Why we forget things and Other Mind Tricks

English: Japanese Macaque in captivity, Launceston, Tasmania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Forgetting:

       I get my fair share of email things that people pass on to me.  I'm sure many of you do as well.  Actually many of these are somewhat interesting such as the following sent to me by Eve Prokop at Little Things:

"Ever walk into a room with some purpose in mind, only to completely forget what that purpose was?  Turns out, it is the doors  themselves are to blame for these strange memory lapses.  Psychologists at the University of Notre Dame have discovered that passing through a doorway triggers what's known as an 'event boundary' in the mind, separating one set of thoughts and memories from the next. Your brain files away the thoughts you had in the previous room and prepares a blank slate for the new locale." 

It's not aging, it's the stupid door !

        I actually referred to this study in a post at my dream blog A Faraway View.   My theory is that the transition from sleep to wakefulness could be partly the explanation of why we so easily forget our dreams much in the same way the forgetting happens in the room to room theory.

       Anyway, if you are interested in mental things like dreaming, I have my dream blog that posts every Thursday.  Recently I Dreamed of a Macaque and told about some dreams that I relate to something that will be happening soon.  It's something that I am not discussing too much yet, but I will be dropping hints in the weeks to come.  This could change the way I blog.  Then again maybe not.  I may just be walking into another room of my House of Life.  

On Recent Blog Posts:

       In line with my interests in affairs of the mind and why we do the things we do, this past Monday I wrapped up my recent series about Swearing.   If you missed any of these posts you can find them here, here, and here.  You can still go back and offer your thoughts on the subject.  I pretty much won the debate, but there was really not much substance to the pro-swearing side--at least I didn't get it yet on my site and didn't see anything convincing on any other sites.  I'd like to think that my efforts even did a teeny tiny part in cleaning up the language of a few who read the post and actually thought about it.  

On Upcoming Blog Posts:

      Be sure to drop by Nutschell's blog The Writing Nut next Wednesday May 29th when I will be featured on her Wednesday Writer's Workspace.  Many of you have already been her guest.  It's a fun opportunity to drop in to see where we work and talk a bit about ourselves.  To see some of Nutschell's past guests visit her Writer's Workspace page.  

Also next Wednesday on Tossing It Out, I'll be participating in the Get Healthy Bloghop which is hosted by Stephen Tremp, L. Diane Wolfe, Michael Di Gesu, and Alex J. Cavanaugh.   You won't want to miss my tips on how I stay healthy.  Maybe I should tag my post in the humor category.   Well, I try to stay healthy.

I Rock!

         Thank you Alex J Cavanaugh for this cool recognition!   I guess I'm still capable of rockin' out now and then.



Don't Forget the Macaque:

        I'm just testing to see who read the whole post.  The macaque is telling me something.  I'll be filling you in with more details in the weeks to come.  Did I say that already?  Guess I forgot.  Must have walked into another room.

          Do you tend to forget what you're doing sometimes?  Are you interested in the nature and meaning of dreams?   Do you know what a macaque is?    Are you healthy?

Related articles

• I Dreamed of a Macaque
• Notre Dame study: Internet content is looking for you
• Dream Blog update #01 - see "Understanding and Interpreting Dreams"
• Simple Workspace

When Are Apologies Appropriate?

   Sometimes apologizing can be an awkward and even humiliating experience.  I usually don't have any problem apologizing when I realize I've been in the wrong.  The experience for me can be very liberating and uplifting.   Sometimes I've even made new friends in the process.   Being at odds with anyone is not a healthy situation to be in.

       The need to apologize usually stems from one or more of the following:

• Misunderstanding what another has said.
• Not having fully heard what was being said.
• Taking the wrong side unfairly against another party.
• Jumping on a bandwagon without knowing all the facts.
• Not seeing things from the other point of view.
• Being selfish.
• Allowing jealousy or resentment toward another color your opinion of them.
• Flat out being wrong and sticking with that wrong for too long.

 
      Since I tend to be slow to react and I like to hear all sides of an issue, I usually don't end up having to apologize much.  Sometimes I might have to do some explaining to clarify things, but usually it's a matter of trying to help the disagreement side understand better what is going on.

       I don't recall ever having to make an apology for anything I've written on my blog because I try to think my posts through carefully and avoid saying negative things about other bloggers.  I may disagree sometimes, but I don't get vicious toward anyone.  This is not true with all bloggers though.   And I rarely see apologies coming from those sorts of bloggers.  Of course, I don't frequent those types of blogs too much so maybe I've missed some of their apologies.

      Do you apologize when you know you've been wrong or do you just let things go?   Do you have greater respect for someone who admits they are wrong and offers an apology?   Do you know of any bloggers who you think need to apologize to another blogger?    Are there any apologies you'd like to make to anyone?

     

Related articles

• Too many apologies
• How Fluent are You in the Language of Apology?
• Sorry not Sorry
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What's So Funny About Swearing?

George Carlin  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         This post concludes my series on blue language or swearing.  If you did not catch the first two installments you can find them here and here.  There are many fine comments that are worth reading through on both posts.  In this post I will be looking at the humorous side of profanity and the right to swear.

Introduction:

         So far I haven't gotten many solid answers to my questions about swearing.  Maybe there are none.  I will somewhat concede that the utterance of a profanity can carry some impact in conveying emotion or emphasizing a point.  I'm not totally convinced about that.  A friend told me that in a former job in the security business he was instructed to use profanity when he was dealing with certain types of people since this would give him more credibility as an authority figure.  I'm still not totally sold.

         Other folks who defend the use of profanity said they use it because they want to--it's their right and they're going to use (abuse) it.   Sounds like a spoiled child syndrome to me.  This still doesn't sound like a convincing argument to swear.   Then there are those who just think swearing is absolutely hilarious.   This brings us to my next question:

What's So Funny About Swearing?

         Here we will look at the following aspects of blue language:

• The humorous aspect
• Devaluation of the impact of words
• Degradation of the language
• First amendment defense of swearing

The humor of swearing:

The words sound funny or create humorous images--To some at least.  It''s almost in an adolescent mindset of doing something naughty and getting away with it.  There can sometimes be a certain amount of  humor in this but mostly it's immaturity.

Delivery-- Granted that sometimes the way something is said can be funny.  It might even be funny for a few to several times.  But when the delivery loses its novelty it can get old and boring.

Element of surprise -- Humor is sometimes achieved by the unexpected or the shock value of the profanity introduced in an unlikely context.  Once again this might be funny to some, while in other cases it can be totally inappropriate.  Often the user will feed upon the first laugh response and run the joke into the ground. Excess is often the result of receiving the attention for doing something with no actual value.

Making others squirm -- Some people delight in knowing that others are uncomfortable.   Initially some might  feel it is wrong to do this, but if others are laughing then it must be okay.  Let's embarrass the church ladies, the conservative Christians, the prudes and then we can all laugh at them.  Maybe the bad words aren't really that funny but it's a real hoot to know that someone else is bothered by it.

Intellectual incongruity --When swearing is analyzed in an almost intellectual perspective there can be some genuine humor at play.  Comics like George Carlin could be very good at this.  Occasionally someone might make a crude observation or tell a dirty joke that is funny in a smart sense.  Context and company must be considered in order for this to be effective.

 Devaluation of the impact of the profanities:

The problem with profuse casual use of swear words or obscenities is that too much of anything causes dilution.  For those who like to use swear words for color, impact, humor, or to express that which they think cannot be adequately explained in other language, overuse of the crudities diminishes their value.  

Degradation of the language:

Blue language is not universally accepted or appreciated.  If this language pervades everyday speech we may have brought vocabulary down another notch.  There are enough dumb people in the populace who don't speak well.  Funny in one sense perhaps, but in reality I'm not sure it's truly funny.

The Right to Swear:

The First Amendment is often referred to as a freedom to swear:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Here's another more modern take on this right:

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, states that:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

       So much has been written and can be written about the issue of swearing and first amendment rights.  I'm no legal expert and won't even attempt to go into the issue of the right to swear.  It would take many blog posts and probably an entire second blog to expound upon this subject. What I will do is offer a couple of things to think about. 

        For one, I would suggest that the strong proponents of swearing are often as hypocritical and self-righteous as those they suggest are that way.  Many of you who swear would be offended by someone else using epithets directed toward race, nationality, gender, or some other hurtful language.   But they're all just words aren't they? 

        Lets face it. Words can be heavily charged to offend and disturb others.  Are all words acceptable?  Is it always okay to say whatever we want when we feel like it just because we want to?  Should everybody just get over all of it?  If you can swear, can others throw things in your face that might offend you?

       Words.  Actions.  Images.  Who has the right to offend?   And what is truly offensive?

        We think of those who died for our right to live in a free society with the rights that most of us are fortunate enough to experience.  When the founding fathers of the United States drew up that first amendment, do you think they were thinking about things like swearing, obscenity, and pornography?  Yet isn't that what it's come to?

       Would you be willing to give your life or sacrifice the life of one you loved so that others could swear?

Related articles

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Remake blogfest

When Hollywood runs out of ideas, they remake older films. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it fails miserably. 

On May 17, list the best remake you’ve ever seen and the worst. 

Added bonus – list the worst and/or best song remake you’ve ever heard! 

Hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp, Livia Peterson, and Al Diaz.

For the list of participants go here.

My choices:


Best Movie Remake:    

 True Grit (2010) --The 1969 John Wayne version is a fine very entertaining film, but the remake captured what the story really should be.  It's a fantastic film

Worst Movie Remakes:  

The Out of Towners (1999)--I expected so much better of Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn but maybe their over-the-top performances were part of the problem.  Jack Lemmon played the lead role with his wonderfully subtle style and Sandy Dennis was ideal as his wife eternally incredulous in the face of adversity.   The latter version lacked the hilarity of the original and I was not able to feel it the same way as I did the first one. 

  I Am Legend (2007) -- In the serious film category I would list this Will Smith version only because I expected so much more.  I'm a big fan of the 1964 version with Vincent Price.  I had figured with modern film technology a really cool remake could have been done, but to me there was something lacking about this one.  In all fairness, I probably need to see this one a second time.  There were some good effects and well-played scenes.   Yeah, I need to see it again, but for now I'm going to put it in the worst of science fiction remakes.

Best Song Remakes: 

(click on song titles if you want to hear the songs)

   "Hard Day's Night"  by Tee and Cara (1968)  --I've mentioned this song on my site before (did we do a remake blogfest once before?), but it's such a favorite that I'm touting it again.  How can you top the Beatles with their own song?  By playing it the way that it sounds like it should be played like Tee and Cara did.   Too bad they never got more recognition for their beautiful album.

"Lalena" by Deep Purple (1969)--It's difficult to improve on the beautiful original by Donovan, but hard rockin' Deep Purple did it with a sensitive jazziness.

 "Blinded By the Light"  (1977) Manfred Mann--I don't even remember ever hearing Bruce Springsteen's original until I listened to it while researching this blog post.  Sorry Bruce, you may have written the song, but Manfred's number one hit version beats yours by a million miles (and probably a few million record sales).  

Worst Song Remake   --I know they're out there, but I couldn't think of any.

          I know I went above and beyond what was called for, but the post is still short.  What do you think of my choices?   

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