‘Brain rot’ – word of the year 2024

General, Musings, , ,   2 comments  

My personal word of the year is demonize. But …

A commentary on how “we are using our free time” … an ongoing “cultural conversation about humanity and technology.”

• AP News > “How to sum up 2024? The Oxford University Press word of the year is ‘brain rot’” (December 2, 2024) – chosen by a combination of public vote and language analysis by Oxford lexicographers, it beat five other finalists: demure, slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy and lore.

Continue reading ‘Brain rot’ – word of the year 2024 →

Our longest saga – the evolution of humanity

Mediation, Musings, Poetry, , , , , ,   2 comments  

Pondering the big picture, what has changed in the last 100 years or so …

This article (republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license) is a useful recap of our understanding of human evolution, and an excellent visualization of that story, including salient talking points.

The millions-of-years history of our rise as a species is a fascinating story of patient pursuit of knowledge. A pursuit all too often underfunded and under-resourced, starting with singular archeological discoveries and growing into multidisciplinary collaboration. That joint research expanded the outlines of our story from bones & stones to geographic and climatic events, to genetic (DNA) arcs, and to social and cultural changes.

Continue reading Our longest saga – the evolution of humanity →

Puritan praise & pride – a legacy of conflated piety

Mediation, Musings, , , , , , , , , , , ,   4 comments  

[Draft 11-7-2024]

We supposedly live in a secular society. And yet, sacred speech dominates our polarized politics. The righteous mind is alive and well. Private & public piety pervades our identities, our virtues and values. Dogma still divides. History has lessons which remain unheeded. Social media (and money) amplify an illusion of majority voice. We drift into a divide over the future of our democracy. The role of reason is in retreat.

Can heads, hearts, and hands find common ground to move forward?

Continue reading Puritan praise & pride – a legacy of conflated piety →

‘Politics is about sacredness’ – overlapping moral orbits

Mediation, Musings, Stories, , , ,   1 comment  

Fables were part of the moral fabric when I was growing up. Perhaps yours as well. Especially some of Aesop’s Fables. (Yet, I was suprised that this was not the case for many of my middle school students, when a public school teacher.)

There’s one fable, in particular, which social psychologist Jonathan Haidt discussed in a 2012 interview (noted below) about his latest book (at that time): Aesop’s The Ant and the Grasshopper.

Continue reading ‘Politics is about sacredness’ – overlapping moral orbits →

Happiness pension plan – a pillared formula?

Mediation, Musings, , ,

This article (below) discusses happiness as a direction, and the elements of that state of mind. And, yes, there’s a science of happiness. And a “happiness pension plan.”

Yet, in such direction, recall our mantra:

What’s the good news about habits? They’re hard to break.
What’s the bad news about habits? They’re hard to break.

There’s also a question of social engineering. Can “villains” (and their minions) be happy? – Tick off Brooks’ elements of happiness. Might autocrats exploit Brooks’ formula?

No yellow-brick-road, eh.

• Big Think > “There is a formula for happiness — but it’s highly misunderstood” by Arthur C. Brooks [note his Wiki bibliography] (7′ video with transcript) – “Happiness is NOT about feelings.”

Continue reading Happiness pension plan – a pillared formula? →

the BIG picture – from beginning of time

Musings, ,

Like a mandala, here’s an interesting visualization … a 13.8 billion year chronicle.

• NASA > APOD > “Time Spiral” – Illustration Credit: Pablo Carlos Budassi via Wikipedia (9 August 2020)

Explanation (quoted): What’s happened since the universe started? The time spiral shown here features a few notable highlights.

Continue reading the BIG picture – from beginning of time →

Algorithmic demagoguery – Monsters from the Id redux

Mediation, Musings,

A delirious, inexhaustible, social fountain of information … what could go …

A new book (below) reminded me of the sci-fi classic 1956 movie Forbidden Planet, and how an extinct godlike race fell prey to the ultimate persuasive technology (“unaffected by intelligence, ethics, or morality”). There was not even time for an apology by the Krell entrepreneurs, eh.

Hopefully, moderation will prevail. And there’ll be collective action to tame the demons unleashed by social algorithms.

Continue reading Algorithmic demagoguery – Monsters from the Id redux →

Make 1 new friend a year?

Mediation, Musings, ,

Here’s some advice on building the sense of being connected socially.

• Washington Post > Advice > “Making new friends can be hard. Here are 5 ways to make 1 friend a year.” by Emma Nadler, psychotherapist and author (June 23, 2024) – Align with your interests; give attention; show care to others and yourself; take healthy risks; and seek a fresh perspective.

There are many people longing for closer relationships. A 2022 and 2023 Gallup survey found that less than half of U.S. adults reported feeling “very” connected to others.

Here are five ways to begin a new friendship. They are informed by my perspective as a practicing psychotherapist for over 15 years and my experiences as a caregiver who has struggled with seasons of isolation. What I have learned is that friendships are ever-changing, complex and worth the effort they require.

Continue reading Make 1 new friend a year? →

Seeing ourselves beyond simplified scripts

Mediation, Musings, , , , ,   1 comment  

So, simplified strategies help us cope with emotional & mental burdens, like too many choices. This article discusses cognitive shortcuts in a similar context: “Our minds are naturally inclined to use simplified strategies to conserve mental energy and reduce cognitive load.”

Although “self-talk is what separates us from other species,” there’s a negative edge. It reveals early stories (scripts) which simplified framing ourselves and the world. Such simplifications (or partial perceptions) can bias our outlook, stand in the way of healthy outcomes.

How do we find the energy and support to reframe those beliefs (“reparent your inner child”)? To overcome fears? To realize “more balanced and realistic self-talk?” And to nurture positive relationships?

Continue reading Seeing ourselves beyond simplified scripts →