I play therefore I learn: pantry of mental notes

Showing posts with label pantry of mental notes. Show all posts

Thursday, 15 August 2013

Summer Spam Harvest (from my bookmark folders)

While still working on the posts that would feature my current setting and adventures, I found my bookmark folders flooded with bits and pieces saved with the earnest intention to add a witty (of course!) comment or two on my part, linking them into some proverbial bigger picture I'm presumably piling together around a bunch of Weirdo Attractors. Oh well, at least I managed to line them up into somewhat neat-looking stacks.

Tuesday, 12 March 2013

The power of screaming biology (well explained)

I'm such a sucker for When Shit Gets Explained Really Well. I have also dealt with depression at least half of my life (though some tendencies and patterns extend far into childhood), making it a topic near and dear to my heart. So, when I happened to see this lecture the other day, I went "Squee!" a little.

Some of my favourite parts.

- 09:19 - on semantics and the biological aspect. I think comparing depression with diabetes is a very powerful tool to address the (dismissive) "there's nothing physically wrong with you" bias. Besides the primary point ("this too is chemistry, yo. Don't trivialize it just because among other things it fucks with your mood controls.") it implies the importance of "long term maintenance" in improving the life quality.

- 12:25-13:41 - on exhaustion by overstimulation. I was extra-delighted to hear a good round-up of the stress and fatigue connection. (So far my theoretical understanding had only extended to "prolonged stress response depletes your resources"; and the years of practice lead me to believe that - at least for me - the mind-unease and the chronic fatigue really were the different aspects of the same underlying process.)

- 32:44-35:36 - on the female end of the hormone connection.

- 42:25-42:54 - "this is what psychological stress is about" in a nutshell.

- 45:45 - on how the hereditary component works. "Genes are important - but they are not more important than any other component. /.../ Genes in depression are not about inevitability, they are about vulnerability."

Friday, 25 January 2013

From the hibernation chamber

As the winter was settling in, I took a hard blow to my creativity, ability to focus, ability write or do ... well, anything really. Dedicating all my remaining shards of strength into performing the simple tasks like getting out of bed, going for walks and bringing in firewood to heat the woodstove, there wasn't much left for developing the writing habit. Now that the days are once again getting longer, I am discovering how my intense focus on managing the mundane has been secretly awarded by improved anxiety-coping skills, better deliberate attention-directing ability and increased resilience. I am also discovering that the bookmark folder for stuff that I've meant to spam on is overflowing with links. Since I've mostly forgotten the smartass comments or insightful generalizations intended to accompany these, I'm just going to dump the links themselves. (The advances in gaming front deserve their own post - or a few. I'm working on it.)

So, here goes. The random info-dump organized in somewhat topical bunches.

On work habits, productivity and the importance of allowing the idle time to happen.

http://positivesharing.com/2006/03/my-lazy-life/
http://lifehacker.com/5901013/in-defense-of-procrastination-when-to-prioritize-doing-nothing
http://lifehacker.com/5943923/living-without-time
http://lifehacker.com/5927330/the-holy-trinity-of-inactivity-how-boredom-distraction-and-procrastination-are-vital-to-healthy-living
http://lifehacker.com/5949900/wonderful-things-happen-when-your-brain-is-empty
http://io9.com/5933423/the-right-way-and-wrong-way-to-let-your-mind-wander
http://lifehacker.com/5965826/seven-productivity-myths-debunked-by-science-and-common-sense

See also:

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On the ease of accepting stuff as "real" and "norm" and "traditional" when it's just arbitrary.

(I have a special fondness for origin stories that demonstrate how and when random things and beliefs have come to be - and how their "marketing" as something inherent or self-evident is being debunked in the process.)

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-ways-to-get-anyone-to-believe-clearly-fake-news-story/
http://www.cracked.com/article_19780_5-gender-stereotypes-that-used-to-be-exact-opposite.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_18510_6-supposedly-ancient-traditions-that-totally-arent_p2.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_19283_7-ancient-forms-mysticism-that-are-recent-inventions.html
http://www.historynet.com/the-fox-sisters-spiritualisms-unlikely-founders.htm

http://lifehacker.com/5867049/nine-stubborn-brain-myths-that-just-wont-die-debunked-by-science
http://io9.com/5959058/further-evidence-that-iq-does-not-measure-intelligence

See also: Faux Symbolism

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On work habits, tinkering and skill improvement

http://lifehacker.com/5974442/dont-be-an-expert-diy-is-all-about-the-end-product
http://lifehacker.com/5957937/give-yourself-permission-to-suck-its-the-only-way-to-learn
http://lifehacker.com/5946883/five-realizations-that-helped-me-write-regularly

http://positivesharing.com/2007/06/find-your-quitting-point/
http://sugru.com/manifesto?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=manifesto

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On the ever-important player-game-world relations.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/08/op-ed-why-photorealism-isnt-the-key-to-emotional-gaming-experiences/
http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/mechanics-as-metaphor-part-2
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6117-Photorealistic-Sociopathy
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6718-Only-The-Lonely

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On the learning process in general, how the mind works and develops, how education works and how it doesn't - and the elusive overlaps of all this.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-ways-high-school-makes-you-hate-reading/
http://www.cracked.com/article_18611_the-10-most-important-things-they-didnt-teach-you-in-school.html
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/09/if-you-spank-dont-console/
http://io9.com/5974256/overlyhonestmethods-is-the-postsecret-of-the-science-world-and-it-is-amazing
http://lifehacker.com/5943362/the-secret-to-being-self+taught-curiosity
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/08/at-what-point-can-i-say-ive-learned-a-language/
http://www.buzzfeed.com/virginmobilelive/20-students-that-totally-nailed-it-5l87?b=1?=crack

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The miscellaneous interesting stuff.

http://lifehacker.com/5953755/what-exactly-is-freedom-of-speech-and-how-does-it-apply-to-the-internet
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/9-b.html#5
http://io9.com/5971342/the-uncomfortably-common-practice-of-medicinal-cannibalism
http://io9.com/5966703/how-genitals-got-their-names-or-why-a-penis-is-called-a-prick
http://io9.com/5947818/the-power-of-armadillo-penises-why-more-scientists-should-tell-stories
http://www.shortpacked.com/2011/comic/book-13/05-the-death-of-snkrs/falseequivalence/
http://io9.com/5975489/a-chart-of-emotions-that-have-no-name-in-the-english-language

Thursday, 12 July 2012

Learning of my unoriginality...

... and discovering a world of wonders in the process. While still under the profound influence of having read Zero History, I was once toying around with one of my forum profiles. While trying to find short but definitive phrases to go with the username, I figured that my "genre of being" was best described by "ecopunk". Today, I was toying with the idea that what if I could add that aspect/ flavour/ facet to this place as well. And in the process found out that there already was such a place, fully dedicated to "that aspect".

I'm only starting to dig in, but the "real" Ecopunk site seems one helluva resource... source. Check them out!

ED: Here's another great post :) (The one about idiots and money, I mean.)

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