What the World is Really Like

Tom: I feel it is weird to wink at a stranger one the street.
Sage: Why is it weird to wink at a stranger on the street?
Tom: I don’t know. I just feel that way.
Sage: Why do you feel that it is weird to wink at a stranger on the street?
Tom: People will think that I am weird. The person whom I wink at will think that I am weird.
Sage: How do you know that?
Tom: I think.
Sage: Suppose that a person whom you wink at thinks that you are weird, what will happen?
Tom: I will blame myself.
Sage: Why will you blame yourself?
Tom: Because the person thinks that I am weird.
Sage: Why do you blame yourself because the person thinks that you are weird?
Tom: If I don’t wink at him/her, he/she won’t think that I am weird.
Sage: so why do you blame yourself just because he/she thinks that you are weird?
Tom: I don’t know. Maybe I think that he/she is an important person that I should treat his/her view toward me seriously.
Sage: So you blame yourself?
Tom: Yes.
Sage: Why do you think that he/she is an important person?
Tom: I don’t know.
Sage:Why do you blame yourself when an important person thinks that you are weird?
Tom: Because it means that there is something wrong with me.
Sage: So you blame yourself because you think that there is something wrong with you?
Tom: Yes.
Sage: Why do you blame yourself when you think that there is something wrong with you?
Tom: Because when there is something wrong with me, then I deserve punishment, and blaming is a kind of punishment.
Sage: Why do you deserve punishment if there is something wrong with you?
Tom: I don’t know.
Sage:Why do you deserve punishment if there is something wrong with you?
Tom: I don’t know.
Sage: Why do you deserve punishment if there is something wrong with you?
Tom: I don’t know.

Sage: Why do you deserve punishment if there is something wrong with you?
Tom: When I punish myself with self-blame, I feel better?
Sage: What? Come again?
Tom: I feel that the thing wrong with me will magically go away if I blame myself enough.
Sage: Is that true?
Tom: Of course it’s not true.
Sage: But why did you think that way?
Tom: I don’t know.
Sage: So do you think that your blame helps me or harms you?
Tom: It harms me, obviously.
Sage: So do you blame yourself any more?
Tom: Maybe not. I don’t know.
Sage: OK. At least you don’t blame yourself now.
Tom: You’re right.
Sage: If you want to blame yourself next time, please let me know.
Tom: OK. That’s very kind of you to say that. Thank you.
Sage: You are welcome.
Tom: Bye.
Sage: Bye.

Mr. Le: I think that I am smarter than you.
Tom: Why do you think that you are smarter than me?
Mr. Le:　I think that my smartness is publicly acknowledged.
It is true that many people think that you are a smart person. But how do you know that you are smarter than me?
Mr. Le: I think that I am probably smarter than you.
Tom: You can think any way you like, and you can have any private view in your mind, but if you treat your thought that you are smarter than me as a fact and you would like me to accept it, you have to logically prove it. Why do you think that you are smarter than me?
Mr. Le: I don’t think that you are a smart man.
Why don’t you think that I am a smart man?
You don’t look like a smart man.
Why don’t I look like a smart man?
You don’t resemble a smart man.
Why don’t I resemble a smart man?
I don’t know.
How should a smart man look like?
A smart man should be humorous.
Why should a smart man be humorous?
If a man is not humorous, then he is not a smart man.
Why is a man not a smart man if he is not humorous?
Mr. Le: I don’t know. I think that way.
Why do you think that way?
I don’t know.
Why is a man not a smart man if he is not humorous?
I don’t know. I have no idea.
Why is a man not a smart man if he is not humorous?
I don’t know.
Do you still think that you are smarter than me?
I don’t know.
Do you still insist that you are smarter than me?
No. I don’t think so. I think probably that you and I are equally smart.
Haha, actually, I think the same way as you.
Mr. Le: Glad to meet you.
Tom: Glad to meet you, too.
Mr. Le: Bye.
Tom: Bye.

Tu: Brother, I think that I am more capable than you.
Why do you think that you are more capable than me?
I can drive, I have a driving license, and you don’t have a driving license.
Me: It is true that you can drive and you have a driving license, but why are you more capable than me because of that?
I have a driving license and you don’t have a driving license so I am more capable than you.
Me: How do you define “capable”? How do you determine if a person is capable? And how do you measure a person’s capability?
Tu: I don’t know.
How do you define “capable”? How do you determine if a person is capable? And how do you measure a person’s capability?
Tu: I don’t know.
Me: So do you still think that you are more capable than me just because that you have the skill to drive and I don’t?
Tu: No, I don’t think that way now.
Me: So do you still think that you are more capable than me?
Tu: Yes.
Me: Why?
Tu: I make more money than you.
Yes, you make more money than me. Why are you more capable than me because you make more money than me?
Because a person’s capability is determined by how much money he makes.
Why is a person’s capability determined by how much money he makes?
I think that way.
How do you define “capability”?
Capability is the capacity to learn and master a new skill.
So how do you define a person’s capability?
A person’s capability is his capacity to learn and master a new skill.
Me: OK. How do you compare two people’s capability?
Tu: I don’t know.
How do you compare two people’s capability?
I don’t know.
How do you compare two people’s capability?
I don’t know.
How do you compare two people’s capability?
I don’t know.
So do you still think that you are more capable than me?
Tu: Maybe not.
Why?
I don’t know why I am more capable than you. I don’t know how to compare two people’s capability.
Me: I see. Do you think that you are more capable than me?
No.
So how do you think my capability in comparison with your capability?
I think that it is very difficult to compare two people’s capability and I think that it is meaningless to compare two people’s capability. We all face different situations, and we all have difficult pursuits, and we all have difficult luck, we all have different background, so how can we compare two people’s capability? Why do we need to compare two people’s capabiliy in the first place? The “comparing” mindset is nonsense.
Me: I am glad to hear those words you just spoke out. Thank you.
Tu: You’re welcome.
Me: Bye.
Tu: Bye.

Really??? No long moments silence while each thinks of new and biting ways of calling each other a scrotum, or gay??? What sort of conversation is that???... Granted, that we are used to thinking of dialogue as a means of reaching a sense of truth, but one side or the other or both must already have a sense of truth for the conversation to result in a better sense of truth... Socrates pretended ignorance, but was not... Still, he often talked his way around a subject without ever reaching a firm sense of truth... Later, Medieval philosphers, theologins, and jurists looked a the dialectic as only a means of resolving opposites, or contradiction... I would say that every relationship no matter what the form is like a river no one ever steps into twice... No one ever changes another and remains unchanged... There are no unmoved movers... What do you think

What do you want to express?
Fido: I don't know.
What is truth?
Fido: I don't know.
What criteria do you apply to evaluate if a statement is true?
Fido: I don't know.

What do you expect me to agree with or disagree with?
Fido: I don't know.

sometimes

...indeed the saddest of situations is to look at hypocrites who haven´t the smallest clue upon their hypocritical attitude...they are not even to blame, that´s how sad it is... is just really painful to look at their anarchist irresponsible writings and the easiness by which they dismiss solid knowledge and replace it by a circus...irritating is that they portray themselves as the good guy´s in the block, the liberals against the thick headed conservatives, the dictators of truth...

I feel upset.
Why do you feel upset?
It seems that some members are satirizing me.
Suppose that some members are satirizing me, why do you feel upset about it?
Because they look down upon me.
Suppose that they look down upon you, what do you feel upset because of it?
I don’t want to be looked down upon.
Why don’t you want to be looked down upon?
If some people look down upon me, it means that there is something wrong with me.
Why does it mean that there is something wrong with you if some people look down upon you?
It means that I act obnoxiously.
Why does it mean that you act obnoxiously?
If I didn’t act obnoxiously, they would not satirize me.
Why would they not satirize you if you didn’t act obnoxiously?
They satirized me because I acted obnoxiously.
Why do you think that you acted obnoxiously?
Because they satirized me.
Why did they satirize you?
Because I acted obnoxiously.
You are arguing in a circle.
I see.
So why do you say that you acted obnoxiously?
I don’ t know.
So why do they satirize you?
I don’t know.
Why do you feel upset because some people satirize you?
I don’t know.
So do you feel upset now?
No.
Why?
Why do I need to feel upset?
I see.
Bye.
Bye.

Me: Hi Fil, what do you want to express? Sorry I can not understand you well.
Fil:You are obnoxious.
Why am I obnoxious?
Fil: You knew it.
Me:Sorry, I didn’t know. Could you tell me?
Fil: No, I don’t want to talk to you. You are too obnoxious to be talked to. I don’t want to talk to you even in the slightest. Bye Bye.
Me: Bye.

Outsider: Fil doesn’t want to talk to you. How do you feel?
Me: I don’t feel anything.
Outsider:Why?
Me: Why should I feel something? How do you expect me to feel?
Outsider:You should feel sad.
Me:Why should I feel sad?
Outsider:Because he doesn’t want to talk to you.
Me:Why should I feel sad because he doesn’t want to talk to me?
Outsider:No one likes to talk to you.
Me:How do you know that no one likes to talk to you?
Outsider:You are a loner.
Me:Why do you say that I am a loner?
Outsider:Sorry, I don’t want to explain. Bye bye.
Me: Bye.

Me: Hi Fil, why do you say that I am a dictator of truth?
Fil:It’s simple. I disagree with what you wrote.
Me:Why do you disagree with what I wrote?
Fil:I don’t want to talk to you. I think that your intelligence is below average, I am more intelligent than you so I don’t want to talk to a person who is not intelligent but pretends to be an intelligent person. I am sorry to say that. I think that you should grow.
Me: Hi Fil, why do you think that you are more intelligent than me? If you can show me that you are more intelligent than me, I can learn from you.
Fil:Sorry, I am not interested in teaching you.
Me:Why?
Fil:I dislike you.
Me:Why do you dislike me?
Fil:You should try to find the answer.
Me:How can I find the answer?
Fil:You are a troll.
Me:Why am I a troll?
Fil:Oh, I can’t stand you any more. Bye.
Me:Bye.

You think that you are Socrates, but you are not Socrates.
You’re right. I am not Socrates, Socrates is dead.
But you pretend to be an intelligent person as Socrates.
Why do I pretend to be an intelligent person as Socrates?
You gave yourself a username “Socratescn”.
Yes, I gave me that username.
Why did you give yourself that username?
Sorry, I feel very sleepy. I want to go to bed. I can address it when I have time.
OK.
Bye.
Bye.

In case you had n´t noticed my comment was not addressed to you but a reply to some of your comments upon someone else...great to know that you end up fitting the picture after all...
By ! (...have a good night sleep, you need it...)

Hi Fil. Good morning. I start this thread to show that how a person can live happily. Some people claim that they have this or that problem that they can't live happily; some people think that they have this or that imperfection so they can't be truly happy; some people think that they are poor or alone that they can't live happily. But actually negative emotions are created by our thoughts which are swirling around our brain, for example, I think that someone disapproves of me, I feel upset. It is that the thought "I think that someone disapprove of me" makes me feel upset, not "someone disapprove of me" makes me feel upset. By talking to our thoughts, we can know where the truth is, even if we really have a problem, if the problem can be solved, we can work actively to solve it, if the problem can not be solved, we just accept it. An external thing or event can not create our emotion, it is that our interpretation of the external thing or event that creates our emotion. People may confuse association with causation.

It is true that we may have real problems which we need to solve, for example, I am hungry, so I need to eat something, but I don't have to feel sad, I am in need of money, so I can try to make more money, but I don't have to feel pathetic. The good way to determine if your emotion is reasonable is to ask yourself if the emotion helps improve your situation or makes your situation worse, if a person clearly knows that an emotion doesn't do him any good, he is more willing to give up the emotion.

This really isn't a groundbreaking discovery, it's called I/E, or Intellect over Emotion.
The fact is, it's simple to understand, difficult in practice.
Most of us spend our lives learning to deal with our emotions, we are not Vulcans.
Emotions are much of what makes life worth living, even Grief betters our life, if we face it.
Emotions are not something we just give up, as you say, they are something we learn to understand and embrace.

I am not the discoverer, but I want to be a disseminator/propagator.

If possible, could you write a dialogue to show the correctness of your points?