The Snowflake Effect

Whats with people  wishing their near & dear ones on facebook? Ok, I can understand if the loved one stay far away and all, but wishing family who lives together 24X7, that too posted on their own timeline (sometimes even the concerned person doesn't even have a fB profile). The other day a young lady was wishing her grandmother, who absolutely can't read, wishing on FB. Mother's day wishes are posted on FB, while the mother is busy slogging in the kitchen. Is the kisses and hugs from a mother to her child marked with *on FB are more sweeter than those given in person?? or you need to prove how much you love your kid.....

Same goes with photographs....what happened to the time when sharing photos was sharing of memories of trips taken together, birthday celebrations, festivals, special occasions, wedding photos, events which had a meaning..... now everyone bombards you with information of where they are eating, sitting, talking and may be in the near future where they are shi*ing. A selfie taken in every angle possible, photograph of every ordinary dish made, photo of every dinner....list goes on........

And all this goes with the whole "herd mentality"

Is the self esteem of this generation gone so low, that it requires appreciation everyday? May be the "Snowflake effect" is on the verge of taking place or has taken place. To quote Trey Willis "The Self-Esteem Movement was the catalyst for the shift in cultural norms and values that has allegedly ruined an entire generation. Everyone was suddenly a special and unique little snowflake. Trophies were mandatory. Success became an expectation. We have been corrupted by self-esteem".

I fear what the next generation will turn out.........

sigh....

Only One quote comes to my mind:
“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.”

All you Zombies

"All you zombies" is a science fiction short story by Robert A Heinlein. Its one of my favorites "paradox" stories.

Following is the link for the pdf version:
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/303/heinlein_all_you_zombies.pdf

Time Travel

They laughed, danced, drank their hearts out as the war came to an end. As thankful as they were about being alive, they couldn't stop thinking about the horrors of the war. Talks about the enemy, bullets, casualties, victory, loss, echoed the whole room. Among all this discussion there was one mystery that remained unsolved.... who was he??? Stephan Golosov said "It was the night before Germany attacked Stalingard, that the rumor started". To which Vladimir Kulbertinov replied "It cant be a rumor, i did see him.... how can you explain a naked american in the middle of a battle??"

Today was James Arnold's luckiest day. As an historian, it was a real breakthrough for his research. Getting the permission was a way tougher job than the research itself and now finally he had an assess to 1st hand information. He had to just go the lab, wear the suit, get into chamber and in a split second come face to face with reality or in this case..... the past. It was the 23rd century and anything was possible in the field of research. He was to be a mere "observer" and not do anything that may risk changing the course of history. He had planned this weeks, as to where it was safe to appear, where would he not get noticed.

Alas!! who would have thought the setting on the chamber required more calibration...