Random

I hope that by this point in time, everyone has established their new years resolutions. But maybe you are still looking for some ideas.


I found a pretty interesting website today. This is the link: http://resolution.decontextualize.com . From what I understand, you can generate random resolutions for yourself that are created based on tweets from Twitter. It meshes words together from several tweets to create a sentence - more often than not they are humorous rather than helpful, but on occasion you will receive a solid resolution. I have used the website mostly for laughs, but the fact of the matter is, there are people out there right now that have taken one of those random resolutions as their own, and are prepared to follow it.


The way that people make decisions in this world is pretty freaky. Think of the way we reason based on circumstances: We might be influenced to take one road over another because of traffic in one direction. We might sign up for a certain class because it strikes us as interesting, and we think it would be a good idea. We might buy one brand of product over another because a friend told you that they liked it more.


But what about making decisions based on nothing? We could have no idea which way has more traffic, but we still need to pick a road to take. Maybe you just need another 3 credit class for the semester, and pick one from a hat because you are indifferent. Maybe you have no prior knowledge about two different products, but you still need to buy one. And we do still pick those roads, we do still take those classes, and we do make those purchases. Based on nothing. It is completely random.


More than a few times I have done something "just for the hell of it." No reason, I just felt like doing it. Granted, "felt like doing it" is arguably a reason for doing it, but lets say that, if that is your only reason for doing something, then you really didn't have a reason for it in the first place. I have friends today from just randomly talking to strangers. I have new favorite snacks because I randomly bought them from the store one day. As far as I am concerned, conservation of mass is a lie - because you can make something out of nothing. Start a business with no money. Talk to someone without any questions prepared. Fly by the seat of your pants, don't think of the consequences, and just go.


Random means unpredictable. If everything you did was predictable, you would be a lot less diverse of a person, and would have less to contribute to conversation, projects, and to others. Some people say being random is annoying and unnecessary - but I welcome it. Bring on the noncontinuous banter, show me something I've never seen before, take me somewhere that I would never think to go, and say what others don't think to say. Random is good.