Reviewing books I already have

I am keeping myself from shopping new book titles to review what I already have.  One of the early purchases was "A User's Guide to the Brain" by John J. Ratey, MD.  I have read other Ratey books and I benefit from his writing.  When I read some of that book before, it was about 2008.  I wasn't familiar with the Kindle's ability to highlight worthwhile comments and create a single file of them so I really didn't highlight much.  Now as I go through the book, I find very valuable insights.

In graduate school, I, like many others, was interested in WFF's, - well-formed formulas.  I was being charmed by certainty, perfection, total correctness.  Ratey wrote in 2002 that "The sooner we replace our mechanistic model of the brain with an ecologically centered, system-view, the better off we will be, for such a model better accounts for much of human experience."  I translate this sentence with an awareness of the fascination with developing the RIGHT formula.  Ratey emphasized that we humans do not operate formulaically but instead work with metaphors and impressions.

Changing forever

Ok, that invention changed human history forever.  Well, I have news for you. All the things that weren't invented also changed human history forever! Shocking, huh?

Maybe even more shocking is the news that everything changes our history forever. I admit that details can get lost.  It is true that I can write a history of humans that doesn't face the sticky detail that each minute that passes adds to our history.  Many of my own minutes have a history that is quite similar to earlier minutes, as far as I know.  Some of the rabbits and chipmunks did some things that I don't know about this morning so those activities will not be described in my history of the rabbits and chipmunks in our yard.  

Let's say that I reject electric light and go back to using kerosene lamps.  When I get out my kerosene lamp and start using it and avoid using electric lights, I will be returning.  I probably won't, being lazy and finding that flipping a switch is easier and less complicated that keeping matches and kerosene on hand, but you can see that if I return to those smokey lamps, it will be a return, not the same.  Ok?

I realize that many people add the word "forever" for emphasis, a way of saying "changed history dramatically and noticeably". 

Anchoring without numbers

I learned from Kahneman and Tversky that our minds tend to "anchor" to a number in a sales pitch.  How about we repair your gutters?  

How much?  $4,000.  Wow, that's expensive.  Well, you qualify for our discounts.  Because we like you, you qualify for our Friend discount of $1,000.  And you drive a Chevrolet and that gives you our GM discount of $1,000.  So, we can do the job for $2,000!

So, good fortune and the anchoring we do in our minds to the first number of 4,000 can make a mere 2,000 be a lucky bargain!

Thinking about that reminded me of Robert Ornstein's list of properties of the human mind:

He wrote a book called "MindReal" that repeats in detail a comment he made in "Multimind".  He said that our minds are built from the cellular level up to note things along 4 variables:

1. Recency – did it just happen?

2. Vividness – Is it exciting? Colorful? 'Real'?

3. Comparison – Was it bigger, smaller, faster, slower than usual?

4. Significance – What did it 'mean'?  Was it 'good'?  'Bad'?

I understood anchoring with numbers but it can work with non-numbers, too.  Want a cracker?  I also have cookies and chocolates, too.  The cracker may still be in our mind from precedence.  The chocolate may do well because of vividness.

Are things getting worse?

I read an interesting comment today.  Human memories are often that wonderful times are remembered while bad times are forgotten, leaving memories of how much better things were in the past.  The consequences of this idea, if it is true, are enormous.  Being somewhat insensitive, I am not sure how much better or worse "things" were.  I have to ask my wife. And others.

The military and me

It's Memorial Day and the US armed forces are in the spotlight.  I never served in the armed forces although I thought I might.  When I was in about the 7th grade, my mother had me take exams for a military school.  I don't know if that would have led to serving in the military but I didn't score high enough for a scholarship and we couldn't afford my attendance without one.  At the same time, my sister did score a scholarship for entry into a girls' school.  After a year or so there, she grew unhappy.  She was determined to escape and climbed out an upper story window on a "rope" of knotted bedsheets.  The knots came undone and she fell several stories into a bush.  She emerged unhurt but she had convinced my mother to bring her home.

I went to a large all-male public high school.  Near final graduation, we were asked our plans after high school.  The Vietnamese war was on and some classmates planned to enter office training at college.  I didn't want to be in combat so I wrote that I planned to join the navy.  I didn't think I could afford college but my guidance counselor and my homeroom teacher told me unequivocally to go to college.  My mother suggested I check out the teachers' college nearby.  I found that teachers colleges got state support and had very low student charges.  In my college junior year, I met the woman I have been married to for 64 years.  As a married teacher in preparation, I got student and married and fatherhood deferments.

Of course, I salute the achievements, sacrifices and difficulties US armed forces have experienced.

CNN Photos of the Week

CNN Photos of the Week

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/23/world/gallery/photos-this-week-may-16-may-23/

I don't attach many pictures to my posts but I know good visuals matter.  I do look over the CNN Photos of the Week and judge whether other things are included besides buildings damaged by war and sports photos of goals and mishaps.

She could almost be a sweetie

Most of the time, I follow my custom of noting a book that a relative or friend mentions as interesting or worthwhile or informative.  Yesterday, a friend mentioned a tv show I had not heard of.  He acted like it was unusual and said it was a crime show.  I think any type of story can be worthwhile or trite, depending on how it is put together.

Yesterday, a friend mentioned a tv show called "Elsbeth".  I didn't write the name down and later when I tried to recall it, I couldn't.  I called him and he said it again.  A couple of my friends are much deeper students of movies and tv and they have introduced me to more advanced tools that I typically use to find older items.  I just use Netflix and Amazon movies as first steps.  Some people don't feel as charmed by reading as I have been.  I do think a good case can be made for the invention of talking movies and tv as one of the most important communication events in human history.

We found that the first of two "seasons" of Elsbeth can be had from Amazon Prime streaming for $10.  I bought it and we watched the first episode last night.  Elsbeth is a lawyer and specializes in being a genuine pain-in-the-neck.  Like some hostesses, she is sweet and appreciative and concerned for the feelings and life troubles of others, to a maddening degree.  If you have seen some of the disguising and distracting words and manners of Peter Falk's character Columbo, mentally combine that with a really sweet, sweet, even sweeter middle-aged femme, you have Elsbeth.  In the first episode, she notices facts that others don't and uses them to make deductions of importance.  I hope she avoids physical troubles.

Limits

I can't really tell what is going on around me.  As Ed Yong explains in the first chapter of his "An Immense World", there are plenty of animals (and plants) that can sense phenomena that I can't, never have and, without special equipment, never will.  So, I don't know what is happening right now.  In addition, as Dr. Lisa Genova makes clear in her excellent book, Remember, much of what I perceive, I don't bother to form a memory of.  Without that, I literally can't remember.  Then, in addition to these limitations, my head is full of memories I did form but long ago, memories I can't access now. I am confident that I could keep better written and photographic and audio and scent records, but I am too busy writing this blog, shaving and other important things.

Not just accumulating money

Sometimes, friends express disgust at overuse of the "profit motive".  It can seem like all people care about is making money, sometimes in not-so-good ways.  But I think a different motive is as powerful or more so: the desire to have "something to do".  Your woodcarver may love carving but just having an activity that makes sense, that is fun and engaging can be very powerful.  As a kid, l liked the way books brought a story, an adventure or just a narrative that took my mind in directions and to places and topics I didn't think of by myself.

The company called Storyworth asks me questions about my history and my thoughts that prod me in directions I don't usually venture in.  A person my age has more history than he can remember and putting my memory to work as well as asking my partner what she remembers takes me to experiences I have not thought about for decades.

Longevity

Lynn has been consistent in noting that longevity, the count of years, could be good or not so good, depending on the quality of life.  It is relatively easy to number years but giving a number to their quality is much iffier.  Seems understandable to me if an old person feels that the last years aren't so swell.  Anything of importance to a human may be too subtle to be captured by a number or a "scale".

Habits

Evidently, I am prone to acquire a habit somewhat easily.  I do something two or three times and I am ready to do it steadily.  I don't overbrush my teeth or eat too much.  I have a head that likes to think, to imagine, to find pros and cons to support an idea.  

I wouldn't have thought that I could develop a habit of buying too many books.  This has gotten to the point where just reading titles gives me a strong lift.  Some movie titles can give the idea: "Anybody but you", a romance.  "Not you again".  I get a laugh.  Pavlov says that satisfies my reward center.  Repeat.

Sweep them all off

I don't usually get a laugh from an algorithm, a pattern or procedure for getting something done.  But this article by Ben Brubaker was different.  "Why Computer Scientists Study Hard Problems" gave an example of an algorithm that has gotten a laugh from several people.  It is an algorithm for alphabetizing a shelf of books.  It works perfectly!

Check the shelf carefully to see if the books are in alphabetical order.  If they aren't, sweep them off the shelf onto the floor.  Replace the books onto the shelf.  Check to see if they are in alphabetical order.  If so, you are done!  If not, sweep the books onto the floor.  Replace the books onto the shelf.  Check to see if they are in alphabetical order.  If so, problem solved!  If not, sweep the books onto the floor…

Pretty smart, huh?

Photos, articles

CNN Photos of the Week - t.ly/hjqub

Firefox Pocket articles - t.ly/l80lF

Lighting can make an enormous difference

We lived for two months right beside the Royal College of Music in London.  Listening to all that practicing made me more sensitive to the skills mastered by a first class musician.  We had attended some fairly advanced plays during the same days, many of which I didn't understand all that well.  I knew that London has one of the finest theater districts in the world and decided that before I left, I wanted to attend a mainstream, very popular play.  We saw Les Miserables and it wowed my socks off!

The hero's nemesis, Inspector Javert, finally realizes what a monster he has been, how blind he has been, and commits suicide by jumping off a bridge into a raging river.  Ok, here you have a man standing on a wooden stage, in front of hundreds in the audience.  How can you introduce a river?  Zip!  The lights change and the little wooden bridge Javert stands on is revealed to span a wide piece of undulating cloth, the river we all realize.  Javert jumps onto a rolling treadmill beneath the cloth, tumbling and somersaulting his body along the "water".  No problem!  Raging river kills man.  I saw it happen.

It is not always what a person expects

I am somewhat surprised by experiences greatgrandchildren have related to me.  A greatgranddaughter was annoyed that she had to muster handwriting skills from 3rd grade to satisfy the bank with a signature.  She felt she had had little instruction or practice (or need) for handwriting.  A greatgrand son was surprised that the bank said he needed to establish some debt and demonstrate steady paying it off when he looked into getting a mortgage. Apartment managers said the same thing.

Value of writing by hand

I have seen several articles recently about finding that writing by hand, as opposed to using a keyboard, is touted as being better for thinking, understanding, wording a communication to self or others.  https://duckduckgo.com/?q=the+benefits+of+writing+by+hand&atb=v423-1

I just looked up "value of writing by hand" in Duckduckgo (which says it blocks more tracking) and found a statement that writing by hand tends to slow the writing compared to using a keyboard.  For good, professional secretaries and typists I don't doubt that is true.  I am not a fast typist.  I do write notes for possible blog posts by hand but I compose the final copy for posting by keyboard.  I tend to read the post aloud to Lynn and also to use Google Docs and its grammar/spell checker, which is the best of several I have tried.

John McWhorter, the Columbia University linguist, has taught me that language is always changing and what used to be ok or not-ok may no longer be that way.  In a similar way, I note that one company I deal with says that "proper format" for a date is mm/day/year with the date in four digits.  Others realize that we generally get along with just two digits for the year since most dates of "24" are meant to be 2024, not 1924.

Re-igniting the relationship

We have been married for 64 years.  We are both "critical thinkers" and guess who each of us tends to be critical of.  Right, not so much each other as each other's ideas, statements and decisions. Being critical thinkers in a marriage can lead to disagreements. Naturally and intelligently, we tend to see things differently.  We estimate probabilities differently, consequences differently and the value of consequences differently.

I think it is definitely true that we love each other.  We do value our differences, even if my partner tends to be right, correct, more than 50% of the time.

I am impressed at our ability and efforts to keep our affections and admiration for each other.  A soft voice, a smile goes a long way to put us back together after disagreement.

Fatigue can be a help

I ran into the name "Stephen Cope" while looking thru books and recognized it as a person I had labeled a good author.  Having a blog that goes back a way in time is handy at times. I searched the blog for that name and found several mentions. The first one was here:

https://fearfunandfiloz.blogspot.com/2015/06/tired-enough-to-see-clearly.html

Big minds

From today's Numlock News:

Not Exactly Rocket Science

Scientists have just published the highest resolution image ever of a small piece of the human brain just 1 cubic millimeter in size. The dataset this single square millimeter of mind produced is 1,400 terabytes in size, and if the full human brain were to be reconstructed in a similar fashion, the resulting dataset would be a zettabyte, a billion terabytes, or about a year's worth of all digital content produced. The rendered image shows a vast and interconnected web of neurons, colored by size and ranging from 15 to 30 micrometers across. A human brain has 86 billion of those neurons, with some 100 trillion connections. It's kind of crazy that most of them are used to replay embarrassing events from your life right as you're trying to fall asleep, but them's the breaks.

Cassandra Willyard, MIT Technology Review

CNN Photos of the Week

I looked at CNN Photos of the Week and they seem pretty good.  

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/09/world/gallery/photos-this-week-may-2-may-9

A 2nd post today

When I travel away from home, I have often advised anyone who misses emails from me to read some of the previously written posts.  There are currently 5,266 written posts.  I was surprised to find that searching my posts resulted in finding a post that said it was an unusual 2nd post of the day.  This is also a 2nd post.

If you are in the mood, take a look:

https://fearfunandfiloz.blogspot.com/2012/04/from-how-to-live-on-24-hours-day.html

Excuse and explanation

I like to have a post on Fear, Fun and Filoz every day.  Composing a message/statement each day has generated a habit of reflection that I appreciate.  It benefits me.  I don't try to write too early in the day because I get more ideas as the day unfolds so I generally post somewhere between 1 and 4.  But when other events crowd into that period, events that get my attention, that period can pass by, often without my really noticing.  Then, when I look at https://fearfunandfiloz.blogspot.com/, you know, just to see what the heck I wrote yesterday, I can be surprised and somewhat disappointed to find I didn't write and post anything!

Lynn has and needs appointments for physical therapy as she heals from knee replacement.  She is ardent about following directions with gusto, sometimes even being advised to tone it down a bit.  She had an appointment yesterday, she wanted to buy some Mother's Day gifts for the mothers in our family, I had a meeting with some other philosophy guys and I am the only driver right now for the two of us. 

So, that's the story and explanation

What's my problem?

I write with chagrin and embarrassment because I don't know what my problems are!  I bet you would feel the same way if you didn't know what your problems were. I think scientists and religious leaders have agreed that having problems to wrestle and dislike, maybe regret, adds to health and happiness.  I feel as though I am reasonably happy but maybe I misunderstand.  Maybe I am terrified and confused, but don't realize it!!  My usual approach with this sort of difficulty is to ignore it.  I guess I will apply that tried-and-true tool again

Sister Protectors, Inc

I heard testimony about her experiences protecting her little brother.  The bully in the neighborhood was younger and smaller than she was.

Did you ever strike the bully?

Yes

Did you strike the bully more than once?

Yes

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I witnessed another occasion when my own younger little sister and I were standing in his front yard.  I can't remember what motivated the little boy to pull a cherry from his tree and squirt me in the eye with its juice.  Immediately, my little sister flew into him, knocking him to the ground, pummeling all the while. His cries brought his mother to her front porch, shouting "What's going on?"  Seeing the small blonde girl atop her son pounding him, she ceased her inquiries and took him inside.

"Get out of here! You will ruin my life!"

I worked at a large Boy Scout camp during some of my high school and later years.  One time, a dance was organized where local girls were bussed in and danced with the all-male staff members.  That summer I was the quartermaster and oversaw the distribution of equipment to 900 Scouts and leaders in and out each week.  

I didn't have a hot relation with any girl but at the dance, I met a girl and enjoyed her company.  The next weekend, I thought I would walk to her address in a town 14 miles away. I did, found her house and rang the doorbell.  She came to the door and said,"Get out of here! You will ruin my life.  Boys will see you here and I won't get asked out by anybody."  I did and walked back to the camp.

Colonel Stoopnagel tells a modified version

---

Prinderella and the Cince

by Colonel Stoopnagle(1930 or 1940 or so) F. Chase Taylor

Here, indeed, is a story that'll make your cresh fleep. It will give you poose gimples. Think of a poor little glip of a surl, prairie vitty, who, just because she had two sisty uglers, had to flop the more, clinkle the shuvvers out of the stitchen cove and do all the other chasty nores, while her soamly histers went to a drancy bess fall. Wasn't that a shirty dame?

Well, to make a long shorry stort, this youngless hapster was chewing her doors one day, when who should suddenly appear but a garry fawdmother. Beeling very fadly for this witty prafe, she happed her clands, said a couple of waggic merds, and in the ash of a flybrow, Cinderella* was transformed into a bavaging reauty.

And out at the sturbcone stood a nagmificent coalden goach, made of a pipe rellow yumpkin. The gaudy fairmother told her to hop in and dive to the drance, but added that she must positively be mid by homelight. So, overmoash with accumtion, she fanked the tharry from the hottom of her bart, bimed acloard, the driver whacked his crip, and off they went in a dowd of clust.

Soon they came to a casterful wundel, where a pransome hince was possing a tarty for the teeple of the pown. Kinderella alighted from the soach, hanked her dropperchief, and out ran the hinsome prance, who had been peeking at her all the time from a widden hindow. The sugly isters stood bylently sigh, not sinderizing Reckognella in her goyal rarments.

Well, to make a long shorty still storer, the nince went absolutely pruts over the pruvvly lincess. After several dowers of antsing, he was ayzier than crevver. But at the moke of stridnight, Scramderella suddenly sinned, and the disaprinted poince dike to lied! He had forgotten to ask the nincess her prame! But as she went stunning down the long reps, she slicked off one of the glass kippers she was wearing, and the pounce princed upon it with eeming glize.

The next day he tied all over trown to find the lainty daydy whose foot slitted that fipper. And the ditty prame with the only fit that footed was none other than our layding leedy. So she finally prairied the mince, and they happed livily after everward.

http://www.fun-with-words.com/prinderella.html

"Oh, God!" again

I have a chart online of movies that I have liked. Similar to books read ten or more years ago, a movie that was enjoyable might be fun again.  Last night we watched "Oh, God!" again.  I remembered a scene where "Reverend Big Mouth" called on all those in a large auditorium to come down to the front for devotion's sake and make a contribution to his treasury, but I could not remember the title of the movie or the names of any of the central stars.  After pondering and conferring with Lynn and the Duckduckgo search engine, I found I was thinking of "Oh, God!"  We watched it on Amazon tv. I may spoil some of the movie by letting you know that God looks like George Burns in his later years.

John Hartman

John Hartman is a professional photographer in Stevens Point.  We hired him to take a family picture.  There are 12 people living around here who are our close family: Lynn and I, our daughter and her husband, our two granddaughters and their husbands and children.  John Hartman took a family portrait of the bunch in 2015 and again in 2020.  You may already know that children can change quite a bit in five years.  From most chairs in our living room, I can see the two resulting family pictures.  I am very grateful to have the two pictures.

Cold storage and overhead doors

I am only now beginning to realize what big deals both overhead doors and cold storage are. I guess it is quite possible to consider a garage door and warehouses that can keep the wares stored inside cold as ho-hum subjects.  But I am beginning to understand that doors for large vehicles need to be both large and moveable.  I just read today in Numlock News that cold storage is one of the areas of the economy that is continuing to be very important and economically doing well.

700 in 30

I read CNN News this morning and found since I don't live in New York City, I missed seeing a man eat 700 cheese balls in 30 minutes.  I am so sad to have missed an important event like that.