vish-the-wanderer

[vish-the-wanderer]

Opening CoTEs, season three

(haha get it, quotes, CoTEs)

The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice. -George Eliot, Daniel Deronda

Man is wolf to man. -Plautus, Asinaria

We never forget what we endeavour to forget. -Friedrich W Nietzsche, The Dawn of Day

To work you have the right, but not to the fruits thereof. -Bhagavad Gita

Fortune favours the bold. -Virgil, Aeneid

It is better to suffer an injustice than to commit one. -Cicero, Tusculan Disputations

People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls -Carl Jung, Psychology and Alchemy

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. -George Santayana, The Life of Reason: Or, The Phases of Human Progress

Extreme justice leads to extreme injustice. -Cicero, On Obligations

The first cause of absurd conclusions I ascribe to the want of Method. -Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan

There is only one law in emotion: to bring happiness to those we love. -Stendhal, diary entry dated June 19, 1805

Do not change the world to suit your desires; first, change yourself. -Descartes, Discourse on the Method

Love is the best teacher. -Pliny the younger, Epistulae

(i'm cooking the explanations for these cotes, should post soon™)

[vish-the-wanderer]

based developers

[vish-the-wanderer]

you might be writing wrong

I will clarify that there is no inherently right or wrong method of writing. Each has its own specialties, and people have their own preferences.

My handwriting was average. Not troublesome in any way. Except... my hand would get fatigued pretty quick. And once fatigued enough my handwriting would deteriorate to scribbles. Not ideal, as a student who must write three hour exams. (yeah we got it tough out here)

There are essentially two ways to write: with your fingers and with your arm. The former is what most of us employ. (for various reasons)

For doing so, we plant the side of our hand on the paper/book and use it as a pivot point to move our hands and fingers. While this can provide greater accuracy, its main downside is quick fatigue. (sound familiar?)

In arm writing, we plant our forearm muscle on the surface, and hold our hand such that our palm is almost parallel to the table. And then we write via only moving our arms. Our fingers remain stationary.

This method of writing allows us to write much more, getting way less fatigued. It's faster, since we need to reposition our hand less. Greatly helpful for students. (for students like me who didn't learn to write the proper way)

[vish-the-wanderer]

understanding classroom of the elite opening quotes

What is evil?- Whatever springs from weakness. -F W Nietzsche, The Antichrist

To understand we will need to expand on Nietzsche's philosophy. Nietzsche distinguished between two types of moralities: master morality and slave morality.

Master morality, according to Nietzsche, was characterised by values such as strength, nobility, capability, trustworthiness and pride. In contrast, slave morality arose as a reaction to master morality, devaluing what what the master values. Arising from ressentiment, slave morality is characterised by humility, meekness, charity and pity.

Nietzsche's statement is thus a direct critique against slave morality. According to slave morality, strength and power are seen as virtuous. Nietzsche emphasises the opposite.

This philosophy can be seen in CoTE everywhere. The school has a clear hierarchy where the students with greater abilities sit at the top, with greater privileges, and those with perceived weaker abilities... do not. The school makes it clear that everything is decided by merit.

Actions taken by students to maintain their position or gain an advantage may be seen as "evil" through the eyes of lower students, yet the school will only award such schemes with more points. The association is clear.

It takes great talent and skill to conceal one's talent and skill. -La Rochefoucauld, Reflections or Sentences and Moral Maxims

Rochefocauld's maxims are known for his short, witty reflections on human behaviour and character.

While seemingly counter-intuitive, hiding one's talent and skill from others is naturally advantageous because it: projects a humble image and wards off resentment, allowing for more positive relationships; protects you from envy attacks; it builds anticipation and an air of mystery, allowing for strategic revelation to be all the more impactful.

Without a doubt this directly refers to Ayanokouji. It can be applied to a few other characters as well, who choose not to reveal certain abilities of theirs, giving them an edge over other students. I cannot name them here because spoilers.😅

Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with one another. -Adam Smith, An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

This quote is taken from the book that is known to be the cornerstone of the study of economics. It means to say that humans are unique to other animals in that we can bargain, make deals and come to agreements.

This opens up another dimension of complexity in social interactions between humans. Getting what you want from another individual involves providing something to them: be it a fair return of service, or mercy (blackmail). The very cunning know the intricacies human biases, and how to use them.

In this episode we observe negotiations between Ayanokouji and Kushida, and between the two and a senpai in order to procure mock test papers.

would you like more of these?

[vish-the-wanderer]

For thousands of years, philosophers, thinkers and prophets have besmirched money and called it the root of all evil. Be that as it may, money is also the apogee of human tolerance.

Money is more open-minded than language, state laws, cultural codes, religious beliefs and social habits. Money is the only trust system created by humans that can bridge almost any cultural gap, and that does not discriminate on the basis of religion, gender, race, age or sexual orientation. Thanks to money, even people who don't know each other and don't trust each other can nevertheless cooperate effectively.

from Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (one of my favourite books ever)

[vish-the-wanderer]

CoTE opening quotes

a list of the opening quotes in classroom of the elite:

What is evil?- Whatever springs from weakness. -F W Nietzsche, The Antichrist It takes great talent and skill to conceal one's talent and skill. -La Rochefoucauld, Reflections or Sentences and Moral Maxims Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with one another. -Adam Smith, An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations We should not be upset that others hide the truth from us, when we hide it so often from ourselves. -La Rochefoucauld, Reflections or Sentences and Moral Maxims Hell is other people. -Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit There are two kinds of lies; one concerns an accomplished fact, the other concerns a future duty. -Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile or on Education Nothing is as dangerous as an ignorant friend; a wise enemy is to be preferred. -Jean de La Fontaine, Fables Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. -Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Inferno Man is condemned to be free. -Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism and Humanism Every man has in himself the most dangerous traitor of all. -Kierkegaard, Works of Love What people commonly call fate is their own stupidity. -Schopenhauer, Philosophical Writings Genius lives only one story above madness. -Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena Remember to keep a clear head in difficult times. -Horace, Odes (Carmina) There are two main human sins from which all the others derive: impatience and indolence. -Franz Kafka, The Zurau Aphorisms The greatest souls are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues. -Rene Descartes, Discourse on Method The material has to be created. -Florence Nightingale, subsidiary notes (female nursing into military hospitals in peace and war) Every failure is a step to success. -William Whewell, Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy in England Adversity is the first path to truth. -G G Byron Don Juan To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions;  both dispense with the necessity of reflection. -H Poincare, Science and Hypothesis The wound is at her heart. -Vergil, Aeneid If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake. -Anonymous, Analects People, often deceived by an illusive good, desire their own ruin. -Niccolo Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy A man who cannot command himself will always be a slave. -J W V Goethe, Zahme Xenien Force without wisdom falls of its own weight. -Horace, Odes (Carmina) The worst enemy you can meet will always be yourself. -F W Nietzsche, Thus spoke Zarathustra

lmk if you'd like explanations as to how these epigraphs relate to the story

[vish-the-wanderer]