Tuesday, October 25, 2016

What is your personal motto?

I take attendance by having the students answer a question.

What is your personal motto?

The earnest take several forms, the positive charge:

  • always be the best version of yourself 
  • channel negative emotions into something productive
  • live happily
  • live slow
  • enjoy
  • work smarter, not harder
... the negative (admonitions):
  • don't be afraid of anything
  • don't worry about things that don't matter
  • don't leave yourself with any regret.
  • don't disguise your fear as impracticality
... and the neutral mottos which are not commands:
  • all life/sentience is sacred
  • resilience
  • truthfulness forbearance compassion
  • time wasted doing something you enjoy isn't wasted
  • non nobis domine

Then there are the cultural references:

  • just keep swimming (<-- li="" popular="" response="" this="" was="">
  • get schwifty

Then there were the stalwart replies, dependably occurring for every question. No matter what question I ask, someone answers with "sleep" (in this case, the motto "sleep is important".) Someone else always writes answers that center on the class (motto: "do algorithms"). At least one person goes for maximum psychological darkness (motto: "society sucks and everyone dies"). There's always at least one person who goes full-throttle academic (motto: "intuitions without concepts are blind"), who is counterbalanced by the jokers ("what's a motto with you?" and "Born too late to explore the seas, born too early to explore the stars, born right in time to browse DANK MEMES.")

I was amused to see both "moderation is boring" and "everything is good in moderation." This duo of answers wins the synergy award.


This post's theme word is triffid, "an out-of-control plant that overruns everything around it (also, anything that behaves in this manner)." The triffids' motto is, "go, go, go!"

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