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DIE. Is you still lurk here, I have relocated here .... http://owenthesaints.tumblr.com/. If you were unaware.

The Virtual 'Reality' - Scout it Out

LOL TALK ABOUT CONSISTENCY. This is turning into a do as I say, not as I do type of thing. I've wanted to write since the last time I just... Didn't, clearly. So to compensate to myself I have two (2) segments planned. First is first though. You might want to skip it if you can handle me talking about gaming... Or things that are almost entirely based off of theory and self-assurance to my obsessions.

Scouting. Yes, scouting, chiefly for the lack of a better term, is crucial to self-betterment and flow. However not the kind of scouting cookie sellers would be doing, nor the kind that you would bring Sacajawea along. I'm talking about something that is never really practiced today, that exists as more of a relic, before the times of wide area of effect weapons. Back when you wanted to take something down, you couldn't just bomb it.

Basically, I play this (or used to play) a game in which you control a small colony based off colonial times (redundant, yes). The goal is to eliminate your opponent by balancing economy and military, while your opponent does the same. I returned to it for a brief period only find myself vastly worse than I previously had been. I analyzed what I was doing wrong, and I realized it was because I never had any idea of what my opponent was going to do next. But enough of that...

...On to a generalized introduction to this type of segment. Games. I'm a gamer, which is the #1 reason I have no flow. It takes up a large amount of time, you know, to excel. But really what is it? What is it but an alternate, yet fake universe where you enact the life of someone else in situations where you may or may not ever find yourself? Is it not but another experience any human can undergo, assuming it is possible. Is it not deserving of its title, 'Virtual Reality'.

(Here we go, epic bridge). In many games, there are tactics that are used that can easily be translated into your actual life, and no I'm not totally BSing this. To start it off we have scouting. Basically in games, this is the art of figuring out what your opponent is doing. But that alone isn't enough. You need to counter exactly what he's doing. To do this you can make counter units, force him off the resources he needs, and trick him in some way. Generally, the best scouters can counter him before his scouted strategy takes much effect at all, due to certain triggers. For example, if your opponent if building a stable, you can assume he's making cavalry, and counter with an appropriate unit. That's a simple trigger. But how does this relate to anything in real life?

Oddly enough, I see this as a little bit of a social bridge, and it can be extremely effective in sports as well. Academically, it offers little value, unless you wish to assess the testing styles of your teachers, if thats your thing... But generally, just as history repeats itself, so do minor instances in your life, over and over. After a while, you naturally learn what happens. Now to achieve flow in something, knowing what your trying to achieve and what factors are preventing you from achieving it are very special. Eventually, after a certain mastery in scouting, trigger assessment, and game flow, you should hit a point where you legitimately control the activity your doing, from beginning to end, with no resistance, simply due to the fact that you can counter any threat to your goal. In theory at least. That's why old people are so wise right? Experience points don't just exist in video games! There's no specific scenario for this, its just an option that you can develop over time. Remember, don't react to the game, control it.

I realize this entry is excessive sloppy and experimental, but next one won't be much like it. More video-game based entries may appear in the future, albeit only in tandem with a normal entry.

Consistency and Mastery

Well, Its been a little while, I've actually had a lot going on (believe it) and thankfully it's given me something to write about. Since my last post I've gone to Cape May with my entire dad's side and survived the first week of band camp. Cape May could seem like a nice place to relax, however quite often I'm stuck between cousin feuds, seeing as I'm really the only agreeable one there. Band camp takes a whole lot of time, it almost feels like I'm in school already, but thats not a bad thing. However, being in 'the pit' gives me the obligation to slack off, as at the moment 'the pit' receives little administrative attention. We don't get much done in comparison to other parts of the band. Well you don't really need to kn0w all that, but it has just made me realize how much consistency matters in achieving Flow.

Consistency in achieving flow is rather basic. If you can routinely achieve greatness, you will be great. Everyone has their great moments, but people with Flow have great moments all the time. If you're anything like me, you perform pretty well in, say, school. Usually. But then those one or two assignments come along every semester that drag you down to that dreaded B+ range? Yeah, that's me. Anyways. Consistency is grown with consistent practice, as I've so learned from 'the pit'. The first 4 days, honestly, we hardly practiced, at all. Yet just today, I decided to be a little more dedicated, with (legitimately) rigorous exercises, repetitive punishments, and most important, a lot of passion and commitment. Punishment push-ups, victory laps, and constant encourage from your peers actually help you achieve goals, and naturally the same incurs with school and your friends. If they push you to become better, and your own consent, and you return the favor, both will perform significantly better. Or so I believe. Really it's about not slacking off at all.

To do well at a process, the best strategy is often to not do poorly (although it seems redundant) at the steps . And in the same way, to achieve Flow in a process, one could go about simply doing well at the steps. Most activities are separated in microcosms, knowns as steps, which can be perfected just as the activity as a whole. In fact, mastering said microcosms is a key aspect to mastering the subject as a whole. In other words, to achieve Flow in things such as school, instead of attempting to master the subject, teacher, or any generalized concept, do your best to master every assignment given to you. Basics always come before advanced techniques...

Conclusion might come later. Probably not.

Ambition

am·bi·tion

1.

a. An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power.

b. The object or goal desired

2. Desire for exertion or activity; energy

Aside from having a rather kickass phonetic spelling, ambition is key in achieving a higher level of 'flow'. To specify, ambition is essentially the drive to improve and succeed in any act. This is one of the two factors of which I have decided create the wheel of mental state (found in Wikipedia's Apathy entree, as to be expected from a fellow apathetic). In my first post I divided the entire population between either the sections of Apathy and Flow, while in reality there are three sections, each with subsections to support it. These three primary sections are: Apathy, Flow, and Anxiety. To recap, Apathy is when a low skill level is met with a low challenge level and Flow is when a high skill level is met with a high challenge level. Anxiety is when a low skill level is met with a high challenge level, resulting in failure for the most part leading to stress (anxiety) as an

accompaniment. In short, Apathy = Failure, Anxiety = Try-hard&Failure, Flow = My Goal. However it is clear that not everyone can fit into these sections perfectly, which is why other sections, which I deem less important and categorize as subsections, are introduced: Worry, Boredom, Relaxation, Control, and Arousal (not like that).

Worry, a subsection to Anxiety (clearly) is when a low skill level is met with a medium challenge level - essentially the same as Anxiety as, ultimately, the required skills for success are unreached. Boredom and Relaxation are when a low challenge level is met with a medium and high skill level, respectively, and these are categorized under Apathy. These will be touched up on later. The remainder, Control and Arousal, are categorized under Flow, Control signifying a high skill level met with a medium challenge level and Arousal being when a medium skill level is met with a high challenge level. Interesting...

Arousal kind of gave me a pang of consciousness whilst writing that last sentence. Not because of how it is modernly perceived, but because of its meaning, and how it relates really to simply 'getting interested'. Thats the problem with us apathetic. Even is we have to skills not to be apathetic, such as if we fit into Boredom or Relaxation categories, we are still rather apathetic. Having the brainpower isn't quite enough to emerge from that quicksand of apathy. Without proper ambition, its actually almost useless. And even if you believe your challenging yourself with say 'Honors' classes, its useless unless you strive to perform every task to the degree where you actually learn from in. In a way, Anxiety and Arousal play a huge part in becoming Flow. Anxiety causes panic, which seems bad, but really helps the average student excel; even in high level challenge scenarios. In tandem with Anxiety, Arousal will create a thirst of knowledge, which is truly uncommon but treasured even more than the panic caused by Anxiety. The problem with the Apathy, Boredom, and Relaxation lies in the lack of said qualities. I, for example, am rather indifferent on all matters, aside from those at which I can competitively wtfpwn others without much labor. There goes my Arousal. Also, my ego is rather inflated (with little reason, I know), which leads me to believe I'll do well on tests and projects when in reality I don't know the material or haven't studied well enough, pushing me behind those with true Flow.

Anyways thats enough for now. You know the world is fucked up when confident people are inferior to those who worry. Whatever. Next segment, who knows what. I still have to harness Anxiety and Arousal once school begins.

Intro

This is simply to give you an idea of what's going down here. I have nothing in mind. I have no expectations. But I do have a streaming consciousness capable of constant analytical assessment, and I plan to abuse that here. Generally, I'll be blogging about whatever is going on in my head once a week or so, whenever I think of something worth it.

As for now I'm sure you're wondering what the title means. Mystery of Apathy. Well if you don't know, you're probably apathetic, which is fine, you're in good company (not really). Basically it means the state of indifference, which can extend to a few different meanings. According to Wikipedia (which, regardless of all criticism in society, is the only real way to get spot-on information easily) "an apathetic individual has an absence of interest or concern to emotional, social, or physical life". This occurs when a low level of challenge is matched with a low level of skill. I'll delve into this no-man-zone later. The opposite of apathy is flow, which is when a high level of skill and challenge are matched. There are many other challenge-skill relations that will probably be brought up in the future.

So the ultimate rationale behind the blog is to assess the relationship between flow and apathy, bridge them together, and cross over: a path of self-betterment, if you will. Naturally an easy solution would be to increase the level of challenge, however, the apathetic often carry an air of reluctance with them. I, for example, am reluctant to embark on long, daunting tasks or those that involve a combination of physical labor and precise finesse. Everyone has things they are less comfortable with, but only those individuals with true 'flow' strive to better themselves into a versatile individual.

That's all for now, so I'll end with a synopsis of my writing style. Random, I know. But it serves as a warning. I'm rather unpredictable, so my writing style almost moves with the wind... At times my language will be very crude, and at others it will seem as if I could not have crafted a better sentence to express myself. Things might get graphic, things might get intense, but at least now you have a disclaimer.