Deconstruction
Our view of human reality is based on a lot of assumptions and stereotypes, which are useful tools to make it easier for us to react and interact to everything that happens to us. These tools are given to us during our life by our parents, family, and from society in general, both by what we are taught and by what happens to us and to others.
Like all tools, these are powerful and potentially dangerous ones, that evolve though the generations either by acceptance, reaction, and reason. Acceptance is when we do or think something because we’ve been taught, even if our comprehension is nonexistent or merely self-referential; reaction is when new behaviors and beliefs are adopted, not necessarily by the use of thought, but many times just by the natural rebellion against the status quo, the human drive for change; and reason, it’s when these behaviors and beliefs evolve not by mere acceptance or reaction, but by a conscious analysis.
One of my goals in life is to always maintain a very healthy dose of self doubt regarding what I believe and what I do, constantly deconstructing my culture of assumptions and stereotypes to the smallest pieces possible, studying them in detail, and rebuilding it. I guess that in the end I am a hacker of myself.
Five Things You Didn’t Know About Me
Although similar to the 6 random things post I did a while ago (challenged by my good friend Spiff), I’ve been tagged by my fellow matsu blogger across the ocean to write about five things that people don’t generally know about me. By “people”, I mean both my offline and online partners in crime, and I’ll take some inspiration from the challenger!
- I can wiggle both my ears, either together or separately.
- I can cook some mean brigadeiros, except I don’t go into all the work of rolling them into little balls, I eat them straight from the pot!
- Whenever I don’t have to to take Carolina with me, I ride my scooter to work, regardless of rain or cold*. I save over 100 hours a year just on my daily 12km (7.5 miles) each way commute! That’s over four full days less of sitting in the car.
- I’m brazilian but I’ve lived in Portugal since I was 5 years old, and I have lived one year in Missouri in the US as an AFS exchange student.
- Yellow is my favorite color.
* It’s not that cold in Lisbon, especially comparing to where I lived in Missouri 
6 random things
My friend Spiff has challenged me and other friends to write six random things about ourselves. Here is the translation of what I wrote as a comment on his blog:
1. I like asparagus. Especially the green ones. Steam cooked.
2. I also like to take things apart. I consider my entrance into adulthood the moment I started managing to put them back together. Without any parts remaining. And working. Most times….
3. I love my daughter and my wife, especially their smiles and laughs, and the twinkle in their eyes.
4. I like science fiction – the written kind – but nowadays I read almost exclusively ebooks… if you stop to think about it, a few years ago the concept of an electronic “book” would be science fiction!
5. I got tired of computers. That’s why I have a Mac.
6. I’ve arrived to that period in life when I realized that the lenses are more important than the cameras. And that prime lenses are better than zoom lenses. You do run back and forth quite a bit more, and you have to swap lenses, but the quality is worth it.
