Loki and Leibniz

Having watched the season finale of Loki, I couldn’t help but notice some parallels with Leibniz’s “best of all possible worlds” theory. Obviously, there are massive spoilers ahead, so turn back now if you’ve yet to catch up on the series. If you have not started, I do recommend giving it a watch. It’s really well produced and has Tom Hiddleston in it. Need I say more?

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was, among other things, a great philosopher who lived during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Leibniz formed his argument on the best of all possible worlds, as a response to the problem of evil. The problem of evil goes something like this: If there exists an all-knowing, all-powerful and perfectly good God, why do evil and suffering exist in the world?

Leibniz’s answer to this was that the world we currently live in is already the best of all possible worlds that God could have created. He argues that if God is all-knowing and all-powerful, he would have known, out of all possible worlds, which was the best, and if he is perfectly good, he would choose to create the best world. Therefore, the world we live in must be the best of all possible worlds.

Now you might think, well, if I can imagine a world with less evil and suffering in it, wouldn’t that mean this is not the best of all possible worlds? And to that Leibniz would ask, how would you really know that the world you imagined is less evil? For instance, let’s imagine a world where 9/11 didn’t happen. We can’t be certain that there is less evil in that world, because perhaps 9/11 spurred the world to be more vigilant against terrorism, preventing a worse attack in the future. Or we could imagine a world where thirst does not exist. Sure there might be less suffering in such a world, but that world also loses the enjoyment and pleasure of drinking an iced cold bottle of water when one is thirsty on a hot summer day.

Okay, what do all these have to do with Loki? Well in Loki, we had the TVA protecting the one Sacred Timeline. They do this by pruning or resetting people who veered off their supposed paths, therefore turning into “variants”. Dealing with the variants, prevented the Sacred Timeline from branching out into alternate timelines. Who determines the Sacred Timeline or the “manages the proper flow of time”, is Kang, He Who Remains. He claims that if not for the Sacred Timeline, his other less benevolent variants would try to conquer the multiverse and chaos would ensue.

Similarly, it’s not as though the Sacred Timeline was perfect and free of evil and suffering. Both Loki and Sylvie suffered because they were deemed as variants for deviating from their “right” path. But as Kang explained in the finale, that’s the gambit. Do they kill Kang and restore “free will” to the people, or do they help him preserve the Sacred Timeline, and accept that even though there is suffering, it is already the best of all possible worlds?

It’s a really interesting moral dilemma and I’m sure we can all guess which choice Leibniz would pick in this scenario.

Man, I can’t wait for season 2.

Rediscovering boredom

No, I am not poking fun at the Rediscover vouchers, and I ought to use them soon really. Instead, I’m wondering if I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be bored. With the internet in our pockets, being preoccupied has become the new default state of being. Doing “nothing”, now feels uncomfortable and strange, and within moments, we feel the pull and gravitate towards whatever can occupy our time in that instant. Anything but doing nothing.

That’s basically me. I’m always finding something to occupy myself, no matter how mindless it is. When I’m travelling, I’m on my phone, I listen to music or I (very rarely) read a book. In my downtime at home I browse the interwebs, binge YouTube and Netflix, or play games. Sometimes I would rather do these mindless things, than simply have an early night. There rarely are any pockets of time where I’m not actively or passively engaged in something. Does that mean boredom is dead? Has entertainment and leisure triumphed?

Well, not quite. To no one’s surprise really, boredom is still a thing.

Today when we talk about boredom, the conversation is usually something along the lines of “Yeah Instagam is so boring”, “There’s nothing to watch on Netflix” or my personal favourite, “I’m bored but I don’t wanna do _____”. So it turns out that these things which we have been using to combat the boringness of doing nothing, is more often than not, just as boring. Who would’ve thought?

But why are trying to so hard to combat boredom anyway? Is boredom really such a bad thing? I would assume too much of it is not a good sign, but perhaps the little pockets of boredom littered throughout the day are not as bad as we make them out to be.

So, here’s what I propose, for myself at least. The next time I’m bored, I’m going to… do nothing. Okay not exactly do nothing. I can do many things. Get lost in thought. Be present in the moment and take in my surroundings. Look up at the sky and stars, you can actually see them sometimes! Sure at times, my mind wanders to a place of anxiety and worry, but I don’t think distraction is a good cure. I’ve found that what worked for me, was dwelling a little longer in my thoughts and walking myself through these thoughts rationally. But I digress.

As a start, I’m going to stop listening to music while travelling, because I guess that is still passively entertaining me in a way. Instead, I will focus wholeheartedly on my noble pursuit of doing nothing. Wish me luck.

“I do not dream of labour”

There has been a new trend on YouTube recently (and yes, I clearly spend too much time on YouTube). More and more YouTubers are posting videos titled along the lines of “I do not dream of labour” or “I do not have a dream job”, and it has certainly piqued my interest. I took a peek at a couple, and most seem to have a similar narrative. As a very very generalised summary, here’s how the videos usually go:

These YouTubers, mostly women, have taken a rather “traditional” path in their lives. They’ve done well in school, made it to a university, did well in university, and got a good job at a reputable firm. To many, it would seem like they have made it, they got a great start to their adult life and are living the dream. But after hustling at their 9-5 job for a while, they realised this dream life was not what they had thought it would be. To put it bluntly, they didn’t get much joy or meaning out of the work that they were doing, and they started to question the concept of labour. Why do we have to work? Do we live to work or work to live? Who is our work really benefitting?

Questions like these led them to one answer: Capitalism. The notion of a dream job or dream career, where one is encouraged to get a good job and then hustle and climb the ranks, is not one that has the individual’s interests at heart. Instead, it can be seen as one that is really good at producing hardworking and productive workers, and ultimately benefiting the company.

At this point, they start painting capitalism out to be the enemy, pointing out its flaws and explaining how it’s an oppressive or exploitative system. Some offer tips on how to, in a sense, resist capitalism. Others try to offer solutions, very Tim Ferriss-esque solutions, like starting an online business or be your own boss, which I personally don’t think is relevant to most.

I completely understand their sentiments on capitalism and they’re not wrong about its flaws. Believe me, I wrote a 3000-word essay last semester on reification in modern capitalist societies, covering topics like the commodification and reification of labour. So yes, I know that capitalism has its flaws and that labour under a capitalistic system can alienate one from their work.

But I guess this is where our views diverge because I’m kinda on the fence about capitalism. I think it’s undeniable that modern capitalism has brought about significant progress in fields of science, technology and healthcare, just to name a few. A lot of the privileges that we have today, were made possible by capitalism. Furthermore, as someone who puts their money in the stock market, an instrument of the capitalist system, I find it kinda ironic, and slightly hypocritical if I were to denounce capitalism.

Nevertheless, I find it fascinating that more and more people are growing dissatisfied with the system and are starting to see the cracks. I think these videos are great as they get people to think critically and question the system and the norms we’ve been raised to accept. While we may not have a better system in mind, as always, questioning is the first step in the right direction.

On Interracial Marriage

I chanced upon this video by Alice Cappelle earlier today on the politics of interracial relationships in Pocahontas, which was an excellent well-researched video as her videos usually are. Her video really got me thinking a little more on the topic, especially with the recent racist incident involving an interracial couple in Singapore, which I’m sure most of us are aware of by now.

Perhaps for many of us, what we know about Pocahontas mainly comes from the 1995 Disney animated movie. Well, at least that was the case for me. Little did I know that the movie was based on a true story about the life of a Native American woman, Pocahontas. In the movie, Pocahontas married John Smith, and in reality, Pocahontas married John Rolfe. While their names are different, both Johns were white colonisers. So their marriage might just be America’s very first interracial marriage between a Native American and a white American.

In her video, Alice explained that there were probably more factors apart from just love, which led to their marriage. One of these factors was diplomacy. Pocahontas was aware of the growing tensions between both parties and she understood that this marriage could be a means to ease tensions and create a space for more communication and compromise between both parties. Other than that, of course, she was also initially kidnapped by the colonisers, so Stockholm syndrome possibly? Well, if you ask me, I’d like to believe it was true love.

Pocahontas aside, Alice also mentioned that in the 19th century, while Thomas Jefferson was president, one of the strategies he envisioned to deal with the “Indian Problem” was forced assimilation through marriage. So, interracial marriages back then probably wasn’t too motivated by love either.

Circling back to interracial marriage in the modern-day, I think we’ve come a long way. I think we’re fortunate enough to live in a society where interracial marriages are not driven by external factors such as diplomacy or forced assimilation. And in most societies, it’s almost not taboo anymore. Which is great! I think it’s a big deal that interracial marriages today can be, first and foremost, based on love.

On Authenticity

As mentioned in my previous post, I took a philosophy module last semester, Introduction to Continental Philosophy. Sure it was tough trying to wrap my head around some of their concepts, but it was also really interesting to explore the different perspectives that these philosophers had. Since I’ve spent a fair bit of effort and brainpower on them, I figured I might as well pen down some of the more interesting concepts before I completely forget everything.

Among the five philosophers we were introduced to, there were two who had their own notions on authenticity, namely Martin Heidegger and Jean-Paul Sartre. But first, a humble disclaimer: I definitely do not fully understand Heidegger and Sartre’s works, so this is really just my take on them, which is hopefully not too far off the mark.

For Heidegger, before we can talk about authenticity, we first need to understand what he calls Dasein, which refers to us actually. Simply put, Dasein is an entity that is able to recognise its own being. Unlike other entities, like a rock, a chair, or even other animals, we are able to ponder upon and pose the question of our existence. According to Heidegger, Dasein does not initially distinguish itself from the rest of the world, which he refers to as “being-in-the-world”.

This is where his concept of authenticity comes in. The inauthentic Dasein is unable to distinguish himself from the rest of the world and so bases his identity on the words and opinions of others. On the other hand, the authentic Dasein, who has distinguished himself from the world, understands that his existence belongs to no one other than himself, and likewise his identity. I guess in a way, Heidegger is saying that to really be yourself, you must understand that your existence is yours alone, and no matter what others think or say of you, they are not you and so it doesn’t define you.

Moving on to Sartre, let us first take a look at his concept of bad faith. We fall into bad faith when chose to believe something that we know is not exactly true. For example, when we convince ourselves that we have no other options. According to Sartre, this is never really the case. Deep down we know that we are free and we have other options, but yet we choose to not acknowledge the fact because acknowledging it would lead to one of two outcomes. We either go ahead and explore the other options or stick with our current situation and acknowledge that we’re doing nothing about it. So this denial is kind of like a coping mechanism of sorts.

What does this have to do with authenticity? Well, authenticity can be seen as the opposite of bad faith. The authentic individual chooses not to deceive themselves, acknowledging that they are not bound by their circumstance and that perhaps they are freer than they have might let themselves believe initially.

I brought up their concepts of authenticity, as I’ve found them really helpful in providing more food for thought when it comes to answering the big questions like purpose and meaning. Also, don’t you find these concepts kind of Stoic as well? Anyway, let us end off with a quote from Sartre himself, which hopefully piques your curiosity a little.

Existence precedes essence.

Jean-Paul Sartre

Thoughts from the recent semester

It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve just completed another semester in school, rounding up my second year of university. This semester was not at all what I’d thought it would be.

I took five modules, as usual, but this time I was a little more invested in more of them. By this time, I had gotten most of the boring foundational modules out of the way, and so I had some freedom to pick and choose. I took a leap of faith and went for a philosophy module, Introduction to Continental Philosophy. I also picked a UI/UX design module, Interaction Design. The other three were the remaining core modules that I had left, Software Engineering, Design & Analysis of Algorithms and a communications module. I figured it would be a somewhat enjoyable semester, as I appreciate philosophy, I’m not too shabby at design, and I had assembled a good team for the Software Engineering module. And so my semester began.

I promise this is not a rant post, so let me just give a brief overview of my suffering. The client project I was working on during the winter break extended into my semester, so I was working part-time while schooling. Continental philosophers were a huge step up from Plato, Aristotle and the Greeks. They loved making up new words and writing about their abstract concepts in the most complex way possible, while providing little to no examples. The design and software engineering modules had pretty high workloads. And finally, the algorithms module was perhaps the hardest thing I’ve ever had to study in my life, and pretty much beyond me.

It ended up being the toughest semester yet. It almost felt like a sprint from start to finish, barely having any time to catch a break. I could chalk it down to poor time management skills, or blame myself for being lazy and unproductive some days, but I think I’m not going to do that. I found that throughout this hectic semester, I’ve been thinking a lot about the kind of life and career I would like to have post-graduation. I didn’t come up with a solid plan or anything. But here’s what I’ve got.

For the next three years post-graduation, I would be serving my bond for my scholarship, working at a local tech company. Ideally, I’d like to work at a place whose product I care about and believe in, a place that respects my time (no 996 life for me), and a place that I can grow in. After completing my bond, I would take a year off software engineering and try things that I’ve always wanted to try, like working as a barista. Yes, it’s unconventional and it sounds a little silly, but it’ll be fun, I think. Furthermore, if design and software engineering is about building solutions that solve problems, what better way to identify problems than by doing and trying different things yourself?

I guess my “big takeaway” this semester is to not take life too seriously, and it’s okay to do what makes you happy sometimes. Yes, I’m aware this comes from a place of privilege, and I’m thankful that I have the freedom to ponder about things like these.

The Financial Advisor Advisor

For many of us in our twenties, we might suddenly find ourselves surrounded by insurance agents, or Financial Advisors, as they are more commonly known as today. That’s really no surprise, considering how well it pays, and the flexibility of the job, which makes it a good side hustle for students.

Insurance is important, and we should protect ourselves, but that does not always mean getting the most expensive plan. Unfortunately, not all of us are financially savvy enough to know what’s best for us. Hence, the need for a Financial Advisor (FA). This then begs the question, how do we pick a good FA who has our best interests at heart?

Well, lucky you! After discussing with a few friends who have dabbled in the world of FAs before. I’ve consolidated a few tips to help you pick the right FA. Does that make me the world’s first Financial Advisor Advisor?

Whenever a new FA approaches you, you first want to find out why they are in this line of work. If they are doing it as a side hustle while studying, ask if they intend to go full-time after graduation. If they aren’t, you’re gonna have to find another FA once they graduate. Personally, I wouldn’t want to go through the trouble of finding someone new in 2-3 years, as most policies have a much longer time frame of 15, 20 years or more. Even if you want to support a friend who is an FA, do take this into consideration.

If you’re unable to find an FA who is full-time or plans on going full-time, don’t worry, there are other ways of ensuring you’re getting the right plan. With the sheer number of Financial Advisors (FAs) today, the realm of insurance has become a buyer’s market. And that’s good for us, customers. I’m sure most of us know at least a few FAs, so if you’re unsure about the plan that advisor A has recommended, go ahead and consult other FAs that you know. If advisor B claims to have a better, more appropriate plan for you, and you agree, then go ahead with advisor B and purchase the plan from him/her instead.

One red flag to look out for is if your FA is selling you a plan on your very first meeting. The first meeting should be for them to know you better and understand your financial situation. After which, they will do their research and come back to you with policy recommendations in subsequent meetings.

Finally, even if you have the most trustworthy FA, it is important for us as customers to understand what we’re spending hard-earned money on. Take that 15 to 20 minutes to read through the contract and clarify any doubts you have.

With that, I hope these tips will help you find a reliable Financial Advisor that you can trust to navigate you through the intricacies of the world of insurance.

The Capitalistic Mould

Growing up in the 21st century, most of us are no stranger to capitalism. After all, it has been the dominant economic system in many parts of our world for at least the past 200 years. For those unsure what capitalism means, it is an economic system where few people own and control the production and sale of goods. Think about it, in any company, it is the boss that decides how much of a certain item to produce and the price at which it is sold, and not the workers.

Regardless of whether or not you knew what capitalism meant prior to reading this post, you’ve definitely experienced its effects in your life one way or another. And perhaps you might have even had your misgivings about it before as well! Increasingly so today, more and more people are starting to notice the flaws in our economic system, and most would agree that it needs to be improved. In fact, most of these were not new issues. Two centuries ago, a German philosopher had already noticed many issues with capitalism that still hold true today! He was none other than, Karl Marx.

Okay before you say anything, hear me out. You might not agree with his political and economical theory, but I think most of us can agree with his critique on capitalism. It’s quite a bit of content so I’m not going to cover that in this post, but what really caught my attention was his point of how the capitalist economic system has very subtly moulded our thinking.

In a society where capital is the intrinsic good, people end up placing their economic interests above all else. Knowing this, let us re-examine certain beliefs which perhaps we’ve never thought to question before.

For example, concepts like “employee of the month” might sound a good goal to strive towards. But all things considered, who does it really benefit? It increases competition and productivity between the workers, which in turn results in increased capital for the owner of the company.

We believe that not having a job or taking too many breaks is simply laziness and a waste of time. But in truth, it’s really only bad for the system because we’re not contributing to the overall production of capital.

This really got me thinking. How many more fundamental beliefs do we have that simply exist to propagate the capitalist system? How many of our decisions are made primarily with our economic interests at heart? Are there even any decisions we make without having to think about capital and productivity?

This was a really difficult post to write as it involves challenging so many of my fundamental beliefs that I’d never even stopped to question before. I’m not saying capitalism is all bad, many amazing things are only possible today because of capitalism! But we all know it has its flaws, and only by acknowledging and being aware of them, can we start working towards improving it and coming up with a better economic system.

20 lessons from 2020

Note: When I say “you” here I’m really just speaking to myself.

  1. Make a list of the highlights of every month, and you’ll be amazed at how much you actually do in a year.
  2. Habit building is hard, but having an accountability partner makes it much easier.
  3. Not all “good” habits work for everyone. Experimenting with a new habit for a month is a great way to find out what works and what doesn’t work for you.
  4. Lockdowns have made us re-evaluate the importance of almost everything.
  5. Digitalisation has made lockdowns a lot more bearable, but it has also served as a reminder of the importance of human-touch.
  6. Face-to-face lessons are a privilege.
  7. The difference between an A student and a B student is the number of hours spent on practice papers.
  8. The pursuit of learning is a noble one, while the pursuit of grades is one of vanity.
  9. Philosophy broadens one’s horizons and thinking in ways unimaginable.
  10. Stoicism has taught me that all things can be categorised as ‘within my control’ or ‘beyond my control’. And there’s no point fretting about things beyond my control.
  11. Skepticism has taught me to not be so quick to judge as we never have complete knowledge of any situation.
  12. Small talk can help build rapport with others. It’s okay if you suck, life is full of opportunities to practice small talk.
  13. The stock market is not a reflection of the economy.
  14. Advice is free. Ask humbly and people would gladly offer it.
  15. How does one live the good life? It’s okay if you don’t know. Think about it now while you’re still young.
  16. A person’s priorities is evident from how they spend their time.
  17. Writing is a pretty useful skill.
  18. Limit the endless content you’re feeding yourself every day and spend some time in your thoughts instead.
  19. Working hard is important, so is resting. Yet, why do you feel guilty about one and not the other?
  20. God is good.

Tiong Bahru Social Club

If like me, you’ve not been a big fan of local movies, Tiong Bahru Social Club might help restore some faith in that area. Given that it’s still out in cinemas, this review will be spoiler-free.

“Wes Anderson meets Black Mirror”. But I’m sure you’ve heard that already. Playful, cheeky and quirky, it’s a soft sci-fi movie set in Singapore. The cinematography is beautiful, with bright bold colours that are aesthetically pleasing.

With very few lines of dialogue, the plot is deceptively simple. I’ve read reviews saying how the plot is too thin or empty, but I beg to differ. A lot of the storytelling occurs when you read between the lines and in the characters’ expressions and beautifully constructed scenes.

Though it’s a utopian (or dystopian) version of Singapore, the movie accurately captures many aspects of Singaporean culture and pokes fun at certain uniquely Singaporean habits. The movie is primarily in English, but the way it effortlessly switches between different languages makes it feel authentically Singaporean.

I thought it was a wonderful movie, one that hits very close to home, leaving you in a slightly contemplative mood about Singapore’s society.