Man of steel.
one warm afternoon on my way home from work, I noticed this particular structural member made of steel. Its position struck my attention. It stood alone at quite a notable distance from other structures and the analogy of “walking the road less traveled” struck me.
We are uniquely and wonderfully made beings with subjective world views partly shaped by choice, experience, genetics, guidance and society. However, we are subconsciously forced to conform to certain standards, thought patterns and behaviors made by “society” (which in fact may be based on good intentions). Conformity is necessary as it brings order out of a fundamentally chaotic world. Would you rather drive on an opposing lane so as not to conform to the multitude of drivers moving in the designated direction? Without conformity, chances that conflict will arise are heightened.
Before conforming (or not) to another person’s way of thinking, we need to have strong reasons why, or else we’ll be blown by the wind when strong facts back up another’s. Most times, conformity is convenient but we need to be careful not to lose our identity in the process when we try to please people/”the system” by crushing ourselves into socially acceptable shape. A designated direction doesn’t infer that we cannot go the other way if there is an impending danger that plays against our natural strengths up ahead.
Group-think is a psychological phenomenon in which people strive for consensus within a group. In many cases, people will set aside their own personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group. In the era of social-media ads and the speed at which information spreads, it’s relatively easier for new ideas concepts to gain ground. The more frequently we are presented with new ideas we do not agree with, the more these ideas and concepts become a bit more acceptable. When we see these ideas are accepted by a certain majority of people, we think less badly about it. It’s necessary to know when to take the path less traveled when it comes to issues regarding morality, personal values and religion.
Primarily, amongst others, I choose to conform to Christianity because Christ’s dicta have been tested and proven to be true. His dicta are timeless and stretch from origins incomprehensible to the human mind. Dicta that change, transform and renew the mind and lives for the better.
If I were to choose to be a single construction material, I’d choose steel because of certain qualities it possesses.
- Resilience: Its capability to recover its size and shape after a certain amount of deformation caused by applied stress. i.e its ability to recover from difficulties.
- Robustness and ductility: Steel is an inherently ductile material, responding to overload in a controlled fashion with managed load retention. The size and shape of steel members can be configured to provide a level of structural robustness not easily achievable with other more brittle construction materials.
- Lean/minimalist : The size/weight of steel material needed to cover a designated span is relatively less than what would be required by most other construction materials.
- Speed of construction: The majority of structural steel-work is prefabricated, with very little site-work required other than assembly via bolted connections. This leads to fast construction times and, with attention to staged delivery, de-congested construction sites, which makes it ideal for congested CBD building projects on small sites. Unlike concrete, steel frames are full strength as soon as they are completed, allowing immediate access for following trades. Steel decking provides a safe platform immediately for work to proceed.
- Clark Kent: Superman is called the Man Of Steel for a reason.
