This past week (or rather two weeks as I'm getting to this rather late) we looked at everyone's egg project and saw what interesting things people had done with their eggs. It was interesting to see where people went with it, as I went straight to the idea of a board game almost without a second thought, and it seemed that some people had similar reactions, but in completely different areas.
I think the two that interested me the most were the two based around music: the egg rap and the song made entirely out of sounds an egg can make. These interested me the most I think because, I don't have a single musical bone in my body, so it always impresses the heck out of me when someone has that talent, and they also seemed like extremely "sideways" ideas''.
Of course after that we talked about rules and why they existed and if they were a hindrance or help to people. Personally, even though I don't really like them, I have to think that they fall into both categories. On the one hand, they can be extremely stifling, and on the other, they can be quite helpful by giving you some sort of outline to work with.
To explain more on the first point, I particularly hate some rules, especially if I can't see the logic behind them. For instance, in class we talked about how all papers had to be 12 point font, double spaced, with 1" margins. I've never understood that, particularly the whole idea of "double spacing" especially now in this day and age. Seeing as how everything is turned in online anyway, the whole reason for double spacing a paper is now moot, since it used to be used for the professor to fit comments on the page, now they don't comment hardly at all, and if they do it's not directly on the digital copy, so what's the point?
They are just there for tradition and quite frankly it's stupid. I type quickly and I absolutely abhor having to stop typing and yank the scroll bar down every few minutes so I can fill up another blank page. Not to mention the whole double spaced thing isn't really pleasing to my eyes, but whatever, that's a small thing.
However it still bugs me.
Perhaps it's partially because I grew up religiously listening to every punk rock group I could get my hands on, but I've always had some problems with the "establishment" (for lack of a better term) and tradition. I mean tradition is there and it's usually there for a purpose, but I hate it when the tradition prevents someone from doing what they want to do. It seems that a lot of times people cling to tradition because "that's the way it's always been done" and they're afraid of stepping out into new waters. I do understand the hesitation with that, as I sometimes have trouble adjusting to new situations as well, but at the same time, tradition is like a suit of plate armor, sure it might protect you, but at the same time, it also prevents full movement.
(Maybe that analogy wasn't the best ever but I think it works)
I grew up in a small town in southern Indiana that was far too focused on tradition. (Part of the reason I turned to punk rock.) In that town there were certain things that were just expected, unspoken rules, if you will. For instance, there were certain last names that if you had them there was no way you'd ever be in trouble and it earned you essentially a free pass through high school. (If you've ever been in a small town, you understand) On the other hand, if you had another last name, things were going to be harder for you, that's just the way it was and the way it always had been, so there was no deviation from that.
Don't even get me started on what it was like if you happened to deviate at all from being a white heterosexual extrovert. You'd essentially be crucified.
So I guess, when it really comes down to it, I don't really mind rules in general, but rather rules that only exist as part of a tradition.
I also do think that rules are somewhat important. When I was younger, I was reading a book, which I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, that, although the book itself was rather lackluster, certain passages really stuck with me. The passage that applies in this instance is when the character in the book is going through an existential crisis of sorts and he's trying to peace things together. He says that he wants to be free of all the bullshit, so he is transported to a realm where he has absolute freedom.
Of course, in this realm of absolute freedom, there is nothing, just void essentially, and the main character just drifts along, doing nothing, because there is nothing he can do. Noticing this, he decides to create, so he creates the concept of the ground and gravity. Suddenly he can do things, he can walk around, he can jump and so forth, but at the same time he has gotten rid of a chunk of his freedom in order to do so.
It really stuck with me because I personally have trouble making decisions, and I need to have some sort of structure in order to make them (haha signed up for the wrong class, didn't I?). Total freedom scares me a little bit honestly, it almost paralyzes me, so I could really understand where the author of the passage was coming from.
We need something out there to limit us a bit so we can succeed in a way.
Anyway, that little ramble is what I think about rules, and what class made me think about.
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