Blessed are those who doubt …
For they shall be free.
Psychology
Thoughts About ‘The Secret’
When I was beach bum in California, and lived with the ducks along the Venice canals, I’d hear this buzzing sound at night. It was coming from a nearby house. It sounded like whirring sci-fi equipment, like Dr. Frankstein was turning dead body parts into a movie, stuffed with Igor’s poorly chosen brain. Or like some Read More …
When Machines Crack the Language Code
Holy freakin’ s-bomb. Think about this: When the day comes that machines master language, we’re all ego-doomed. Since anyone can implant a language chip in their brain (or at least in an earpiece), everybody can instantly find the best words. Then nothing will ever again believe that anyone is clever! No, it’s not you, babe, it’s your chip! Worse, Read More …
Twist on a Saying
“Don’t put all your egos in one basket, or it could make you a basket case.”
Karma for Sports Fans
What goes around comes around. Maybe that’s the problem here in Philly. The negativity of fans cosmically gets punished by never having that ultimate prize: A title in a major sport. (Philadelphia gone more seasons without an NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL title than any other city. Cleveland’s gone more years, for example, but doesn’t Read More …
Need an Egoless Ego Word?
Why is all self-congratulations egotistical? In this age of You-Tube and Web 2.0, we’re all (well, bloggers anyway) being typecast as self-centered thumb-sucking babies. But is it just vanity? (All is vanity!) I don’t think. Sometimes you just feel good, celebrating your gifts, enjoying seeing your imagination come to life, hoping others benefit somehow. It’s Read More …
New Disorder: The Compulsion to Make Up Disorders
In the beginning, sadness became depression. Then trouble concentrating (and plain old restlessness) became attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. There’s seasonal affective disorder for the winter blues. Shyness became social anxiety disorder. Recently, video game obsession became a candidate for becoming a new disorder. OK, many people do suffer from hampered skills and emotional confusion. But making common difficulties Read More …
Getting Your Head Together
Finally realized something: Listen to yourself. Be yourself. Find yourself. Realize you have no “self” self. But don’t try to be somebody. That’s when you twist yourself up. You try to be two people. Become two people. A house divided. Your true feelings (even if there’s no such thing ultimately) and your new “feelings.” Big Read More …
A Bit of Dialogue
He: “My goal is to be perfect.” She: “Well, there’s your first mistake.”
Anti-GPS
If we’re headed toward keeping track of everything (see Google item below), more people will feel so stifled, they’ll want secrecy technology. They’ll want NOT to be know, NOT to be found. So imagine Hide & Sneak devices that lie to global positioning systems. By hacking, overriding, discombubulating, jamming, whatever … you’ll be able to tell Read More …
Blink Twice
Loved the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. It explores the mystery of how, sometimes, we just have a deep understanding instantly. In some cases, there’s a wellspring of knowledge and expertise that bubbles up. In others, in chaotic moments of danger, we just know to react. Since reading it, I’ve strived to trust my initial judgments Read More …
Insensitivity Training
Example of contrarian inspiration: Educating people to take insults less seriously. Lesson One: Sticks and Stones Will Break My Bones, But Names Will Never Hurt Me. OK, names can hurt, and reputations matter. So does accuracy. But a world that pretends we’re all wonderful isn’t. Isn’t accurate. Isn’t honest. Isn’t wonderful. We need to learn Read More …
Rewrite Your Inner Story Lines
Interesting article recently in the NY Times, called “This Is Your Life (And How You Tell It).” Suggests an approach to straightening out one’s head where you examine the plot you’ve adopted for your life. OK, maybe it’s as simple as “Boy meets smart, kind and sexy girl, boy marries girl, boy and girl have Read More …
Cartoon: Deep Understanding
Here’s another cartoon from years ago. Please credit Peter Mucha, if you use.
Is Repression a File-Sharing Problem?
Just a thought. The mind has so many things on its mind. Amazing it keeps things sorted and related enough to trick us into thinking life’s not just chaos. So instead of a place like “the conscious mind,” we have mental filters that interfere with some files getting shared. You tell yourself you’re not upset, Read More …