Keep A Peek

• Evil is a product of historical development - genetically, ecologically and sociologically.

• Fundamentally, human beings are not so much different from animal. We learn a lot about human nature by studying our fellow occupants of the earth.

• The universe exists because the multiplicity of elements which compose it combine in exactly the right proportions and ways (like Goldilocks’ porridge they are “just right”). Evil is defined as an excess or a lack which upsets the equilibrium. Evil is consequently an integral part of the Natural world.

• Human is a part of the natural order and subject to the same conditioning factors as all other creatures.

• The genetic imperatives for survival : Be nice to insiders; be nasty to outsiders; cheat wherever possible, differs to certain level between human and animal but are the fundamentals of behaviours. (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs come to mind)

• Aggression can certainly exist without its counterpart, love, but conversely there is no love without aggression. The kiss is just an inhibited bite.

• Men and women are biologically differently wired. Irregardless of upbringing. Male are more venturesome and confrontational while female are more intimately sociable and less adventurous.

Afterthoughts: Am I any more cynical than I was before I read the book? Probably not, the book shades some light on the origin of evil and tries to rationalize it through various arguments and is quite an interesting read. But essentially, there is no single unified formula to that word evil (ironically, an anagram of live), we can try to explain it all we can, but by doing so, we are eseentially still incapable of curbing nor eradicating it. If understanding does not lead to a concrete betterment, perhaps ignorance is really a bliss?

I am against the idea of our nature and all our deeds and doings are all pre-defined or pre-destined genetically, I am even willing to go as far as to go against the idea of blaming evilness on upbringing, or nurture. Because this is (almost)equivalent to saying that we shouldnt be punished for our own wrong-doings, because it is not our fault that we are evil. I believe that no matter how harsh or cruel our environment is, we are entitled to a choice. To be good or to be bad, we always have a choice when faced with a crossroad. Perhaps it is only a wistful thinking on my part, that I believe there is still hope for us to choose between that blue or red pill, but isnt that also part and parcel of this matrix we call life - the mystery of never knowing if you are right or wrong?

• A documentation of A.J. Jacobs (a secular, journalist, liberal new york jew) who vows to spend a year living strictly according to every percept in the bible.

• There are a lot of strangely outrageous things you will have to do or rules that you have to abide if you were to live a life following the bible, literally.

• To name a few of rules: do not wear clothes of mixed fibres, do not shave your beard, stone adulterer (yeah the author really did all these)

• The bible is quite sexually discriminating. Women are treated as a property of men. (A wife who defends her husband by grabbing the private parts of his aggressor must have her hand cut off. A husband is forbidden from touching his wife when she is menstruating because she is deemed is “impure” during that period )

• Much of the rules is really baffling for the 21st century brain (eg stoning homosexuals, sacrificing oxen, smashing idols etc)

• Though religious rules could be crazy at times, it often has an underlying cause behind it. And it is really up to us to find out about and interpret it accordingly.

Afterthoughts: as an agnostic, I find this quite an amusing read. The author didnt end up  writing something as a mockery of Evangelicals or even religion as a whole, as i was afraid he was going to, which would have been oh-so-typical. And I liked that he kept his sense of humour in tact while presenting the most absurd parts of bible.

But it is pretty clear after reading the book, that if anyone were to follow as many Biblical laws as possible, it will disrupt and uproot all areas of his/her life. I didnt find the book extraordinarily well-written nor enlighteningly insightful. As any difficult undertakings in life, it always makes you realise something about yourself or even life, and a year of living biblically is well, just another one of those things - which in a not totally indisputable way , you can see as a stunt a writer pulls to get a book deal.

• Don’t be evil. As simple, direct and amusingly wacky the google’s slogan seems to be, there is actually a bigger meaning behind it.

• The two google founders (Sergey Brin and Larry Page) are actually quite cute, not like the dorks I imagine them to be. Ha.

• If you have the abilities and you are confident about it, never take no for an answer.

• If you have a clear vision about the thing you want to achieve, do not take the easy way out because the harder way often is the way that will bear fruit in the long run.

• Googleplex is the coolest place on earth.

Afterthought: I read the book in 15 hours straight and liked it immensely. It is not the kind of book that is sophisticatedly written nor literally rich, but the kind that is mentally stimulating and at times, humbling. I liked how the author ‘humanize’ the two google guys (which are my new idols! :D) although they are arguably two of the most brilliant people around. And i really like the idea of ‘Don’t be evil.’ As naive as it may sound, I have always thought that there are certain things and values in life that one shouldnt sacrifice or give in to while chasing after that thing we put under the sugar-coated umbrella term called Dreams. I also learned that standing your ground often has to be done in a way that will eventually lead to a certain degree of compromise between holding on to your principles and being realistic.

And finally, be creative, be foolish, be unconventional, be playful. A little bit of mischief can go a long way.