I know that I am not a psychologist or an expert by any means, but I think perhaps what I am about to discuss might hold some ground. It relates to Freud's ideas of the unconscious and the id.
I know if you are like me that there have been many times when some one said something or asked me a question and I immediately responded, "What?" even though I knew exactly what they said and could even repeat it to them. Perhaps they would ask something like the following, "Did you see that amazing game last night?" to which I would reply ,"What?" and they would repeat themselves but I could finish their sentence for them. I thought to some extent as to why I would say "what" after some statement or question. I asked my friends if they did the same thing and they agreed that they had, perhaps more or less than I, but they did none the less.
As I ran these thoughts over in my mind today I came to the conclusion, rather a small, more insignificant one, that the response generated by me immediately was not of my conscious or rather ego, but rather my unconscious, or id. The id, not necessarily feeling anxiety, forces the ego to push out the question "what?" in order to give the mind more time to come up with an answer and reaction. It uses this as a defense mechanism to help avoid what it may see as an embarrassment in the stalling period while thinking of a response. To avoid this, the id pushes out "what" to give the mind more time to recall. Going back to the earlier question, one may stall three or four seconds while recalling the game from the night before so they can discuss it. This defense mechanism allows the mind to recall the game the previous night while the person asks the question a second time so as not to seem slow or dim-witted.
While there may not be a solid, scientific proof for this theory rather than my reasoning, I feel that this explanation may explain why the forced "what" pops out without us thinking about it. I welcome and suggestions, comments, and/or criticisms.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
America's Youth
Yesterday, my brother and I were communicating through e-mail at work and were having a rather ardent conversation, that at times became quite rabid, that began on the US Supreme Court's ruling on the Washington D.C. law regarding personal gun control. The topic of discussion switched when chase mentioned that a real concern of his is the ignorance of many youth of America. Since the introduction of word processors, computers, and calculators, it is easy for today's young student to become incredibly lazy and still make it through high school and even college.
While I will admit that I am no different from anyone else in taking full advantage of all of these resources that technology has brought us, I often yearn for a trip back in time when it was no so easy to write a report on the works of William Shakespeare as to simply search the internet for a few biographies written about him and then copy, paste, and type of few words of my own on to my Word document, which will help correct any spelling or grammatical error I have made with out making me actually learn what I have done wrong, and submitting it for a grade. My senior year of high school I wrote a 6-7 page paper I believe on the ancient philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas and give a 10 minute speech on my paper. I had one book written by Sir Thomas that I used for research, I took his three main theological principals and vaguely discussed them, and the rest of the resources were internet based articles on his life that I used to complete the assignment. While I found him very interesting and still do, I could not recall much from that paper I believe because I did not truly have to search for the information, I merely took others work and put it in my own words without putting it in my brain.
I think the actual effort of looking up resources and reading them rather than blindly searching for keywords and putting them on paper can greatly increase the knowledge one retains when writing these sort of research papers. I read in the newspaper about a year ago of a boy who graduated from a Kentucky high school without the ability to read. How does this happen? Has education and society become so that it is politically incorrect to criticize and teach someone who can't read at the age of 18 after 13 years of schooling? I could not let this stand. Are we afraid to step on people toes about these things? It is not rude or incorrect, but rather helpful and beneficial to make sure that children actually perform well to get to the next level in their education.
I feel that the internet and television are wonderful and great inventions but that society has turned to them to act as a daycare for their children when they don't feel like dealing with them. Channels such as the Discovery Channel, TLC, the Travel Channel, National Geographic, A&E, and many more channels do have quality, educational programs on that are worth watching. I am not saying that all other channels and shows are not. there is nothing wrong with unwinding after a day of work by sitting down and watching an episode of Seinfeld or Friends, but when our children are constantly glue to the television for hours a day and surf the internet for a few more hours, this is not healthy. On my bookshelf I have perhaps over 100 books ranging from classic William Shakespeare to Japanese cult classic books such as Battle Royale. Bram Stoker, Dumas, Homer, Dickens, Melville, Stevenson, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle share the shelves with Neil Gaiman, George Orwell, Will Lavender, Patrick O'Brian, Stephen King, and Tom Clancy. I have not read every book on my shelf and read the goofy, sci-fi Neil Gaiman books probably more than the Charles Dickens, I enjoy sitting down and watching an episode of two of Frasier and Family Guy, sitting down and playing Grand Theft Auto IV or watching Star Wars, I am no different than anybody else, but I think that reading greatly enhances the mind and its capabilities. Whether you sit down to read "Hamlet" or such a goofy read as Douglas Adams' "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy," whether it is for 5 minutes or 50 minutes, non-fiction or fiction, the stimulation of the mind by reading is a wonderful thing. It helps cultivate the minds vocabulary, writing skills, comprehension, and logic skills just by a little bit of reading.
Don't rely on the internet to entertain you along with hours of television, spend quality time with your family and friends. take a few minutes out of your day to pick up a book, educational magazine, newspaper, anything like this and read a bit of it, you are never to old to stop learning. For those of you with kids, remember, a child watches your every move. If you watch hours of T.V. they will want to as well, if they see you reading for just a little bit here and there, they will want to also and it can greatly cultivate their young, intelligent minds.
While I will admit that I am no different from anyone else in taking full advantage of all of these resources that technology has brought us, I often yearn for a trip back in time when it was no so easy to write a report on the works of William Shakespeare as to simply search the internet for a few biographies written about him and then copy, paste, and type of few words of my own on to my Word document, which will help correct any spelling or grammatical error I have made with out making me actually learn what I have done wrong, and submitting it for a grade. My senior year of high school I wrote a 6-7 page paper I believe on the ancient philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas and give a 10 minute speech on my paper. I had one book written by Sir Thomas that I used for research, I took his three main theological principals and vaguely discussed them, and the rest of the resources were internet based articles on his life that I used to complete the assignment. While I found him very interesting and still do, I could not recall much from that paper I believe because I did not truly have to search for the information, I merely took others work and put it in my own words without putting it in my brain.
I think the actual effort of looking up resources and reading them rather than blindly searching for keywords and putting them on paper can greatly increase the knowledge one retains when writing these sort of research papers. I read in the newspaper about a year ago of a boy who graduated from a Kentucky high school without the ability to read. How does this happen? Has education and society become so that it is politically incorrect to criticize and teach someone who can't read at the age of 18 after 13 years of schooling? I could not let this stand. Are we afraid to step on people toes about these things? It is not rude or incorrect, but rather helpful and beneficial to make sure that children actually perform well to get to the next level in their education.
I feel that the internet and television are wonderful and great inventions but that society has turned to them to act as a daycare for their children when they don't feel like dealing with them. Channels such as the Discovery Channel, TLC, the Travel Channel, National Geographic, A&E, and many more channels do have quality, educational programs on that are worth watching. I am not saying that all other channels and shows are not. there is nothing wrong with unwinding after a day of work by sitting down and watching an episode of Seinfeld or Friends, but when our children are constantly glue to the television for hours a day and surf the internet for a few more hours, this is not healthy. On my bookshelf I have perhaps over 100 books ranging from classic William Shakespeare to Japanese cult classic books such as Battle Royale. Bram Stoker, Dumas, Homer, Dickens, Melville, Stevenson, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle share the shelves with Neil Gaiman, George Orwell, Will Lavender, Patrick O'Brian, Stephen King, and Tom Clancy. I have not read every book on my shelf and read the goofy, sci-fi Neil Gaiman books probably more than the Charles Dickens, I enjoy sitting down and watching an episode of two of Frasier and Family Guy, sitting down and playing Grand Theft Auto IV or watching Star Wars, I am no different than anybody else, but I think that reading greatly enhances the mind and its capabilities. Whether you sit down to read "Hamlet" or such a goofy read as Douglas Adams' "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy," whether it is for 5 minutes or 50 minutes, non-fiction or fiction, the stimulation of the mind by reading is a wonderful thing. It helps cultivate the minds vocabulary, writing skills, comprehension, and logic skills just by a little bit of reading.
Don't rely on the internet to entertain you along with hours of television, spend quality time with your family and friends. take a few minutes out of your day to pick up a book, educational magazine, newspaper, anything like this and read a bit of it, you are never to old to stop learning. For those of you with kids, remember, a child watches your every move. If you watch hours of T.V. they will want to as well, if they see you reading for just a little bit here and there, they will want to also and it can greatly cultivate their young, intelligent minds.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Poetry
These are a few poems I have written recently.
Trash
Trash is all around
Rash to throw things out
Ash is all over the ground
Sh! this we don’t talk about
H-bombs make trash of the ground.
Epigrams
If looks could really kill
My profession would be staring.
I hate the cold
But love ice cream.
Good Company
Coffee cake is good
When you eat it with a friend
Especially me.
The Bookshelf
Shelves packed with many different colors
Words of different meanings
Books that may never be read
Or they may show tears and signs
Of age and wear
New dust covers shine in the light
While old cardboard bends and warps
The oak it rests upon
Also showing signs of its time.
'O Death
O, Death
Your fear no more, your pain is gone,
Power has fled from your arms,
And in to mine.
I may not conquer you,
But I know one who did,
And conquers you for me.
Trash
Trash is all around
Rash to throw things out
Ash is all over the ground
Sh! this we don’t talk about
H-bombs make trash of the ground.
Epigrams
If looks could really kill
My profession would be staring.
I hate the cold
But love ice cream.
Good Company
Coffee cake is good
When you eat it with a friend
Especially me.
The Bookshelf
Shelves packed with many different colors
Words of different meanings
Books that may never be read
Or they may show tears and signs
Of age and wear
New dust covers shine in the light
While old cardboard bends and warps
The oak it rests upon
Also showing signs of its time.
'O Death
O, Death
Your fear no more, your pain is gone,
Power has fled from your arms,
And in to mine.
I may not conquer you,
But I know one who did,
And conquers you for me.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Dressed to Kill
The church stands with steeple cast high in the sky, cross reaching out to the heavens. The worn brick shows signs of age and the many years past. The day is bright and sunny, perfect for a ceremony. The interior of the church is decorated its finest with floral covering the stage and walls. The stained glass windows cast a beautiful light onto the people seated in the pews dressed in their finest clothes.
Everyone is there that should be. Aunts, parents, friends, grandparents, children, and cousins. All of whom are dressed to kill. They mingle with one another waiting for the ceremony to start, making small talk and discussing the past. Tears roll down the faces of some while loving smiles cover others.
The preacher comes up and gives a speech while a few others close to the beloved couple say a few things. More tears are shed as the ceremony goes on.
The group proceeds outside the church for the second half of the service. A few dont attend this part but the majority make it. The sun continues to shine down making the weather glorious. A lite breeze is blowing the dresses of some of the woman and causing others to hold their hats on their heads. Men and woman holding hands and embracing each other.
The ceremony comes to an end with a prayer, "Father, they will be missed."
Everyone is there that should be. Aunts, parents, friends, grandparents, children, and cousins. All of whom are dressed to kill. They mingle with one another waiting for the ceremony to start, making small talk and discussing the past. Tears roll down the faces of some while loving smiles cover others.
The preacher comes up and gives a speech while a few others close to the beloved couple say a few things. More tears are shed as the ceremony goes on.
The group proceeds outside the church for the second half of the service. A few dont attend this part but the majority make it. The sun continues to shine down making the weather glorious. A lite breeze is blowing the dresses of some of the woman and causing others to hold their hats on their heads. Men and woman holding hands and embracing each other.
The ceremony comes to an end with a prayer, "Father, they will be missed."
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Trust
Trust is such a hard issue to tackle sometimes. To trust what someone has told you and that in all circumstances God is with you can be tough. Your own preconcieved notions seem to get in the way of those you love. The love of your life can tell you something but you let your ideas of what you "know" will happen stop you from trusting their word. Even if something bad happens when you finally do trust that person you must always KNOW that the Lord is right by your side, walking through it with you and always loving towards you.
Find your satisfaction and joy in God and all the pain will seem miniscule compared to his saving grace and love.
Find your satisfaction and joy in God and all the pain will seem miniscule compared to his saving grace and love.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Ocean
To sail across the ocean and traverse its depths. Batten down the hatches, a storm aproaches. Cling to the wood, hit your knees and pray. Capsize ahead, dont look down, wall of water over your head. The sun won't shine, not this night, this storm endures. Cargo is lost at sea, as were we.
Sun baked faced, gritty sand, fighting for our life again. We made through the storm, tried and naked, now the rest begins. Life started new, started from scratch. Our life is here, on this lifeless place. We grow, we build, we become one.
It was hard, it was tough, I wouldn't change a thing.
Sun baked faced, gritty sand, fighting for our life again. We made through the storm, tried and naked, now the rest begins. Life started new, started from scratch. Our life is here, on this lifeless place. We grow, we build, we become one.
It was hard, it was tough, I wouldn't change a thing.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
do you ever have one of those days where as soon as you get out of bed, things be seem to go wrong? Today was one of those. It was easy to just be tired and say life sucks but just a few minutes ago something hit me. I looked at my profile picture here and blogger and saw the big smile on all three faces and just thought of how happy I was in those times and no matter what I have a savior and a family who love me, no matter how mad people get or how wrong things go. There is always something to look forward to. Life may presently suck but just endure it and the brighter days will come.
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