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comment by FirebrandRoaring
FirebrandRoaring  ·  2263 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: February 7, 2018

    Pubski is dope because it encourages you to put your thoughts into words, which helps your thoughts be better!

You learn about yourself because you have to transmit what's on your mind — an intangible — into tangible. It's the reason planning works: you get to see exactly what you're up against, which dispels fear of uncertainty.

Journaling would have the same effect. It also lets you talk to yourself about something you can only keep private.





nowaypablo  ·  2263 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah that's something I ought to keep in mind. Extracurricular dialog in any form apart from small talk and gossip (who got caught drinking in the barracks this week?) is stifled at my school. The consequences don't really present themselves in an obvious way.

FirebrandRoaring  ·  2263 days ago  ·  link  ·  

You're in, uh... pardon my ignorance... military school? I would think the military would encourage camaraderie.

nowaypablo  ·  2263 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah, teamwork matters when you have a mission to accomplish. When it's time to "Army" everyone is there for each other. But when it's time to "University," not so much.

Our class rank determines a big part of our career, including the branch of the Army we are assigned, and our first post upon graduating, from Italy and hawaii all the way down to Alaska. Before graduation, our "order of merit" dictates who gets to seize opportunities like internships, study abroad programs, military specialty schools like Ranger, Sapper, and Airborne, and the positions of leadership within the Academy that go all the way to First Captain at the top of a 4,300-strong Corps.

So, given the pressure, there is not a lot of incentive to sit down in the library and discuss existentialism over coffee. It makes the friends you choose that much more important.

The other most contributing factor on the lack of dialog is the professionalism side of things, where discussing religious, political, and sexual matters in uniform or with other cadets may not fare well for unit cohesion in the short-term.

FirebrandRoaring  ·  2263 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I hear you. Performance is important, and so is team spirit.

Still. Soul is important. Maybe the higher-ups want a husk with skills in firearms, but I imagine that you want to be alive, not just living.

nowaypablo  ·  2263 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    I imagine that you want to be alive, not just living.

Hah, you're telling me. I spend a lot of my time on the internet browsing art, music and fashion because it's the opposite of my actual life :D Although my appreciation for precision and turning chaos into black-and-white formula has grown a lot.

FirebrandRoaring  ·  2263 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm guessing "opposite" here does not mean "being opposed to".