Sturgeon’s Law states that “90% of everything is crud.”

Let that just sink in for a moment.

As a side note, I would rather have the word ‘crud’ replaced with ‘mediocre’ to be more realistic*. It isn’t that majority of stuff is crap, it’s just that it’s rather mediocre and if you take the time to really look into things, you would most likely be able to find something better.

Anyways, while this quote is in the context of science fiction, ‘everything’ referring to science fiction novels, this law can still be universally applied to practically any other field or group. This is all too obvious with music and literature for example.

So to me, this law gives me a sort of mission throughout my life: find that 10% and stick with it. You can think of it as a sort of mission to upgrade the quality of the things you own or the things you do in your free time.

This leads to another thing and that is the time and effort put into this search. Obviously, it’s not easy to do nor can it be done quickly. If I don’t like something or if I’m not sufficiently motivated by a certain category of a thing, then I’m not even going to bother searching for that 10%.

Movies are like that for me for example. I just don’t like most movies at all and I am not motivated enough to bother searching for that fraction of movies that are remotely decent, therefore, I don’t even bother with them. I don’t watch them nor do I care.

Music and books on the other hand motivate me enough to try to separate the wheat from the chaff.  I have no problem spending a lot of time and effort listening or reading, then analyzing them, and then analyzing them some more to find the truly great compared to the merely ok.

Even if you might never find those upper echelons of quality in the given category, it’s still a great way to improve the overall quality of your life. This is definitely one of those laws to keep in mind and apply to just about everything you have.

So, for those of you who have a huge library of music, or a stockpile of CDs, or a collection of movies, or whatever other thing that this law can be applied to (video games, clothes, people, etc.), go through it and try to cut the things that are mediocre or just ok out of your life. Surround yourself with quality rather than quantity.

*Actually to truly be realistic, I’d say that 90% is still a bit too generous.

It has been stated before in ancient history that the best kind of man is the one who is not only wise but physically fit as well. By physically fit, I refer to the man’s ability to run, jump, climb, and move things around and by wisdom, I refer to the next paragraph.

By definition, a person who is wise has received their wisdom due to deep and profound understanding of whichever particular topic (understanding, not an opinion) that is at hand. A man who opines is not wise, he just has a very strong belief. Whether that belief is convincing or not makes no difference to the fact that that man is not wise. Smart maybe, but not wise.

It is important to mark the difference between having wisdom and having a correct opinion due to the fact that I believe that having wisdom is a much more worthy goal than having a correct opinion, but for the case of this article, intellect can refer to either one.

There are basically two fundamental parts to a human, the body and the soul (for those of you who don’t believe in the existence of souls can think of this as the essence of that person, what goes on inside the mind, if you will). While physical fitness nourishes the body, wisdom and intellect nourish the soul. Just as with regular nutrition, it is possible to overdoes on some of the nourishment while being deprived of the other part or even be malnourished altogether.

A person who has a steady intake of intellect while neglecting the body can and will be labeled as a sissy or a nerd and while maybe smarter than the average person, they will still be looked upon as a weakling and not give them much of a second glance. On the other hand, someone who focuses on the body but not the soul can and will be labeled as a gorilla or a jock and while they can be stronger and more intimidating, they tend to be more aggressive, more short-sighted, and not too many people will trust them.

However, a person who has that balance of body and soul will be more likely looked upon as being more trustworthy, more stable, and more responsible among other things. This man can be counted upon to not only have an educated opinion or answer (or maybe even understanding) on many topics, but can also be counted on during situations that require strength or other physical feats.

Nourishing the two halves of the essence of what makes a human being is the key to having a better human being.

My definition of moderation is that it is a lifestyle almost on the level of an -ism and must be acted upon in all aspects of said lifestyle. A person cannot practice a “half-” or “part-moderation.”

It is taking or having nothing in excess, a discipline of the body as well as the thoughts. It is the opposite of obsessiveness, hedonism, and wantonness. It includes knowledge and awareness of the self. It is a desire and love for life without letting that same life spiral out of control.

*All references to moderation will use this definition unless specified otherwise.

…and I have decided to scrap everything I had earlier on this website and start anew to get a fresh start. Apologies to all 5 of my previous readers but not to worry as the general content and idea behind this blog will stay the same.

For those who don’t know, this blog will be for the most part a self-improvement blog focusing on my self-improvement, not yours (it might sound rude but I have no intention of turning this into a “10 Ways You Can Be Happier”-type blog). Those of you looking for those types of self-help blogs are out of luck. Anyways, it might be better to think of this website almost like a digital journal to organize my thoughts in as well as something to look back on to see how my thoughts are progressing.

I would really appreciate any responses and/or constructive criticisms you may have.

Thank you and have a productive New Year.