Shroedinger's Lion

[the_gneech]

My mother, known to the natives as "She Who Must Always Be Center of Attention," is very Yin-like in many respects. Biorythms, pyramids, prehistoric visits by space aliens, you name it, she follows it. I can't tell what, if any of it, she actually believes, but it's a recurring theme. (Her current fascination is the idea of the Grail Legend as speaking in code for descendants of Jesus having fled to England.)

Anyway, one subject she was very into for a while was astrology, and she made a predition that, as a Libra, I would always have trouble making decisions. After all, the specialty of the Libra, according to theory, is balance, and the ability to see both sides of any issue.

I don't know if it's a crock or what, but I do have that ability to a certain extent, and the implied liability that goes with it. This ability to see from multiple viewpoints enables me to get into the head of a character like Leona, for example, figure out what makes her tick, and make her into, if not a sympathetic character, at least a comprehensible one. To be able to see that there are multiple "truths" to a given situation lets me explore those situations with a certain amount of depth that I wouldn't be able to if I saw the world strictly from a single mindset.

The downside of this is that every decision causes stress ... and the bigger the decision is, the more stress it causes -- and the more likely the decision is to be reversed again and again in a vain attempt to alleviate that stress. I sometimes feel like there are many different versions of myself living in my mind, each one fighting to be the "real" me. And like Shroedinger's Cat, 50% alive and 50% dead until the box is opened, sooner or later I'll be forced by circumstance to pick one me, and obliterate the others in a puff of logic. And that's the scary part: to allow one "me" to live, is to kill all the others. Is there such a thing as potentialcide?

It's true that lack of decision is also a decision ... but 9 times out of 10, it's a decision for the worst possibility. I don't want to live my life "by default" just because I dithered until the timer ran out.

In my more stressed moments, this situation causes things like this rant ... however, it also creates observations like this one. The end of my lifespan is the buzzer that's going to go off. I have until then to make anything and everything that I'm going to out of myself ... and when that moment comes, I want to be able to say that I did something more valuable than looking back and forth from one option to the other and going, "Uhhhhhh ... I don't KNOW!!!"

-The Gneech, The Gneech, The Gneech, and The Gneech, in rare agreement with each other

Comments

[spikedpunch.livejournal.com]

The only thing that I am curious about Shroedinger's cat is not would the lump of uranium set off the gieger counter and release the nerve gas therefore killing the cat.
But what would happen if you shook the box up while it was still closed. =D)

[level-head.livejournal.com]

"I don't know if it's a crock or what,"
It is a crock. Now you know. But you already did. ;)

Gee, only 1/12th of the people on the planet are able to ponder more than one side of an issue? Perhaps it is true; the percentage of sensitive people on the planet is unfortunately quite small, depending upon how you define "sensitive". But it has bugger-all to do with astrology, biorhythms, Cosmic Destiny, and other such claptrap.

In the meantime, back to you: You can dither until the bell buzzer sounds, but as you know from games shows this is a wrong answer as well.

You will have ups and downs either way. But you must decide. And, having done so, live with the consequences. You have lots of friends in this world, and you will find support either way you choose.

But if you spend too long parked at the fork in the road, we'll have to get you some pigeons to give you that realistic statue effect. ;)

===|==============/ Level Head

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

I'm a Libra, too. And while I consider myself *not* wishy-washy, I do have trouble with the decision thing...Wonder if the duality of my feline nature is related? There is definitely a happy kitty and an angry kitty inside me. A stuffed-shirt bravado one and an overly cautious one.

I absolutely know what you mean about dithering until the time runs out. Sometimes it helps me to use my mate as a sounding board. Things at least go *faster* then, if not smoother.

Ya'know...

[mysticleopard.livejournal.com]

Astrology isn't JUST what's published in the newspaper. You have other signs doing other things as well. Not just Libra. I think it was rather silly for your mom to take a stance simply based on your sun sign, when there is a heck of a lot more out there. Now, whether or not you think it's a crock is your own personal perrogative.. but yes, generalizing people simply based on their sun sign is a bit .. silly. It isn't just a 1/12th thing. There are other planets up there too, ya know, than just the sun. (Yes, I know, the sun is a star, but in astrology, they read it as though it were a planet.) That's like saying, "Well.. my car has an engine, so it should work, right?" while disregarding the other components of your car. All things are important, not just one.

MysticLeopard

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

You are a cruel, cruel fur, Spiked Punch. If I see you shaking that box, I'm going to call the continuity police on you. ;)

(I'd have a link here, but there's no way I'm going to find one comic in the midst of all the SJ archives.)

TK

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

Well, enjoy yourself and make the most of each day. It is wise to "treat each day as if it wer the last." That doesn't mean to go out rioting, but remember, if you get in a train wreck tomorrow, will it be satisfying to know your life was paralyzed by might-have-beens and stressed out decisions? (I'm preaching to myself here, too.) Pick the options that seem to be the best for the most important (and remember your fan base should not be as important as your income which should not be as important as your wife) and go with it. You can't undo the past, and you can't see the future, so make the most out of the present. We will still love you, and will understand if we (the fans) have to take a back seat for a while.

At least "we" better. (Gets an RPG and points it at the rest of the fans.) Won't we, fellow fans? ;)

As for Astrology, remember the following: It was originally based on a Ptolemaic model of the Kosmos, which we know to be incorrect. While Copernicus was an astrologist, his "findings" in the field were found to be grossly incorrect. Astrology simply does not work under a Copernican/Galilleian model.