I watched the documentary Helvetica a few days ago and really enjoyed it. I had just finished reading Ken Wilber’s A Brief History of Everything and found the movie to be a perfect compliment to Wilber’s theories.

Helvetica traces the rise and fall of the title font’s popularity. Designed in the idealistic post-WWII era, Helvetica became the type face of modernism. Official documents, street signs, and advertisements all used Helvetica to convey dependability and transparency. It was the type face of lofty ideals, order, efficiency.

As post-modernism took hold, Helvetica fell out of favor with designers. It was the representation of the establishment, cold and inorganic. During this time, hand lettering became popular as the uniformity of Helvetica was rejected.

Ken Wilber talks about this very shift, from an ascending thrust (yang) in modernism to a descending thrust (yin) in post-modernism. In A Brief History of Everything, he outlines the conflict between these two movements and looks toward a reconciliation, integrating both forces.

The designers featured in Helvetica perfectly explain this battle between order and chaos, celestial and earthly. You can see how the design community swung from one extreme to the other and only now is beginning to embrace both perspectives. Clarity and chaos. Yang and yin. The young designers at the end of the film explained how Helvetica was a part of their childhood and felt totally authentic and organic to them. Order is not necessarily antithetical to organic expression.

Helvetica shows a real world example of transcending and including opposing ideas. This is the very essence of the Integral movement, both sides are right and both sides can be honored: yin + yang = Tao.

Dude, you know you love it.

Take a break from the stress of race relations and laugh at white people for a bit. We’re pretty funny, you know. Stuff White People Like is a hilarious blog. Add it to Google Reader (’cause you know white people love Google).

Here are some of the things I like:

Being the only white person around: In most situations, white people are very comforted by seeing their own kind. However, when they are eating at a new ethnic restaurant or traveling to a foreign nation, nothing spoils their fun more than seeing another white person.

Recycling: This is important because all white feel guilty about producing waste. It doesn’t stop them from doing it, but they feel guilty about it. Deep down, they believe they should be like the Native Americans and use every part of the product or beast they have consumed. Though for many white people, this simply means putting plastic bags into a special drawer where they will accumulate until they are eventually used to carry some gym clothes or bathing suit. Ultimately this drawer will get full and only be emptied when the person moves to a new house. Advanced white recyclers will uses these grocery bags as garbage bags.

Knowing what’s best for poor people: White people spend a lot of time of worrying about poor people. It takes up a pretty significant portion of their day. They feel guilty and sad that poor people shop at Wal*Mart instead of Whole Foods…

Living by the water: White people love to be near a body of water so they can read a book, while sitting nearby. The process of reading is somehow heightened through the process of doing it near some water. Extreme reading! (Story of my life. I am dying of laughter.)

Vegetarianism: As with many white people activities, being vegan/vegetarian enables them to feel as though they are helping the environment AND it gives them a sweet way to feel superior to others.

Not having a TV: The number one reason why white people like not having a TV is so that they can tell you that they don’t have a TV.

So cold, so icy that one burns one’s fingers on him! Every hand is startled when touching him. And for that very reason some think he glows.

– Friedrich Nietzsche

Jarrod Toombs, a friend of Emily and I just passed away. He was 25.

Jarrod introduced me to Modest Mouse and The Fiery Furnaces. I’ve always thought of him when I hear these bands. But I most often think of Jarrod when I am reading or talking about Nietzsche.

Jarrod loved all things Nietzsche. In his honor I have recreated part of an introduction to Nietzsche I previously wrote.

To be ashamed of one’s immorality-that is a step on the staircase at whose end one is also ashamed of one’s morality.

Nietzsche was a late 19th century German philosopher. His writings are basically a challenge to traditional morality and Christianity. He affirmed life and argued against waiting for life affirming realities until after death. He advocated questioning of all doctrines that drain life energies.

What destroys more quickly than to work, to think, to feel without inner necessity, without a deep personal choice, without joy? As an automaton of “duty”?

It is virtually a recipe for decadence, even for idiocy.

He can be considered one of the first existentialist philosophers. His style and radical questioning of the value and objectivity of truth, raise cause problems when attempting to interpret him. There is much scholarly speculation about his work. Nietzsche’s later writings are comprehensive and coherent expressions of his philosophy.

Even the bravest of us rarely has the courage for what he really knows.

My favorite story of Nietzsche, which Jarrod once told to me in the remote village in southwestern Georgia where he lived, was of the moment Nietzsche went insane. After distinguishing himself as a scholar and quickly becoming a professor, he spent ten years in his late thirties wandering around Europe with no real home. During his wanderings he found himself in Turin and witnessed a horse being whipped. He ran to the horse and threw his arms around the horse’s neck and collapsed. He never returned to sanity. There are many speculations about what happened; he had syphilis, he had a brain tumor, he reached a higher state of consciousness. My personal favorite is postulated by Colin Wilson in The Mind Parasites, Nietzsche was investigating his inner mind to such a degree the mind parasites feared he would learn of their existence so they drove him insane.

Incresucnt animi, virescit volnere virtus. The spirit grows, strength is restored by wounding.

Jarrod, we will miss you. R.I.P.

:: Jarrod, thanks for sitting next to me on hub day. Thanks for the talks about Nietzsche. Thanks for appreciating my art. Thanks for bonding with me over Mattafix. Thanks for keeping him company. Even though he would never admit it, I know it helped.  - Emily ::

We’ll all float on alright. 

I’ve come across an interesting story in various articles about the Dalai Lama learning about Western self-hatred. It was a totally new concept to him when he first arrived in the West:

When I first heard the word “self-hatred” and was first exposed to the concept of self-hatred, I was quite surprised and taken aback. The reason why I found it quite unbelievable is that as practicing Buddhists, we are working very hard to overcome our self-centered attitude, and selfish thoughts and motives. So to think of the possibility of someone hating themselves, not cherishing oneself, was quite unbelievable.

This is yet another example of the differing focal points of Buddhism and Taoism. The Dalai Lama went on to say:

For people who have the problem of self-hatred or self-loathing, for the time being it is advisable that they not think seriously about the suffering nature of existence or the underlying unsatisfactory nature of existence. Rather they should concentrate more on the positive aspects of existence, such as appreciating the potentials that lie within oneself as a human being, the opportunities that one’s existence as a human being affords. In the traditional teaching, one speaks about all the qualities of a fully endowed human existence. By reflecting upon these opportunities and potentials, one will be able to increase one’s sense of worth and confidence.

The approach that the Dalai Lama is recommending is very much aligned with the Taoist tradition. This is the same divergence I wrote about before. Laura’s dissatisfaction with the world makes her more comfortable beginning from an inner space working outward, as in Buddhism. This orientation also matches with her Enneagram type 9. My dissatisfaction with myself makes me more comfortable beginning from an outer space working inward, as in Taoism. This orientation matches my Enneagram type 1. This fundamental divergence can be see in terms of yin and yang, Ken Wilber’s four quadrant model, etc.

The Dalai Lama is advocating a personalized approach to spirituality that address the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. Many Buddhist practices could aggravate self-loathing tendencies because of their focus on suffering. I think it is very important for us to take an honest look at the problematic areas of our psyches so that we can each find the spiritual path that will help us come into the light as a whole person. If we choose a path or practice that fuels our personal demons, it will be difficult to progress on the path to enlightenment.

That is not to say that Buddhism, or any path, cannot be adapted to fit the individual’s needs. Buddhist loving kindness meditation could be a great place to start for people who suffer from self-hatred, as this practitioner describes.

For the last couple of days Laura and I have been obsessed with the Enneagram personality test. Here are two good tests you can take for free online. I suggest taking both and comparing the results for a more accurate reading. Here are brief descriptions of the nine types.

The Enneagram is similar to the Myers-Briggs personality sorter in that both tests explain motivations and ways we relate to the world, however the Enneagram seems to have more constructive feedback to offer. Enneagram is presented as a tool for growth towards more balanced, healthy personality. Maybe that’s why we are so interested in the Enneagram right now.

From our assessments, Laura is a type 9 wing 8 (9w8) and I am a type 1 wing 2 (1w2). The first number is our dominant type and the wing number is our secondary tendency in that type (check here for wing descriptions).

Then you can check out your Instinctual Variant by taking this test. These variants reflect your primary drive or insecurity. Here is a link to descriptions of the variants as they appear in each type.

Once you have determined your type you can find all sorts of interesting information about it. Here are some of the best Enneagram sites:

9Types

The Enneagram Institute

Enneagram Worldwide

Here is a chart that shows the correlations between various personality sorters.

We are also consulting Don Riso and Russ Hudson’s book Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery. The book does not include any tests, but has very detailed descriptions of each type including the wings.

Just like anything else, we ask you to take the Enneagram with a grain of salt. It is a fun and potentially useful way to look at your personality, but it can be taken to potentially unhealthy extremes.

Laura likes Buddhism and I like Taoism. Although we agree that they are different paths to the same destination, we think that it’s important to choose the route that suits our personalities best.

I feel that Taoism leads to the One through love of the Many, while Buddhism teaches you to love the Many through union with the One. Make sense?

If not, check out this Taoist poem by Su Shih to see why Taoism is so much fun:

Families, when a son is born,

Want it to be intelligent.

I, through intelligence,

Having wrecked my whole life,

Only hope the child will prove

Ignorant and stupid.

Then he will crown a tranquil life

By becoming a Cabinet Minister.

Ha! I love it. You may also recall the poem I recently posted by Li Po. By living in the Tao, in the flow of the Universe, we can see the beauty in every aspect of life, including poking fun at Cabinet Ministers and getting drunk alone in a field.

Our existence in the Multiplicity, in the realm of matter, is the expression of the One, of the Tao. Buddhism seeks reunification with the One by dissolving the appearance of the Many. Taoism seeks harmony of the Many by channeling the One. It’s really just a difference of direction: Buddhism looks up, Taoism looks down. Buddhism transcends and embraces, Taoism descends and embraces.

For further reading on Taoism I recommend starting with Stephen Mitchell’s version of the Tao Te Ching. This is a controversial version as Mitchell did not translate it from the original Chinese text, but rather clarified other people’s translations. I recommend it to Western readers who are new to Taoism as it is very easy to understand. You can also read the Tao Te Ching online.

Next I recommend reading Taoism: The Way of the Mystic by J.C. Cooper. It is out of print, but you can buy it used at Amazon. I got my copy from BookMooch, which I highly encourage any avid reader to check out.

When Laura moved in, the only decorations she brought for the walls were maps. She was a bit worried I would think it was weird to have a bunch of maps on the walls, until she arrived and saw that my room was full of maps too.

There are a total of eleven maps decorating our apartment. We love them and consult them regularly to settle geographical trivia disputes. That said, I have a new toy that I wanted to share.

NationMaster is an amazing site for national statistics. You can compare all sorts of serious (coal reserves) and fun (roller coasters per capita) stats. It’s like the Economist’s Pocket World in Figures book but ten times as cool or the CIA World Factbook in a searchable database.

Some of our favorite facts:

• People trust Swedes! Swedish companies are the world’s least-likely to be perceived as paying bribes.
• The average person in the United Kingdom drinks as much tea as 23 Italians.
• Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country.
• The average woman in New Zealand doesn’t give birth until she is nearly 30 years old.
• Nepal’s flag is the only one in the world that isn’t square or rectangular.
• Want to go to the United States? Try going to Albania first. Albania has more U.S visa lottery winners per capita than anywhere else in the world.
• The fourteen unhappiest countries are all in Eastern Europe.
• No winter olympic medals have ever been won by African or South American countries.
• More than a third of the world’s airports are in the United States of America.

Man, facts are great. Can’t get enough? Head over to StateMaster to find, you guessed it, statistics about the United States.

All sort of people are getting in on the debate about Nabokov’s dying wish that we brought to your attention last month. Here’s a little update.

Tyler Cowen of Marginal Revolution says:

Dead people don’t count in the social welfare function… Don’t destroy the output.

Nice.

We agree with Sir Tom Stoppard of The Times:

It’s perfectly straightforward: Nabokov wanted it burnt, so burn it. There is no superior imperative. The argument about saving it for the “greater good” of the literary world is null, as far as I’m concerned. There are parallel universes, might-have-been worlds, full of lost works, and no doubt some of them would have been masterpieces. But our desire to possess them all is just a neurosis, a completeness complex, as though we must have everything that’s going and it’s a tragedy if we don’t. It’s nonsense, an impossible desire for absoluteness.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Laura and I talk about our life paths all the time. We are both making efforts to let our paths arise of their own accords rather than trying to map them out in advance. So far this approach is working well for us and we are excited about the possibilities.

Sometimes it can be hard to recognize your calling or path. I found this post from A Nun’s Life inspirational in learning to trust your calling. The post features nuns’ explanations of how they came to find their callings. Sister Julie advises:

If you are wondering if you are called (and you know who you are!), consider this: whoever you are, wherever you come from, whatever you desire most — God is with you and wants you to answer with your whole self. Forget about such things as “I’m not that holy” or “I’m just a normal, average person” or “Why would God call me?”

This is excellent advice for every person, not only young ladies considering becoming nuns. God (or the Tao or the Universe) moves through each of us. Deep down we all know what to do in any situation; we are expressions of the Ultimate. If we are open enough to hear the calling, to see our path, and trusting enough to follow it, we can each find the Way.

If you like the TED talks as much as we do, but just can’t afford to attend the conference ($6,000!) maybe you can try BIL.

BIL is a free conference after TED, anyone can attend and anyone can speak. It’s in Monterrey, CA, March 1 & 2. I will not be able to attend, but I hope some of our readers will be able to go and report back.

BIL is being put on by, guess who, the Singularity Institute! So the usual suspects, like Tyler Emerson, will be speaking. Aubrey de Grey of life extension fame is also on the schedule.

It looks like a great event, especially for the price.