10 Random Facts

 As I am currently working on multiple projects for your enjoyment, I figured I would occasionally post a smaller article in between to keep my readers stimulated. Consider this the beginning of an informal series in between my larger posts. Until the completion of my next post, here are ten random facts for your consideration.

1. Technetium is the only element on earth with no stable isotope.

2. In the U.S alone, the CDC estimates that 35.5 million people experienced influenza during the 2018-19 period.

3. If you suffer from an autoimmune disease, the chance you will develop another is 25-30%.

4. Melbourne, Australia is the friendliest city in the world.

5. To be diagnosed as a pedophile, the disordered individual must at least be sixteen years old with the object of desire being at least five years younger. The maximum general age is considered thirteen years.

6. Anomaly games are where the player looks for oddities within the context of a tense situation.

7. Mosquitoes are a type of fly. They belong to the family Culicidae within the order Diptera, which includes all true flies.

8. The flying carpet myth originated from Middle Eastern and Hebrew myths, with the earliest reference linked to King Solomon and being later popularized in Arabian folklore.

9. Hallucinations happen when the brain generates sensory stimuli without an external cause.

10. Seoul officially became the capital of Korea in 1394 under the Joseon Dynasty, though it dates back over 2000 years

10 Architectural Styles of Mansions Ranked

 In our understanding of human psychology, it is quite common to overlook the significance of the house. Our home is the centralized nucleus of our world; a place where we can find shelter, feel secure and most importantly have an environment that reflects our inner world. In our style of architecture and choosing of decor, we create an environment that is an extension of ourselves. All aspects of the house from its size, illumination and organization reflect the mentality of its inhabitants, almost as if the house were an agent with a mind all of its own.

Much as a house seems its own agent, various designs of houses reflect a difference in personality. It is difficult to gaze upon a home and not treat it as an entity in-and-of-itself. Its structure serves as mechanisms reminiscent of biological organs and its decor creates a psychic mentality when transitioning its inner walls.

While the psychology of the house is of much interest and shall be further explored in a future post, one aspect that is relevant to our discussion today is its size. In particular, we shall speak of the most grand manors that exist in our world: mansions. While traditional houses come in various different forms, mansions are no exception to this rule. Architecture is a study in-and-of-itself, and the quantity of style could be potentially infinite in their classification. While perhaps one day I shall undergo the task of classifying each style and decor, today I merely wish to discuss ten specific styles. 

In my research, I came across an article explaining ten types of mansions, their history and the characteristics which classifies them accordingly. This post will serve as a ranking of these ten different styles and serve to classify them in order of their beauty and grandeur. This post is of personal preference and many of my readers will disagree due to the subjective nature of the topic. Furthermore, this post is free to serve as the initiation of a discussion, with my readers being free to leave their disagreements in the comments below.

With that being established, let us rank the grandeur of ten styles of mansion.

10: McMansions

McMansions are essentially large homes with the spaciousness of mansions but being virtually identical; that prizes physical appearance or sheer size over quality, or both. They have a disproportionate size on a small plot of land that is typically shared with a neighbour. The lack of an architect in their design gives them a cookie-cutter appearance and external characteristics that don’t match with the interior. While they can have a beautiful interior, the impossibility of predicting their interior design and disproportionate characteristics unfortunately puts them into last place.

9: The Mediterranean Mansion

Mediterranean mansions are a unique edition on this list. Their red tiling and multi-colored tiles present a distinct aesthetic from other houses on this list. While I find them somewhat appealing in the right circumstance, being especially fond of their wooden doors and pronounced decor, their red coloring and overall style seems out of place in comparison to the other architectures on this list.

8: The Neoclassical Mansion

There is no question, neoclassical mansions are absolutely beautiful and it’s completely understandable why they would be in first place for many. They are characterized, amongst other things for their grandiose size, sublime decor, columns and symmetrical features. While varying in some respects, they possess the commonality of revitalizing the styles of ancient Greece and Rome. Though I love the majority of their architecture, the brightly painted exterior and brightly lit interior subtract from my subjective taste, as I prefer darker schematics. For this reason, I have to put them at a lower score for my personal list.

7. The English Country Mansion

The English Country Mansion is the traditional mansion seen in classical novels. It is known for its colossal design and symmetrical architecture. Large enough to accommodate twelve bedrooms within two floors, these mansions are excellent for anyone looking for sheer size. While possessing a beautiful interior, I personally do not resonate with the exterior design. While the symmetry is quite beautiful, the coloring and presentation unfortunately does not bode well with me, putting them lower on the list.

6. The Cape Cod Mansion

Cape Cod mansions were designed to be reminiscent of the British thatched cottages. They are beautiful mansions with plenty of windows for natural light, six to eight bedrooms, double the amount of bathrooms and plenty of amenities. They have steep roofs with large chimneys to withstand the cold weather. While beautiful and diverse homes, their reminiscence of cottages puts them lower on the list as I feel this reduces the authentic mansion aesthetic.

5:The Craftsman Mansion

Craftsman mansions are an anomaly on this list. While I am placing them at number five, they are strange in that they are the only mansion that sometimes can be placed at number two. Their wrap around porches with extended eaves and thick columns are a personal preference. The in-built bookshelves, window seats and fireplaces are a further addition to the aesthetic. However, the cookie-cutter style, monochrome coloring and excessive use of wood, stucco and stone often subtract from the appearance. While having the potential to be amongst the second-most appealing mansions, their combined aesthetic often produces a result that does not meet expectation.

4: The Colonial Mansion

The colonial mansion is being placed in fourth place for its sheer diversity in style. Having over six different subforms, it is impossible to pin down one style and pass a final judgement overall. Though diverse, specific substyles are absolutely beautiful and run competitors for second place. Their consistent symmetry, abundance of windows, supporting pillars and consistent front porches are extremely appealing and render many of these houses an easy buy.

3: The Georgian Mansion

The Georgian mansion has a fantastic aesthetic for anyone looking for luxury. Their box-like architecture usually contains an abundance of five windows across to enhance the natural lighting. The shutters on the windows and front pillars to enhance the front door further convey an added aesthetic to these beautiful homes. The interior is in no way inferior to the exterior, often having between six to ten bedrooms, walk-in closets and an abundance of other amenities. The quantity of space, aesthetic combinations and focus on symmetry place these homes quite high on the list.

2: The Italianate Mansion

The Italianate mansion is a home design that I have recently begun to appreciate. Several characteristics place this style at an obvious second place. First, their embellished cornices, doorways and entrances are extremely welcoming and show you the beauty you are about to witness. The doors are typically doubled, adding a further grandiose aesthetic. Their roofs are usually supported by corbels or brackets which are heavily decorated and their long, thin windows set in groups of three create a lovely decor inside and out. 

1: The Victorian Mansion

At the end of the day, I feel that nothing can beat the aesthetic of the Victorian mansion. Set up in an asymmetrical fashion to seem reminiscent of European castles, these homes further contain large rooms with elaborate detailing in the bedrooms and reception rooms. These homes usually contained at least two floors containing the totality of the mansion's elaborate details, and the front porch often provided a unique option for outdoor appreciation. Finally, it is usually this style of mansion that the haunted house trope is modeled after, providing a gothic decor option for fellow horror lovers. Ironic, considering the haunted house is the americanized haunted castle trope, with the castle being the inspiration for this architecture.

While Georgian, Colonial and Italianate each have a place at number two (and switch back and forth), Victorian always remains stable at number one on my list. As such, first place belongs to the Victorian mansion, and I can only hope to possess one of these homes one day.

The Christian Canon Series Post 1: An Introduction

 Christianity is the dominant faith to have ever existed in the history of our world. With over 2.4 billion followers worldwide it is hard not to marvel at the faith's ability to spread and continue for over two-thousand years.

Christianity has several doctrines established in the definition of the faith. The central constructs are that the faith was founded by Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the religion's deified founder who was believed to be the son of/God. The faith concludes that Christ was truly human and truly God, that he died for our sins via crucifixion; that he resurrected from the dead three days later; that he ascended into heaven and that he will return to judge the living and the dead. Christianity is also a monotheistic religion, believing in one God whom Christ is in human form; that the church is the body of Christ on earth and that the Bible is the inherent word of God. These tenets were established via the Nicene creed in the fourth century, when Christianity was given an official definition for the faith.

While these tenets are the commonality for Christianity, they are the only commonalities. Indeed, Christianity has undergone vast iterations and differences in interpretation and central tenets of belief. These groups who possess a different cosmology are traditionally referred to as “denominations.” Indeed, Christian groups are of such abundance that denominations are a ubiquitous feature, presenting with tens of thousands in this one faith alone, depending on one’s definition.

While over 2.4 billion people believe in Christianity, this post will not serve as a philosophical inquiry into the validity of Christianity. Instead, I wish to present a series where I examine the central denominations of Christianity and attempt to deduce which denomination is the official “canon” of the religion. While many Christians will disagree that there is a correct denomination, citing that all have imperfections, this project is merely for intellectual curiosity and entertainment purposes. The conclusion of an “objectively correct” denomination is not the intention and readers are free to disagree with the final conclusion.

With this established, this post serves as an introduction to the Christian canon series. I do not plan to explore all denominations as the quantity makes this a nigh-impossible task. Instead I plan to simply examine some of the central denominations that differ substantially in cosmology, beliefs, rituals, opinions on salvation and Christology. I shall examine the pros and cons of each denomination in accordance with scripture and the religions history and assign the denomination a concluding rank. After each exploration, I will finalize the series with a concluding post assigning a winning denomination and explaining my arguments for its canonization.

While this will likely be a long series, I shall continue to publish content of other topics to keep the content flow relatively consistent. As this is a reality encyclopedia, other topics of interest for my readers and myself shall not be ignored. While I am uncertain how many posts this series will have, I shall announce when I have published my finalizing post.

Mutant Christ: A Lyrical Analysis

 Canadian technical death metal band Cryptopsy’s “Mutant Christ” is quite possibly the most popular song of the band’s discography. While the song was performed with excellent musicianship, the message of its lyrics may play a role in its deserved popularity. The lyrics present the figure of Christ in a diminished and deformed manner. Though presented within a surreal fashion, they suggest a type of relationship existing between the narrator and this distorted Christ. This post will serve as an analysis of these lyrics, attempting to extrapolate the presented meaning behind them.

For context, it is necessary to see the lyrics themselves. They are presented below:

Abobinated, tiny god of mine

Overseeing my rest, my lust, my life

Torched in hatred

Loved in Horror sublime

Almost formless

Darkened, and yet you shine

You made me in your image

I deformed yours into mine

Now we're even, O loving god

Equals in my melting eyes

Mutant christ, loving christ

Know me with thine naked eyes

Holy christ, one tenth the size

So unlike the other christs

God-made man (with)

man-made god to adore

Idolatry?

My faith has been restored

Gaze upon me

Bless me, lord, or die

I'll find another little lord to fry

You baked me in this image

so I burned yours into mine

Eye for eye and tooth for tooth

I love you now, O twisted christ

Mutant Christ

The central notion of mutant Christ is that which is already presented in its proverbial nomenclature; the presence of a world-famous deity who has been distorted into a miniature, twisted caricature of his formal image. While Christ presented a message of peace, charity and the coming kingdom of God to the Jewish peasantry, his image has been distorted by the likes of Paul and simple repetition. The message of Christ has been altered from a “love thy neighbor” and “give to the poor”, to a simple “faith alone” paradigm, allowing it to transition from the Jewish community and traverse the world over as the planet's dominant faith. Mutant Christ alludes to that truth, inferring about the several thousand Christs which have been conceived by humanity, each with a contrasting message, altered image and infinitely diverse caricature of the character. Let us examine each passage in detail.

The narrator begins by alluding to his “tiny god” who is abominable in his nature. The tiny description alludes to it being an aspect of his mind, living within him as a little companion.  Nonetheless, the narrator retains a relationship with this god, as it is overseeing the various aspects of his life.

Next, our narrator admits the nature of this god. He is not a god of love, but a god that has been “torched in hatred.” The figure of Christ in Christianity is one that has been embued with much cathartic hate; a character who demands love, peace and charity, with the result of non-compliance being eternal torture. This hateful character is nonetheless revered, as he allows for a schadenfreudian sense of justice towards the non-believers. The result of this is that he is “loved in Horror sublime.” What cryptopsy also references is how Christ has become “almost formless”. Various denominations present extremely different variations of Christ, representing the beliefs, needs and desires of the group's believers. As such, Christ (almost) no longer possesses an established form, with the same character being adored by the religion despite completely different iterations established by the collective imagination. Though Christ has been “darkened” via the imbued hate of the character in addition to the ambiguity of his nature, the character continues to shine in the eyes of his believers, as Christ establishes various psychological functions for those who revere him.

Being a believer, the narrator acknowledges that he was made in Christ’s image. In a brilliant analog of psychology, he also acknowledges that “I deformed yours into mine.” This reflects the nature of the believer and his relationship with Christ. Rare is it to encounter a believer who follows the original message of Jesus. What has happened is that the caricature of Christ has been distorted time and time again in response to differences in belief stemming from the viewpoint and necessities of the believer. Christ, at the end of the day, serves the function of the believer and as such has been deformed to match the image of the one who believes. In this process, Christ is now one with the believer as he is an extension of the believer's psychological needs. The end result is of the two being “equals in my melting eyes.”

Next, the narrator addresses this “tiny Christ” of his, acknowledging its parsimonious duality as both loving and mutated. He acknowledges Christ’s ability to know of his nature with “thine naked eyes,” a reflection of Christ’s ontological structure as an extension of the believer. What puts this perspective into account is his description of Christ as “one-tenth the size” and being “so unlike the other Christs.” We see this reference demonstrates proof that it is not Christ himself whom the narrator is addressing, but this distorted Christ that lives within his own mind. Christ has become mutated, because the several iterations of Christ within the world make reference to the same character through the lens of a completely different cosmological paradigm. Any church entered will not depict Christ proper, but an iteration of Christ manufactured for the purposes of the denomination. As such, each believer contains their own miniature Christ, serving as the articulation of separate, distorted messages.

In the next passage, our narrator begins by expressing how God made man. However, the sentence ends abruptly, as if reality has entered the narrator's awareness. Following this, he expresses the opposite opinion, that it was humanity that created God for the purposes of adoration. He questions if this is mere idolatry, before stating his faith has been restored. This seems to allude further to the notion that this distorted Christ was invented for the purpose of psychological equilibrium. In serving this function, the idol of Christ is established in the narrator's mind, allowing the perseverance of his faith as a result of its psychological benefit.

In our penultimate stanza, the narrator demands that Christ gazes upon him and that he be blessed, or that his lord will die. The irony is in Christ normally being established as the master. However, here, the narrator retains control, demanding that Christ serve his established function. Should he not, the protagonist will find “another little lord to fry.” It is this stanza that puts things into perspective. This Christ is serving the functions that the narrator demands, bringing him emotional contentment in the process. However, Christianity offers several iterations of Christ, and should this Christ not serve the proper function, he may kill him and adopt another “little lord” who will adopt the functions demanded of him.

In the final stanza, the protagonist reiterates his previous message, that we were baked in the image of Christ, to which he responded by burning Christ into his own image. In this exploitative symbiosis, the authenticity of Christ's image was sacrificed so that the narrator may benefit, while the narrator adopts the demands of the belief so that this Christ may persevere within his mind. As such, an “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” negotiation has been established, to which he concludes that he now loves this Christ precisely through his distortion.

So what can we take away from this music? Mutant Christ is an insightful piece about one’s nature with a deity and the distortions that inevitably arise. At the end of the day, Christ is the imaginary fantasm present in the minds of those indoctrinated into the religion. His purpose is to provide psychological equilibrium to those who believe in him, and his image is distorted into whatever caricature is necessary for that end. To be a Christian in the modern world is to choose which Christ will suit your ends, with any previous Christ being discarded in favor of a more useful “little lord.” The guttural death metal vocals brought by Lord Worm create a sense of perversity in the feel of the lyric’s message, adding to the corrupted sense of Christ's image. They also bring a vomit aesthetic, contributing to the sense of a “sickening truth” being “vomited” to all those with a “tiny god.” All-in-all, Mutant Christ creates a genuine horror aesthetic to the image of Christ and reveals an unpleasant truth on the nature of religion.

The Sense of Self as Home: A Metaphorical Analogy for The Narcissism Spectrum

Within the philosophical inquiries of psychology, a relevant analogy to an individual's sense of self is via the symbol of the house. The house contains within its walls a reflection of its inhabitants psyche. It is a space for us to feel comfortable in, to function as a nucleus for our life and to protect us from the harsh elements of the external world. The self plays the same function, serving as an internal space to reflect on ourselves, our place in the world, feel comfortable in our own skin and defend against external trauma. However, much like the house, the self can have various levels of stability and security. Ideally, it is our home within ourselves to soothe ourselves and protect against trauma, criticism and failure. Sometimes however, the house can be in a state of disrepair, lacking a proper foundation, being filled with clutter, failing in structural integrity or having areas of neglect. An individual within this self will preserve more time and energy into various maintenance for structural repair and self-preservation. In some cases, the house can barely be called shelter at all, completely dilapidated in its structure and offering no shelter from the elements. With regard to the self, this is the territory of narcissistic personality disorder, a condition where self-affirmation and defense of the self-image becomes all encompassing.

For the proper building and maintenance of a house, one must possess the proper skillsets to verify that the home is structurally sound and stable in its foundation. Similarly, a self is constructed via proper skillsets taught via stable and healthy caregivers who set examples of behavior, care for the child's individual needs and demonstrate that they are loved unconditionally. This allows the child to begin exploring the world and learning the skillsets of basic psychological function with healthy role models set as an example. This functions as a base for the grounding of the child's emerging self, which with time is constructed and if done right, gives the individual and internal psychological space that allows them to love themselves and which can be depended upon in difficult circumstances.

When the basis for the self is not adequately met, the foundations of the self do not allow for the formation of a stable and concrete blueprint. Such individuals place increasing time and energy in preserving a fragile self-esteem. To cope with this self-delapidation, they begin to invest into an artificial self-image which requires external validation from others. Increasingly concerned with the instabilities of the self, these individuals have less capacity to invest outwardly due to the constant preoccupations directed inwardly.

Narcissistic personality disorder is what occurs when this need for external validation for the affirmation of the self-image becomes all pervasive and compromises the personality. Individuals with this tendency can think of little else as they incessantly try to maintain a fragile, artificially inflated self image. Rather than putting energy into conducting structural repairs within their proper home, they present an artificial image of an aggrandized mansion. This is precisely where the grandiosity lies within narcissism. But as the dilapidated house exists behind this image, the grandiose perception is merely a compensation to ward off deep feelings of emptiness and inferiority. It is here that the narcissist lies, trying to coalesce between an artificially inflated image and a broken, vulnerable one. Just as a photo of a mansion may be two-dimensional and vulnerable to storms, the grandiose self-image is easily toppled down, giving way to the broken, true home beneath. In response, the narcissist will rapidly assert time into re-afferming the grandiose image, exaggerating it further in response to increased stress. The greater the burden in the narcissist's life, the more exaggerated this image becomes.

Because the narcissist becomes increasingly preoccupied with presenting this grandiose image, they can think of little else. Like a person who is starving, affirming this aggrandized image becomes of sole importance, preventing the narcissist from seeing others as anything more than one-dimensional instruments specifically for the purposes of validation. Rather than placing repairs into their true home, they present this two dimensional mansion, trying to convince others and themselves of its validity.

As can be expected, therapy for NPD is quite challenging and requires a great deal of effort and patience on the part of the therapist. However, the recently asserted notion that NPD is untreatable lies purely in myth. As the narcissist's internal home is structurally unsound, therapy for this disorder involves laying the foundation for the self and contributing repair to damaged and neglected areas. With time, the narcissist learns to construct their internal self-image, creating a comfortable internal environment for them to feel secure and accepting towards themselves. As such, less time and energy is required for the maintenance of the self-image, allowing the individual to invest more time and energy in their relationship with others.

Colossal Post Incoming

 This is a quick post to advise everybody that I have a huge post coming your way. This post will require a tremendous amount of research and will be extremely time consuming. I will try to provide smaller posts along the way to keep the content production consistent, but I will be writing what is essentially the equivalent of a book.

Perhaps I shall transform this post into a series to provide greater consistency. In any case, the majority of sequential posts shall be brief and covered in rapid succession. I hope that it shall be worth it, because a big topic is coming your way. Keep an eye out, and stay tuned!

If you like my content, please consider supporting me on patreon. It will allow me to publish higher quality content at a faster rate and keep this blog ad free. Thank you.

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While merely a hobby, this blog reflects what I've always dreamed of: To explore knowledge; articulate it and share what I've learned with others. Though it is merely a side project, my desire is to improve the quality of this blog and publish at a much more consistent rate. One day, it is my dream to finally turn this blog into a full time career. Perhaps I may even upgrade to other platforms, expanding the audience that I may reach. The sky is the limit.

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