"The Tortoise and the Hare", from an edition of Aesop's Fables illustrated by Arthur Rackham, 1912
The Different Cognition of the Tortoise and the Hare Due to Speed#
When I was young, I heard the story of the tortoise and the hare, and I thought that the tortoise beating the hare was just a coincidence, somewhat far-fetched. Fast is fast. However, the fastness of the hare and the slowness of the tortoise solidified their respective cognition of the world. Fast is ordinary for the hare, but slow is extraordinary for the tortoise. This kind of cognition leads to different perceptions of what matters in the world, and the difference in their concepts is certain.
What Can a Person Be Consistent with?#
I often ask myself, what is most important to me? What can I be consistent with? What do I still aspire to before I die? This is similar to the famous quote from "How Steel Is Tempered," but also different.
A person should live their life in such a way that when they look back on the past, they do not regret wasting their time or feel ashamed of their baseness. In this way, when they are on the verge of death, they can say, "I have devoted my whole life and all my energy to the most magnificent cause in the world - the struggle for the liberation of humanity."
Wasting time is natural, and baseness is normal. As for the struggle for the liberation of humanity, it is beyond the scope of the individual. Words like "sublime" and "great" fill people with passion and immerse them in it, but they cannot extricate themselves. After waking up from the "political black forest," I look back and feel a chill.
The Direction of the Tortoise#
Someone once complained that what they liked was often unattainable. But liking doesn't have to lead to achievement. Just like the tortoise, if its goal is a thousand miles away, it will persevere day and night, regardless of whether it reaches the goal or not. If you ask what this is, perhaps it is the "right way."
Marxism, as the current dominant ideology, has a great influence on us. On the objective level, it is not enough to transcend Marxism; on the value level, it is based on "sublimity" and "greatness," but it does not go far. The foundation of human existence lies in the individual, and the foundation of value also lies in the individual.
Although the race between the tortoise and the hare is not important, the hare can definitely outrun the tortoise, but the hare has no direction, no consistent belief, and no own right way. Because there are countless paths, the hare can never catch up with the tortoise.
The Methodology of the Tortoise#
I used to look up words in the dictionary, and this is the first time I have accepted the Matthew effect.
For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Some say that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is just one manifestation of the Matthew effect. Strength and weakness can be in terms of money, fame, power, skills, etc.
These things can be accumulated and preserved. And there is a chain reaction similar to dominoes. For example, technology trees, industrial chains. Just like cooking.
Reflecting on myself, it is true. The things I used to look down upon have left me, while the things I pursue have come to me one after another.
The same goes for the race between the tortoise and the hare. It's not that the hare can't run fast, but the tortoise is too passionate about the distance. And coincidentally, the goal pursued by the tortoise can be broken down into steps. But if the tortoise's goal is to be the champion of a sprint, it will have to be reborn in the next life.
So, love + a goal that can be broken down = distance
The Helplessness of the Tortoise#
Fantasy and reason, this is a perpetual contradiction. The longer the fantasy, the less reason there is. The shorter the fantasy, the more reason there is. People like long-lasting fantasies, but they are always awakened by the logic of reality.
A shortcut to the path of fantasy is to replace logic with experience, to replace logic with long-lasting experience. Or, to think slowly over a long period of time, gradually accumulating into a long fantasy. Otherwise, it is like a person awakened from a dream by illness, feeling dry-mouthed and lost. Accumulating strength and waiting for the right moment, it all comes back to the race between the tortoise and the hare, the instantaneous speed is beyond human reach, only to exchange time for space.
The Rarity of the Tortoise#
Learning without thinking leads to confusion, thinking without learning leads to danger. Learning is greater than thinking, when learning, thinking naturally follows, but when thinking, learning does not naturally follow. In learning, thinking is accompanied and specialized thinking exists in a significant difference - specialized thinking is more active, it can arouse our systematic learning of certain knowledge.
The situation of thinking and learning varies from person to person. The problem I face is that thinking is greater than learning, which often harms me. So why not learn? People are constantly exposed to information and learning is ongoing, but due to the solidification of thinking, the field of learning becomes narrow. So, learning becomes less, not less intake of information, but less intake of certain information.
But all of this is somewhat far-fetched, because with more passive thinking, there is more meaning. Even a forcibly twisted melon will eventually taste sweet.
After much thought, I still have to ask myself, do I really want to learn a certain knowledge? Strong desire is the driving force behind all thinking. This brings us back to the race between the tortoise and the hare, back to the consistent belief of a person, although I am not trying to solve problems from the heart. Learn if you want to learn, don't learn if you don't want to learn. Just like what Jiang Wen said, think for yourself first, see how others think, and then think for yourself.
Stability in Change#
This article originated from my long-term contemplation of the race between the tortoise and the hare. In the end, it still comes back to the human heart. What do you really want? If you know what you want, then the path is under your feet, even if you can't reach it, you will always be a happy tortoise. Life is often unsatisfactory, but having a destination is something to be happy about. No matter how the world changes, how politics is full of twists and turns, determination, heart, and everything is determined.
Many things are not about how to reach them, but whether reaching them is necessary. Because they are not essential. And the things we have been doing, seemingly ordinary, but cannot be abandoned, constitute the meaning of our lives.
From an external perspective, the tortoise is just crawling forward, just crawling in a certain direction.
The Limited Tortoise#
Of course, there is another kind of tortoise, from a short article I once read. A person sitting on the back of a tortoise, holding a fishing rod with bait that keeps attracting the tortoise to move forward but never reaches its destination.
Although I boast that the tortoise has a definite direction, there is also another definite direction. I believe that people can be greatly transformed. The greatest characteristic of human nature is that it can be manipulated by fame and fortune. This is the greatest use of the social contract theory.
On any platform, there is always a voice telling you what is good, what is useful, what is right, what concerns your future and destiny... as if if I don't follow the path they give, I will fall into hell.
"If I don't go to hell, who will?"
What can be determined now is survival. As long as we are alive, we must eat and drink. And it is like eating and drinking like a monk striking a bell every day. It is to fulfill the social contract, the only contract between us and the world.
Good and evil are the same. The desire to make people do good or evil, what is the reason? Perhaps it is the instinct of the group.
In fact, people are like trees. The more they long for the sunlight above, the more their roots extend into the dark underground.
Denying good and evil, denying various values, is not denying the values themselves, but putting the power of choice back in our own hands. Even if there is no free will, we should carefully analyze the interests of various variables. So the key to the problem is that there is a group of people who use their own will to transform the group, rather than the difference in the path itself.
Is There a Life Meaning Like the Tortoise?#
Does a person really have a goal that must be achieved? Like that tortoise? Apart from basic needs, there seems to be no goal that must be achieved.
Generally, the goals that must be achieved occur within the group. For example, it is necessary to work for society, and it is necessary to abide by the law.
People are the sum of all social relationships. It seems that meaning can only be derived from the group. Rather than saying that the group gives meaning, it is more accurate to say that material life gives meaning. The group is certainly where goals are generated, but goals are not limited to the group.
However, in general, our meaning is given by the group. If this meaning is worth being consistent with, then life becomes meaningful. If it does not rely on the group, how can we find a goal?
It's the same question again, if no one is watching, will I still talk to myself? I will still talk to myself, but it will be more casual, and I can write or not write. The meaning given by the group has coercive power, and the meaning given by oneself, like having legislative and judicial powers, being one's own judge, is absolutely arbitrary.
If meaning can be self-imposed, then we cannot see any light from a black hole; if meaning cannot be self-imposed, then this is a normal situation.
Since all meaning is given by the group, why must we follow it? Even if we follow, why be so attached to specific things? So, although the meaning given by the group is real and has coercive power, it still lacks something. This something is an internal attachment based on objective circumstances that are difficult for individuals to change.
Therefore, we still need to explore meaning from within, but not ask our consciousness, not ask the consciousness reading this information, but a more real and stable inner self.
I am satisfied with this answer. Even if the goal I give myself requires drastic measures, I will take them. Abandoning all rules is not to abandon, but to find the true rules. This process is not mysticism, it is a way of survival that suits oneself.
Collective Meaning and Individual Meaning#
I once heard a plumber say that the water pipes in his own home were not repaired for a long time, and no wiring was done. He worked diligently for others, but became lazy when it came to his own work. The group gave meaning.
Another kind is fishing alone, playing single-player games alone, writing alone, enjoying the scenery alone, a Robinson Crusoe-like way of survival. The value they create for themselves has surpassed the value given by the group.
Jin Yong once said:
Novels are written for people to read. The content of a novel is people. In long novels, perhaps only "Robinson Crusoe" writes about one person, writing about his relationship with nature. But as the story progresses, a servant named "Friday" appears.
Indeed, humans are intelligent beings. What could be more interesting than being with people? But this intelligent existence of humans does not add happiness. Being in a crowd makes one feel more lonely. What people show is not equality and communication, but command and obedience. It is not people who drive people away, but non-human things that drive people away.
There is no need to worship a solitary life, but the things done alone reflect the true value that people have found. This value is rooted in the self, is sufficiently vital, and is solid.
The goals guided by the group cannot be said to be bad, but once the group changes, people are at a loss and all meaning collapses. In order to find true value, we must blindfold ourselves and see if we can still see the stars. Just like when we first ride a bicycle, at the moment of giving up balance, we gain the ability to ride a bicycle; igniting fusion fuel with a laser, the fusion reaction can operate independently from then on.