Thought of the Day

Math and words, numbers and language, these have always been things of beauty to me. I remember discovering patterns in numerical sequences as a young child and I can’t remember a time when I could not read. I’ve always thought that my above average memory had a lot to do with this, but, due to some recent research I’ve done online, it seems I might have it the wrong way ’round.

Some researchers believe we might all have a bit of synaesthesia ( a trait in which ‘two or more senses are automatically and involuntarily coupled‘). This may be why some of us experience emotional responses, are struck with wonder and awe, when we are exposed to the complexities and intricacies of the universe, even though they are merely the results of matter and energy responding to the fundamental constants that rule our universe, devoid of any meaning or purpose of their own; our minds have joined the sensation of recognition and discovery with the biochemical responses of  joy and excitement.

I have an excellent memory, but it is by no means eidetic. (If you think you may have a photographic memory, look at the left panel of the image below with your left eye while covering the right side and then look at the right panel with your right eye while covering the left half. Can you remember both images and see the pattern in the dots that emerges when the two are superimposed?) Although I rarely studied, I did well in all of my classes in school. I’ve always been an introvert, so I reasoned that I retained the subject matter because I was actually paying more attention in class than most, if not all, of the other students and I had a natural advantage due to my memory.

After reading about Alexander Aitken, however, I’m beginning to think it was because I enjoyed learning. I thought about and considered each subject, finding relationships and similarities with other subjects and topics, helping my brain form more synaptic pathways to the location where the information is stored, and even possibly storing it in more locations!

(Here’s another article about Alexander Aitken.)

Even though this isn’t the same path I traveled to enlightenment, it’s still rather impressive.

Are some of us already on our way to becoming a hive mind?

As of yet, the internet does not dictate our actions, though it may influence them to varying degrees. It is a vast and evergrowing repository of information, however, as well as an incredible communication tool for individuals and groups. Maybe someday, we will be able to tap into the ‘net on a more personal level as a part of a great machine/organism, aware of, yet also a component of, a new gestalt of humanity.

In the event that you’ve noticed some discrepancies in the style or content of my posts/thoughts, I’ll have you know that I am a fervent believer in the virtues of moderation – everything in moderation, including moderation (stolen from Robert Guillaume’s introductory SNL monologue dredged from the misty recesses of memory). In other words, I reserve the right to hold myself to no standards but my own, which will change according to my unpredictable whims.

The holiday we celebrate on December 25th has gone through many incarnations. Now that we’ve reached an age of information and reason (hopefully) I believe I see signs of the season becoming a focus on being ‘good for goodness’ sake’ without the need for myths, fables, or stories.

I’m a rational, compassionate individual; I don’t need Santa Claus to have a good time.

I’ve always been fascinated by language and how we associate emotions, ideas, and even eras with words that strike a resonance somewhere within us. It’s all contextual, yet some phrases spoken or written pass down through the ages simply because they continue to give us the feeling that a great truth is being revealed.

Got any favorite quotes?

Anyone had any experience with this? (Not Pearls, I mean making something seem popular by repeating it three times.)