Sometimes, when a group is online, somebody does something nice, thoughtful, sweet. Somebody else in the group "Replies to All" and says that was a nice thing to do. Somebody else agrees and writes to all that it was indeed a nice thing to do. This chain reminds me of the Lake Wobegon parade. The cheerleaders and the band wore clothing that enabled them to make the American flag when seen from above. People in the stands were elevated enough to appreciate the configuration. One band member with a camera asked everyone to hold their position while he raced to a high point and snapped a photo. He returned quickly but someone else asked everyone to hold their position, ran up and snapped.
You can imagine what happened. Nobody wanted to be negative and leave, and many people had a smartphone on them, so it took quite a while for each photographer to get up there, take a shot and return to keep the pattern in place.
I am still getting a kick out of Gazzaniga's "The Mind's Past". The title refers to his interest in understanding what our brains do, how our brains create our minds, and how and why brains and minds evolved into what they are now. He and David Eagleman in "Incognito" point out that with the proper brain electronic equipment, they can see us doing brain things that result in movements and choice, and they can see activity to produce the movements and choices before we move or choose. I gather they can't (yet?) tell what movement or what choice, but it is clear that parts of us are preparing when other parts don't know yet what is going on.
I am thankful that evolution modified the information stream to my mind to just give me the highlights of my acts and not a report from each organ and junction that is preparing and participating in lifting my glass.
