Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

Other people’s brains exist within our own. The ability to replicate others’ brains is one of the most crucial functions of our brains. We copy other people’s brains into our own to better understand them. In fact, our brains operate through this mechanism. The more diverse people’s brains we replicate, the less we suffer from communication issues. Our brains act like mirrors, reflecting others. When another person’s brain is mirrored in mine, it triggers empathy, and when that stimulus produces a hormone, our bodies respond accordingly. Since this response is communicated back to the brain, we mistakenly believe we are experiencing emotions in our bodies. What you represent in my brain is the emotion. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Adam Smith , the author of The Wealth of Nations , believed that “ empathy is an intellectual activity that takes into account circumstances, motives, luck, social status , and human character of the person.” The moment we blame another person’s actions, we examine the appropriateness of those actions. Adequacy is a state of neither excess nor understatement. If everyone else thinks a person is bad but I advocate for that person by saying, “I can understand,” then I approve of their actions. This situation is called “ mutual sympathy .” In our lives, we can be egocentric in some cases and relation-centric in others. The more mutual sympathy exists, the more relationship-oriented our thinking becomes. Both too much and too little can lead to tiredness or dissatisfaction. Pursuing happiness means finding this adequacy . - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Genghis Khan, emperor of the Mongol Empire, had a remarkable subordinate general named Yesun Bei. Although Yesun Bei was an extraordinary warrior, Genghis Khan refrained from giving him military authority to command. This decision stemmed from Yesun Bei’s belief that others were similar to him; he became frustrated when they couldn’t perform as well as he could. Without empathy, individuals cannot show respect, and without respect, people do not follow their superiors. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Price and value are different things. Value is relative and subjective, but price makes those numbers tangible and helps us empathize with others. The result of that empathy is a deal, an exchange. Only when value is assetized does wealth arise. The way to assetize values is to price them. In other words, pricing is the process of valuing assets. Determining whether the value assigned to an asset is appropriate is called investment. From an investor’s point of view, investment begins by questioning the objective price of an asset. Consumption is the exchange of goods and services at a price agreed upon by all parties. Consumption and investment are two distinct concepts. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

A relationship of empathy or best friendship is one in which there is a relatively equal exchange of emotions. However, there is an unequal exchange of emotions. Take celebrities and fans, for example, or dictators and people. When the structure of unequal emotional exchange spreads, it inevitably leads to unhappiness. That's what unreciprocated love is all about. The dictator is so too. Therefore, a married couple must have an equal structure of emotional exchange for the relationship to be healthy. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”