OddballGreg - The Snowball Effect

Snowballs. Aren't these just the best? Especially when they roll down mountains and cause avalanches. That's also fun.

The snowball effect is a fairly well known effect in which small initial circumstances quickly grow into larger and potentially more voracious occurrence which can have a larger impact on whatever it affects. This effect can be taken in a great many ways, not limited to the literal, metaphorical or philosophical. Let's talk about that.

Snow. It's great fun to play in snow. Having lived in, (and never left), South Africa all my life, I have only seen snow twice. 2012 and 2013, both years of which, the South African weather took a turn for the abnormal and gave many, including myself, a taste of what winter is like in the northern hemisphere. Of course, what's more fun than snow, is snowballs. Especially since, apart from their very literal fun for throwing, are quite a fantastic source of the so called "Snowball Effect".

The snowball effect is so named after the phenomenon of rolling a snowball down a snowy hill or mountain. As snow tends to grip to itself, the rolling ball quickly gathers additional snow as it rolls, gaining in size and speed exponentially as a result as the growing surface area allows it to gather larger quantities of snow quicker, until it it veritably large enough to cause an avalanche, or at least cause significant impact upon collision.

Of course, humanity, being the keen minded people that we are, quickly decided that the snowball effect, or "snowballing" as it is called by many, was a very apt metaphor for all manner of things in life, ranging from the aeronautical effects of weight reductions or increases. (That is to say, a decrease in the weight of the aircraft would also allow a decrease in wingspan as less lift is required, which means smaller engines can be used. As such, the effective weight reduction is always greater than the initial projection as a result of the additional reductions. This works the same in the opposite as well.)

In not-so-technical applications, the snowball effect can be used to describe a great many interesting things ranging from the gold gathered from a well-played champion's kills making them proceedingly more difficult to kill in League Of Legends, to the way that a small increase in public spending can create more educated masses, which can increase GDP, which again allows for increases in public spending, and so on and so forth.

Philosophically speaking, this is comparable to all kinds of things that affect the way a person lives and leads their lives. Consider what people call "exploding in rage". The act of throwing a tantrum due to some offensive act. Usually, this is not a result of a single offensive act, but more the snowballing of anger and outrage as slight after slight is made against the person, until eventually, it takes one unfortunate individuals poorly positioned placement in front of the snowball to cause a rather tumultuous outburst, often to the detriment of all involved.

In any case, I'm sure you can place this interesting effect into all manner of metaphors in the human life, though for me to continue to do so would do little more good. If you have any interesting uses of the metaphor to share, or simply which to make a comment in general, do be sure to share it down in the comments below, or via Facebook/Twitter as we here at TCSA love to hear from you. Speaking of sharing, if you have any philosophically minded friends, do be sure to share this post with them as I am sure they will appreciate the thought. Of course, if you yourself would like to read more posts like these then do be sure to like the Official TCSA Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter using the associated buttons on the bar to the left to read all the latest posts, as they're published. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for taking the time to read this post; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again soon.

Safe travels my friends.

JovialJman - Pets (And their Influence Over Us)

OddballGreg choose this picture, maybe he is a Crazy Cat Person

There are many animals around the world, some are used for food, some for aesthetics, but there are a select few that are domesticated and have become companions to many. Pets have various effects on people so, let's talk about it.

I have a few pets myself, (well actually it is the families pets). There is Bobby our Jack Russell mixed something, (maybe a dalmation as he is really big for a Jack Russell), Peanut the African Grey, and a small pond filled with goldfish. Bobby can get really excited at the mere mention of a walk, Peanut is at the stage of talking and is now barking like a dog, calling my sister to annoy her, (really funny to see), and is one crazy bird in general. The gold fish, well they are just kind of there for looks, and they always look thirsty as the are gulping the water, but then again, all fish look like that.

Pets are not a new thing if you look at a lifetime, but if you look at the human race they are not old either. There were people that were domesticated wolves as far back as just after the last ice age. This was a time where Mammoths were still wandering around. It is strange to think that all the breeds of dogs today are descendants of wolves. A bit latter cats were domesticated and were seen as sacred animals by the Egyptians and were mummified by the millions. Domesticated cats are the most similar to their wild counterparts as they are still able to fend for themselves if human interaction was withdrawn, which does make looking after them a bit easier.

The average owner of cat are smarter than the average owner of dogs. This fun fact got me thinking, do pets change things in our lives, or are they just there, the fact however can be explained. Those who have studied further often have jobs that take a lot of time and would still like a pet, so cats are a good option as they can take care of themselves and need little attention to survive, but love sitting on your keyboards when you need to work. Many studies have been done in this subject and the results are somewhat surprising.

Pets help us with our mood, they keep us company when we are alone and may have the same attachment to you, as you have to them. They are mostly loving creatures that adore attention and give a moral boost to most as they always seem happy. Children who grow up with a pet have shown better friend making at a early age as they start with playing with the pet. They are also thought to care for them and help them grow, this is seen as a chore but can be a very good learning experience for the young as they will learn routine early on.

There are also health benefits when having pets. There are dogs that help the blind move around and some that help deaf people to be more aware of their surroundings, there are also some that can alert diabetics when their blood sugar is getting low before something serious happens. Pet owners are also less likely to suffer from depression and have lower blood pressure in stressful situation than those without pets. This maybe due to the fact that we nurture them and that releases a lot of our anxiety. When exercising pets, like taking a dog for a walk, you get exercise as well and this may keep you fit but with cat owners it might be a bit harder to say the same thing as I have not seen someone walk their cat.

Pets are also a gateway to a new world with people that are pet lovers as well. This may be from dog shows, to horse riding, and owner, pet look alike contests. Many of these type of activities can bring new people into your life and broaden your social life. There have also been studies that show that having a pet around when babies are growing up also help strengthen their immune systems and help with allergy resistance. How they help are still being found out, but maybe due to the simple exposure of the animals, the babies become immune to any of the effects that may be brought with the animals to begin with.

Anyways, that draws today's post to an end. If pets could talk how many situations would you have never gotten into? If you have any comments or suggestions, please leave them in the comments below or on Facebook/Twitter. Do you know of anyone that is deciding on getting a pet, or anyone that has pets already, please share this with them as I am sure they would thank you for it. If you would like to see more post as they come out, or would like to show your support, please like us one Facebook or follow us on Twitter using the associated buttons on he bar to the left. Thank you for taking the time to read today's blog post, and I hope you have/had a really awesome day.

Happy pet petting buddies