Pizza hunt and the pyramids
It seems counterintuitive that one can experience chain food meals in the most sacred parts of the world. Pizza hut, a chain food restaurant that sells American-Italian food, is one of the US’s top fast-food restaurants. The Prices usually being very affordable, and the quality to match you can find a Pizza hunt nearly anywhere in the world.
But it creates an unsettling feeling when the term anywhere in the world is taken quite literally. The Egyptian Pryminds is one of the world’s most sacred historical wonders. It is romanticized on the idea of it being in a deserted location. But that isn’t true these days because of societal advances and industrialization. And because of a growing society, it fell vulnerable to tourist attractions and companies that can afford to open restaurants as close to its vicinity as possible. Pizza hut, being one of the restaurants just across the street from a historical landmark.

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Men define rape
It seems counterintuitive that the definition of rape is defined by men, Men being one’s who commit the majority of rapes. Historically rape against women has been a constant problem it is a tactic of control and an emotional toll. Women are usually taken advantage of by men, but men have always been the hierarchy of society.

When defining rape, men always had the upper hand. Rape was first written into law in 1780 BC defining rape as property damage to men with virgin daughters. And if you were married and raped, as a woman, you were seen as an adulterer and as was thrown into a river as punishment. Virgin and rape was a consistent pattern up until the middle ages where punishment varied from the types of women; ranging from virgins, married, widowed, nuns and whores. And finally defining rape as a public wrong rather than property damage against men.

Things like this may seem absurd, but history has a repeated definition that goes against victimized women. Women being mostly at fault for their rape if they convince because one English physician named Samuel Farr believed that pregnancy could not happen without a female orgasm. Women were also expected to squirm because a needle could not go through a moving thread, and with enough squirm, you should not be raped.

Rape laws like these seen in history had no empathy for the victims. Laws started off to satisfy men, property, and wealth. And Rape isn’t clearly defined as an assault on all-female bodies until the 20th century.

Source: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/08/men-defining-rape-history/

Free heroin

It seems counterintuitive that one can get heroin prescribed by a doctor for free. Vancouver is a port town, it’s especially vulnerable to drug transportation. Although these drugs spread throughout Canada most of them stay within the city. Its drug problem can resemble the worst part of Baltimore or Detroit.

It is difficult to try to get an addict to get off heroin because it is a highly addictive drug. And in the effort to keep heroin addicts away from crime and death. Vancouver has created safe spaces for people to “shoot up” where nurses can provide clean instruments and protection from cops.

With this, there is also a research project in the effort of fighting the heroin epidemic. The project prescribes heroin to 26 addicts so they can cope with their addiction.

Project isn’t necessarily trying to end the addiction it’s a harm reduction program and addicts in the program gain self-righteousness because they now have the ability to focus on their life rather than their next fix. One addict now has the ability to keep a job rather than break into people’s cars. And although he’s feeding his addiction he is more human than he will ever be on the street.

Source: https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-02-04/vancouver-combats-heroin-giving-its-addicts-best-smack-world

The hair part theory

It seems counterintuitive that a hairstyle can give us so much power, and feel confident. 

The hair part theory began when John Walter decided to part his hair another way the usual. The hair part theory is parting your hair to the left, he realized the way we see ourselves in the mirror is how others view someone since it is reversed. People like Margret Thatcher started to feel more confident. Many people now have superstitions due to the way their hair is styled. 

Are Multi-vitamins dangerous?

It seems counterintuitive that we are told to take multivitamins because it’s good for our health yet it may actually be doing the opposite. 

It was discovered that multivitamins aren’t effective for preventing sicknesses and diseases. What are we really putting into our bodies? There are now warning labels on vitamins to inform consumers that there is a possibility of health risks. Healthy people shouldn’t be taking multivitamins the way a child with anorexia should be. It is recommended that picky eaters take them as well because they don’t get enough nutrients. 

Paper or Plastic 

It seems counterintuitive that paper is supposed to be better for our environment but it’s found to have a significant amount of carbon dioxide. Most people prefer paper over plastic because it is less harmful to the environment. If this was talked about more I wonder what people would think. 

When trees go through photosynthesis, they hold on to the carbon, even after being cut down. Once the paper decomposes it releases carbon into our air. Some believe since paper degrades too quickly we should find another alternative. Papers and plastics are both harmful to our environment.

It seems counterintuitive that national parks have to rely on corporate assistance to be able to continue functioning. While corporate funds can help these parks to be able to maintain trail conditions and promote the park, the influence that comes from this corporate help can led decisions of the park that may be different to what they may have originally done. Often the money from these partners may be lower than expected, especially when compared to that of fundraising, and makes it seem that that influence that the corporations receive from their donations may not be worth it. It is fortunate that there are strict standards that corporations have to follow that ensure that their influence won’t overtake the goal of what the parks intend to keep.

https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-02-04/vancouver-combats-heroin-giving-its-addicts-best-smack-world

It seems counterintuitive that by giving people a legal, nurse supervised place to inject free drugs, one would be able to combat the dangerous use of drugs. As seen with these injection sites in Vancouver, the harm that drug dealers often do to themselves can be avoided by giving them access to clean needles, antiseptic wipes, and clean heroin. The goal of this operation is to give addicts who cannot take alternatives a way to be the least dangerous to themselves and to the people around them. While the program has critics that oppose the methods, as seen with some anecdotes from the program some users were able to hold down jobs that they would have never been able to before the safe injection site programs.

https://grist.org/article/food-2011-01-21-parsing-the-new-humane-food-labels/

It seems counterintuitive to knowingly mislabel food to what it is in reality, but in order to increase sales labeling conditions as ‘humane’ when that may not be true is often common. Organizations like the Humane Society look to stop false labeling of food as often giving those who label themselves as humane control of labeling leads to intentionally misleading consumers. The most efficient way to control these labels are through 3rd party organizations who’s goal is not to sell the food but to keep the labeling accurate and ensure the consumers are buying accurately labeled food.

1:

It seems counterintuitive to make distinctions between animals that are essentially identical, aside from a few differences in DNA.

Cryptic species is a newer specification of animal genealogy for creatures that appear identical but have genetic distinctions. While previously thought that cryptic species only occurred in insects and reptiles, it has since been discovered that they occur throughout all branches of the animal kingdom.

Scientists are “flabbergasted” at the results of their studies, which have concluded that species that were previously thought to be widespread and profuse could actually be threatened by endangerment.

Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12293-hidden-species-may-be-surprisingly-common/

2:

It seems counterintuitive to claim your mean products are humane under guidelines that allow violence to animals.

In recent years, more and more meat farmers have started advertising their products as being produced humanely. One would assume that humane treatment of animals entails nonviolent care and access to the outdoors. Under the guidelines of the American Meat Associations, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Not a single guideline requires that the animals go outside, and two encourage castration of the animals without any kind of anesthetics.

While new organizations advocating for better treatment pop up every day, (Global Animal Partnership, Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Humane, etc.) these groups account for “less than .001 percent of all U.S. animals raised for slaughter.”

Source: https://grist.org/article/food-2011-01-21-parsing-the-new-humane-food-labels/

3:

It seems counterintuitive that the media which is supposed to inform us is now profiting off of other people’s suffering.

Fabienne Cherisma became the unwilling symbol of the Haitian earthquake after a photo of her dead body was run in an article by The Guardian. Fabienne was killed not by the earthquake, but by a police officer. The media turned their heads at the sound of a martyr for their cause, and pictures of Fabienne’s body were plastered on multiple major newspapers.

Is it ethical for photojournalists to be profiting off of such heinous trauma? Photos of young Fabienne’s father carrying her corpse through the destroyed city streets went viral. These things rarely benefit the victims and always benefit the photographers. Where do we draw the line?

Source: https://prisonphotography.org/2010/01/27/fabienne-cherisma/

I choose three counter-intuitive topics from the long list of suggestions from this article. It seems counterintuitive that unhappiness comes from comparison. You’d assume that happiness would come from the pursuit to better yourself after the initial comparison, but that isn’t true.

Personally, I’ve experienced that feeling for myself. I’m a huge car guy, and when I see kids my age, driving around campus in their beautiful and expensive cars, I begin to compare myself. I can recall this moment very recently. I was walking to class, and I saw a car I always dreamed of owning. To my surprise a kid around my age was at the wheel and was enjoying every second of my dream. My first jealous thought was daddy’s money, but then I began to theorize if that isn’t the case. I questioned if the kid bought it from his hard work and determination in his chosen field. I questioned why I couldn’t do that for myself right now. I questioned what I could possibly do to make my dream come true. I get lost in these thoughts so often that it mostly ends in self hatred. Why couldn’t I be the one to come up with a genius idea to make me rich? What makes me so different from the rest? This comparison undoubtedly leads to unhappiness because of the level of success, or lack thereof, I’ve acquired in my lifetime. 

It seems counterintuitive that fearlessness leads to success because of how much in life there is to fear. Being a deep thinker leads to analyzing every possible outcome, therefore avoiding the less desirable conclusion.

Being able to live fearlessly will never be the path I choose to live my life. Although I do enjoy those “fuck it, what’s the worse that could happen” moments, they are very few and far between. Proceeding into a risky situation leads to analyzing the outcomes. Firstly, my mind always wanders to the more negative outcomes. I don’t fully understand why I do it, but I assume it’s a part of my survival instincts. The second part of the advice explains that, “The fear of failure is a huge liability, live fearlessly” I personally wouldn’t be able to maintain that mindset for an extensive period of time. As soon as the period of success subsides, the flow of negative thoughts will prevail. 

It seems counterintuitive that perfectionism never leads to perfection. Seems very odd why anyone would chase perfection in the first place if there was no perfect outcome.

Schools aggressively push their students to achieve the highest grades to acquire the perfect GPA. The essence of humanity is imperfect so why would any person expect perfection. Perfection in the real world doesn’t exist. Perfection takes planning, planning is a waste of time thus eliminating the possibility of perfection. “Imperfect action is a hundred times better than perfect planning,” ~Will Mitchell.

https://www.quora.com/Life-Lessons/What-life-lessons-are-counter-intuitive-or-go-against-common-sense-or-wisdom-For-example-being-loud-and-obnoxious-is-surprisingly-useful-effective-most-of-the-time

(Goddess Matula), (Will Mitchell)

Summary #1

It seems counterintuitive that such common, everyday activities such as taking a shower are considered dangerous and have a high risk. Studies have shown that Americans tend to exaggerate the risks of events that are out of our control, such as terrorists, plane crashes, or nuclear radiation. While at the same time, people underestimate the risks of events that we can control and may result in ordinary causes of death. In New Guinea, the people practice the attitude of “constructive paranoia”, which describe their increased state of alertness toward repeated low risks. The people of New Guinean must think thoroughly about dangers due to their lack of availability to doctors, police officers or emergency dispatchers. On the contrary, Americans rely too much on having emergency services at their disposal, causing them to overlook the hazards of everyday activities. This, of course, should not be seen as a reason to stop living life or to live in continuous fear. This should be a reminder to be cautious and to not overlook risks that may seem miniscule in retrospect.   

That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

Summary #2

It seems counterintuitive that species considered hidden or cryptic are actually more common than previously thought. Cryptic species are described as animals that seem identical but are genetically distinct, and the reports of cryptic species have increased considerably over the past two decades with the help of DNA sequencing technology. Scientists had previously thought that cryptic species were primarily found in insects and reptiles in more tropical regions, however new data revealed that cryptic species are found equally throughout all key branches of the animal kingdom and throughout all biogeographical regions. This revelation brings into discussion how species that seem abundant could be made up of various cryptic species that are highly endangered in reality. It is now up to scientists to determine whether cryptic differentiation is merely an early stage of morphological differentiation – the transition to a new category-however, the initial results suggest otherwise.

‘Hidden’ species may be surprisingly common

Summary #3

It seems counterintuitive that mirrors, which are supposed to be reflections of our true selves, are showing us a false and distorted visual. When staring into a regular mirror, your right eye looks at your right eye and your left eye at your left eye, which is the reverse of how we perceive each other in reality. This is influenced by John Walter’s Hair Part Theory which shed light on the behavioral analysis of how humans respond depending on which side their hair is parted on, concluding that parted left is masculine and parted right is feminine. If you take the mirror into consideration, people have not had the opportunity to see which part they agree with more, which then modifies how they behave and how they are perceived. This realization has led to the creation of the True Mirror, which shows you how you appear to others, but then lose the control found in normal mirrors. Mirrors have been an accepted truth for such a long time, all while displaying a skewed sense of ourselves.

The Mirror of Dorian Gray

Men Defining Rape: A History

It seems counterintuitive that men have been the deciding party for the everchanging definition of rape over the last many centuries. A factor that definitely contributes to my counterintuitive point of view of this topic is how men are rarely the victim yet historically make the calls as to what classifies as rape and what decides if a victim was truthful in court.

In the early 1200s, there was a law installed that excused a rapist from criminal charges if the victim was impregnated from the rape. This was backed up by the widespread thought process at the time that made it seem as if women could not become pregnant if the intercourse wasn’t consensual.

It was as recent at the 1990s that in certain states, statutory rape was not considered rape if the victim was ‘impure’. Even North Carolina legalized the rape of your spouse until 1993, as marriage apparently meant consent to sex at all times until then.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, men continuously argued over how much proof a woman needed to show to prove she was raped. Some argued that a semen test was needed, while others argued that proof should be needed to show the hymen was broken. Up until a certain point, men declared rape of black women to not even be considered a cause for prosecution.

Nonetheless, it is clear that men taking the leadership role in declaring the definition for rape is far from optimal and fair.

It seems counterintuitive that the daily multivitamins taken by about a third of Americans are made to be perceived as the medication for all illnesses.

Multivitamins that are to be taken daily are for people who do not get their nutrients in independently, such as from eating kale with their breakfast for example. Having a gummy multivitamin in the morning is and was never meant to independently cure potential heart disease, lung cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer. To think so would be nothing but ignorant and oblivious.

Multivitamins are to boost the heath and increase potential benefits for people with a healthy lifestyle, not as a substitute for it.

It seems as if the average person with the classic American lifestyle and diet believe taking a multivitamin in the morning excuses them from leading a healthy lifestyle, when it is clearly not the case.

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-moms-death-changed-my-thinking-about-end-of-life-care

It seems counterintuitive that end-of-life care costs is considered an issue amongst many. It is a statistic that most end-of-life costs are made within a year of the patient’s death, and it hogs about a quarter of all Medicare payments. However, this conversation is easily biased depending on who you speak to about this issue. It is most definitely smarter to allocate that money to an issue that will benefit more people with a larger projected lifespan from the time the money is spent, although it is to be understood that it is much easier to declare such a statement when it isn’t your own loved one on the hospital bed. When it is your own mother at the mercy of the doctors and potential cures and procedures, money is and should never be even a topic to consider in that situation.

It’s clear that anybody who states money is something to consider when attempting to bash end-of-life care does not put themselves in the shoes of the loved ones who have to hope and pray that their loved ones don’t pass away at any given moment in front of them.

SpookyGhost – Purposeful summaries

The Truth About 400/800 Training

https://www.completetrackandfield.com/400800-training/

It seems counterintuitive that high speed athletes train at high mileage. However the middle-distance events (400 600 800) require high speed, and a strong aerobic system to maintain those high speeds. It comes down to training muscle fibers. Unlike pure sprinters, elite middle-distance athletes don’t have a high percentage of 2b fast twitch fibers, but they also don’t have a high percentage of slow fibers found in pure distance athletes. There’s a 3^rd fiber, 2a fast fibers or intermediate fibers, which are found in high percentages among elite middle-distance athletes. These 2a fast fibers are more resistant to fatigue than the 2b fast fibers. This leaves coaches questioning whether to focus on speed training or endurance training in these unique muscle fibers.

https://www.ntcc.edu/athletics/live-athlete/dr-toms-blog/muscle-fiber-types-body-types

It seems counterintuitive to run a race opposite to which your body is more comfortable with. Why would a sprinter run a marathon? It all comes down to muscle fibers. Type I slow fibers provide endurance and are what keep you standing or sitting up straight. These fibers work passively all the time to keep the body up and are used more during distance training as movements are slower and less explosive. These fibers can also be trained to Type II A fibers. Type II A intermediate fibers are fast oxidative fibers. These fibers are uncommon to occur naturally but can be created by training the other 2 types of fibers. They allow for fast and explosive movements that type I can’t handle, and these movements can last far longer than Type II B fibers. Type II B fibers are the fastest and strongest fibers, but since they are purely anaerobic, they only last a short amount of time before becoming fatigued. So a sprinter running a marathon would be a chore for that athlete, but it will train their Type II B fibers into Type II A fibers.

Middle Distance Training Guide

https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/middle-distance-training-guide/

It seems counter intuitive to train a middle distance athlete’s mind instead of their body, but many factors of being a successful athlete stem back to the mental aspect of running. The first factor that goes into training a middle-distance athlete is VO2max which is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilize while running. Doing workouts at this pace trains the body to utilize more oxygen while running. The second factor is lactic acid tolerance. Towards the end of races runners slow down because of the lactic acid build up in their legs. To train lactic acid tolerance runner simply flood the body with lactic acid over and over. The third factor and final factor is mentality. A runner’s ability to pace themselves correctly and position themselves in the race will make a successful middle-distance runner. Furthermore this strong mentality stems back to the first two factors of keeping a focused mindset on training and taking care of the body during workouts and recovery. The hard part about all three of these factors is balancing them without causing injury, or too much of one factor.

1. The Hair Part Theory

It seems counterintuitive that when we look in a mirror we feel like we have so much control over what we look like and that we feel confident in what we see, but to the outside world we look almost like a completely different person. 

John Walter started out by changing his hair part from right to left, creating the hair part theory, and discovered that his home mirror was actually showing him reversed. The hair part theory suggests that the way another person parts their hair correlates with the way your subconscious associates yourself when being assessed by others. Therefore, when looking in a mirror you see what you think you look like, when it actually shows the opposite of what you are to others.

The “True Mirror” was created to help others see themselves through the eyes of someone else looking at them, and completely changed people’s perspectives of themselves. It was a process to achieve one, as it was bulky and heavy in a very deep frame. You may feel like you have less control, because in the True Mirror your head turns to the left when you are turning to the right.

We can get so caught up in ourselves that at the same time we don’t even think about the fact that we don’t look the exact same to others. The True Mirror is still continued today, in hopes of spreading their stories about the mirror and hair parts.

2. Happiness Cannot be Pursued; It Must Ensue

It seems counterintuitive that to be happy, your life should be meaningful. It has been proven that even though your life may have things that mean something to you and give you a reason to keep going, you may not be happy in that state.

Author Viktor Frankl was arrested and was forced to be a therapist in a concentration camp, where he helped two suicidal inmates who thought they had nothing to live for. Frankl helped them realize they had at least one thing to live for, that they had some sort of meaning to their lives. These two people, and many others, may be unhappy but there is at least one reason for them to stay alive and keep living their lives. 

Happiness, or a happy life, is about feeling good and feeling like your life is easy. People with a happy life lack stress and are in good physical/mental health; living without constantly worrying about the need to support themselves because it comes so easy to them. People will become happy when they achieve what they want.

When you put yourself into a situation where you are serving something bigger than yourself, it will cause higher levels of stress and force you to worry about that project all the time. This gives a meaning to your life, but are you really happy in the end?

3. Do Toms Shoes Help Anybody?

It seems counterintuitive that companies tell people that when they buy a pair of shoes, another pair gets donated to someone who needs a pair. These “buy one, get one” advertisements give a false narrative to people who think they are doing something good, when they don’t actually know who they are helping. 

Toms is a shoe company that told customers they would do exactly that, and after Sarika Bansal took a trip to Ethiopia, she discovered that the shoes from Toms are being given to students in schools there; a place where they can’t even enter without shoes on already. This proves that although these companies tell you you are helping to do good, they really aren’t even trying to help people who actually need it.

All of this contributes to these buy-one-give-one competing with local businesses, which isn’t good for them as it takes money from those owners. The aid should empower locals to become successful, not take their chances away. This is to help these places in need start to become a reliable source for supplies, such as shoes or food, and continue to help long term instead of just in the moment.