My Answers To Intriguing Questions From Friends and Co-workers

Oftentimes, there are friends of mine who ask some silly, yet thought-provoking questions. Here are some of them:

Why are aliens mostly depicted as naked in movies?

My take on this would be… that these “naked alien notions” are just some sort of high-tech superstition. I do believe that aliens exist, what I don’t believe is that they would look like “the greys” that are by far, the most popular aliens in pop culture.

If they are technologically advanced in great lengths, then we have to conclude that they should have a more complex mindset in a lot of things… fashion and clothing included. If they can invent better spaceships than us, then they should have better apparel than what we own here on Earth.

But then, there are those who say that they just don’t care about fashion anymore because they think it’s just a nonsense factor of their existence. I have a hard time swallowing this. If we remove the need for clothing due to the “nonsensibility” of styling and grooming, I don’t think we can ever remove the need for utility suits for the sake of protection.

The fact that the greys visited a foreign planet means their physiology is not attuned to the planet they’re exploring. They need to wear protective gear… no matter how smart or advanced they are.

This makes me conclude that from a logical standpoint, the “grey aliens” are the extra-terrestrial equivalent of zombies, vampires, werewolves, and whatever monsters you may think of. I believe aliens exist… but not in the way urban legends tell us so.

What's the explanation behind “The Mark of The Beast” stated in the Bible?

It’s pretty hard to trace back. It could be due to Emperor Nero’s fondness of the “threescore number” or it could be due to the Bible’s satanic attribution. I have to say The Bible has the greatest influence on how we perceive it now.

Today, pop culture and superstition have dignified it even more. When added with another of that same digit, it is known as the number of the beast, or ‘Satan’s Number,’ to state it plainly.

Originating from what’s written in the Book of Revelation chapter 13, the double or triple digit of the number 6 is avoided by most people. They regard it as a trigger of bad luck, bad outcomes, and almost anything that could be attributed to being bad or evil.

Religion or pop-culture may have overstated it or blown it out of proportion, but the superstition that sprouted from it is undeniably very powerful.

Does Purgatory exist?

Closely associated with the Limbo, this is believed to be the place where people can still be redeemed through prayer after they die. In purgatory, any soul can still have the chance of entering Heaven while waiting for judgment day, as he is being petitioned by his loved ones who are still alive.

As far back as during the medieval times, belief in Purgatory was already commonplace. From a scientific standpoint, the idea actually came from people who had near-death experiences as many of them saw flashbacks of the events that took place in their life.

The concept of Purgatory can be explained psychologically and scientifically, but many believers still take it as something supernatural and as a bringer of great hope.
From a biblical standpoint, the concept of Purgatory is not existent.

It is more like a Catholic teaching than being purely scriptural. So if we are to take the Holy Bible as something more authoritative than the Catholic Encyclopedia, then we have to say that Purgatory is something that we must just dismiss.

If re-editing of movies has been criticized by the public, why hasn't video game modification been criticized for the same reason?

Actually, criticism about video game revisions or “modding” also sparks anger and bashing among fans and critics.

The only difference is that such a level of criticism does not reach the same level as that of the movies because:

Not too many people play video games, but we can feel rest assured that there are too many people who watch movies.

Video games are consumed differently by people. They are situated in interactive environments and require many hours to finish.

Movies are passive media, meaning their endings are fixed. All the viewer needs to do is sit back and watch as the climax unravels. Video games, especially today are quite different, their endings can be changed depending on how the gamer chooses to perform his/her actions as the game progresses.

Given these notions, people don’t complain that much about computer games being modified because that’s what they want for a video game anyway - to be ever-changing, boundless, and dynamic.

What movies do you secretly hate, that others think is great?

As a college teacher, I’m surrounded by teens and young professional females most of the time. All of them seem to think that Twilight is great, but I hate it. Though it’s not much of a secret for them. Second to that would be the 2 installments of 50 Shades of Grey. Again not really a secret. I dislike that movie and seems to be proud of disliking it so far.

Many of the critics would side with me on this claim though, which is a relief. However, In respect to the question that I choose to give an answer to, let me declare that I secretly hate Deadpool. I love watching comicbook movies and would watch them over and over. Honestly, Deadpool is the only one that I watched only once, and only finished it because I watched it in a theater.

What are some powers that would be really bad for a superhero, but a great thing to have as a supervillain?

Telepathy -- the ability to read minds, that would be my answer.

Passing a difficult exam, dodging an unwanted situation, seducing the person of your dreams – the usability of this power is endless. If you have this ability, you can manage to defeat any superpowered being just because you can avoid whatever attack they may execute, as you can read what they’re thinking before they even move.

You can be super-successful too because you can figure out who are the ones who will say no to your propositions and what endeavors you may want to undertake with the people that you can easily pick, even before you speak to them.

So how is this bad for a superhero?

If you are a true superhero at heart, then it would be disturbing for you to invade people’s privacy, as you can easily probe into their lobes and read what they’re thinking. If you are someone who has a high sense of morality, you would most likely, avoid scenarios in which you can, [or have to] read people’s minds.

Just saying.