We have an entry in from @plushzilla via email, will post it below.
It seems like work has got the better of me over the last couple of weeks, but I thought this week's challenge was a good time to reflect on a few things and to also keep in touch with IFC.
"Who are you?"
I don't think anyone has ever asked me this question before... but it is such a fundamental question, and it was interesting to me that I have never really considered it previously. I don't think there is enough time or space for me to work this out in one round of IFC, but I wanted to put down some thoughts and ideas that will hopefully help me and others to explore this further.
I always joked with friends about the idea that if you woke up one day and lost all your memory, how do you work out who you are. It points to the fundamental fact that much of who we are is based on our memories of what we know and remember, yet anyone who knows enough about our brain will realize that we don't always know and remember as much as we think we do.
I have kept a diary for the last five years, and it was one of these diaries where each page was divided into five rows, so that you could use it to record your entry for the day, and over the course of five years you would have an entry for each day to look back over and compare between all five days. Sometimes I would see that each day over the five years was a simple repetition of what I have done in the past, and occasionally I would be surprised about doing something that I have never done previously before (e.g. spending Christmas away from my family and friends).
But back to the question of figuring out who you are if you have lost all your memories. Of course you might take out your wallet and try to connect your face with the identification documents, but that would only provide you with an indication of the person that you are supposed to be (i.e. gender, age, nationality, etc.). You might be able to look online at your social media profile to see who your family and friends are, but often these days the image we portray on social media can be quite different to the person we are in real life (that's another whole discussion for next time).
I think the question about losing your memory is quite interesting, because so many of us are tied to the idea that who we are is largely dictated by our circumstances... the fact that we all have to learn to play the hand that we are dealt with as best as we can, that there's something we are unable to dictate because it has been determined by fate. But what happens if your memory is wiped out and you get a 'clean slate' to start with? The implications of this has been explored in a documentary titled "Unknown White Male" and I think it is one of the most fascinating stories I have come across.
Recently I also read another book that challenges my own perceptions of what is normal and just how little we know about our brain (and therefore ourselves): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35270717-unthinkable
Unfortunately most of us will never get a firsthand experience of these interesting phenomenons, but I think if you want to explore who you are and what your purpose in life is, here are some questions that you should ask yourself and try to get some answers to (I have tried to share mine here with you).
What problems do you like to solve? I think this is a much more important question to ask someone when you meet them compared to the very close ended question: "What do you do?" Currently I like solving the problem of how to improve our mental resilience by changing the way we educate young people, even though in my current job as an IT consultant I am about as far removed from the problem space as I can imagine. But in my job I also like to tackle the issue of how to make people aware of the ethical implications of what they are designing.
What is your definition of home? As someone who has had to move/travel frequently as part of their job (I am sure @bengy can relate to this), I feel like home is not a location but a feeling of comfort and safety. It is not necessarily the place you want to go or even a place you want to spend a lot of time at, but a place that you want to go back to when you feel like you don't want to be anywhere else.
What is your definition of friendship? I have got into a lot of debate about this, but my current definition of a friend is a person who I am willing to do something nice for without asking for anything in return. I am not planning to get into any debate about this one so I will leave it at that.
What is your definition of love? You might say that my definition of friendship is a lot like what many people's definition of love sounds like. Well, my definition of love is when one person does everything they can to make someone a better person, and that other person also tries to do reciprocate. So in my definition of love there is no 'compromises', no 'sacrifices' and it doesn't have to last for ever. I am sure there will be a few debates about this one too.
And if this is all too deep and difficult to work out, I think maybe you can start by taking the opposite approach and ask yourself this question instead:
"Who are you NOT?"
Wow, what an entry from @plushzilla! If you are in contact with him, I'm in Brisbane later this year. Might try to meet up, and have a photo to prove we aren't the same person!
Congrats on the @curie support!
I agree! It was a great entry by plush. And yes I am in contact with him via email and discord. I can relay a message to him about meeting up if you'd like? And lol, that would be great to have a photo of you two to put that whole thing to rest. Though I'm not sure I've ever seen a picture of either of you before? So.. I don't even know what either of you look like in the first place.
Ha, maybe I will get him on Discord then. I look very much like my avatar!
I was thinking of travelling to Europe later this year as well :D Please let me know when you are in town as it will be great to be able to meet you in person :)
Very interesting entry and thoughts about the subject plushzilla. :) One of the most interesting responses I've got yet is how you turned the question around and asked "Who are you not?".. I had never thought about it like that before and it gave me a lot to think about!
Since I sort of believe in something similar to pantheism in that "we're all one", my answer for both "Who am I?" and "Who am I not?" would probably be pretty similar.. In that I am everything, and there is nothing I'm not. But even that's not quite right cause "nothing" is part of everything, so I'm "nothing" as well. :D
I also liked your understandings of love and friends and I think those are pretty close to the literal etymological definitions of those words as friend is connected to "free" which is believed to mean "to love". So the words "Free, friend and love" to me all basically mean the same thing and this is why I say I'm a friend to all, cause I have some love for all, and if you love someone, you want them to be free. But yeah I appreciate how you said you wanna help someone you love grow without sacrifices or compromises, just to be a positive influence in their life regardless of expecting anything back I think is a great way to look at it.
I also liked what you said about "home".. I had to think about that one for a while.. I agree that home is wherever you feel at home, not necessarily your property or where you live.. Though it made me wonder.. Where do I really feel at home? I suppose where I live, lol.. But at the same time I'd like to live somewhere else at some point too.
In regards to problem solving, I like solving all kinds of problems, especially ethical ones. Or at least trying to solve them! And your points about if one was to have amnesia are interesting and made me think a bit! If I forgot who I was, who would I be? How would that change me? Would I be able to let go of some of my bad habits? Or create better ones? Probably.. Some of these things are deeply ingrained in me and who I think I am.
The social media aspect is a good one too, lol.. If I were to look at it from an amnesic self.. I'd probably think I'm like some kind of super hero even though I'm like a loser in reality, haha. Interesting to ponder about.. That book you mentioned reminds me of an old TV show I saw a few episodes of, I think it was called "John Doe" about some guy who lost his memory and was trying to figure out who he was.
Also the book "Unthinkable" sounds fascinating as well, I'll have to check that out in the future when I get some more money/time and ability to do so. Looks like a really good read! Thanks for sharing.
That's cool you keep a journal/diary as well! I used to when younger and perhaps I should try again sometime.. I bet it would be enlightening if I did. Though it's hard enough keeping up with my dream journal sometimes! Hmm.. Will have to think about it.
Superb entry plush! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Gave me a bunch to contemplate and I will most likely be giving at least one of my 3 votes to this entry when we get to judging this round. Great work and thanks for playing in another round! :)