Polar Opposites

I have come to realize that polar opposites are, in fact, more similar and go together than many other things in life. This idea I have really thought about after reading Nina's blog about how nature and machines are sort of the same, and complement each other. Polar opposites seem to have a lot in common, and this concept applies to many things.

The first thing that comes to my mind are people: it is often enough that those who seem completely different from each other tend to get married. My parents, for one. There are a multitude of differences between them- their personality, the way they look at things, even their physical attributes. Black and white vs. the philosophical discussions, straight to the point vs. taking forever to get to the point,  and practical vs. loving to go around on walks taking pictures of random things. For some reason, although one person dislikes a majority of things that another person loves to do, two people can still be the best of friends. Arguments are not always a bad thing. Sometimes slightly raised voices debating over an idea does not mean that there is anger. Many times when my parents 'talk', there are smiles and laughs between the- yet if I hadn't been there I would have thought they were serious and quite angry. Perhaps it is because of the way I have grown up, but I notice many times when polar opposites get along much nicer than those who are almost the same.

Not only can couples make great polar opposites, but individuals themselves (and no, I am not talking about dual personalities). Inside the human body, there are scores of contrasting systems. For instance, our brain. Split into two sides, the left brain is empirical, with analytical and scientific thought. The right side is the opposite, not looking at the facts, but the imagination, using creativity and art. It is interesting to notice that in one brain, and one body, there are antipodes.

http://share.sweska.net/files/left_right_brain_xp.jpg

Contrasts can be found not only in the brain, but in the entire body itself. Around 60% of a person is water- yet despite consisting more than half of oneself being water, we still drown in a few minutes. Isn't that weird?

This irony carries on through all people and the world.

Anyways, my parents, despite their minds seeming incompatible, still manage to find common ground- and love each other all the more for it. They love all that antique stuff, exotic foods, and a bunch of other stuff. Even though I admit that my parents are not at all alike, I could not exactly put them on the opposite sides of a line. The same goes for the brain: one may be analytical and the other creative, both rely on each other to make decisions and live life. I think it's safe to say that polar opposites are closer to each other than we realize.

Also, not only do polar opposites somehow have things in common, but cannot exist without the other. I mean, without polar opposites, there cannot even be a word to define just one word (without its antonym). Let me take the example of good and evil: one cannot exist without the other. If there was no evil, no poverty, hatred, death, ect., then I do not think that good could exist either. Out of poverty can come determination, from hatred forgiveness, and death to love. For if we have no reason to be determined, than how can determination exist? Or forgiveness, love, or friendship? If no evil existed, we would not be able to recognize that good exists, because without this comparison, it would just be life, and everything would be the same. Part of loving humanity comes from the ability to get past evil and be good. If poverty causes people to strive and do great things, can this be considered bad? And without hatred, forgiveness could not exist, because we must first hate before we can forgive. The definition of forgive (according to the Oxford Dictionary) is this: "to stop feeling angry or resentful towards (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake". "Evil" may live in the form of arrogance and mistakes, but good is what is morally correct. If everything was morally correct, than we would fail to think about what is right, and we would not be good- we would just be conforming to the norm. Forgiveness is- what I think- an aspect of humanity, and without forgiveness, humans would not the humans they are today.  Furthermore, if death were not to be, there could not be a strong love between people and the world (not to mention a colossal population). Death causes us to hold on all the more strongly to ourselves, others, and the things we value. If nothing died, and everything was always there, we could not appreciate what we had. Like the common saying goes, "we don't notice it's there until it's gone" (or along those approximate lines). To be good, we must truly think about what and who we are, with all of our motives underneath. An act of good, let's say giving a bunch of videos to someone, can be considered kind, but if the motive is merely because the videos were poorly made and the giver just wanted to get rid of them, it takes away at least a bit of the good from the action.

I think the idea that there are polar opposites (yet not polar opposites) illustrate a much grander and mind-boggling idea: that nothing has only one truth/fact. We live in a 3D world, and there are multiple perspectives to a single object or idea. There is not black and white, but a rainbow: and nothing can be said for certain and without debate.