Length of time is not important, it is what you make of the time you have that is.
So my friend and I were having a little argument about time. :D Ahh, already I bet you're thinking "oh gosh no", with this totally bored expression on your face -_- Well, that's probably how I'd feel too if someone was about to rehash a discussion to me. However, I just want to share with you something I noticed concerning a certain deduction people in our society sometimes make. Give me a few minutes, ok?
Alright. So, I like playing online games. However, my friend thinks it's a waste of time. However, she loves watching shows/series, something I am not particularly interested in. Already, there's a difference. While she thinks it best to relax after a tiring study period by watching a show, I love to see if I can gain a level before my next round of revision. My friend accused me of wasting time I could be using to learn by playing online games. Which brings us to the title of this post. I replied to her with the paragraph below.
You don't have to agree with me when I say that there is nothing like wasted time. However, I would love it if people became more conscious whenever they feel the need to use the phrase wasted time.
P.s: This is not an attempt to justify procrastination ^-^
P.p.s: Sorry for the long title....oh, and post too. :)
Alright. So, I like playing online games. However, my friend thinks it's a waste of time. However, she loves watching shows/series, something I am not particularly interested in. Already, there's a difference. While she thinks it best to relax after a tiring study period by watching a show, I love to see if I can gain a level before my next round of revision. My friend accused me of wasting time I could be using to learn by playing online games. Which brings us to the title of this post. I replied to her with the paragraph below.
I do not consider it wasting time love, I see it as a spot of relaxation. You watch your shows, and I play online games. But in the end, I cannot change your perception, as it is subjective to the individual. Besides, to say time is wasted is to quantify time, for how does one really define 'wasted' time. If I slept my whole day away, and a fellow spent it doing intense physical work, it is said that I have 'wasted' my time, while he used his well. But that is society's idea, and one which its inhabitants have been forced to absorb. For what they do not consider is that I have gained in an area where he has not, and vice versa. While I am suitably rested and refreshed, his body is worn down from physical exertion. Conversely, while I re-wired myself, he gained experience in whatever task he was working on. It all depends, like I said before, on what you make of your time.Okay, so in that rambling there are a few threads of sense. People have no qualms with using the phrase 'wasted time', something that really bothers me because I do not believe that you can waste time. Why, after all, we do not own time. We simply decided we needed a way to measure the worth of our actions. Think I'm lying? Let's look at a few examples. Teachers/superiors consider a 'good' project, one that you have spent a lot of 'time' on. It is said that you have done ample studying when you shut yourself in your room for a long 'time' with a book in front of your face. A good book is also judged by how much 'time' the author spent writing it. Sometimes, your mother makes you feel guilty about wasting food by moaning on about how much 'time' she spent cooking it. I'm not saying that time is never important. After all, if it takes you 8 hours to get to a destination, you can suitably say that place is far cause you took a long time getting there. However, were those 8 hours wasted? What did you spend it doing? Sleeping, writing a book, thinking up a solution to global warming? Just take a moment, and think about it.
You don't have to agree with me when I say that there is nothing like wasted time. However, I would love it if people became more conscious whenever they feel the need to use the phrase wasted time.
P.s: This is not an attempt to justify procrastination ^-^
P.p.s: Sorry for the long title....oh, and post too. :)
After I finished reading this I had to restrain myself from asking you to marry me :P Im simply in love with your mind but . . . despite the truth in this post, time CAN be wasted . . . but only when observed through subjective perspective.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm saying is, in order to say time is 'wasted' one must have three elements : time zero, the standard/common procedure and finally, the goal. But these elements only exist subjectively and mainly theoretically.
Just like how you mentioned that time is simply an instrument for measurement,the word 'wasted' simply quantifies the amount of time used doing anything else that does not support the 'standard/common procedure' between time zero and the goal.
Indeed in 'wasting' time we do always gain something else but we also loose something. Now as to whether what we lost is detrimental to the standard/common procedure or not is intrinsically a subjective issue depending on the individual concerned but when the world looks down on the matter, the theoretical classification of the 3 elements becomes the means of judgement as to whether time is wasted or not.
I am not even going to try to top that argument, because it is absolutely sound. I realize that those 3 elements exist in relation to understanding the nature of time, and in writing this post, I believe I played down the importance of the link between time zero and the goal. However, I am happy to see that you recognize the truth in the post as well. :)
DeleteAlso, you shouldn't have restrained yourself, It would be an honor to call myself your wife...(Is there a hint, and maybe a subtle proposal in this sentence? :D Yes...Just kidding...or am I >_> )
P.s: You should seriously consider having a blog. Your thoughts are amazing to read.
Interesting, though I have to say I disagree. Time can be wasted...
ReplyDeleteI can see where you are coming from, probably the same argument as Kay regarding time zero, procedure and goal. Well yes, it that sense, I guess you can argue that it can be. However, in the way that most of society refers to it, they don't argue in that sense. The belief is time is wasted if you are not using it for the sole purpose of achieving the goals they see as 'important', e.g. school work, taking care of invalids etc. Gaming and other activities are considered time wasters. My argument is to change this mentality, or at least make room for the consideration of these activities as equally important, not mainly side tasters.
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