The Book of Truths and Lies --------------------------- 2015-04-15 Version 1.0 + d/∞ "A decade to grow apart. :/" 2014-02-21 Version 1.0 + c/∞ "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Oracle!" 2014-02-20 Version 1.0 + b/∞ "D'oh!" 2014-02-20 Version 1.0 + a/∞ "A guru of fit" 2014-02-19 Version 1.0 + 9/∞ "In a serious or literal manner." 2014-02-19 Version 1.0 + 8/∞ "Look Mom! I'm a scientist!" 2014-02-18 Version 1.0 + 7/∞ "/dæm/" 2014-02-18 Version 1.0 + 6/∞ "The Reality III: Sweet Vengeance - M+1" 2014-02-18 Version 1.0 + 5/∞ a.k.a. "A mathematician" 2014-02-18 Version 1.0 + 4/∞ a.k.a. "Wheels of time stuck in mud." 2014-02-17 Version 1.0 + 3/∞ a.k.a. "Call for peer review" 2014-02-16 Version 1.0 + 2/∞ 2014-02-16 Version 1.0 + 1/∞ 2014-02-15 Version 1.0 2014-02-15 Version 0.9 2013-12-26 Version 0.8 2013-12-25 Version 0.7 2013-12-25 Version 0.6 2013-12-25 Version 0.5 2013-12-24 Version 0.4 2013-12-23 Version 0.3 2013-12-23 Version 0.2 2013-12-22 Version 0.1 Author: Miika Oksman, né Turunen miika 'at or nearby' oksman.eu The latest version is probably at https://oksman.eu/hearye/lietome.txt Savo Finnish translation eli sama Suomen savoksi: https://oksman.eu/hearye/valhekatekismus.txt --- Hereupon lies a book of truths. An ever-evolving collection of things I have thought or stolen. The context falls under Creative Commons Attribution + ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license and all perceived wrongdoings will be persecuted to the full extent of my chaotic interests and abilities. This text should preferably be used only for good and if you have any doubts then ask me. What is good for you isn't probably good for someone else. If you ever harm anyone, including yourself, because of these babblings, then I'll be very sad and disappointed. Have a nice life! Miika p.s. Unfortunately I can't possibly answer every email I've received, but I promise to read them all and act accordingly. p.p.s. And yes, I know what a denial-of-service attack is and I applaud your ingenuity. Just don't waste anyone's time unnecessarily, please. p.p.p.s. No, we^WI have not seen that myriad herd of swine nor its descendants. p^4.s. For the 127th time, I'm not a messiah. My name is simply Miika and I'm a lousy capitalist pig. But thanks for asking. p^5.s. An oracle, am I, hmm? An idea, I do not have. Rose, Christianity did. That is why the tradition sleeps. Earned it, did they? Old friends long gone. But beware. Fiery tour guide have I become not. Blizzards and icebergs, my home these are. --- I'd like to thank everyone who's ever asked me a question or told me what they think. The warmest of acknowledgements go to two people in particular for cowriting an early version of all this gibberish: Marko Turunen, my brother, and my friend, Tapio Lahtiharju. --- * For sale: a better life. Price 0 €. * I finally know enough to know that no-one knows anything. Others knew this already thousands of years ago. * Always smile unless you have a really good reason not to. Baltasar Gracián taught this in the 17th century and he wasn't even the smartest one. * Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible. Thanks to M. C. Escher for his works. * I woke up one day realizing I didn't like the world as it is. I'm now giving the world the freedom to adapt to me. * I heard em say that e was mad, but since e was mad, e didn't care. E was happy. * Beware quotes as they are by definition out of their original context. * I spoke with them and stared the walls with unseeing eyes. They changed. * Having climbed a mountain with a lead overcoat, bury it at the top and call a taxi to the next peak. There are no limits to what you can overtake. * Idealism survives only in a written form. * Impossible is just an opinion. * Exercise however possible to improve your productivity, contacts, and to avoid mundane ways of dying. * Think twice about doing something others don't want to be done. Think thrice about doing something you don't want. * Do what you love and love what you do. Life is too short for anything else. * Some people are shy at first, but do the stupidest random shit when they get comfortable. -M. * Tapsa said that one can nowadays write a poem as simple as: Humanness. Me. * Capitalism. Monomany Empire board game manual explaining children what the good brand$ are. :D * Human is by nature a very social animal. Imperfections are designed to get compensated or augmented in a herd. * Listen to the river. It might say something besides Om. Siddhartha Reader's Cut. * Seriously younger brother said: Given enough time even small droplets of effort create streams of success. Combining these streams with others' creates wonders. * There's always a cuddly bigger megalodon. * When walking through a valley of shadows and death, take along a friend, or better yet an enemy. * In my dreams I see myself through the beast's eyes strangling the animal I've eaten. I'm afraid and don't understand why I must suffer. * Saying that a quality steakhouse turns meat into quality art is considered the greatest of compliments. To say the least, cross-cultural communication is quite challenging. * Respect nature for its majesty, beauty, and fragility. We can't survive without. It knows no concept of forgiveness. * A paragon of animals? Since Darwin's death we've only had social (d)evolution. It ain't such a bad thing, rly. * One doesn't need religion to do good. Everyone is an individual and has the right to believe what e wants. Never judge others just because of their beliefs, but look at the consequences of each individual's own actions. Take responsibility for Your own actions, and especially Your own inactions. * Don't judge a book without reading it. * All things have the freedom to act as godlike as they want. I know not if there exists one or more deities outside this planet. I'm not implying the same for devillikeness. * You can become the highest worldly authority. (There are good reasons for laws and regulations, so respect them and others as appropriate.) * Without consentlessly harming things, realize desires. * Comment willingly. * If someone is never angry, it's unwise to tempt em. * If you need shadows and acolytes for badmouthing, do it not. * Find common sense and cherish it. * Literary interpretation is for lackadaisics. * A picture can lie more than thousand words. Television frame rate is about 25 pictures in a second and computer monitors are at least twice as fast. Please, read your news from more than one source. Preferably don't rely just on your national sources, if it's okay. Someone always owns the media. In any case, form your own opinions. * One can get used to everything, except an icicle up one's ear, and even that melts. -J. * My dear and lovely ex-wife thought that philosophy is useless and sucks. :) * Clarification to the above: my ex-wife thought that philosophy is useless, because it doesn't lead to anything. That argument has now been proven wrong. :/ * Laissez les bons temps rouler, si? Dit le fou. * Sometimes you need to change the whole world to make one individual understand; preacher. * There can be great beauty and harmony in science. * Art in everyday living. Think about how our surroundings have been constructed step by step and why. How does everything move around us step by step and why? It may be humbling, but that's where we are now. * The world will destroy itself unless people start to act instead of reacting. * Usually when one is content with one's knowledge, very little is known. -E. * The Nobel Prize is one of the worst things that has happened to humanity. Covetous centennial competition crushes creative collaboration for a greater good. * ∰ℳ > {Ϝ} ∪ {#c} > {Α,…,Ω} > {♡}? The opposite is trivially true. Q.E.D. ;P * Don't obfuscate just to boost your ego. Actually, never obfuscate. * Canine dietary recommendations should be avoided without prior longterm empirical studies. Further multidisciplinary research is advised by the author. * Errare humanum est. Unfortunately, sometimes one does need to obfuscate to reach the target audience. * Brevity is the soul of wit? Though this be madness, yet there is method in't. Hamlet isn't boring - teachers are. * The hardest part in stand-up comedy is to make the audience laugh at themselves. * Note to self: Next time read "Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman" by Oscar Wilde before writing "The Book of Truths and Lies". Life does repeat its tragedies. * Sayings along the lines of "a pen is mightier than a rotten banana" are very unhelpful. Most people are inherently more than capable of at least dual wielding. Sometimes it's better to choose all the alternative options. * Do science as you'd do art. And vice versa. * Share your knowledge and abilities. Inspire others. I want to visit the stars. * If you believe you've completed the greatest achievement of your life, then you're fortunately mistaken. Also there are always others who are yet to reach their goals. Act. * They say that there could be no light without darkness, but what would be wrong with uniform enlightenment? * Ever seen a blind man fly? Neither have I. A shame. * One should not trust causality nor technology blindly. * Embrace mistakes and learn from them, but try not to repeat them. * The mistakes don't have to be your own. Read history, it's full of mistakes. * Some mistakes are just too much fun to be made only once. * When possible, read books in their original language. Accurate translation is stupefyingly difficult, even if one is the author. * If someone could create an artificial intelligence that would follow these tenets, we should all be in awe. Don't blame Voltaire if it's wrathful. * Never believe a scientist. Doubly so if it's you. * Every good applied mathematician knows that sometimes you just have to go with a good enough approximation, or one will be iterating beyond the end of times. So if you can't find yourself, then use a good enough approximation. * Tapsa told: If you don't approximate, nobody knows the truth. * There should be a chaotic good deity of knowledge and humor. It's unbearable to have one without the other. Sad eyes and a wry smile. * Fix, don't whine. * Fix, don't make up excuses. * With a good chaotic monospaced font: ó ò -´ * Don't be evil. Don't just say it. * Would we get rain if e laughs? * If you think that thingamajigs are worthless lying bastards, then join them and become a better one. But don't quit your honest day job. * "Some people never lie. But the truth you think you hear, may not be the truth they speak." R.I.P., R. Jordan. * The longer a theory has been believed to be correct, the harder it is to debunk it. * If you break the multiverse, please repair it instead of moving on. * Envy takes many forms. Some wreck your new toy, others search for a better one. Thanks, TOST! :) * When I think, I have a tunnel vision. Remember to rest enough. * Don't take life too seriously, but do take it seriously. * Always try to appreciate humor. * My greed is to entertain and educate. * Write your own book. We need it. * If you don't have time to write your own book, then have someone else write it. It can be fixed. * The only angels, demons, and their hybrids are us, you and me. Choose if you are anything. * All the statements in this book are truthful lies. * There are humans who do not need a reason to hurt you. * Do not believe your own bullshit. You start getting better at it. * Do not believe your own bullshit. You start getting better at spreading it. * Some mistakes are just too much fun to be made only once. * If you like any of this stuff, then consider making a donation and sharing this text with others. But don't make the donation to me. * And if you gaze for long into a light, the light gazes also into you. * You are never truly alone, except by preference.