http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/07/19909343-a-victim-of-climate-change-polar-bear-found-starved-to-death-looked-like-a-rug?lite

It struck me quite, because something as natural as this piece of news should of course emerge as a consequence but not a coincidence of human activities in the past decades since the modernisation of industry. It was not supposed to be surprising, but then it did surprise me. I am a bit surprised that I was surprised. Some meta-analysis indeed.

As a chess player, we are reminded of the quote that a game is often not lost by oversight but inability to handle certainties which we have already foreseen or can be observed with some caution.

This certainly applies to the situation here, and in general life itself. People always bemoan over certain things that bound to happen as a result of their own action, and yet seek to lower their burden by blaming their own oversights as if they have no responsibilities themselves, fools of their own fate.

Studying Diamond's books "Gun, Germs and Steel" would help a bit, there was one book of his that talked about the Maya. Diamond gave a theory on the crisis management: 1)Couldn't foresee 2) Appeared but couldn't sense 3) Appeared but not trying to solve 4) Wanted to solve but it's already too late.

The Royals ruled over the poor peasants on the mystic belief that they were the chosen and could summon rain and sun that fertile the peasant's crops. Peasants played along as long as they were able to themselves, Royals quite enslaved the peasants by demanding heavier taxes and more constructions worthy of their glimpse of glory. When it was the best of times, fair was fair; when it was the worst of times, the peasants revolted and the nation was plagued with hunger, slaughter and diseases.

When Stephens rediscovered the ruins of Maya in 1839, he wrote that the ruins to him were like some abandoned ships, without masts nor sails, drifting on the misty sea.

I could not help but wonder would we be witnessing the same history these days, that despite all the studies in history and achievements in science we have so honoured and crowned ourselves with, can still fail to solve the problem we have now in front of our very eyes, for the simple attribution to "The rational theory" that nobody can change anything themselves and therefore nobody would act. Groups would fail because of the enforcement problem.

Still, at least for now, there is not much I can do besides maintaining good environmentally friendly habits and volunteering myself to helping children in need. Nothing to be taken too seriously, probably just an intriguing puzzle.

我說過，在畢業之後其實除了找工作就是工作，聯絡朋友和同學比以前要少，對自己這種比較內向的人，除了義工就是下棋。我經常覺得絕頂高手就是那種一言不發，出手浪漫隨意無跡可尋的人。雖然爸爸有鬍子不等於有鬍子便是爸爸，但雖不能至吾心往之。

你睡八小時，工作八小時，餘下的八小時足夠改變你自己的生命。

剛寄來了BBC The Master Game 的影碟，我比較驚奇於大師們的思維。這系列於棋手比賽以後，立即抓他們分別於不同房間，即時將比賽時棋手引導自己思考的想法錄下，然後再和比賽時的局面拼好，好像一路看棋一路能聽見他們思考。

看罷片能有兩種想法，一是確定了J Rowson的假定，棋手於下棋時棋盤上確有客觀的著法，但人被己見蒙蔽不可能察覺，惟有將自己的想法和對方的動機比對，將心比己，方能得出比較客觀的認識，二是大師們其實計算得較少變化，但是對於主要的正確的著法計算卻很深，這表現了人的經驗會構成直覺，替我們作出不少可靠的推斷，而餘下則需由計算去確定。

經驗建立直覺，尤如理性建立情感，而情感決定生命的方向，生命的具體卻又由理性所取決。

把 The Art of Thinking Clearly 看了，理解到人如何的在思考上有著一廂情願的錯誤，感覺像解剖自己。猛然想起之前看過的The Mentalist，Derren Brown，覺得其實如果不了解自己，根本無法理解別人。自我中心的根本是覺得別人和自己不同，但事實是沒有自我中心的人才能明白原來別人和自己一樣。這種明白將我們後設定義於和別人不同，正正是因為理解我們和別人一樣，所以我們和別人不同。

憑著這種邏輯，我覺得所謂有信仰者比理性無神論者更優勝地方在於有信仰者比無神論者通常更能包容別人和自己不同的看法。信仰由最初不寬容變得寬容，理性主義者的頭腦卻日益狹隘。兩者並無對錯，但純以理性角度而言，將可能性和觀察的角度減少決不是可取的方法。

如果我們同意以上的看法，那麼其實所謂的把妹方法，更大程度上是明確的看透別人和自己，從而得出一套確當的表現自己和理解別人如何看待自己。如果禮儀是讓別人感到舒和，這就是了。系列其中一套的比較了不同的把妹方法，一個是用技巧，一個是做自己，一個是比較高傲。

結論是就算用了技巧，In the long run做不了自己，那也一樣會壞事，至於高傲看來不過是比較缺乏自信的表現。我想起的是李小龍所說，要將技巧化於無形，將作為自己和技巧融合成自然和自信的混合。

這可能有點Artificial，但是像Wilde說，有時自然的姿勢反而最難擺。何況，看得多就了解到你一切所認識的審美的或多或少都受Influence，無Pure Self可言，那又何必為了別人不喜歡患得患失？徐詠璇先生說三島由紀夫的Nothing is Something依舊常憶起。

現在過了幾天事情發展不同，我也有捐點錢，所以能在新的Xanga開一個戶口。其實也沒說過不保留舊文，不過覺得如果要保留這些紀錄很做作麻煩，何況又不是好，所以如果會在新戶口被刪掉就算數。

能繼續寫就寫，如今人大了很多事已經懶得做作，沒有為誰開為誰關為誰不寫，一切隨遇而安。

I have been taking more interest in chess than ever, my job hunt has not been successful, and practically speaking it is the only thing that keeps me alive.

It appears to me that in life, perhaps there is one to two chances where you can completely change your life. You work in your shit job eight hours a day, sleep another eight, the remaining eight is what changes your life. 可以是寫作，可以是音樂，可以是畫畫。越走越多，越覺人可依賴的大概只有這八小時了。