The status quo has existed long before you were ever born ever since people roamed the earth we have competed and we have competed violently. It’s not that every one wants a piece, it’s that every one wants the biggest piece, whether it’s between adults or children. At the end of the day you are talking theory when the hard fact of the day is that the military industrial complex bank rolls much of our technology those scientists and technicians who work in it are driven the hardest. Money does make the world go round and while advancement would occur occasionally, it is the industry built around killing each other that produces large advances in technology. Every country budgets for their own defense and often it can take up a fair bit of the pie chart, whether or not that should be is a moral judgment though it says plenty on how we don’t trust other groups.

You complain of missiles but that missile led to the space age that has given us better materials, GPS, communication satellites, Google Earth, Hubble, and a whole generation of scientific instruments that have given us a better understanding of our universe. Prior to this rocketry was a bunch of guys playing with fireworks in a public park, it was the desire to blow up England that led to the V-2 which let to Sputnik which led to a Space Race that gave us advances in computers that made the model you are using possible other wise we might still be using vacuum tubes. Even the Internet was originally envisioned as a military network that could survive a nuclear war now it used to pirate stuff. It may not be morally pleasant to you but the military industrial complex has advanced technology like nothing else we have ever seen and unless you or someone else can provide a better impetus for the application of new technologies the science of death remains undisputed in terms of speed.

Remember it was a world war that mandated the mass production of penicillin, Sulfa-drugs, and anti-malarial drugs, they had been discovered just not produced on a massive industrial scale, after the means of production were in place medical care was improved for lots of people. In 1939 a canvas biplane was a common aircraft, by 1945 you had all metal jets, that is quite a leap in so short a time that I cannot see how it could have been done in a time of peace in a similar span of time.

Crusader, you sound unhappy. I applaud and respect you for doing what you’re doing, and glad that you seem to enjoy it, but you really just sound resigned to the status quo and grasping at anything (hating “hippies”) to make yourself feel better.

Scientific advancement has never been contingent on the military. (Eisenhower had amazing foresight. That whole farewell address is chilling.) It’s mainly money, and the military industrial complex has never lacked for that. Science goes where the cash is, because research is expensive. These things would still be developed, because there would still be enterprising and curious people. And just think of what more amazing things could be realized quicker if everyone decided to not spend that billion on buying more missiles.

I never rebelled when I was Mirai’s age, and neither did my friends for the most part, which is mostly why I couldn’t understand everyone’s exultations that she was such an authentic character. usagijen and Panther are totally correct in saying that if you are not going to take action to fix things that you see are wrong, don’t complain. But also don’t let yourself think that you can’t change the things you can change.

Not getting emotional over things… something I definitely have to work on thank you for the timely reminder

Chinese parents focus so much on providing material things to their children that they forget or never realize that that’s not what children really need. This stupidity/lack of perception hurts the kid and the parents in the long run. Kids will naturally “be empowered” and figure out what they’re good at, AS LONG AS OTHER PEOPLE SPEND TIME WITH THEM.

2. “Don’t use emotions to fight other emotions.”

Don’t get angry at a kid for misbehaving. Don’t be contemptuous towards someone else because he acts stupid. Don’t yell at the person in the subway train because he is being a jerk. Don’t become cynical because others lie. Don’t give up because you were defeated. Don’t be afraid when others are scared. Don’t become arrogant because you’re smarter than almost everyone else. Don’t blind yourself with emotions, because blindness = failure.

For example, many parents yell at their kids to do better at school or to play less computer games. But how does that help? Nine times out of ten the kids ignore their parents. If the parents actually wanted to help, the parents should take away the computers and send their kids to summer school. The solution to the problem is that simple. But many parents don’t do it because they are afraid of the whines and complaints of their children. They have become blind because of their fears. They have forgotten that they have a lot of power over their children.

Bob acts like a jerk on the subway train, so Tom is angry and sarcastic to Bob. But how would sarcasm help? How would anger help? Even if Bob remembers the incident later on, the only thing he’ll remember is that Tom is a sarcastic and angry person. A much better idea would be to tap Bob on the shoulder to get his attention and to tell him clearly, WITHOUT EMOTION OR ANGER, that he should stop whatever he is doing. And 99% of the time Bob will stop doing it. The trick is to get their attention and to speak calmly without sarcasm or anger. Duh!

There’s no point getting emotional over things except for purposes of entertainment. Figure out what has to be done, and do it. [And win]. That’s the meaning of intelligence.

@foomafoo: there’s nothing wrong with parents asking you what you want to be early on, hey it’s still what you want! hehe. What’s frustrating is if they start sticking what they want instead of allowing you to find what you want to do in life.

Glad you found what you want to do in life! Let’s all hope Mirai finds what she wants to do for her ‘mirai’

@Marigold Ran: “Brattiness and angst in kids is due to a lack of discipline at home. ” – isn’t that where most problematic teenagers are rooted from? Lack of proper upbringing at home. Discipline is good for training up a child as he grows up, but there ought to be something more… discipline + empowerment, perhaps? making them see what they can’t/shouldn’t do, and also what they can/should.

Not sure if I got what you meant by ’strong emotions to fight other emotions’, but well, to each his own

In America, taxes for the military = technological development that can later be converted to commercial use. I agree that there is a lot of waste, but it’s not all bad. The difficulty with Research and Development is that at the time of development no one knows whether a particular idea will lead to anything of use. And most ideas do not.

2. Intelligence = perception = success. Idiotic emotions = blindness = failure. Mirai, Shinji (Evangelion), and Shinkorou are stupid because they have stupid emotions. The same rule applies to most teenagers in real life.

3. Brattiness and angst in kids is due to a lack of discipline at home. One of the things I’ve noticed is that many parents yell at their kids, but very few actually punish them. They use their yelling as a substitute for real discipline.

Parents shouldn’t yell at their kids. Instead they should punish their kids (when they misbehave) with ideas like “extra toilet cleaning duty” and “you are going to be a vegetarian for a week because I control your food supply.” Mirai, Shinkorou, and Shinji would have turned out better had they had parents that properly disciplined them.

4. We have the right to bitch about our lives. But it’s a silly thing to do, which is why we shouldn’t do it. Usagijen, I’m against your tactic of using strong emotions to fight other emotions. It’s too strenuous. It’s better just to be smart.

Even so, I don’t think it was gone to waste because even though I said I wanted to be a computer programmer back then, I’m satisfied I chose to be an Economist (pretty far huh?), I even wanted to be a chemist when I was in elementary.

The good thing is, every talent you put your time and effort with, it won’t really go to waste because each of them is actually your hidden advantage, and time will come that it will be put to good use.

I hope Mirai starts to realize what she wants to do for herself, after all, she could always start off with small things— which I know she is already doing.

You must watch 8th MS Team this instant! Quite how you haven’t seen it is beyond me, but certainly a local mechatard in your area is failing to spread the mecha gospel.

@ghostlightning: Glad to know that Me-rai > Mirai hah!

and I’m back in Manila, though not yet for good. Leaving tomorrow night T__T

@Crusader: lol. yeah I heard you mention that before, feels good to do something you wanted and troll your mom in the process, huh?

GIVE ME BACK MY TAX!! I honestly don’t know what would make me RAEG more, having known that the taxes we pay gets to be spent on stoopid weapons or for the luxury of our government officials.

10 years after!! Man I love that song, despite not watching 08th MS team.