Writing about the mind and consciousness

[Image for posts about my academic blog. Not a pic of me. I don't look this good.]

So I do this nerdy academic thing as a hobby and for work.

I started writing about some of my thoughts on humans and came up with a book manuscript over the fall of 2012 and early spring of 2013. Then I realized I needed to rewrite it as there were central themes emerging as well as ways to tie together and extend some of the ideas I was describing.

To help with this I started putting material based on the manuscript on a blog. Some is 10% manuscript and 90% new material or rewrite, some is flipped the other way. The order for some things was changed.

Anyway, the idea is I want it to be something interesting and comprehensible, so I need folks to give thoughtful feedback. If you are curious check it out. I want to share with others, so even if you don't have any feedback I'd still love it if you popped over and gave it a go. If you like the science and philosophy section of the bookstore think you'll find what I write about interesting and may challenge how you see yourself and the world in good, constructive ways.

My most recent post is sorting through terms like "mind" and consciousness.

If that sounds interesting, go and check it out. If not, that's fine. Something else I post here or elsewhere might float your boat.

Be well.

Social Proof and Adaptive Radiation

[I'll let you come up with the significance in choice of photo]

Some things really make you think about what kind of person you are.

Not in a judgmental way, like thinking you are good, bad, ugly, beautiful, normal, weird, etc. Just simple reflection.

For example, I was thinking about a topic I had presented on while driving home and in some circuitous route I can't really recall now I ended thinking about the concept of social proof. My topic had nothing to do with business, marketing, or sales by the way. I have no business background, don't read business books, and haven't taken a business class.

In a nutshell, social basically means any activity a person does that lends credibility to something. It could be people conspicuously using a product or service, giving an explicit endorsement, and so on. It doesn't even have to be intentional. If you ask someone where they had dinner and they mention a restaurant three other people have mentioned, that person is just answering your question but along with the other mentions it might make you want to go.

This then made me think of being an early adopter of any kind of behavior. In the right context, if someone does something that no one else is the crowd is doing, and if that person is unashamed and really getting something out of their activity, there is a chance others will join. Maybe out of pity, curiosity, spontaneity, or some other reason.

This is early social proof. It encourages others to join, then others, then still others. It can become really popular, but the coolness factor and credibility goes primarily to the innovator and early adopters. If the popularity reaches a critical mass the number of adopters may skyrocket during a "fad" phase. This may spawn many imitations or innovations along similar lines.

Eventually the fad wanes and many varieties of imitation and related innovation disappear. Even the population engaged with the original innovation may shrink to a much smaller size or even disappear itself.

Then I thought about how this pattern sounds very similar to major evolutionary events centered around some key novelty. The events are known as radiations.

So I thought I should think about this sometime to see if I could figure out what the connection might be.

That's just an excerpt of my thirty five to forty mile drive through the country. In case you were curious what it would be like to eavesdrop on what goes through my mind when my thoughts are wandering. Or in case you also find the similarity worth pondering.

Meandering to Stillness

[Not my friend]

While you are waiting for me to write some new material (or scrolling through older material for something interesting to read), check out this blog from a friend of mine who is using her fledgling yoga practice to extend her physical, emotional, and mental capacities.

http://karenmeandering.wordpress.com/author/karenmeandering/

In doing so, she is learning a new way to engage with herself and the world.

And it isn't full of artificial or self-inflated infatuation with yoga or her progress. No long-winded analysis. Just an honest journal to help keep her committed to the practice.

An autumn leaf

[A featured picture on Pixabay. Lovely.]

There, you see? Back again already.

I'm sure you are familiar with reflection exercises like "Imagine you only had a limited time to live." They are very popular in post-modern societies and especially on blogs and in self-help books and videos.

Not that I claim to be very knowledge about self-help genre. I've looked into it and it tends to be the same thing recycled over and over by a few very successful people and hundreds of folks who want to have that same success. Which is why you see the successful and not so successful self-help advisors pop up in places like the Huffington Post.

Well, anyway, there's that one, and the one about what you would do if time, money, and other resources were no object. And I've noticed a couple of things.

One, I don't seem to do well with these little exercises. I just don't know what I would want to do or I can't decide from the options. Anything I pick would just be to complete the exercise, not because it was the thing.

Two, it's very hard to actually imagine yourself to really be in such a life-and-death or inconceivable abundance scenario. Sure, it's possible in a kind of superficial, light and breezy "Oh I'd go to [insert exotic location]" kind of way. But not really.

I mean, would you really see a shift in your priorities? Would it really crystallize what you think and believe? Reveal how you really feel?

So then today, little less than two weeks before my birthday, I go into to get a basic test done as a follow-up to my annual physical. Something was a little off in the physical, so it was just being  a matter of cautious.

That is, until my doctor calls me from her house the same day to tell me I have a serious condition that is one hundred percent fatal if left untreated. Hence I will require major surgery in the near future, which itself is kind of risky.

I ought, therefore, to have some of that clarity coming my way since I am facing an immanent mortal threat. Nothing so far, though. Not about life, spirituality, where I would go or what I would do if it was now or never. Still, maybe it will come to me as events unfold and my situation becomes more real to me.

I'll keep you updated if any insights reveal themselves.

Be well.

Gathering too much dust

[Not my actual keyboard]

Hmmm.

This place has gotten a bit dusty. And sparse. Definitely sparse. Sparse and dusty.

I had particular plans for it when I created this space. Then I let it go.

I decided to re-purpose it. But then that didn't happen either.

Well, OK, then.

Time to actually start using this as it was kind-of sort-of intended, the second or third time around. Which is as a lightly-themed catch-all type of blog.

I've tended to better with more focused blogs given definite themes, but there are often things that "just don't fit" those established  topical patterns and boundaries.

Got to go for now, but I'll be stopping by more often. Suggestions for things you'd like me to discuss and reflect on are welcome. If they seem interesting to me I'll do my best to respond.

Be well.

Fragile males, the tribes of trolls, and their cult of rudeness

What do you MEAN you don't want to fill out those forms? (Explore--front page) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was recently having a discussion the other day about sexism and bullying in a certain area of online life. And while that particular example was disconcerting, it is mirrored by the sexism (and racism, and homophobia) in other parts of cyberspace, which in turn reflects a larger societal pattern. While many see such abuses as a crisis, for those who live with it day and and day out it can start to seem like business as usual. There are some who will say that such folks are "jerks" or "morons" who don't matter, that their words and actions are irrelevant. I disagree.

Let's differentiate here between different types of trolls. Some just want to wind other people up for their own amusement, or believe that they are being clever. Some simply think they are being funny. Because they are isolated from immediate and personal face to face contact, they may not appreciate the impact of their comments on others. They are clueless but that doesn't mean that they don't hurt or offend. And in such cluelessness, they may decide to idolize or imitate others who are far more intentionally cruel and spiteful.

There is a subculture or side-culture in many online and offline communities which prizes being anti-social and rude. Then there is the "macho" club which tends to be heavily sexist, at times bordering on misogynistic, as well as homophobic. These two groups aren't identical, but neither are anywhere close to mutually exclusive.  For example, certain tribes of trolls may not be dedicated to insulting only women but their language is extremely sexist, and it mirrors the false machismo of undesirable social trends of the bullying boys clubs.

Some of the more obnoxious trolls may be children or immature adults who are going to act mean and idiotic to anyone they come across online, probably from a lack of social skills mixed with deep insecurity and a lack of social accountability, but they are using terms and imagery that already exist in misogynistic circles. They are mimicking the psychology and employing the verbal weaponry of bullies. Whether they really are intimated by or hateful towards women specifically, or whether instead they are just aping bad behavior in a failed attempt to pursue some kind of coolness through online notoriety, they are still perpetuating the anti-woman stereotypes and abusive terminology.

On Classroom Etiquette at College

A physician professor and med students learn a technique of Osteopathic manipulative medicine at Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Vallejo, California, United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Taking courses at a university can be exciting and wonderful but it can also be confusing and stressful. There are many things you are learning to adjust to and you can easily lose focus and make mistakes that will create unnecessary difficulties further down the line. It can really help if you plan ahead and try to stay organized so that you don't get overwhelmed and make unforced errors that will only increase your stress and distract from your learning.

If you've never attended a class at a college or university there are some things you can benefit from knowing before you begin. Some of it may seem like common sense but you might be surprised at how often these simple things can be neglected and the problems that can cause. There is always going to be someone who stumbles over these things, so make sure that it isn't you.

Let's start with one of my favorites.