus, their selective advantage?

Well, I am trained as a scientist... and this essay is trailing far too off from being a scientific... Thus, let's go back into practical hypothesis formulation... as too what selective advantage emotions have to the human kind...

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Possible selective advantages

Reason 1
Emotions help us form stronger bonds with our neighbours.. thus allowing us to be social beings that can coexist harmoniously... Not only can we survive.. We survive more comfortably and in greater safety when we group together....

Reason 2
Emotions like fear can help us increase our speed, accuracy and agility... and allow us to develop supremely sensitive fight or flight response when dealing with danger...

Reason 3
Emotions drive us to fall irrationally in love with another party, though he is not perfect... we develop illogically good opinions of the other party when we fall in love.. This process is essential to start a relationship that might end in proliferation of the species...

Reason 4
Emotions like anger... when present in the leader of the pack... can help add an edge of danger to the leader... that will act as a deterent to the others in the pact..... to prevent any disrespect for authority... and keep the pact in order... Any members who are attacked or discarded in the process of the show of anger by authority and have not the ability to fight back or defend himself will be considered selectively disadvantaged and assumed to have no right to live in the first place... His genes will be removed from the gene pool with his death...

Reason 5
Emotions help us enjoy life... and savour small details of beauty... Giving us a reason to live... As all intelligent beings require motivation to live... this emotional aspect of man would indeed help us find our own source of drive to live....

Reason 6
Emotions are the key factor that seperates man from beast (though I sometimes wonder if Loki (my dog) is more sympathetic than my parents).... It makes us compassionate, patient and gracious... an aspect that would otherwise be impossible without emotions...

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Perhaps the entire aspect of God's grace can only be understood in the presence of emotions.. Whilst man has undoubtedly commited many henious acts of violence and disrepect in the name of emotions... Emotions have also allowed man to condone and forgive many sins committed against them in the name of love....

Perhaps, to the extent that emotions causes trouble in man... that is also the extent in which emotions can cause good in man.... And in the prcoess of evolution.... emotions have indeed shown to be an essential characteristic that gives the current man an edge over all our predecessors...

Maybe it is time for the cynical me to give due credit to the sensitive side of me.... I am an emo... no doubt about it... i am emotional and sensitive... Though it has made me undoubtedly mildly depressed... It has also allowed me to be sympathetic and compassionate... And maybe it is this two aspects of me that greatly outweighs the disadvantages of being emo....

Whatever it is.. I cannot deny that emotions make criticism and jokes less easy to bear... it also makes forgiving others much harder as the hurt that results from careless words go much deeper... The plus point is that you are naturally more careful with your words... and you are less likely to step on potential landmines...

With all that said, I do not subscribe to the theory of evolution... I do not believe in it... What I do believe in, is that emotions are a gift from God... and the more you have, the closer you are to God.. For only God himself is capable of perfect love... and man is created in God's image... love is an emotion... (though many have said that it is an action... actions are a result of emotions)... and the more you have, the more you will be able to understand the concept of God's grace...

Referee

With great power comes great responsbility (spider man)

And it is also true that...

With great responsibility comes great stress (denise)

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Sometimes I wish I can just give the stress away... Just by avoiding responsibility... But strangely... such things just come looking for you when the time is right...

Perhaps it is some form of retribution... for all my years of critisizing poor referees... only to become one myself.... and to carry the guilt of decisions made... I cannot describe to you how heavy the burden is... you got to be one to know one...

The job of the referee is to ensure the best player (in accordance to the rules) wins... and yet... Everything is subjective... and the points vary according to your team of referees and how strict you are feeling that day... how linient you want to be with the point scoring... It is really stressful because I know how much the results will impact the self-esteem of the players and their passion for the sport... Bad referees can kill the sport...

With that said, I want to apologise for being a bad referee.. I feel that I could have made many better decisions... But whatever it is... I still believe that whatever happened, happened exactly as God has intended and that above all... God's strength is perfected in my weakness....

And even in my pathetic inexperience, some form of positive impact was made...

Feel exhausted after 5 days of refereeing... but it was really quite a humbling experience... Will be kinder to referees from now on... =)

Some New Revelations

God's way might not always be the fastest way,
But it is always the BEST way...


It is dangerous to guard your heart from dissapointment,
by having no expectations at all...
It is as good as living a life without taking risks...
Living in itself is about taking calculated risks...


Discovering the person you love,
helps you understand yourself better...
He/she will be a human embodiment of the values you hold dear...



Even in sin,
God's grace superabounds...
Nothing is impossible for God...


God built man for rest...
His very purpose is to live and enjoy God's fullness in his life...
But man wishes to earn his rest through painful labour....
God however, has a better alternative...
For man to have joyful labour...
That result is shalom peace....

Trust not in your own understanding

You will find it hardest to love something you are afraid of.

Four types of persons

• Quiet people who look serious all the time
• Quiet people who smile at appropriate times
• People who speak at appropriate times and keep quiet most of the time
• People who speak at very inappropriate times

You'll find that types two and three are the most likeable... not because they are nicer than types one and four... they are just alot less irritating and you can't just find a reason to hate them... since they guard their mouth wisely...

Truth be told, we all like to fool ourselves into thinking that this world is filled with nice people... and it is not difficult to appear to be nice... just don't be mean... and yet, so many people get it wrong... Just because people start treating you nicely when you misbehave, doesn't mean that they like you more... It just means that they have recategorised you as 'the problem that needs to be treated carefully' in their minds... you are not a friend... not someone they can share their problems with... you are simply, one of their problems.... Thus, to truly be likeable, one must make your best effort to be nice...

And when you catch yourself thinking an evil thought of someone, understand this:

The quality of that person does not lie in the category of talker he/she falls is... it is in his/her nature... Most people are just unpolished gems... And there are indeed many evil thinkers who have mastered the art of putting up a front of niceness...

In conclusion, do not believe what you hear, do not believe what you see... Somethings that you might discern to be obviously true... might just well be the greatest surprise you will ever recieve.. Besides, things change so quickly... your friend, your buddy... even your family can shift sides very very rapidly... so what might be the truth yesterday, may no longer hold true today... and tomorrow is always a new mystery

Thus, all in this world is shifting sand.... let your thoughts be flexible and ready for change... And most importantly, as I have always mentioned... trust not in your own judgement or likeability and even... your own wisdom... it might earn you temporary success... but trust me... for a world as volatile as the one we live in... human wisdom is never enough... we need God's Grace... HANG ON TIGHTLY to the one thing that matters... the truth of God....

In a world that changes, God's word will be unshifting rock of salvation.... that will save you from all threats... and no matter what your circumstances are... He will lift you above them... that the world might see his glory through you...

All your sins are forgiven

Heard this message at church a couple of times... but it only lately that I truly start to understand what it really means...

The root to every bad behavior is the feeling of condemnation... (an unforgiven sin)

What is sin? Sin is defined as the falling short of perfection. It does not state how far you fall from perfection. You can be a 99% correct and disciplined person, but the law condemns you anyway...

Law condemns the best of us... While grace saves the worst of us....

Why do people misbehave? Why are people rude and mean? Why do people hurt themselves by smoking, drinking excessively, hurling insults at their loved ones? The root is in fact... the feeling of condemnation.... Because, these people are aware they have fallen short... and that they have sinned... and yet, they are not aware of the salvation and ABSOLUTE forgiveness Jesus has died to provide us with... Thus, they feel that no matter how hard they try, they will never be able to make things better...

These people are not delusional or negative... they are right... Compared to self-righteous people who believe they can achieve perfection by their own works... I consider such people one step closer to wisdom...

They are right to acknowledge how helpless they are... they are right to conclude that however hard they try, they will never be able to wash away the sins of their past... but what they need to desperately know is that...

ALL their sins are forgiven...

And it is in fact, not a privilege that is granted to us without a cost... The cost was the pain and suffering and ultimate death of God's son, Jesus... For someone as precious as Jesus to go through that many hours of humiliation, torture and dehumanisation... it is really not a small price to pay...

Thus, the least we can do now is to recieve this gift... this gift of forgiveness of ALL sins... Yes, your works are unable to erase your past sins.. BUT Jesus's pain and death.. his blood... is able to do that! Jesus's blood washes away all your sins... your slate is clean....

Every single second of your life now.. you are viewed as a precious child of God in God's eyes... He can no longer punish you for the sins that you've commited? Why? Is it because God has gone soft on sin? No. It is simply because God is perfectly fair and just.. for all the sins that Jesus has carried on the cross and died for... God cannot punish it the second time...

So whatever it is... whatever wrong you find hard to forgive yourself for... acknowledge it now that that sin is carried on Jesus on the cross... you no longer have to punish yourself for it.... Be free from this self-condemnation... Self-condemnation does not result in humility. Instead, it results in a form of extreme low self-esteem that will lead you to feel helpless and small.... and thus to behave accordingly... You forget that when God created you... precious child of God... he created you for great things.... destined to be a great person...

With that said, even the sins of those you hate... the sins of your enemies... all these sins were carried on Jesus... when he died on the cross... Jesus carried the sins of the entire world.... the sins from the past... all the way into the future... every single moment of yoru life, your slate of sins is cleared... every single imperfection forgiven and taken away from the moment they occur... this is GRACE.

Now with this freedom, go out and sin no more... Similarly, bear no hatred for your neighbour.. for even his sins are carried on Jesus... Just remember that if you should find it hard to forgive... pray for forgiveness.. and you shall recieve it as a gift... Do not bear the hatred in your heart.... hatred and vengefulness are like poison to the soul and body... it makes you sick and weak and unhappy...

Let go and Let God.

Trial GP essay

Like every good advertisement, I think it wise to show you an example of my work. =)

Enjoy... though the facts are a little updated... Please pardon me, I am a little rusty.

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Do we always benefit from the advances in Science and Technology?

In today’s world, it is nearly impossible to locate a setting that is untainted and uninfluenced by science and technology. In fact, this claim is also true in all other less tangible areas of human life. For one, even the way we socialize, the way we communicate and the food we eat; all these things are in some ways inexplicably tied to some form of technological advancement. However, one must question, are all these advances in science and technology purely beneficial to our world? Or is science and technology a double edged sword that can be misused for great evil.

It is impossible to ignore the ubiquitous sight of technology in today’s world. From the moment, you wake; you are confronted by high technology gadgets, like your cell phone that doubles up as your alarm clock. You proceed to wash your face and brush your teeth, and there you have it – an electronic toothbrush; gadgets that make life more efficient and convenient. It is true that with the advances in technology, things that used to be impossible are now made possible. Not only that, but also affordable and common.

A very apt example of that would come in the field of aviation technology. With the advances in aviation technology, travel between states and even continents have become easy, safe and affordable. This has not only led to leaps of improvement in communication speeds, it has also made trade between countries and the formation of large corporate Multi National Corporations possible. This has in turn led to great increase in wealth and affluence in many countries.

Another good example would be that of the invention of the telephone, which of course have over time evolved into the latest 4G handheld mobile phones. This has greatly increased the efficiency of communication to the extent that one can actually work in the comfort of their own home. This has greatly influenced the way people live and in more ways than one, liberalized women. For one, women who were just a century ago confined to the home are now given the option of working from home through high tech devises like laptops and blackberry. They can literally perform two roles at a time – a mother and a part of the workforce. This would have been literally impossible just a century ago.

When it comes to the discussion of science and technology, it would also be irresponsible to leave out the tremendous advances in the area of medical science. The discovery of vaccines, antibiotics, stem cell organ transplants are all but the tip of the ice berg when discussing the developments in medical science. Just a few decades ago, the elderly can simply die from simple influenzas. But with increase knowledge of how the immune system works, this is no longer such a problem as doctors can very vigilantly prescribe vaccines and vitamins to patients as a precaution for such influenza attacks.

In-Vitro-Fertilization, otherwise known as IVF or test-tube baby, has also opened new doors to the many couples with problems in their reproductive system. The sperm and ovule are fertilized in a petri dish and the embryo implanted in the uterus of the mother through an external injection. The procedure is so simple and yet, it has impacted so many couples around the world and allowed them to start a family.

With that said, like every powerful thing, science and technology can be thwarted and misused. In the process, great harm and damage can be inflicted on the very world we live in. A good example that has left its mark in human history would be that of the progress in weapons development. In world war two, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan led to the death of thousands of Japanese. Of those who survived, many young kids and toddlers developed mutations of which the unborn fetuses were most affected. Though the dropping of the atomic bombs led to the much celebrated end of the war, the effects of the trauma it has caused is still echoing in the culture of the Japanese. This can be seen in the high suicide rates in Japan and the highly disturbing nature of some of their animations and movies.

Another example of how science can be thwarted and badly abused would be in the infamous Adolf Hitler and his dedication to eugenics. In his perverse hatred towards the Jews and strong belief in formation of ‘pure’ Aryan race, he actually invented an inhumanely rapid way of exterminating his fellow mankind in War World Two. Hitler created the gas chambers. It was there where he executed his ‘final solution’ and rapidly gassed millions of Jews and Semites to death. Not only did he embarrass and humiliate his prisoners before their death, he picked a few unfortunate ones to perform unethical experiments on. These examples include experiments on how long it takes to freeze a person to death and how much water a human stomach can bear before it explodes. These experiments were grossly inhuman and unethical and have not only led people to question the sanctity of human life; it has also led to the guilty conscience that the Germans still bear up till today.

In conclusion, though science and technology has brought with it multitudes of advantages to mankind, it has also inevitably made history’s worst traumas possible. Therefore, we do not always benefit from the advances in science and technology but when used wisely and cautiously, science and technology can indeed lead to great leaps of enlightment and convenience in mankind.

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Luke 7: 36-50

For three times in the last three days, I stumbled upon this passage in the bible:

1. When randomly flipping through my bible
2. Listening to my sister
3. At church service

So perhaps, God is trying to tell me something =)

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Jesus Anointed by a Sinful woman

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in the town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,"If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is -that she is a sinner."

Jesus answeterd him, " Simon, I have something to tell you."

"Tell me, teacher," he said.

"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."

"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her fair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

Then Jesus said to her, " Your sins are forgiven."

The other guests began t say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you, go in peace."