Yesterday's Are Tomorrow's Without Apostrophes
Research Notes (NOV 2021)
- (So-far-successful) aural learning project based on anecdotal, experimental, results:
- Headphones (recommend open-back, wired, with an in-line amplifier).
- YouTube subscription (to eliminate ads).
- Firefox (or similar browser which allows simultaneous open tabs).
- Loop a viscerally recognizable, non-lyrical, song in a YouTube Music tab (e.g. Air - La Femme d'Argent).
- Open any want-to-implant lecture/story in a separate tab (e.g. Lao Tzu - Be Like Water).
- Adjust volumes so vocals are recognizable but not dominant.
- Time must forward. Entropy is a logical reason why this is/was/will forever be (don't take the word 'information' too-literally).
- Historically, currently, and forever-in-the future, rational thought/critical thinking skills is a rare activity in humans. Consequently, if you are someone who insists on evidence and your "brain recognizes a functional state which you have labeled 'uncomfortable' since you began the practice of thinking in this manner" whenever you witness -- in others -- signs of irrationality and illogical thoughts, Issac Asimov explains why you are an outlier and how to understand the lack of rationality prevalent in the masses.
- Ponder a foundational supposition: Quantum computers (technology utilizing quantum entanglement) might make it possible to send information backwards in time, in much the same manner as posting an article or video on the internet today is the equivalent of sending information into our future's time-line. (Publishing a hard-copy book has always been communicating with our future selves, but digitization of books make future needle-in-haystack searchs more target-successful. The yet-to-be-discovered task is how-to verify the information sent back in time remained accurate.
- There are recognizable-logical reasons that most mammalian bilateral symmetry (say that fast) has evolved into today's vital organs with either two co-functioning halves in one organ (penis, vagina, tongue, brain), two completely separate organs (eyes, ears, kidneys, lungs, testicles, ovaries) or the rare, single-organ exceptions (liver, heart, skin). Does heart count with four chambers? Is pancreas part of the liver? And where does one's individual bacterial biome fit-fall into this system of constantly growing, partially dead and alive cells we call a body?
- The largest single organism on present-day Earth is either a fungal system or a massive collection of trees comprised of one underground 'root system' and millions of cloned above-ground fruiting bodies (organs). Both are allegedly in the western US and began living long before we (the conquering majority) arrived and took governmental control of the continent from the thousands of indigenous human tribes who were populating the land (albeit without a continent-wide means of communication or government).
- If you find yourself awake after several hours of sleep. Get up! Find out if the right-creative side of your brain is waking you for its own "creative" reasons (you can nap or meditate later). The left-governing side of our brain (once awake) will draw its own, separate, conclusion as to why it is now awake (bladder, cat, noise, thirst, sinus, temperature, etc) and, unless you prime-that-pump with a "pay attention to the night-shift supervisor", it may not consider the thoughts of the right-hemisphere and, instead, guide you to return to sleep.
- The brain's association cortex is where creativity begins. Drawing conclusions which "others are not able to make" from an otherwize unrelated series of slices of information.
Research Notes (OCT 2021)
- It is possible for the human eye-brain "observe-recognize" loop to continue to function better than at what would be accomplished by guessing, in a laboratory setting, with a series of images flashing at a rate of 13 milliseconds, which is about 20 times faster than MIT scientists expected (as previously reported in earlier scientific papers). 100 milliseconds = 0.10 (1/10th) of a second; 13 milliseconds = 0.013 (13/1000).
- Passage of the US Farm bill of 2018 (HR5485) removed industrial hemp from inclusion in Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act. Subsequent research has identified hundreds of different cannabinoids. Currently, the most popular derivative/distillation of CBD is Delta 8 (Delta 10, D9, CBN, and many others are also beginning to flood the market).
- Experiments with women during childbirth revealed that a combination of music and scientific hypnosis therapy (hypnotic analgesia) resulted in a noticeable improvement on both mother and child; reducing labor times, reducing cesareans, eliminating most pain, etc.
- The gut-brain axis is comprised of chemicals and nerves which continually connect the two organs and permit the contents of the intestine (trillions of bacteria) to communicate with the brain using chemicals (like serotonin) to effect/affect mood, pain, etc. To influence one's mood/health/well being a long-term adjustment can be made in the type of food one consumes (increase the consumption of fermented foods and fiber . . . FEED your 'pets' the stuff that keeps them healthy and pay attention to their signals).
- Broca's area of the human brain is where neurons are concentrated on processing our ability to use (and comprehend) language. This area is on the left side of our brain which means that--because of normal mammalian physiology--our right ear is better (comprehension happens quicker) at comprehending spoken (or sung) words.
- Cyanobacteria is the oldest life form on our planet, evidence exists of this blue-green aquatic bacteria 2.1 to 3.5 billion years ago. Our planet coalesced into a ball of lava about 4.5 billion years ago, eventually the planet cooled enough to allow liquid water to exist and an atmosphere of nitrogen formed (oxygen didn't arrive until bacteria excreted it).
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Whelmed — Memories (and why Over- and Under- are remembered)
What is the cement of memory?
Does what we remember form who we are?
Why do we forget 99% of our lives?
As I typed this opening paragraph in 2019, my brain was switching between thoughts about choosing interesting words that would entertain itself as it compiled this sentence and—switch—scrounged thru my memory-attic for events which might fit in a bright mauve container labelled ‘overwhelming’. My as-I-typed brain then decided that the first event to go in was
Witnessing—for almost two full minutes—the 2017 total eclipse of the sun. I had prepared for that event for months. I'd bought expensive wrap-around viewing glasses and a phone-app to track where the shadow was going to be. Weeks earlier, I'd driven a few hundred miles to reconnoiter and read articles describing what to look for when it happened. The day of, I had woke at 4am for a 5am departure in order to set-up three hours ahead of time and as the moon began to creep across the sun, I recalled aloud (for the handful of people with me) memories of a few previous partial eclipses and I used the term underwhelming to describe those curled and faded snapshots.—switch—Those vague recollections of pinholes in paper and flimsy cardboard glasses were now attached—like a deflated balloon static-stuck to the back of a worn-out child’s sweater—to this 2017 overwhelming event. (I typed ‘overshadowing event’ and edited it so as to not end this paragraph on a pun.)—switch—
The moment when the entire moon’s shadow—the umbra—completely covered the sun: the blue sky turned black; the yellow corona around the sun became white; stars became visible; the air temperature dropped; the silence of no-more bird and insect noises grabbed for my attention; spots of corona-sunlight, inside of darker shadows, took-on the changing shape (circular to crescent) of the umbra; and ripples of light wavered across the ground like faint “light snakes.” My senses were overloaded. My brain could not catch up. There was no time to think or focus.
—switch—It seems that my as-I-type brain considers it to be desirable when it-itself is unable to function as it normally functions (which, it considers to be its norm; its steady-state; its comfortable, uneventful, default mode; its regular state of being, which is neither over- nor under-whelmed) and this asItype brain is not putting anything into its memory. Short-term memory disappears unless something over- or under-whelms enough to get stored long-term.
I know if I were not currently documenting my thoughts—an act which facilitates asItype to be able, in the future, to become asIread (which, in turn, will become the me that has re-remembered based on what that previous-me wrote)—I would, very soon, no longer be able to recall how I occupied myself this 2019 mid-November Friday morning. If I'd instead been studying, reading, hiking, gaming, painting, listening to music, watching videos, talking with friends, playing with my cat, or performing routine chores, I would (probably) not be able to answer the question, “What did you do?” Because of these words, these paragraphs, this essay (about normally neither being over- or under-whelmed) I can say I was writing an essay about memory.
Now, asItype wonders why are our recollections valued? Is being able to recall something because it was sufficiently overwhelming/underwhelming to become immediately-permanently locked in long-term memory a prerequisite to being consciously aware of what is important to who we are and who we want to be? And—switch—let me dig for a stronger, more recent, memory to stick in the intense yellow underwhelming container (next to those partial eclipses).
Earlier in 2019, I drove through Glacier National Park. I would not use the word boring to describe the slow procession up and over—but I would not use the word exciting either. Rivulets of snow melt soaked me a few times (cabriolet top was down) and some of the hairpin turns with sheer drops revealed very interesting views; but a complete lack of wildlife and over 90 minutes of traffic-jams combined to make the 50-mile drive an unsatisfactory experience.—switch—
Why?—my asItype-self asks itself. What made this 2019 drive memorably underwhelming?
One answer is that my preconceived expectations were unmet; during my first visit to Glacier National Park (in 2006) the Going-To-The-Sun Road was closed because of snow (which created—in that 2006-me’s brain—an unfulfilled desire). On that trip, I felt privileged-lucky to see (and was slightly overwhelmed seeing): bald eagle, elk, black bears and grizzly bears, and experienced no vehicle traffic or full parking lots.
Fear = Survival Mechanism
I am a god-fearing–fearing¹ person. This multi-hyphenated word concisely captures my true feelings about the uncountable mass of tera–terra-idiots. ‘Tera,’ as in: the uncountable quantity of every dead, living, and yet-to-be-conceived bag of H20 and minerals who once crabbed, is crabbing, or will someday crab about on this planet; and ‘terra-idiots’ are those who once claimed/now claim/or will claim to believe in an invisible omniscient-omnipresent-omnipotent entity who created, controls, or will destroy, this ball of H20 and minerals currently crawling through space at 134K mph² (relative to the space of our universe) 486K mph (relative to the Milky Way Galaxy) and 67K mph (relative to Sol).
I believe that those who claim to believe in an invisible-magic-sky-entity have questionable rationality and live a self-deceit-packed life filled with hypocrisy and bigotry³. I point out that, ‘they claim to believe’ because within the uncountable tera–terra-idiot mass, there are many uncountable giga–terra-fools who (once/are/will) claim to believe in a vengeful/loving-being-who-patiently-listens-to-their-every-murmur solely because of societal, familial, political, or cultural pressures....but they never actually believe (they just don’t want to be excommunicated, stoned, banished, disowned, disinherited, shunned, or ostracized).All belief-systems preach that their followers are clever, altruistic, kind, generous, honest, and noble people. And they all preach to their followers that the other belief-systems are filled with foolish, self-centered, stingy, deceptive and corrupt people. Every religion and church teaches hatred and distrust of others. Even the most open minded and ‘liberal’ religions sell themselves to their parishioners by pointing out the less open minded qualities of other religions.
Being afraid of people who claim to have faith in things that do not exist is merely a good defense mechanism—like being afraid of the insane. The actions of god-fearing and insane people are equally unpredictable, unfettered by common sense, and not grounded in reality.
During many ages there were witches. The Bible said so. The Bible commanded that they should not be allowed to live. Therefore the Church—after eight hundred years—gathered up its halters, thumb-screws, and firebrands, and set about its holy work in earnest. She worked hard at it night and day during nine centuries and imprisoned, tortured, hanged, and burned whole hordes and armies of witches, and washed the Christian world clean with their foul blood. Then it was discovered that there was no such thing as witches, and never had been. One does not know whether to laugh or to cry.....There are no witches. The witch text remains; only the practice has changed. Hell fire is gone, but the text remains. Infant damnation is gone, but the text remains. More than two hundred death penalties are gone from the law books, but the texts that authorized them remain. — Mark Twain, "Bible Teaching and Religious Practice," Europe and Elsewhere (1923)
Original article
written 2009 (re-posted during 2021's creative sabbatical)
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Patience Fortitude and Resignation
. . . “Simon says, ‘Mother may I’.”
What an odd statement to make, Pat. I want to be bemused, but I’m too concerned at your encroachment on carelessness. Think your words before speaking them! Spoken words can never be taken back. Language is too important a tool to play with.
It was clearly not a question. Not sure why you feel the need to berate her, Tudy. And cutting at me with your eyes does nothing but further encourage me to point out that you know she hates that nickname. Call her Patience, or Patty, or even Tense. When you use that androgynous term you’re intending harm. Calling her femininity into question. Besides, she was only playing with you. Yes, with language, too—but mostly just with you.
The goddess of spring who was of three minds, of a single universal nature, everywhere at this moment in the northern hemisphere and in flux outside every window (as well as remembered to have cyclically existed before windows and even before human consciousness) was especially enjoying this—this conversation with herself.
Constantly the guard-dog, Fortitude—never a smile that makes it all the way to the eyes, forever the guile that takes shit everyday to the flies.