I'm back online (sorta) in the wee hours betwixt sun and sleep here in Malaga.
I'm not big on New Year's resolutions ... more of the 'no time like the present' kind of person. The last time I participated in this generally ill-fated ritual was when I was a teenager, and back then it was probably something like "be less dorky". And we can see how that turned out!
I have, however, recently joined a flickr group in which I have sworn a blood oath to take at least one photo per day in 2011. You may have noticed a few images popping up on the front page which represent my first efforts. I hope to improve throughout the year, so all you professional and amateur photographers should be sure to pass along all those helpful tidbits!
I know many of you have emailed how much you enjoy the 'Teabonics' flickr stream running on the right-hand side of the site, but I think it has run its course. Besides the fact that it is becoming reptitive, it's also a bit mean-spirited for my taste. When someone is behaving like a regressive racist, I know how satisfynig it can be to laugh at their public displays of grammatical creativity. But poking fun does little but enhance our own false sense of superiority while solidifying the in-group/out-group dynamic so antithetical to rationality. Whatever catharsis we gain by discounting an entire sub-culture over a handful of individuals comes at the expense of progress.
The experience has, however, piqued my interest in the study of cognitive biases, the 'blindspots' in our thinking which cause us to draw false conclusions based on our own preconceptions rather than the available evidence. Much like logical fallacies, we're all guilty of using self-serving argumentation that does little to address the issue at hand. This is not only a defining characteristic of politics in general, but is particularly critical to the underlying sloganeering of modern communications. The point at which this becomes truly interesting, however, is when it is unintentional - when our conscious mind is literally incapable of seeing past the fallacious shortcuts in our own logical processes.
Naming these biases on an intellectual level can go a long way in helping us to identify them as they occur. In the context of Teabonics, for example, we may consider the notion of a "Fundamental attribution error" as the tendency to over-emphasize personality for observed behaviors at the expense of power of situational influences. The unfavorable vision I may hold of Joe Teabagger personally may certainly bear influence on his decision to paint a Hitler mustache on a picture of Obama, but there are far larger and more consequential socioeconomic injustices that lead to this form of negative expression. Discounting Joe's concerns (or indeed, the movement at large) based on a particularly egregious form of behavior inhibits my ability to address whatever validity may underlie his anger.
This is not to say that we must (or even should) passively condone racist or hurtful sloganeering, but rather that we must be cautious not to allow such assaults to close our minds, nor distract us from including all in our shared version of global justice. To this end, I am replacing the Teabonics block with a new series on cognitive bias. You should see a new one every time you visit the site and each will be linked to the wiki entry for further information. In the meantime, you can enjoy this catchy little diddy that Brad Wray, an AP Psychology teacher, put together to enumerate serval types of biases for his students.
As my last post may hint, I've been on a bit of a crusade these last months towards a more minimalist lifestyle. Now keep in mind that for an ADD/over-achiever like myself, minimalism is relative. Nevertheless, I have been trying to practice the art of radical exclusion to the best of my ability. On of the hardest things for me is trimming down my daily reading list.
The Art of Great Things is one of the blogs that has managed to survive my feed scalpel on multiple occasions, very much for the occasional nugget of wisdom they offer in posts such as this one. Actually, it is a repost from Jeffrey Tang of a talk given by Derek Sivers on the collision between the American leadership drive and the importance of learning to follow - something I could certainly stand to improve upon:
This is what jumped out at me upon reading what Derek had to say:
“It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader. There is no movement without the first follower. We’re told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective. The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow.
When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.”
Alternate title: Gotta post something or I’ll never post again.
Today marks seven months since Lori’s funeral and it’s not getting any easier. If anything, I’m just getting more comfortable living in a state of dulled funk punctuated by sudden and unpredictable bursts of anguish.
I’ve nevertheless gotten quite adept at performing my life; indeed, even an idealized version of it. But even though I’ve sat down to write often in the past few months, I’ve been balked by the omnipresence of my previous post. Amongst all the happenings in the world, good and bad (and let’s face it, there has been some shocking Bad), there has been nothing sufficiently monumental, earth-shatteringly worthy of bumping Lori further down the home page and into the dank oblivion of THF archives.
And there never will be.
So, either I consign THF to the dustbin of Google-was, or I find a way to take that first step. And I can think of none better than an inside joke between me and the sister I will forever miss.
Fallacious yet widespread and documented beliefs courtesy of Wikipedia.
Sushi does not mean "raw fish", and not all sushi includes raw fish. The name sushi refers to the vinegared rice used in it. Sushi is made with sumeshi, rice which has been gently folded with rice vinegar, salt, and sugar dressing. The rice is traditionally topped by raw fish, cooked seafood, fish roe, egg, and/or vegetables such as cucumber, daikon radish, and avocado. The related Japanese term sashimi is closer in definition to "raw fish", but still not quite accurate: Sashimi can also refer to any uncooked meat or vegetable, and usually refers more to the dish's presentation than to its ingredients. The dish consisted of sushi rice and other fillings wrapped in seaweed is called makizushi, and includes both "long rolls" and "hand rolls".
Books by Jay
Conflict and Conciliation: Faith and Politics in an Age of Global Dissonance
Despite the peaceful foundations of global monotheistic religions, the broad diversity of interpretations can lead to a sharp paradox regarding the use of force. Inevitably, we must ask ourselves: How can those who ascribe to peaceful beliefs suspend their own moral foundation to beat the drums of war? ... read more
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A self-indulgent blog for people just like me - PhD, author, photographer, entrepreneur, husband, father, music-lover, and uber-geek. More about Jay
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