I recently experienced a few significant incidences in my life. Some of them were pretty bad, while others were very good. This got me thinking about perception and how it can drastically alter our state of mind.
In just a few short weeks, my computer broke down, I got two new jobs, I was called in for jury duty, and a number of other incidents occurred. Looking back on these events, I thought to myself that I had been very lucky and that things have generally turned out well.
However, this made me wonder: is it just my positive thinking that’s causing me to feel this way? For this reason, I decided to perform a little test. I wanted to see if I could paint the last few weeks as an awful, terrible turn of events in my past. It was surprisingly easy to do.
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Well? Have you heard of the Gossip?
No, I’m not talking about the rumor mill. I’m talking about Gossip, the indie rock/punk band based in Portland, OR. Led by Beth Ditto, the band has been around since the turn of the century and recently signed with a major label (Sony Music Entertainment).
The band has a lot of rock, punk, and pop influences, but they have their own unique style. Here’s one of my favorite songs of theirs, “Pop Goes the World.”
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Consider the title of the post for a moment.
Yes, I am a philosopher, so it is kind of my job to ask questions like “What is Beauty?” and “What is Intelligence.” Philosophers love these types of questions because everyone “knows” the answer, but no one can give a coherent definition without a ton of classifiers and exceptions.
And if the definition is so unclear, why is so much pressure placed on people to be normal?
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The following is a guest post by Adam Appleson, author of Zen Tactics.
Zen Tactics is a website that helps child abuse survivors develop practical personal development skills. Adam also offers the free report, Why Are You Unhappy?: How To Create Happiness Through Friendship If You’re An Abuse Survivor, written especially for child abuse survivors trying to create happiness in their lives.
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You may have heard of the “5 monkeys experiment.” It is called by several different names: the 5 monkey experiment, the monkeys in a cage experiment, the monkeys and social control experiment, etc. It is a cleverly designed experiment, though ethically questionable, which tests the influence of groupthink and tradition.
The experiment is extremely telling and says a lot about how we come to believe what we are told, even without a full explanation for why.
And though the experiment is widely cited, no source is ever given. To me, this seems to suggest that the entire experiment is a hoax.
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Guest post by Daniel Bousho, author of Depression Help.
Daniel Bousho is the author of the blog Depression Help as well as the e-book The Depression Help Kit. The Depression Help Kit is dedicated to helping you understand depression, and how you can master your moods. The book is available for purchase at depressionhelpkit.com/about.
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One of the things I’ve considered, following the health craze, is how we label germs and bacteria. These things are spoken about as though they should be avoided at all costs. Of course, here at Search For Balance, nothing in this world can be considered to be inherently bad. In other words, there is a problem with the way we talk about germs.
What if, instead of thinking of germs as harmful bacteria that eat away at our bodies and make us sick, we look at them in another way? What if we think of germs as little particles that enter our bodies and are consumed by our cells in order to make us healthier and stronger? Both arguments are true, and yet both paint germs in a completely different light.
So what’s the difference?
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I just finished reading the short story “Just Walk on By” by Brent Staples. It is a memoir about Staples’ early college years, learning about how his race and physicality instill fear in others.
I especially enjoyed Staples’ story because I identify with it a lot. I try not to let my perceived race impact the way I interact with society; however, because of my skin color, people sometimes perceive me as a threat. Like Staples, I did not realize this until I moved away from home, into a big city. For me, the city was Boston.
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I just watched an amazing video on TED.com that I had to share with you all. In this TED talk, Ken Robinson discusses how the current education system around the world seems to squelch creativity more than encourage it. Ken is both incredibly informative and incredibly funny, so you shouldn’t have any trouble watching the whole thing trough.
Ken pretty much says it all in the video, but he also opens up the floor for a whole dialogue about school, education, creativity, and childhood development. I encourage you all to watch.
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After spending some quality time outside, I was made aware of a phenomenon called subliminal learning.
Subliminal learning is when one is taught to make a particular association without conscious thought. This is very similar to basic conditioning theories in psychology; however, I think of subliminal learning as a broader term. Subliminal learning encompasses conditioning, but also brand loyalty and other similar effects. “Brand loyalty” is a marketing term which refers to a customer preferring one brand of a product over others. This is often achieved using vague and generalized assertions or without the customer’s awareness. Read More…
