Real Mind Tricks

"This sentence is a lie."(135) Ok, lets slow down here a little. Chapters O, P, and Q brings about the real definition of mind blown. We started seeing contradictions, doubt and thinking. This statement includes all three of them. Shields introduces paradoxes with this opening sentence. If it is stating that the sentence is a lie, then wouldn't it not be not not a lie? Now I'm messing with your head. Paradoxes relate to the topic of reality. Is the nature of reality paradoxical? Firstly, my definition of reality is what I feel and experience around me. Most importantly, it's my version of a story.  

“Something can be true and untrue at the same time” (135) Here we go. Something can be true for someone while it can be untrue for someone else. The topic of religion revolves around this. What Shields is trying to say with this is that truth is only true according to that someone who created it. 

"The real story isn't the official story; the real story is my version (wrong, too, but I'm aware that it's wrong) of the official story." (139) Again, each one has their own version of what is real. Something like history is written by the victor. The victor tells his part of the story without taking into account the looser. There is no way in telling what is actually true. This doen't necessarily needs to be written in history books. An argument between friends or colleagues can end the same way. Each one has their own version of the story and only they know what is actually true. Many times both stories contradict each other. Therefore reality can be paradoxical. To avoid any further headaches, I'll continue living my version of reality. 

Less > More

Growing up, we've always had the idea that writing more meant it was better. We disregarded quality over quantity. This is specifically done by Collegeboard, the organizers of the SAT. According to their rubric, test readers are only allowed thirty seconds for every essay. In those thirty seconds they must identify the thesis, examples that support the thesis, a conclusion that wraps it all up, and the length. A study conducted by a student showed the correlation between the length of the essays and the scores they got. "Milo says out of 115 samples, longer essays almost always garnered higher scores."(ABCNews Has Teen Unlocked the Secret to a Better SAT Score?) This type of essay has gone through much controversy since its incorporation to the SAT in 2005. Experts say it doesn't measure a students true skill of writing if ultimately length is what affects the score. "Milo's advice? For a higher score, write more."(ABCNews Has Teen Unlocked the Secret to a Better SAT Score?)

Shields would disagree with Collegeboard. He points this out when he states, “The merit of style exists precisely in that it delivers the greatest number of ideas in the fewest number of words” (127). He believes in quality over quantity and suggests that by being concise, the point is reached out more effectively. It's easier to understand a point if explained briefly but well. Long texts might confuse the reader and even bore him/her.

Another point that supports Shield's argument is Kimball's project of writing post cards. He fills hundreds of post cards with people's experiences. Last time I checked, post cards were 9x13 centimeters. That's pretty small. "Sometimes these interviews have run to more than 5,000 words. As the life stories get longer - 508 words is the longest so far - my handwriting has got smaller."(The Guardian Brief Lives) Kimball is forced to compress long and interesting stories into a brief summary. Though, he does it with no problem and the end result is people enjoying his results.

“It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what everyone else says in a whole book-what everyone else does not say in a whole book” (129) I wouldn't mind having everything summarized. I am the type of person who gets bored after reading an excerpt with no end in sight. Most of them are just the same old thing repeated or lines of uninteresting junk. In the end, getting your point across is what matters. There is no point in writing something if you don't want your audience to understand. 

"Collage's parts always seem to be competing for a place in some unfinished scene."

My Interpretation

It's important to know what we make of things. But is it real?

“G 197. We all stretch the truth and tell lies by omission. Just getting along with people involves both. Humans are hardwired to deceive. We deceive when we’re competing with other members of the same sex; we deceive when we’re trying to attract the other sex. Deception is more the state of nature than not deceiving. In the animal kingdom, virtually every species deceives all the time. Why don’t we lie even more? It helps our reputation for people to know they can believe us.” (67). Lying has become a commodity for us humans. Actually it has always been, only seen as a taboo in most societies. It’s mostly related with competition that the desire to lie is so big it’s basically inevitable to do so. When reality isn’t quite what you hope it is, why not make it the way it should be. Of course, it’s all about the prize in the long run just as Shields shows when comparing us to animals, which deceive for the perfect mate. After all, it’s all about the sex isn’t it? Improve your image and you’ll get laid easier. Therefore I strongly agree with this fragment. Everyday, people improve their image to not be swallowed whole by the truth.

“H 243. We’re overwhelmed right now by calamitous information. The real overwhelms the fictional, is incomparably more compelling than an invented drama.” (82) Most of us live in a social bubble that seems hard to get out of. Actually we are just confortable inside with our easy and seemingly fictional lifestyle. Therefore when we get a taste of the world outside our bubble, we are shocked. There are many things going on around the world that are alarming and have gotten our attention. Funnily enough, it has paused our fictional living and given us a perspective to the outside world. It overwhelms us. We know we have been living easily and getting out of that comfort zone is hard and uneasy. Therefore knowing that a world like that exists behind those walls makes everyone distracted from their easy life making them grow a conscious of the problems.

“I 252. I have invited my fellow documentary nominees on the stage with us, and they’re here in solidarity with me because we like nonfiction. We like nonfiction because we live in fictitious times. (85). This fragment relates to the previous one in chapter H. It mentions a problem people with opportunities, like us, suffer: our life in the bubble. When Shields explains that he and his friends like nonfiction, we can infer that he has managed to escape from his enclosure and seen much of the real world. Life for few has become too good to be true, thus becoming fiction as they are able to make up their life with no problem. Reality, which is mostly perceived as hardship, is a stranger to those living in fiction. I agree with Shields in this one as I too live in a bubble and should learn to acknowledge the world outside: the real world.