I have an addictive personality. I wish that meant that people couldn’t get enough of me. It doesn’t. I’m the type of person that can’t get enough of a good thing. Once I start, I find it difficult to stop. Throughout my youth I’ve experimented, abused and misused substances. Alcohol and nicotine had significant places…
Month: November 2023
Remembrance Day – what we forgot
The armistice signalling the end of fighting on all fronts during World War 1 was signed just after 5:00 in the morning on the 11th November, 1918. However, hostilities would only end six hours later at 11:00. 11th of the 11th at 11 was more elegant than 11th of the 11th at 5 in the…
The Abilene Paradox
The Abilene Paradox refers to the practice of people in a group going along with a decision believing that it is what everyone around them really wants, even if it goes against the outcomes the group are aiming for. Put another way, it’s when you believe your preferences don’t align with everyone else’s in the…
Can you tell the difference between a JRR Tolkien character’s name and the name of an antidepressant
Ted Gioia shared a link to an online quiz called antidepressant or Tolkien. If you’re struggling with character names for your fantasy novel search the pharmaceutical industry. Are chemists big fantasy fans?
Draw what you see, not what you know
I’ve heard this sentence used many times, especially in art classes. Draw what you see, not what you know. If you ask most people to draw an eye they’ll draw a rugby ball shape with a circle in it – a conceptual model of an eye. However, if you look closely at an eye you’ll…
Shopping list
The other day I found someone’s grocery list in my shopping basket at my local supermarket. The list had the following items on it: Someone out there makes meatloaf. Mind blown.
The true definition of words used in office jobs
Could the next Freud be a large language model?
When I was 18 I was diagnosed with depression. I’d applied for a job and part of the interview process included undergoing psychometric testing. I got the job but had to attend weekly psychotherapy sessions as part of my employment. The sessions were on a Wednesday. I was 18 and cocky, so I’d sit there…
Art is patience
My son draws pictures. He puts pencil to paper and in a few minutes has a drawing that he’s proud of. Colouring in might take a few minutes more, but then we’re done and we move onto the next picture. Like me, he’ll one day want to draw something that resembles what he has in…
The abyss of solitude
I shared a house with a woman. Two woman, in fact, but here I’ll discuss only the one. She smiled a lot and was always up for going out. It was rare that I’d find her at home over the weekend, there was always a polo match, or a picnic or a wine festival to…