StrivingLife presents ...

We often hear of the importance of one. This will briefly look at the numbers of just how important one is. After that, I’d like to discuss this issue (knowing full well that I will end up going off on a tangent).

The importance of one person when there are x people:

With these 35 results, we see that the importance of one, in percent, decreases fairly quickly, and then slowly goes lower.

The question is, of course, as always, why did I decide to write this page? It's interesting that people are always talking about how one person can make a difference, yet, when you look at the numbers behind the statement, one person really doesn't appear to make a difference. Of course, it's quite true that if 11 people had to decide on something, and 5 people went one way, and 5 people went another way, then that one last person really would make the difference.

However, when you have a decision that goes 6-5 or 5-6, there should be more concern with why it was so close, as opposed to one side winning over the other by a mere one vote. After all, how sure can we be that one side is 'better' then another if the vote is that close? If anything, if a vote boils down to one vote, we should throw the results out and go through the process anew.

We can compare a 5-6/6-5 vote with one that is 10-1/1-10, or 8-3/3-8. When we see these three different outcomes, and assuming that your side gets the highest vote, which one would you really prefer? I personally would prefer the one that is 10-1/1-10, since that means that I was able to sway everyone but one person. Even 8-3/3-8 isn't all that bad. However, a 5-6/6-5 vote is quite amazing, since I must not have done too well of a job convincing the voters of the 'truth' of my side.

Yet, people, for the most part, are quite amazed, and applaud these kinds of occurrences (where the vote came down to one person, or some other low number). It seems as though such an occurrence should instead be looked upon with a bit of reluctance (reluctance accepting the winning side), since the vote was so close.

It seems to me that if we suggest that some vote showcases that one person/vote really does matter, then we should really take a look at just whether it showcases that, or that neither side really presented their argument in a way to persuade people to their side. Of course, it's quite possible that both sides persuaded equally well, yet, that again shows that not everything is cut straight and clean, but that instead there exists a level of grey between the black and the white. When presented with such greyness, we should be open to it, and realize that not everything can be one way or another, but that there should instead always be the possibility for another possibility.

While the last sentence of that last paragraph may be pretty good 'concluding sentence' material, there is one other thing to point out, which hasn't been as of yet (in this article). When people usually talk about how 'one vote matters', they usually do so in order to get many people thinking about voting, not just one person. That is, if they wanted one vote (since one vote matters) they could send a brief letter to some, typically non-voting individual, instead of spending all that money on marketing and advertising. Id est, the very fact that such 'one vote counts' propaganda is going out via the media showcases that one vote counts only if a bunch of 'ones' decide to vote. The reasoning is that while one vote really doesn't count, if people think that one vote does count, they'll be more likely to vote, and vote for the party/side suggesting that one vote counts.

Honestly, I'm torn. I'm not really a voter, since I believe that in order to vote one should have some justification for voting. I believe it was Harlan Ellison that said something to the effect of 'everyone has the right to voice their opinion, as long as it is an educated one'. While I certainly don't believe that we should live in a state of rule by the rich/educated, I do believe that only those educated enough to have some backing behind their decision should be allowed to vote. The freedom of speech allows me to post this very site, with this very article (however, my ability to do so is based on the fact that I have money to pay for the site, and access to the Internet, and I can only reach to those with enough money to access the site), so I'm not willing to throw that out - we should, we ought, be allowed to voice our opinions, but only to a point.

Id est, I'm not a farmer, so, while I can certainly suggest that farmers do such a thing, or that Iraqis do such and such a thing, I cannot expect them to take my opinion as anything more then that - my opinion. In addition, I ought not, and ought not be allowed to, push my opinion upon others, since I have no reason to be related to this other then as a concerned individual in the society/environment/world/etcetera that is being affected by the state of farmers/Iraqis. Unpopular views, I know, but views that I currently hold (and that some people hold when it comes to celebrities standing beside, or against, a particular politician).

History

Created: April 21st 2003
Modified: October 24th 2003; February 4th 2004; August 9th 2004; February 5th 2005

The following covers the following worms in Bioform 0.99g.

• Worms:
  • Spiral Worm
  • Curl Worm
  • Double Spiral
  • Predef Worm (not yet contained here)
  • Worm Predef (not yet contained here)
  • Form Worm
  • TwoD Worm
  • Torus Spline
• Configs:
  • Fan
  • Wheel
  • Trilobyt
  • Anemone
  • Horn
  • Hull
  • Cluster

	none	Fan	Wheel	Trilobyt
Spiral Worm
Curl Worm
Double Spiral
Form Worm
TwoD Worm
Torus Spline
	none	Fan	Wheel	Trilobyt

	none	Anemone	Horn	Hull	Cluster
Spiral Worm
Curl Worm
Double Spiral
Form Worm
TwoD Worm
Torus Spline
	none	Anemone	Horn	Hull	Cluster

Select Additional Images:

Curl Worm - Fan - Spiral Worm		Curl Worm - Fan & Horn
Curl Worm - Fan & Horn - Torus Spline		Curl Worm - Fan & Horn & Cluster - Spiral Worm
Curl Worm - Fan & Horn & Cluster - SpiralWorm-Spik1		CurlWorm-Spik1 - Fan & Horn & Cluster - Spiral Worm
Spiral Worm - Fan - Curl Worm		Spiral Worm - Fan - TwoD Worm
Spiral Worm - Horn - Curl Worm		Spiral Worm - Horn - Double Spiral
Torus Spline - Anemone - Curl Worm

To sum up:

Spiral Worm			Form Worm
Curl Worm			TwoD Worm
Double Spiral			Torus Spline

Hopefully I'll be able to put this stuff into stories, but, until then, I present some of the various snippets of dialog that I have collected...

• "... and it was at that moment that Roberta realized that she was not alone."
• Overheard:
  "...and that is why frogs are far better then chipmunks."
  "But Robert, you still do not understand that chipmunks is not an answer..."
• Overheard:
  "...forgetting that there are only three distinct types."
  "I think that you are forgetting that you do not know what I am talking about."
  "Oh I _know_ what you are talking about, but you do not know what I am talking about..."
• "Isn't there an easy way - to suicide?"
• "...confronted with this truth he was overcome by a great sadness. It came from the depths of him to rush out in a moan from his throat..."
• "...there are many things which need be said, and you may, or may not, be the one to say them, or some..."
• "...and that is why you will never know it, because you looked with your eyes, and not your mind..."
• "Is it better to live a lie,
  Or know it all and cry?"
• "...for all those who know not this power will be struck _down_, _down_ by the power that he holds..."
• "My soul mate's already _dead_ man, and I didn't even have the chance to meet her..."
• "... and sometimes things happen that way. I do not know if I would call that our nature, but... what do I know?"
• "Somebody you know is going to turn you in... Make sure you are prepared for when they do..."
• "I'm a man torn in two..."
• "Have you ever had one of those days when you have absolutely no idea of how to answer the question 'How are you doing'?"
• "Yeah? Well my mom thinks I have a nice major... Well, not exactly her phrasing, but..."
• "... but he didn't stop, the fucker just kept coming at me... what the fuck was I supposed to do? how the fuck was I supposed to know? A man doesn't stop and think in that kind of situation and I am a man..."
• "It's not poetry - it's free prose - it's thoughts and feelings and ideas - it's all this, and plenty more" [02/13/2003]
• "... but not everything continues on for as long as that. In fact, most of the individuals of the species stop a short time after they start. it obviously has something to do with the natural desire to survive - not so much as an individual, but as a species..." [02/14/2003]
• "... For example, take the case of J. R. Eaton. Eaton, born around the turn of the century, was, at the very beginning, greatly influenced by the work of his father and, through him, his forefathers. Of course..." [02/14/2003]
• "... but, Elizabeth is dead, dead by your hands. You may not have physically laid a hand upon her, but you have strangled the life out of her - her very heart is crushed. You hold your head up, as high as you can get it, but inside your back is crooked, your head is held in your hands, you knees are bent. Your wails reach my ears - yet as do the sounds of the splashing seas. You and your friends, you sit here laughing at a women who needs only to 'loosen up'. {[But that is the last thing I will do - not only for my enemies, but for my friends as well.] - ?} ..." [02/14/2003]
• "... cannot be discounted on account of his human faults and frailties. In fact, looking at many people during this period, we find that he lies almost in the middle of the scheme of things, if one could put a scale to such things. Instead, one should look at the works that he produced in his lifetime. His first story, 'The Trampling of Lee Hoover', fast became a cult hit, setting the bar at a high level - which would only be raised higher - was written at a somewhat troubling time in his life. You'll remember from our previous conversations that he lived much of his life not only in a state of constant depression, but also a state of paranoia. While no one really knows when he first began to exhibit the extreme paranoia that would lead his life and writings - much like paranoia's effect upon Philip K. Dick - but, there are many hypothesis, none of which can be proved, and few of which can be disproved. So, we find that his human faults in fact lead to a much better author as a whole. After all, one who has lived an ordinary life cannot be said to be the most extraordinary person, and, because of that, they cannot be said to be the most interesting writer. Cases, of course, exist in which an ordinary man does extraordinary works, but, fortunately, or unfortunately, cases such as this are far from regular. ..." [02/14/2003, fixed 07/07/2003]
• Saw a man waling down the street and he told me his name was god. "God?" I said. "Yes my son" [02/17/2003]
• "Em, goth girls have all the fun" [02/21/2003]
• "Chad doesn't know what you are talking about. But, I think that if you know what is good for you, you will know what you are talking about" [02/21/2003 - I don't like this one... it needs something...]
• Overheard:
  "... so what do you want me to do? ... how can I make this better? I didn't mean anything by it, I'm just so used to turning ... " [02/23/2003]
• "Downloading music off of the Internet is the same as give terrorist money. Don't support terrorism..." [02/25/2003]
• "We are on a humanitarian mission. The Iraqi people have only experienced the desert. We are prepared to bring them winter." [03/12/2003]
• "...been a while' she said as we met on the summit of our travels..." [??.??.2003]
• "...and that's why. Don't take it personally, it's not your fault... per se... I mean, it's my fault really. Sorry, but that's..."
• "Familiarity Takes It's Toll" [04.03.2003]
• "So I told her that to be a god would be to submit yourself to eventual insanity. All of the classic gods are insane in one sense or another. Along with insanity comes an incredible hate for your creations - you want to screw them over. Why? Because it's fun. That's why I wouldn't want to be a god, I told her, because I would end up killing my children, I'd wipe every single one of them out..." [04.08.2003]
• "...yet the generalization remains. Mr. Oak, despite the popular opinions of the time, is not what he is made out to be. On the contrary, Mr. Oak is the character who brings out the depth of the other characters. If one pays attention to the conversations that Mr. Oak participates in, one can easily determine who the characters are that the author would like us to pay attention to. Rupert, Clara, Clark and Aman are four characters who we see speaking with Mr. Oak, and each has a pivotal part to play in the novel. One may argue that Aman is not a main character, and does not play a major part in the novel, but, quite to the contrary, Aman plays no minor part in this novel." [04.14.2003]
• "People... what fascinating, yet, at the same time, horrifying beings... You read their thoughts, their words, and... and you feel... terrified, yet in love. These are people just like you and me, but their feelings are out and about, while other's are hidden... It's... it's something..." [04.14.2003]