Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Leveraging Your Whole Brain

Of all the natural predispositions, the most fundamental one is the intellectual orientation of the individual. This determines the choices and interests which he/she would pursue from the present moment onwards. If we were to look at the surface, the brain is divided into two hemispheres. There is the common hypothesis that the left brain tends towards logical activities and the right brain towards creative ones. If we were to go deeper we would find that any individual uses both the faculties of the brain, but at different points in time for specific activities. This is possible because both the hemispheres are connected. In fact in rare cases when they were not connected the individuals found it difficult to talk. Language although predominantly a left brain activity needs you to access the right brain faculties for humor and imagination. In a study of poetry, for instance initially it was thought that the poet has exceptional verbal ability. After a thorough introspection by poets themselves it was discovered that poetry is not all about linguistic convulsions but also about the emotional intensity, which is a tendency associated with the right brain.

If we look at Mathematics, we find that story problems need a combination of verbal and mathematical abilities- two different faculties in the same left brain hemisphere. In the case of Geometry, what is needed is a combination of visual-spatial and logical abilities where the former is associated with the right brain and the latter with the left brain. Without the connection it is rather difficult to solve problems in Geometry. This fact, although difficult to observe is of utmost importance to draw a clear picture of the nature of intellectual activities. It is in this light that we can tell the difference between intellectualism and intelligence. It would therefore be wise not to draw conclusions based on scores in I.Q.tests as they are not designed to assess every intellectual activity that the brain is capable of.

In the brain hemispheric tests, the objective is to show your hemispheric dominance. After the result of the test, it gives some inputs into the nature of activities that you would tend to pursue and areas where you would face difficulties. Usually, most individuals exhibit either left brain dominance or right brain dominance but there is a minority which has a balanced hemispheric dominance. They use both the hemispheres equally. Although, it is thought that one needs to use both the hemispheres in order to be capable of multiple activities, the whole brain dominant individual tends to experience conflicts in decision making, which he/she may overcome by prioritizing the nature of intellectual activity. For example; he/she may decide to be practical when it comes to mundane activities and may prefer putting away the creative dimension for the time being. The same person may reject common sense when the need of the hour is to find a creative solution. Knowing your brain hemispheric dominance helps you understand your strengths and limitations but what helps you more is leveraging your intellectual orientation depending on the nature of your activity and of course what helps you most is to play it by the ear instead of going by the rule book.     

Overriding Concerns about Extraterrestrials

Amidst the chaos there is an order that keeps a human being secure from the onslaught of danger. It is unknown how this chaos penetrates occasionally and is kept away quite successfully by fool proof systems at other times. The attempt at creating a force field keeps a living being from contact with natural forces beyond it. One such concern that raises thoughts of such a nature is the concept of extraterrestrials. Is there life in outer space somewhere which we are unable to communicate with? In the planet Mars from time to time there have been triggers of excitement reopening the possibility of the existence of extraterrestrials in that planet. Firstly, some of us have an undying curiosity and wonder regarding out of the ordinary phenomenon. This in psychology is referred to as the transcendence of imagination and this is a flight from the mundane activities that holds the individual captive and makes it impossible for him/her to see the light of a world beyond the wall.

Before we broach on the subject of extraterrestrials it would be wise to understand what chaos really is. Interest in chaos is quite different from the desire for it. In this universe it seems as though there is little chaos but couldn't this be the illusion of the security provided by day to day activities of a repetitive nature. Repetition gives security because it is what predictability orders. This predictability over time throws some individuals out of the system making them sources of extraordinary experiences. They are the ones who are predisposed to sensing and perceiving what others cannot. It may be a mistake to assume that scientists, astronomers and astronauts have the best chance of discovering extraterrestrial life. It could simply be a set of individuals who are imaginative to the point of perceiving through signals what lies beyond their walls of reality. In Egypt there were paintings of beings and objects which do not resemble life on earth such as UFOs and aliens. Some thinkers have entertained the possibility of aliens having visited this planet before based on these paintings. The word alien refers to an out lander and one who has an outlandish insight may be in a better position to sense signals of beings outside the world of immediate importance.

For those who are concerned more about matters of immediate importance the chance of discovering beings beyond their sensory perception is negated. For those who are concerned about discovering these beings outside the wall of reality through incremental discoveries the chance of making them is limited by their approaches. It may be only individuals with access to subversive excitation who have some chance of discovering these extraterrestrial beings. It could be a mistake for instance to suppose that extraterrestrials can be perceived by human sensory perception in the first place. What may take more than light years to see by the naked eye may take an instant to discover by accident. As a result of our inflated concerns about everyday life we may miss out on the significance of a concept that may in fact take our spirits far away from the problems in hand to the extent of proving that these problems are nothing but illusions of petty human concerns. This does not mean that we are wrong to be anthropocentric when it is in our nature to be so. It suffices to say that in order to go beyond the wall of reality it might be wise to break it once in a while. All it takes is an unidentified flying object.   


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Long Measure



The pendulum swings to and fro
But if you can just remain still,
The bird that sings is not the crow;
It’s the raven that catches chill.
The mountains you climb are just plains,
You may be still in complete peaks;
Yet faster than the fastest trains
With rose of wisdom on your cheeks!

Why Look at Procrastination as a Thief?


The idea of procrastinating one’s duties has its roots in prehistoric times. It is not a habit forming behavior resulting from the ease of comforts and luxury of modern times. It is as old as humanity. However, it was always and still is discouraged and looked at as a weakness marring the potential of a human being. In ‘the Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde, a character Lord Henry describes ‘punctuality’ as a thief of time. Of course one dare take this as sacrosanct. Lord Henry, as you would find after reading the novel is not what he is.  Procrastination is not the opposite of punctuality. After investigation you would find that it is not that bad either. It gets replaced by another word or another phrase which would imply putting something off till more clarity sets in. 

In some contexts such as construction of monuments, procrastination was sometimes considered a useful device of managing energy and time. In the Bloomsbury circle, it was compulsory to postpone any discussion which would end up confusing the participants. Unless and until the speaker was clear about the message, he would hesitate to bring it to light. Procrastination also gives a sudden spark of energy which compulsive routines do not. In the case of a compulsion the individual has to indulge in a routine even if it is not warranted. Without doing so, he/she becomes uncomfortable. It is here that procrastination as a device carries with it a great range of benefits. A compulsion drains your energy while procrastination helps you preserve it. 

Postmodern art is brilliantly exceptional when it comes to hiding a clear idea. Its ideas get hidden by layers of imageries to make the spectator postpone the interpretation till all the layers are unraveled. The catch is that at no point would you be able to unravel its meaning completely as your interpretation is just one of the many possible interpretations. By procrastinating you take more time to carve out newer perspectives. You would not be able to do this if you surrender to the dictates of a demanding routine. You can use procrastination as a psychological technique to buy more time for solutions. Procrastination is from this angle not a thief of time but its innovative preserver.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Ambiguity in Faith



Predominantly one tends to be preoccupied with thoughts relevant to the demands of the immediate present. This immediate present does not give too much time for your mind to speculate as you need to do what is necessary ‘now’. Needless to say, there have been several books written on the need to give ultimate importance to the immediate present. If you venture to open a bank account in a relatively new bank you would not find yourself raising metaphysical questions. You would worry about questions pertaining to the immediate present. This is because the immediate present needs you to engage with the situation you find yourself in without compromising on your attention. It would be wrong to conclude that metaphysical questions are absurd as when there is little to do there is a lot of room for speculation. You ponder, reflect and raise questions when you are marooned in time. It is similar to being marooned in an island.

One question that I have had recourse to raise is regarding the nature of belief and faith in God. It is a rather difficult question, I have found and to answer without any trace of ambiguity is even more difficult. This, for some reason or the other is unpalatable for many. The confusion in question has a lot to do with the lack of understanding of the word ‘agnosticism’ which is not quite the same as ‘atheism’. You tend to lose grip of the significance of this difference as you may find it to be, nothing but splitting hair. The word ‘agnosticism’ has its relevance when it comes to the subject of how much a human being can know about the nature of the universe. In simple words, if I am not all knowing how can I be certain of my beliefs, especially the metaphysical ones such as the validity of the existence of God. 

There is however, one way of avoiding the well of absolute skepticism and that is the immediate present which you cannot deny. In fact even this is trivial and does not get you far in understanding the nature of your faith as you have only solved one problem effectively, which is not really of a philosophical nature. It may interest you to know that there is an extension possible and that is the concept and reality of ‘evolution’. If you are not sure about whether or not God exists, you may want to wait till you gain more knowledge, wisdom and experience. You then look at intuition and extrasensory perception a bit more seriously. You also start developing an appreciation of wonder and insights which are ahead of the curve of common logic. This position may be termed as ‘evolutionary mysticism’ which by no means is vague and is in harmony with your reasoning and state of mind. There is then less justification for jumping to conclusions without having sufficient data even when it seems more comforting to make a black and white decision. It is this ambiguity in faith that one tends to fill up with words. These words do not reveal exactly the nature of one’s metaphysical position. There is dynamism about the state of mind which indicates the mental process of evolution where answers are not quite as clear cut as we would have liked them to be.  I for one find ample grounds for respecting ambiguity in faith as it is ‘evolutionary mysticism’ in disguise.      

Zen



Apprehensive sunlight
Throws little light
For humans to move.