Difference between pages "OK" and "If life was one day"

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(Created page with "{{pubdate|11|May|2020}} I often hear "don't go for the mediocre, go for the best!", or "I am the best, * the rest" and similar slogans. But striving for the best, for perfect...")
 
(Created page with "{{pubdate|23|April|2020}} If the evolution of animals was one day... (600 million years) * From 1am to 4am, most of the modern types of animals have evolved (Cambrian explosi...")
 
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{{pubdate|11|May|2020}}
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{{pubdate|23|April|2020}}
  
I often hear "don't go for the mediocre, go for the best!", or "I am the best, * the rest" and similar slogans. But striving for the best, for perfection, for excellence, is tiring in the best of times, never mind, forgive the cliché, in these unprecedented times.
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If the evolution of animals was one day... (600 million years)
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* From 1am to 4am, most of the modern types of animals have evolved (Cambrian explosion)
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* Animals get on land a bit at 3am. Early risers! It takes them until 7am to actually breath air.
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* Around noon, first octopuses show up.
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* Dinosaurs arrive at 3pm, and stick around until quarter to ten.
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* Humans and chimpanzees split off about fifteen minutes ago, modern humans and Neanderthals lived in the last minute, and the pyramids were built around 23:59:59.2.
  
Our brains are not wired for the best, we are not optimisers. We are naturally 'satisficers', we have evolved for the good-enough. For this insight, Herbert Simon received a Nobel prize, the only Turing Award winner to ever get one.
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In that world, if that was a Sunday:
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* Saturday would have started with the introduction of sexual reproduction
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* Friday would have started by introducing the nucleus to the cell
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* Thursday recovering from Wednesday's catastrophe
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* Wednesday photosynthesis started, and lead to a lot of oxygen which killed a lot of beings just before midnight
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* Tuesday bacteria show up
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* Monday first forms of life show up
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* Sunday morning, planet Earth forms, pretty much at the same time as the Sun.
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* Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is about a week older
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* The Universe is about another week older - about 22 days.
  
And yes, there are exceptional situations where only the best is good enough. But if good enough was good enough for a Turing-Award winning Nobel laureate, it is probably for most of us too.
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There are several things that surprised me here.
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* That dinosaurs were around for such an incredibly long time. Dinosaurs were around for seven hours, and humans for a minute.
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* That life started so quickly after Earth was formed, but then took so long to get to animals.
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* That the Earth and the Sun started basically at the same time.
  
It is OK to strive for OK. OK can sometimes be hard enough, to be honest.
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May is mental health awareness month. Be kind to each other. And, I know it is even harder, be kind to yourself.
 
 
 
Here is OK in different ways. I hope it is OK.
 
 
 
Oké ఓకే   ਓਕੇ オーケー
 
ओके       👌   ওকে או. קיי.
 
Окей أوكي Օքեյ   O.K.
 
  
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Addendum April 27: Álvaro Ortiz, a graphic designer from Madrid, [https://populate.tools/blog/if-life-was-one-day turned this text into an infographic].
  
 
{{tag|Simia}}
 
{{tag|Simia}}
 
<noinclude>{{simiapost|english}}</noinclude>
 
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Latest revision as of 16:28, 15 November 2020

If the evolution of animals was one day... (600 million years)

  • From 1am to 4am, most of the modern types of animals have evolved (Cambrian explosion)
  • Animals get on land a bit at 3am. Early risers! It takes them until 7am to actually breath air.
  • Around noon, first octopuses show up.
  • Dinosaurs arrive at 3pm, and stick around until quarter to ten.
  • Humans and chimpanzees split off about fifteen minutes ago, modern humans and Neanderthals lived in the last minute, and the pyramids were built around 23:59:59.2.

In that world, if that was a Sunday:

  • Saturday would have started with the introduction of sexual reproduction
  • Friday would have started by introducing the nucleus to the cell
  • Thursday recovering from Wednesday's catastrophe
  • Wednesday photosynthesis started, and lead to a lot of oxygen which killed a lot of beings just before midnight
  • Tuesday bacteria show up
  • Monday first forms of life show up
  • Sunday morning, planet Earth forms, pretty much at the same time as the Sun.
  • Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is about a week older
  • The Universe is about another week older - about 22 days.

There are several things that surprised me here.

  • That dinosaurs were around for such an incredibly long time. Dinosaurs were around for seven hours, and humans for a minute.
  • That life started so quickly after Earth was formed, but then took so long to get to animals.
  • That the Earth and the Sun started basically at the same time.

Addendum April 27: Álvaro Ortiz, a graphic designer from Madrid, turned this text into an infographic.

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