Photographer: Wayne Lin
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Dress courtesy of SheInside

Human beings like to insist that there are reasons why things happen. The death of a child, the crash of an airplane, or a random shooting must be explained in terms of the workings of a hidden plan. When Pat Robertson suggested that Hurricane Katrina was caused in part by God’s anger at America’s failing morals, he was attempting to provide an explanatory context for a seemingly inexplicable event. Nature teaches us otherwise. Things happen because the laws of nature say they will—because they are the consequences of the state of the universe and the path of its evolution. Life on Earth doesn’t arise in fulfillment of a grand scheme but as a by-product of the increase of entropy in an environment very far from equilibrium.

– Sean Carroll

I’ve found it hard to indulge in any fiction lately, yet I can’t stop munching down the science books. (The galaxy outfit certainly isn’t accidental!) One of my favorite reads was This Will Make You Smarter, a superb introductory science book that I would recommend to everyone. I quote from this book frequently, so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite excerpts with you.

We use all kinds of mechanisms to avoid confronting randomness. We talk about karma, in a cosmic equalization that ties seemingly unconnected events together. We believe in runs of luck, both good and ill, and that bad things happen in threes. We argue that we are influenced by the stars, by the phases of the moon, by the motion of the planets in the heavens. When we get cancer, we automatically assume that something—or someone—is to blame.

– Charles Seife

Contrary to what our brains are telling us, there’s no mystical force that imbues a winner with a streak of luck, nor is there a cosmic sense of justice that ensures that a loser’s luck will turn around. The universe doesn’t care one whit whether you’ve been winning or losing; each roll of the dice is just like every other.

– Charles Seife

The mediocrity principle simply states that you aren’t special. The universe does not revolve around you; this planet isn’t privileged in any unique way; your country is not the perfect product of directed, intentional fate; and that tuna sandwich you had for lunch was not plotting to give you indigestion.

– P.Z. Myers

Most of what happens in the world is just a consequence of natural, universal laws— laws that apply everywhere and to everything, with no special exemptions or amplifications for your benefit— given variety by the input of chance. Everything that you as a human being consider cosmically important is an accident.

– P.Z. Myers

As always, I’ve posted all my favorite quotes from the book on Quotesome. Be warned– they’re fucking awesome, and slightly controversial

Photographer: Wayne Lin
Location: Presidential Suite in Shangri-la Taipei, Taiwan
Outfit: Shiatzy Chen

They have coined me as “mad” and entitled themselves to “normal” because I refuse to align with their beliefs and mannerisms. If I am mad because of this, then perhaps “madness” is simply a pair of powerful spectacles and “normalness” is mental myopia.

(P.S. Don’t forget to collect this quote on Quotesome!)

Photographer: Wayne Lin
Location: Lin Family Gardens, Taipei, Taiwan
(Outfit identification at the end)

“Then why me?”

“I like you because you’re not scared of me. Or maybe you are. I can tell you are. But not in that way. All the men I know always want to own me. It’s inevitable. I refuse them all. Sometimes, when I’m feeling generous, I will accept someone. And when I accept them they are frightened by me. They expect me to remove some imagined mask and reveal my submission. To tear off my shield and show my vulnerability. Then they can assert power over me, relish a sense of accomplishment for having asserted power over a woman that was once so self-assured. But it never happens, of course. They realize that I was never wearing a mask to begin with. They feel that I’ve betrayed them, but this ‘betrayal’ they feel is merely disenchantment from the sexist expectations they set in the first place. But of course, they feel that I have betrayed them for refusing to remove a mask that doesn’t exist, and they set out to destroy me.”

“So they’re like parasites? They leech off women as a source of life?”

“No. Worse than that. Parasites prey on superiors for a source of strength. They feed upon inferiority. They want me to sacrifice myself to them while they exercise their power over me with an air of nonchalance. They ache for another opportunity to complain about a woman’s submission, even though deep down, they thrive upon woman’s dependency. That gives them power.”

“Or the illusion of it.”

“What’s worse, are the ones that claim to respect women. They preach their love and respect of women by showering them with gifts– fancy dinners and luxury goods. In truth, what they love is this sense of superiority they feel when they hand over these gifts– especially when they do it with an air of indifference. Have you heard of the handicap principle in biology? To compensate for their weakness, these men seek money, fame, and power– three things that can win their influence over others. When in fact, the very act of seeking these three things is an inherent weakness. They feel so powerless about themselves, that they need to dominate and assert power over others. Their only sense of existence comes from this imagined superiority that they desperately assert over others. They can’t bear themselves. That is why they need so desperately to seek weakness in others.”

“And you? Did they ever shower you in luxury?”

“Of course. I refused it. Then I left.”

“How did they react?”

“They thought it was some kind of spiritual snobbery. They thought I was playing a game– that they could purchase my weakness and submission through a few more Louis Vuitton handbags. What they fail to recognize is that my strength is not a mask. I am no china doll waiting to be smashed apart. My certainty seeps through every inch of me and straight into my steel heart. After a childhood of being forced behind bars, told that as a woman I must do this and can’t do that, bearing with these pathetic double standards, coerced to settle for second place when I could have effortlessly shined in first, I eventually came to reject it. They call me undisciplined. I call it rebellion. Rather than degrade myself into voluntarily servitude to this misogynist society, I granted myself the permission to freedom– I did what most women around me never imagined they could do: I ceased to identify myself as a woman. In turn, I became human.”

“And that is how I have always seen you. As a human being– no more, no less. It perplexes me that one could see you as anything else. I’m drawn to your strength, not an imagined inferiority. Your strength is contagious and it pushes me forward. Now… Those men… Seeking inferiority to conceal their weakness? To wane together in weakness? How could anybody want that? I don’t understand.”

“And that– is why you’re different. You’re not intimidated by me. You don’t scavenge for weakness in me. You have no desire to control me, pamper me with gifts, flaunt me, spoil me, or dominate me. You give me nothing but your strength, but still keep all of it for yourself. And that is why I want you.”

Topshop Lace Kimono Wrap, Express Dress, Rich & Stack Necklace, Cornwall Street Earrings, Yves Saint Laurent heels

Location: Chantilly, France

“I oscillate between life and death, happiness and sadness, good and evil.”
– Alexander McQueen

I was reading a biography about McQueen, a gift from a dear friend. I sat in the woods flipping through the pages while adrenaline and life rushed through me. The pages reminded me of why I used to idolize McQueen out of proportion–placing him along the ranks of people I admire the most in this world. To feel so passionate about something, to disregard all else entirely, to the point of obsession, to the point of insubordination, to the point of alienation. I am all too familiar with this mode of living. That is why I seek an occasional refuge in solitude and nature. Before nature I need not downplay my hunger.

Photographer: Wayne Lin
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Dress courtesy of Lulu’s

Thou think’st ’tis much that this contentious storm

Invades us to the skin. So ’tis to thee.

But where the greater malady is fixed

The lesser is scarce felt. Thou’dst shun a bear,

But if thy flight lay toward the raging sea

Thou’dst meet the bear i’ th’ mouth. When the mind’s free,

The body’s delicate. The tempest in my mind

Doth from my senses take all feeling else

– William Shakespeare, King Lear

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