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or_timelords) wrote2009-02-27 05:08 am
or_timelords) wrote2009-02-27 05:08 am
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On Apples and Romance
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cosmos_without: the first five questions of the 100-question-meme answered.
24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?
I was a quiet kid, mostly because I usually had my nose in a book. I didn't like being told what to do--I had the tendency to try to argue with teachers and tutors about the sense or nonsense of my assigned tasks, which usually got me into trouble. Also, I was easily distracted. Which got me into more trouble.
These things haven't really changed, now that I think about it. Hm.
41. What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear? Hm. I-- couldn't tell you. I never really thought about it.
[Mun-veto!
This is a lie. Yes, the Doctor's actually lying to you, believe it or not. He knows exactly what he's most afraid of, but it scares him so much that he refuses to talk about it.
Basically, his greatest fear is himself going Dark Side. He's afraid of what would happen if one day, he just stopped caring, if he lost his compassion. Because he knows what kind of power a Time Lord has, and how it can be abused. He's afraid that if he stopped believing that every individual is equal and equally precious, he would start to use his power to turn himself into a god.
This is one of the reasons why he's so terribly obnoxious about the forgiveness thing.]
49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)?
I suppose I'm rather a private person. But really, there's not a lot to talk about. There are more interesting topics of conversation.
[Another mun-veto.
Yeah, he's lying again. Well, no; actually, this time he didn't even bother with a lie. He just evaded. I guess in a way he did answer the question, because this is what he does whenever someone's trying to get him to talk about his feelings. He deflects, or he evades. Sometimes, he'll just plain ignore you and walk away to investigate something that conveniently caught his interest. "Private person" is one way of putting it, I guess, but it sort of is the understatement of the century.
However, he doesn't lie about it. What he'll do is tell you he's "all right" when he really isn't, but then, that's not really a lie. It's a way of telling the other person that he doesn't want to talk about it. He never does, and it's pretty much impossible to change his mind.
You might have a very slight chance of getting something out of him if you're a stranger that he can be sure to never meet again. Or if you get him smashed.]
58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened.
Blimey, you are going for the personal stuff, aren't you?
Have I ever been in love. Hm. Well, I-- no. I can't answer this question. But I can tell you why I can't answer it.
Love is the most complex concept there is in the universe. Forget quantum physics; compared to love, they're kids' stuff. Well, they're kids' stuff, anyway, but really. No scientific or linguistic problem could ever be as complex as the concept of love. Asking me if I've ever been in love--that's like asking Newton's apple if it's ever felt gravity. For the apple, gravity is there, all the time. Gravity is what formed it; it's what dictated its shape and size. It's what made the apple's existence possible in the first place by keeping the Earth in orbit around the sun, which gives life to every living thing on the planet, including the apple tree.
But the apple won't consciously feel gravity until it falls from the tree. Of course, the apple has no conscious awareness of anything; it's an apple, after all. But for the sake of the metaphor, let's assume it's a sentient apple. The apple spent all its life hanging from the tree, growing, being shaped by gravity without knowing it, and the first time the apple actually notices gravity is when gravity tears it out of its familiar environment and splatters it all over the ground.
Love is exactly the same. It's there, it's always there, it's what's keeping it all together. Without love, everything falls apart. You only notice love when it hurts you, but that doesn't mean that love always hurts. It's just that with everything that's going on in people's lives, they don't notice the love that's right there. It's only when they make mistakes, stupid mistakes that could have been avoided if they'd paid attention to the love that was right in front of their noses, that love starts to hurt. And then people blame love, instead of taking responsibility for what they did themselves, and decide that they're better off without love. And then-- then they fall apart.
So I can't tell you if I've ever been in love, because being in love is a perpetual state of existence, not something that happens once in a while.
[Not exactly a mun-veto, but the mun's butting in anyway, because the Doctor failed to actually answer the question.
The Doctor's been in love. Of course he has, he's over 900 years old. It's usually ended badly for him, though, because he has a very hard time giving up his independence in order to be with someone. And with "very hard time" I mean it's basically impossible for him. He's not going to give up on love, though--as he said, people who do that fall apart. But he's become very careful with romance. Because being splattered all over the metaphorical ground by the gravitational forces of love, that's something he prefers not to experience too often.]
66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?
I always enjoy a good discussion. Discussion broadens your horizon, but it sort of depends on who it is you're arguing with. Me, I'm rather clever, so it's hard to find people to match. But it's fun to talk to humans about things they may never have thought about in their short lives, and see them realize things they may have never realized if you hadn't pointed them out to them. And now and again, they surprise you. That's the wonderful thing about humans, they always surprise you when you expect it the least.
I avoid arguing with people who won't listen, though. Talking to someone who doesn't listen is such a waste of time.
[Less of a veto and more of an addition from the mun.
The Doctor does like to discuss things with people, but only as long as these things don't concern him. He's great with the ethical discussions, good with the moral arguments, and brilliant at science and knowledge-y things. But if you start to criticize him personally, you'll meet a wall of deflection and avoidance. It's very likely that as soon as you do address an issue that affects him personally, some alarm in the TARDIS will go off, and only a minute later, you'll find yourself in the worst trouble you've been in since the last time you tried to talk to the Doctor about himself.
The universe indulges his repression. I'm not really sure that's fair, but there you are.]
cosmos_without: the first five questions of the 100-question-meme answered.24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?
I was a quiet kid, mostly because I usually had my nose in a book. I didn't like being told what to do--I had the tendency to try to argue with teachers and tutors about the sense or nonsense of my assigned tasks, which usually got me into trouble. Also, I was easily distracted. Which got me into more trouble.
These things haven't really changed, now that I think about it. Hm.
41. What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear? Hm. I-- couldn't tell you. I never really thought about it.
[Mun-veto!
This is a lie. Yes, the Doctor's actually lying to you, believe it or not. He knows exactly what he's most afraid of, but it scares him so much that he refuses to talk about it.
Basically, his greatest fear is himself going Dark Side. He's afraid of what would happen if one day, he just stopped caring, if he lost his compassion. Because he knows what kind of power a Time Lord has, and how it can be abused. He's afraid that if he stopped believing that every individual is equal and equally precious, he would start to use his power to turn himself into a god.
This is one of the reasons why he's so terribly obnoxious about the forgiveness thing.]
49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)?
I suppose I'm rather a private person. But really, there's not a lot to talk about. There are more interesting topics of conversation.
[Another mun-veto.
Yeah, he's lying again. Well, no; actually, this time he didn't even bother with a lie. He just evaded. I guess in a way he did answer the question, because this is what he does whenever someone's trying to get him to talk about his feelings. He deflects, or he evades. Sometimes, he'll just plain ignore you and walk away to investigate something that conveniently caught his interest. "Private person" is one way of putting it, I guess, but it sort of is the understatement of the century.
However, he doesn't lie about it. What he'll do is tell you he's "all right" when he really isn't, but then, that's not really a lie. It's a way of telling the other person that he doesn't want to talk about it. He never does, and it's pretty much impossible to change his mind.
You might have a very slight chance of getting something out of him if you're a stranger that he can be sure to never meet again. Or if you get him smashed.]
58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened.
Blimey, you are going for the personal stuff, aren't you?
Have I ever been in love. Hm. Well, I-- no. I can't answer this question. But I can tell you why I can't answer it.
Love is the most complex concept there is in the universe. Forget quantum physics; compared to love, they're kids' stuff. Well, they're kids' stuff, anyway, but really. No scientific or linguistic problem could ever be as complex as the concept of love. Asking me if I've ever been in love--that's like asking Newton's apple if it's ever felt gravity. For the apple, gravity is there, all the time. Gravity is what formed it; it's what dictated its shape and size. It's what made the apple's existence possible in the first place by keeping the Earth in orbit around the sun, which gives life to every living thing on the planet, including the apple tree.
But the apple won't consciously feel gravity until it falls from the tree. Of course, the apple has no conscious awareness of anything; it's an apple, after all. But for the sake of the metaphor, let's assume it's a sentient apple. The apple spent all its life hanging from the tree, growing, being shaped by gravity without knowing it, and the first time the apple actually notices gravity is when gravity tears it out of its familiar environment and splatters it all over the ground.
Love is exactly the same. It's there, it's always there, it's what's keeping it all together. Without love, everything falls apart. You only notice love when it hurts you, but that doesn't mean that love always hurts. It's just that with everything that's going on in people's lives, they don't notice the love that's right there. It's only when they make mistakes, stupid mistakes that could have been avoided if they'd paid attention to the love that was right in front of their noses, that love starts to hurt. And then people blame love, instead of taking responsibility for what they did themselves, and decide that they're better off without love. And then-- then they fall apart.
So I can't tell you if I've ever been in love, because being in love is a perpetual state of existence, not something that happens once in a while.
[Not exactly a mun-veto, but the mun's butting in anyway, because the Doctor failed to actually answer the question.
The Doctor's been in love. Of course he has, he's over 900 years old. It's usually ended badly for him, though, because he has a very hard time giving up his independence in order to be with someone. And with "very hard time" I mean it's basically impossible for him. He's not going to give up on love, though--as he said, people who do that fall apart. But he's become very careful with romance. Because being splattered all over the metaphorical ground by the gravitational forces of love, that's something he prefers not to experience too often.]
66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?
I always enjoy a good discussion. Discussion broadens your horizon, but it sort of depends on who it is you're arguing with. Me, I'm rather clever, so it's hard to find people to match. But it's fun to talk to humans about things they may never have thought about in their short lives, and see them realize things they may have never realized if you hadn't pointed them out to them. And now and again, they surprise you. That's the wonderful thing about humans, they always surprise you when you expect it the least.
I avoid arguing with people who won't listen, though. Talking to someone who doesn't listen is such a waste of time.
[Less of a veto and more of an addition from the mun.
The Doctor does like to discuss things with people, but only as long as these things don't concern him. He's great with the ethical discussions, good with the moral arguments, and brilliant at science and knowledge-y things. But if you start to criticize him personally, you'll meet a wall of deflection and avoidance. It's very likely that as soon as you do address an issue that affects him personally, some alarm in the TARDIS will go off, and only a minute later, you'll find yourself in the worst trouble you've been in since the last time you tried to talk to the Doctor about himself.
The universe indulges his repression. I'm not really sure that's fair, but there you are.]
no subject
So I can't tell you if I've ever been in love, because being in love is a perpetual state of existence, not something that happens once in a while.
I like that. It's true. It's only when we start capitalizing Love in our minds that it gets tricky and hurtful.
Also, yes. Yes, the universe humors the Doctor. And, no, that really isn't fair ;)
no subject
He saw that coming, right? ;)
Yarrr... love is weird. Like gravity; gravity is weird, too. The Doctor actually managed to come up with a fitting metaphor for once. Except for the bit about the sentient apple. Talking fruit, that kind of sounds like something that should be a show on some kids' channel. >_>