Always interested in anything you write, Mark. I like to think I consider all the angles before jumping to conclusions, but I think that’s only true some of the time. I would think that the more highly evolved human brain is one that seeks a wide range of evidence before deciding on what to think or do, while the more primitive one decides quickly, using no evidence or only that which supports a conclusion it wants. But that’s just a guess. I look forward to hearing more from you on the subject.🤗
Well, I have no idea about the original intent of the Founding Fathers, but I checked out TheOnion.com and was bemused by a story of all the Chick-Fil-A’s being raptured. I wonder if those venerable men would have found it funny.
I guarantee this — if you set a reminder to just check in on THEONION.COM once a week or once every two weeks, it will be tonic of humor you will love.
Thanks Ruth. As time avails -- for now with no set schedule. Our dog had minor surgery delayed yesterday so I had an unexpected window to create a post.
We are adaptable creatures. The modern world just presents things 200,000 years of evolution never prepared us for like food abundance. Obesity is the easy way out. When I was a child, the world told us the existential threat to civilization was famine and hunger. In three generations, we've managed to make it obesity and chronic disease. Go figure. In the same era, Madison Avenue created the Marlboro Man and three generations later people doom scroll. Most everything, good and bad in our modern world were creations of the last 100 years. Unfortunately our primary adaptation on this planet (evolution) works on different timescales.
Now here's a comment to really stir the pot. Modern conservatism and SCOTUS chide us that all the answers are rooted in the Original Intent of the Founding Fathers. My favorite satire site THEONION.COM had an old story saying "If Founding Fathers were around today, they would be fascinated by garbage disposals".
Thanks Ruth. What makes us human is one of the most interesting topics I can imagine!
I wrote about this very subject numerous times in my Substack past. The primitive rear brain which gets to a decision at least 100X as fast as the frontal lobe is the ONLY REASON humans could have survived for the next step. Our challenge is to ALWAYS get the early signal from the rear brain and train ourselves to pause and consider other options when it is necessary. Should I really buy Theranos stock or refill this bowl of M&Ms before the movie?
If we do this pause all the time, we will get hit by cars and fall down staircases and the animal catches us -- we will not survive. It is the good choice we want to foster for different conditions.
Here is something to consider. Social media is PURPOSE-BUILT to provide visual cues to grab our attention and get us to click before we have a chance to consider. This is why it can be so damaging to how we think. Once you click a few times, the pattern of pleasure gets baked into your brain as a short term memory. Thereafter, even if you try to use your cognitive skills, you now have "things in your head" that will direct what you do next even if you are trying to use your cortex. This is why bad habits are so hard to break and good habits require discipline to form.
I have ADHD, which I'm sure I've mentioned WAY too many times in various places on Substack. I voted "something else," because I jump to conclusions all the time. I - and apparently most other fellow ADHDers - tend to leap before we look. According to most of the literature, my frontal lobes are underdeveloped, so I have a tendency to not think things through. I'm working hard to function in a non-ADHD world, but my brain often leads me into trouble - or at least embarrassing situations.
My favorite book on the subject (for kids) is "All Dogs Have ADHD," and I notice that my brain often works in dog-like ways. I am not good with the concept of time, I tend to be impulsive, I often do or say things without thinking them out. A while back, my psychiatrist said that she suspects it was once a normal variant in humans, but that it just doesn't fit well in the modern world.
I'm rambling, it's getting late. But I'm always interested in hearing more about how our brains work!
Always fascinating Jeannine. I tend to try to avoid "normal". The range of human behavior and physiology which we don't get to choose works better for me. I remember writing about brain development way back when. The degree of randomness is really quite something. Early development is akin to layer by layer like making a paper mache head. Layers of neurons and they magically start networking (or they don't). THANKS FOR SHARING your personal story. I will try to find the story IF you are interested. It was somewhat about when and how we become male or female. Kinda interesting, at least to me.
YES -- You are AMAZING. One of my earliest jobs was with a scientific company. It was pre-internet, only darpanet. People who had the ability to research and find things were so valuable to ALL OF US.
It's just luck. I happen to have been born with an innate ability to remember pretty much everything I've read - not necessarily word for word, but enough to make it easy for me to go back and find things. It's not something I can take credit for, it just happens to be the way my brain functions. Not super useful in these days of Google searches, but if the internet ever crashes, it might come in handy. 😂
Haha. Always the entertainer. I was just inquiring how people think of themselves and their tendency to jump to conclusions. Since I don't know how anyone votes, I prefer the comments anyhow :) Besides, this is a touchy-feely place. There are no wrong answers. Everyone gets a trophy.
As we age, being able to jump is a good thing :) Thanks for commenting John. I know I do it too much but much less than I used to. Worth considering for sure.
Always interested in anything you write, Mark. I like to think I consider all the angles before jumping to conclusions, but I think that’s only true some of the time. I would think that the more highly evolved human brain is one that seeks a wide range of evidence before deciding on what to think or do, while the more primitive one decides quickly, using no evidence or only that which supports a conclusion it wants. But that’s just a guess. I look forward to hearing more from you on the subject.🤗
Okay! I’m all in on this one. Thanks, Mark!
Well, I have no idea about the original intent of the Founding Fathers, but I checked out TheOnion.com and was bemused by a story of all the Chick-Fil-A’s being raptured. I wonder if those venerable men would have found it funny.
THEONION.COM skewers everything — if the world has you in knots, their political page is ALWAYS HYSTERICAL — hint hint — “the groupchat”
I guarantee this — if you set a reminder to just check in on THEONION.COM once a week or once every two weeks, it will be tonic of humor you will love.
So very interesting, Mark—especially the part about social media. The warning signs are flashing about that
too, but I fear too many humans are hopelessly addicted to heed them. I look forward to your future posts on the subject—or any subject.
Thanks Ruth. As time avails -- for now with no set schedule. Our dog had minor surgery delayed yesterday so I had an unexpected window to create a post.
We are adaptable creatures. The modern world just presents things 200,000 years of evolution never prepared us for like food abundance. Obesity is the easy way out. When I was a child, the world told us the existential threat to civilization was famine and hunger. In three generations, we've managed to make it obesity and chronic disease. Go figure. In the same era, Madison Avenue created the Marlboro Man and three generations later people doom scroll. Most everything, good and bad in our modern world were creations of the last 100 years. Unfortunately our primary adaptation on this planet (evolution) works on different timescales.
Now here's a comment to really stir the pot. Modern conservatism and SCOTUS chide us that all the answers are rooted in the Original Intent of the Founding Fathers. My favorite satire site THEONION.COM had an old story saying "If Founding Fathers were around today, they would be fascinated by garbage disposals".
Thanks Ruth. What makes us human is one of the most interesting topics I can imagine!
I wrote about this very subject numerous times in my Substack past. The primitive rear brain which gets to a decision at least 100X as fast as the frontal lobe is the ONLY REASON humans could have survived for the next step. Our challenge is to ALWAYS get the early signal from the rear brain and train ourselves to pause and consider other options when it is necessary. Should I really buy Theranos stock or refill this bowl of M&Ms before the movie?
If we do this pause all the time, we will get hit by cars and fall down staircases and the animal catches us -- we will not survive. It is the good choice we want to foster for different conditions.
Here is something to consider. Social media is PURPOSE-BUILT to provide visual cues to grab our attention and get us to click before we have a chance to consider. This is why it can be so damaging to how we think. Once you click a few times, the pattern of pleasure gets baked into your brain as a short term memory. Thereafter, even if you try to use your cognitive skills, you now have "things in your head" that will direct what you do next even if you are trying to use your cortex. This is why bad habits are so hard to break and good habits require discipline to form.
I have ADHD, which I'm sure I've mentioned WAY too many times in various places on Substack. I voted "something else," because I jump to conclusions all the time. I - and apparently most other fellow ADHDers - tend to leap before we look. According to most of the literature, my frontal lobes are underdeveloped, so I have a tendency to not think things through. I'm working hard to function in a non-ADHD world, but my brain often leads me into trouble - or at least embarrassing situations.
My favorite book on the subject (for kids) is "All Dogs Have ADHD," and I notice that my brain often works in dog-like ways. I am not good with the concept of time, I tend to be impulsive, I often do or say things without thinking them out. A while back, my psychiatrist said that she suspects it was once a normal variant in humans, but that it just doesn't fit well in the modern world.
I'm rambling, it's getting late. But I'm always interested in hearing more about how our brains work!
Always fascinating Jeannine. I tend to try to avoid "normal". The range of human behavior and physiology which we don't get to choose works better for me. I remember writing about brain development way back when. The degree of randomness is really quite something. Early development is akin to layer by layer like making a paper mache head. Layers of neurons and they magically start networking (or they don't). THANKS FOR SHARING your personal story. I will try to find the story IF you are interested. It was somewhat about when and how we become male or female. Kinda interesting, at least to me.
Is this the post you mean? https://markdolan.substack.com/p/goldilocks-and-the-red-pill?utm_medium=reader2
YES -- You are AMAZING. One of my earliest jobs was with a scientific company. It was pre-internet, only darpanet. People who had the ability to research and find things were so valuable to ALL OF US.
It's just luck. I happen to have been born with an innate ability to remember pretty much everything I've read - not necessarily word for word, but enough to make it easy for me to go back and find things. It's not something I can take credit for, it just happens to be the way my brain functions. Not super useful in these days of Google searches, but if the internet ever crashes, it might come in handy. 😂
Waiting is the poll about the act of jumping to conclusions or whether we want to discuss the topic of jumping to conclusions?
Haha. Always the entertainer. I was just inquiring how people think of themselves and their tendency to jump to conclusions. Since I don't know how anyone votes, I prefer the comments anyhow :) Besides, this is a touchy-feely place. There are no wrong answers. Everyone gets a trophy.
I actually ponder this question frequently, probably more than I should. Good topic.
As we age, being able to jump is a good thing :) Thanks for commenting John. I know I do it too much but much less than I used to. Worth considering for sure.