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This might be interpreted as: the most salient aspect of school experience is the feelings it leaves you. Recall your school: do you remember learning things? Or do you remember how you felt in the lesson? My memory is that I learned (as in: memorized information) at home or in the library because of either the desire to do so, triggered by an inspirational teacher, or by my personal interest in the subject or topic; or by the fear of being punished. School can create an emotional experience, not a packet of knowledge. Think of a training session at work: did you really learn something? Or was it just a starting point for your own learning journey (or, in many cases, just a waste of your time)? Of course, those who cannot read, write or do Maths lack access to a lot. And there is a strong body of evidence to suggest that creativity is a product of having secured a large body of knowledge into long term memory. This post is not a challenge to instructional teaching: qu

I was talking to a friend, and we were wondering why we seem to cling on to negative thoughts much more than positive ones... I hypothesises there might be an evolutionary purpose, and then went off to find out more...  In this article   https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-33/march-2020/life-mostly-good-despite-greater-power-bad-things ),  it says that  ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are among the first concepts that children learn (even dogs learn them!). Brain research shows that the brain classifies something as good or bad almost immediately after figuring out what it is, in less than half a second.  For most things, everyone gets a clear emotional/affective signal about whether it is good or bad.  The article goes on to confirm (yay!) my evolutionary hypothesis: probably many things link back to survival and reproduction. Things that help sustain life in these ways are experienced as good, and things that are detrimental to survival and reproduction are bad. One of the first ‘conscious’

From the Stoics to Buddah, to Martin Luther King Jr., the consensus seems to be that anger is not a good thing; it should be avoided, it will damage the anger bearer, not what caused the anger, and will certainly not solve the situation, as it is toxic and will slowly erode you.   As much as I can agree with these ideas, I can't help but worry that the message can be misconstrued. Only anecdotally, I can say that I see many people around me accepting abuse, exploitation and mistreatment on the basis that "it is as it is". Of a relationship: "He/she is not perfect, but nobody is. I don't want to end up bitter and alone." Of work: "I want to enjoy my family and free time, and I need the money so I'll do what I'm told."  And... "No, I won't contact the union: I don't want to be marked as difficult. I'll just keep calm and maintain a low profile." Of politics: "Rallies don't change anything. Anyway, all p

Funny thing, the word positive has multiple meanings: constructive, optimistic, or confident - for example, “I am feeling positive about my life today!” consisting in or characterised by the presence rather than the absence of distinguishing features - for example: “You are HIV positive” with no possibility of doubt; definite - for example: ““I am positive you will get that job!” But also... (of a quantity) greater than zero. (of a photographic image) showing lights and shades or colours true to the original. containing, producing, or denoting an electric charge opposite to that carried by electrons. And, surprisingly… dealing only with matters of fact and experience; not speculative or theoretical. ...So positive means many things, but in our daily use there are two that are potentially a contradiction: positive means happy, optimistic, confident... But also certain. It has to be done. The paradigm of “putting on a happy face”, or perhaps “fake it till you make it”, but D

I started a new life when my head smashed into the ground.  I had a traumatic brain injury on 5 April 2019. I nearly died, but I didn’t.  All the cliches about near death experiences are true: you realise the value of every minute, and you rethink your priorities. Unfortunately, this has not for me resulted in achieving nirvana or love for humanity, but in an existential crisis. Pathetic fallacy: the fog reflects my confusion. ...A life where the certainty of death is staring at me most of the time, sometimes winking at me before I do or say something outrageous, and smiling when I do. The main change is that my inhibitions are low, the filter that stops me from saying what I am thinking and feeling what I am feeling is gone. The most salient change, however, is that most social rules have become meaningless and irrelevant to my life choices.  Now, I can't help but be constantly aware of the fact that the only things that are real are: I need oxygen

I recently quit my managerial position in my job. I got a pay cut of approximately 15k, and, just like that, committed career suicide in a 10 minute conversation. Everyone tells me I did well, that my mental health is more important, that what matters is love and peace of mind. I know it’s true. I truly believed that when I quit. I still do. But… Certain paradigms are so ingrained. You are born, you get labelled with your gender. Then they move on to characterising your personality with adjectives. Then it’s your career… Imagine if a conversation could go this way. “What do you do?” “I sometimes shop on-line, sometimes go straight to the Sainsbury’s local, hug someone almost every day, dance in the kitchen, secretly pee in the shower, pretend I’m stretching to cover up that I’m actually farting trying to do so quietly… What else…? Go to work, cook food and eat it, have sex when I can (wink wink)... Occasionally run a marathon… What about you?” But we rarely assume that