Month: August 2020

One of my favorite books is “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline. And while it is more about virtual reality than augmented reality, it’s a good place to start and to end.

We live in the physical world, of course. Yet, we’re slowly making the digital world our habitat. As this progresses, there is a substituting of the physical reality with that of the digital.

I’m sure you have noticed that people tend to have an “Internet” persona along with their physical persona. Sure, there are those whom it is indistinguishable. Yet, there are surely others who present something other than their true (i.e., physical) self; hence the “Instagram vs. Reality” posts.

At what point does the digital persona completely replace the physical one? And, when that happens, will there be any self-conscious instances as in the strip above? As Cline points out in his book, each person can be whatever they want to be online (in his book, “The Oasis”).

With that in mind, augmented reality may be simply a stepping stone to a substitute digital “reality” which, if we’re honest with ourselves, cannot truly be called “reality.” Only reality has the sole privilege of that moniker. Everything else is a distant wannabe.

What do your dreams say about you?

Is it possible that our dreams are an extension of our consciousness? Of course, no one can truly define consciousness let alone where it comes from.

Think about it: our bodies are made up of trillions of cells. All these cells bind together to form organs and tissue and bones and what not. How many cells does it take to create a consciousness? Does each cell have its own consciousness? Surely it does, for it acts in certain ways.

This begs the question: At what point does the single cell “level up” to the consciousness of the collective? How is it that, as a fully formed human, we cannot tap into the seemingly rudimentary consciousness of the cell, yet we have this greater consciousness of the collection of cells? And do our cells/organs have different consciousnesses but we don’t know because we operate solely on the consciousness of a singular organ (i.e., the brain)? Or is the brain the hub of consciousness for all our organs, cells, etc.? And, if so, is it possible to isolate each consciousness?

Back to dreams.

Our dreams, many times, seem random and odd. Often, we forget them altogether but have a fading remembrance of some sort of experience. We were conscious during that dream yet, at the same time, unconscious. So consciousness is not what we perceive it to be on the surface. It’s much more.

Your dreams are, in essence, your consciousness. Your consciousness, one can argue, is you. Your dreams are you.

I can’t remember who it was, but someone pointed out to me that motivational speakers point to success stories and preach the “fail you way to success” sermon. Does it work? Yes and no. It worked for the people who had success, not for the people who haven’t or have yet to find success.

On the surface, that sounds like sour grapes. “I’m not a success so I need to find other failures to point to and cry in our cereal!” But it’s not that. It’s a bit deeper.

I had a life coach who told me that there’s a difference between doing things right and doing the right things. That concept is sinking in slowly as I mature and shed my pride.

Artists tend to be idealists. We also tend to want to put our own stamp on the world. The problem is that, in our youth and inexperience, we don’t really know our own stamp and, if we do, it may not resonate with others. We could be doing our art right, but we’re creating the wrong art.

A good example is my comic Perk at Work. I have put so much work into that comic and attempted to do all the right things (e.g., sell at cons, advertise, post often, etc.). Yet, I did not find success. Perhaps I could have if I had persisted, yet I’m skeptical.

Another analogy for success/failure is that old tidbit of advice: “You don’t want to get to the top of your ladder only to find out that it’s on the wrong building.” The vast majority of webcomics are not profitable, especially if one accounts for the time invested at no pay. Is it wise to fail again and again if it’s not the right product?

No.

All that said, rejection and failure is good if we learn, adapt, and adjust. You know what they say about the definition of insanity.

In this particular strip, the rejection is associated to dating/asking a woman out on a date. I believe that asking a girl out over and over again after she’s flat-out rejected you may not be the best course of action. It could be perceived as harassment instead of persistence. There’s a difference between a woman playing hard to get with a guy vs. her not wanting to have anything to do with him.

Good thing this bird took his life coach’s advice. Smart bird.