A taste or a lack of it

what do i look in a book? i invariably start a book with an attitude of an outsider, the less i know of the book or the author the better, and a high expectation, wanting to be taken by surprise, to be impressed or to be exposed to unknowns. and i have also slowly developed an appreciation of the language.

admittedly, i am judgemental, partly of my training as a scientist and partly of my personality. i like to tell apart the original and the learner; the authentic and the mimic. literary trends do not concern me because i am ignorant of them, and i am looking for "individuality" anyway, of each creative mind, of each end product.

i am equipped by my own gut feeling and my training. the latter becomes quite relevant because i had spent years pondering the biological basis of human behaviors (or behavioral disorders), which are really what literature is about, or can't get away from. this scientific understanding, undoubted biased, imcomplete and imprinted by my own misunderstanding, leads to discard the overwelming amount of writings that, i perceive, are but influence of rational thinkers like Freud, literary experiements, or social sciences - it's a mismatch of knowledge.

instead, i believe individual minds are inexhaustibly original and authentic. so writings based on personal experiences or inner most thoughts are generally good. here however, all minds are not created equal and one can only be satisfied by "great minds". then even great minds often have "moments of lapse" so only some of their works are superb.

adding to that is this ideological aspect of it. there are certain sentiments and thoughts i hold dearly to myself. when writers share them, i feel more satisfied by their works, although any reflective minds would show their knowledge of the opposite thoughts and they are as good even if they differ from my own.

for language, i just feel the flow, the eloquency and the elegance of words, and hmm, texture. it's a learning and evolving process.

so at the end of the day, what do i have a taste for? one writer here or there. one book here or there - random apparently, with the consistency of their uniqueness, i suppose.

there's something in the movements

we became instant friends in the gondola - as popular as snowboarding has become，this was the 1st time i met another mom snowboarder. the lady skier sitting next to me wondered: all my kids snowboard, too; what about it?”“i really don't know，” my fellow snowboarder answered, “there’s sth in the movements. ” i nodded in agreement.

actually, i am not sure, either. it seems to be a different kind of activity. while skiing, my attention was constantly on the slopes: green here, blue there, and black diamond elsewhere... skiing thus feels like a mission of conquering nature - you take it seriously and you work your way through the obstacles in a formal and rigid manner, with pairs of skis and poles.

not so for snowboarding. now the slope is just a playground and you are here to have fun: you and your board are one and, with every exaggerated movement of your body, you set to discover yourself, express yourself and delight yourself. full of freedom. full of individuality - that much you are convinced.

which also explains the fashionably casual outfits, the comfortably bulky boots，and the refreshingly individualized boards.

go snowboarding - there's sth in the movements. of every snowboarder.

teaching philosophy through a "creative" plot - Sophie's world

Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy
by Jostein Gaarder

i enjoyed this book for several reasons. first of all, it reconnected me with what little i had learned about philosophy in my teenage years - even that little was grossly distorted and severely censored. thus, a course at the middle school level was embarassingly fitting. it was probably right timing, too, as i had been puzzling over many of the same questions from different angles and for different reasons recently. this book pointed me to a few "great minds" i would love to learn more from. finally, the thoughtfully designed layers of plot, which touched upon "creation", were somewhat awkward, but engaging enough to keep my attention from astray.

i am less impressed by the author's even-handed appreciation of max and feud (from now on, my nicknames for these two of my "least favored" folks), or by the few opinions evidently of his own; but then that's my own bias.