Resisting or modifying habits and routines

Patterns of thought or behavior are difficult to eliminate or modify.  I find as I age, I have to watch extra-carefully while doing something I have done many times before.  When I deviate from my usual pattern, it can almost feel a little painful at times.  I sometimes find that something I normally do is not a good idea.  Maybe it never was and maybe aging or new understanding has given me a good reason to be different.  But seeing myself being different is often quite different from being actually on the new track I am aiming for.  Even when I have a good reason to change, the established procedure can pull at me and I have to stay conscious of the new one I am trying to establish.

Wrong ideas with a few great ones mixed inv

I recently finished reading Carl Zimmer's "The Soul Made Flesh", the story of work in Oxford, England, on exploring human anatomy and especially what the large spongy mass in the top of the head did.  There had been many statements and theories about its function.  The newer element was evidence.  Proposed functions had to line up with what was known at the time.  It was getting a little less likely that someone of authority would answer the question and others accepted that statement.

I read about Galileo sometime back but I can't track down or remember the title or the author.  I remember it, not because of Galileo's famous difficulty with the Catholic authorities, basically about the Earth being the center of the universe, or a "mere" planet circling our sun, as his telescope showed him but because of the description of him timing swing lamps with his pulse while attending church.  

Much of "argument" and "discussion" involves personal prestige, tradition, habit, language skills and even physical size, weight and temperament of those involved.  Introducing the concept of reported evidence changed the game.  The Zimmer book reports no swords, daggers or pistols involved but people can get very emotional during discussions about issues important to them.  I have been somewhat thankful that my work has not involved basic research which seems to be an activity bound to frustrate and disappoint.

CNN Photos 10/13/24

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/10/world/gallery/photos-this-week-october-3-october-10

Today is October 12

On October 12, 1492, Columbus made landfall in the new world.  "New" to Europeans, that is.  Sometimes, people object to the words "Columbus discovered America" because various humans, maybe descendants of Asians, were already living on the American continents.  But I have recently discovered the movie "Still Alice".  I didn't know about it before even though many other people, fans, cast, and others did.

Because Europeans had guns and tended to use them, some survivors of "indigenous" people have emphasized how their own ancestors suffered various insults, intrusions and worse once Europeans started arriving in the Americas.  Because of the way we do things now, and because of our calendar, it will not be until Monday, that Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day is officially noted. 

"Still Alice" movie

My book group read "Remember" by LIsa Genova.  It is non-fiction and describes how our memories work.  Last night, we watched the movie "Still Alice", starring Juliette Moore. It's about a professor who finds unexplained serious difficulties descend on her with no warning.  She sees a doctor about the problem and learns that she has early-onset Alzheimer's.  It is serious and depressing and her situation is only going to get worse.  It was moving and well-written.  I looked it up and found the script was based on the book, by the same Lisa Genova.  I was impressed and moved by the movie.   Lynn was working on a list of her favorite movies and included "Still Alice".

Satisfying

Maybe a week ago, I thought of an incident I had read about.  I was confident the description of that event was in that Ebel book.  A man named Stephen Leacock was at one time a leading humorous writer.  I first remembered his name as "Stephen Peacock" and I looked up that name but without any validation of what I remembered.  The Ebel book is rather old now but I ordered a print copy and the other day, it arrived in the mail.  The index showed "Stephen Leacock" and I looked up that name.  Yep, he is the one!

Leacock says that when he was in a Canadian university, he reported to a testing session where he picked up a copy of the test questions, took a seat at one of the desks and wrote answers to the questions.  Later, he was given his degree.  The trouble was that testing room was being used for several different exams and it turned out that he had mistakenly written for the wrong exam.  His answer was graded by the examiners so he was awarded a degree in a subject he had no courses in!

I am quite satisfied that I tracked down the right man and the incident I remembered.

More irregularities in me

About a year ago, I felt odd at the end of a morning walk.  I was upright but I just felt like it would be "nice" to just fall forward.  I let myself do that, but it was not a good idea for my face.  I struck the ground and marked up my nose. I wasn't hurt otherwise and I saw a nurse practitioner about the event.  She gave me an EKG and said I was unchanged from my last one.  She asked me about my hydration and advised me to try for 50 ounces of water a day.  I have been interested in hydration since my college days and have heard that "8 oz 8 times a day" is too much for many people.  I found the book "Quench" by a woman MD and a second author who created the Hydration Foundation.

When my wife and I walk the neighborhood, I find that I can hustle and keep up with her but that it is a bit uncomfortable. We have found that my comfortable walking pace has slowed.  I can tell that my walking has included more "staggering" and "lurching" than it used to.  I can focus on my walking and manage, for now, but I understand that my walking motions are part of my unconscious mental processes.  The book "Incognito" by David Eagleman gave me a useful picture of my own unconscious processes such as breathing and posture.