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How my genius roommate changed my perspective

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Re: How my genius roommate changed my perspective

#101

Post by markus_zhang »

ctchocula wrote: post #48
brobdingnagians wrote: post #41

Reminds me of the story of Zhuangzi, the Chinese philosopher, on how one thing can be used in very different ways: There was once a man from Song who was skilled at making ointment for chapped hands. For generations, his family had made their living by washing raw silk. A traveler happened to hear of it and offered to purchase the formula for a hundred catties of gold. The man called his family into conference and sa…

I may be a bit slow today, but how did the traveler use a formula for chapped hands ointment to persuade the king of Wu to use it in dealing with troublesome neighbor state of Yue?

It's probably a story to move the argument forward. But I can explain as the original Chinese version needs a bit of interpretation.

Basically the formula can help soldiers fight during winter so whoever has it has an advantage over the other side.

BTW the Chinese version if anyone is interested:

宋人有善为不龟手之药者，世世以洴澼絖为事。客闻之，请买其方百金。聚族而谋曰：『我世世为洴澼絖，不过数金；今一朝而鬻技百金，请与之。』客得之，以说吴王。越有难，吴王使之将，冬与越人水战，大败越人，裂地而封之。

Also to answer the other question why a traveller may have the skills to lead an army. So first I think this is just a story because I can't anything recorded in history regarding this battle. Secondly, many "travellers" during that time were strategists who were either of aristocratic origin or very rich. They made their livelihood to persuade kings to follow their advices and make profit (in money, fame and land) from it. Some of them probably were rich enough to own small armies so technically they could lead armies for kings.

But again this is probably a story Zhuangzi made up to "prove" his point.

Re: How my genius roommate changed my perspective

#102

Post by throw1234651234 »

sandreas wrote: post #6

Nice article. Unfortunately there is a limitation to this way of thinking in my daily business - the WAF ;-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_acceptance_factor Luckily the articles' principle doesn't only apply to building furniture. Edit - Clarification: This comment describes only my personal situation and should in no way harm anyone. It is a satiric way of stating out that if you are not alone in your apartment…

This is an appropriate time to share a story about a co-worker. We went to Kroger for lunch (grocery store, like Publix, sells pre-packaged sandwiches). Every time we went, he would do $5-10 in cashback. I asked why. He said so he has spending money that his wife doesn't know about. Minor, but always struck me as an epitome of deception and lengths people will go to in order to avoid honesty in their marriage.

Re: How my genius roommate changed my perspective

#105

Post by jraby3 »

nobrains wrote: post #43

This is amazing. My dad is like this, very resourceful with very less and creative with the limited resources he has as hand, and has lived/survived through life like this. But there is a problem now. As a family, thanks to the incomes of the kids, have enough to survive (and thrive), but he continues with his efficiency-only approach, instead of the just-buy-it approach. - So, we see plastic bottle based plant pots…

I think feeling like you are useful and have purpose are critical parts of aging well and living a life well lived. Seems like your dad gets a lot of satisfaction from these products.

I think a little more communication on your part for getting stuff you need done (or having him teach your kids these amazing skills) could make this a huge win for your family instead of a burden you have to tolerate.

Re: How my genius roommate changed my perspective

#106

Post by ghaff »

no_time wrote: post #38
icu wrote: post #32

This reminds me of an 80s tv show called MacGyver which impressed on me as a kid that you can use what you got to get out of tricky situations. I've done loads of different things as a result of this attitude. The only time I stopped to think about the show's wider influence was when I was at University (some time ago) in the Engineering building with my best friend (an Engineering student) and a phone went off with…

>After reading this article I wonder if there are MacGyver-esque influences on younger generations? Just type "Lifehack" into youtube and search. Extremely low signal to noise ratio in videos made with monetization above all else. It's quite tragic. A counterexample would be colinfurze[0] who makes very entertaining and inspiring videos. Apart from being a two legged OSHA violation his content is top notch. [0]: http…

There are certainly plenty of counterexamples. But there are also probably an unhealthy number of examples of things that people would have considered hobbies or just clever improvisation of one sort or another that are now, in many cases, about monetization/"side hustles"--with a lot of the negative baggage that can come from that when it becomes the primary goal.

Re: How my genius roommate changed my perspective

#107

Post by boringg »

geocrasher wrote: post #4

s/genius/resourceful and creative/g That's not a slight. But being resourceful (and creative, of course) is what was displayed. There was no evidence of genius. Being resourceful and creative means using what you have on hand to achieve a goal. For example, I wanted to make a gift for a friend who loves dinosaurs. I used old bicycle parts and various bits of metal I had left over from other projects and made her a 3…

This is the first thing I thought of. This is a very creative and resourceful individual.

To be fair I would be one of those people (am fairly young too) who thinks the word genius/brilliant is thrown around for way too many cases that it isn't accurate to the point that it is losing its impact. People are diluting language through hyperbole or lack of intentional use imho.

It could also be that too many people this kind of thinking is so foreign that it seems like genius/brilliance. I guess it could all be relative. A genius to the general public might be different from say a genius to a group of nuclear physicists.

Re: How my genius roommate changed my perspective

#108

Post by riddleronroof »

brobdingnagians wrote: post #41

Reminds me of the story of Zhuangzi, the Chinese philosopher, on how one thing can be used in very different ways: There was once a man from Song who was skilled at making ointment for chapped hands. For generations, his family had made their living by washing raw silk. A traveler happened to hear of it and offered to purchase the formula for a hundred catties of gold. The man called his family into conference and sa…

Plot twist: thé travelled was Bill Gates.

Re: How my genius roommate changed my perspective

#110

Post by athenot »

markus_zhang wrote: post #101
ctchocula wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I may be a bit slow today, but how did the traveler use a formula for chapped hands ointment to persuade the king of Wu to use it in dealing with troublesome neighbor state of Yue?

It's probably a story to move the argument forward. But I can explain as the original Chinese version needs a bit of interpretation. Basically the formula can help soldiers fight during winter so whoever has it has an advantage over the other side. BTW the Chinese version if anyone is interested: 宋人有善为不龟手之药者，世世以洴澼絖为事。客闻之，请买其方百金。聚族而谋曰：『我世世为洴澼絖，不过数金；今一朝而鬻技百金，请与之。』客得之，以说吴王。越有难，吴王使之将，冬与越人水战，大败越人，裂地而封之。 Also to answer the…

> They made their livelihood to persuade kings to follow their advices and make profit (in money, fame and land) from it.

Early consultants?

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