What Shall I Think About Today? Cognitive Surplus, Spend It Wisely

As a society gets more and more efficient, it's citizens have more time to relax, enjoy recreation, and also to think. Not everyone enjoys thinking, sometimes they like to vegetate and just watch the TV, or listen to music. That's fine too, and each individual in a free society is allowed to spend their extra time however they wish, doing whatever pleases them. That's a good thing, and it is nice to live in such an abundant society and civilization.

Now then, let's say you are an individual who likes to think, and maybe you are no Plato, Aristotle, or Socrates, but you like to exercise your mental muscle now and again. Often, we are engaged in thoughts that our leaders suggest we think about, the types of things they'd like us thinking on, for instance, starving Africans, future space colonies, green alternative energy, or perhaps some political venue that will help serve the powers that be. Still, I would submit to you that you should think about those things, which most interests you, and use your cognitive surplus for those endeavors.

Obviously, with 7 billion people on the planet we don't need everyone thinking about exactly the same things all of the time. It might be good for nationalism, or national unity, or it might be good for the global community to get everyone on the same page. Nevertheless, a society does best when its thoughts are diverse, when individuality sets in, without the overshadowing thought police. This is how we will win the future, and this is how we will propel innovation, taking our society to the next step. Meanwhile, we should be careful not to succumb to societal norms, political correctness, or merely decide to think like everyone else so we fit in.

Having extra brain power, and more time to think is an extremely valuable tool for a society which wishes to press on into the future. There is no telling what new inventions, innovations, and new concepts the human mind might come up with. There are unlimited numbers of combination's which can be applied, and unlimited areas of thoughts from academia, science, industry, humanity, philosophy, education, energy, resources, transportation, communication, computers, technology, art, politics, and business to be merged.

Why not use your cognitive surplus to do something good for mankind, to push the boundaries of thought, and take this game to a higher level. That is if you are able, and you must remember your brain works better when you use it, and the more you use it the better it works. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 24,300 articles will be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..

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Be Curious About Creativity

Have you ever wondered why humanity is so questioning? What an amazingly curious mind the artist and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci had to make the discoveries that kept his name in the spotlight 500 years after his death. The world would not have the technology to reach others over the internet without curious, creative people sharing knowledge.

We all do need a little support, and sometimes an escape from everyday life, to find the inner artist in this busy world. Getting more conscious about who we are personally takes a little self examination and lot of ongoing assessment. The secret, I feel, is to return to our childhood memories to find what inspired and fulfilled us them.'Curiouser and Curiouser' was what Alice exclaimed in her journey to Wonderland. We may all have something to learn from falling down a well into another way of looking at the world.

I recently had a very interesting group of curious artists gather in my art studio at Tallegalla for a workshop. That curiosity was a largest part of this weekend was very evident. Most had questions that related to their purpose in creating and their ongoing search for answers. Learning how others have researched and discovered can answer the many questions we all have about life...and art is after all life.

My own curiosity has lead to a rather largish library that I continue to add to at such a rate I need three minds to absorb what I want to read. Not only is self education essential, we need to find our tribe and curiosity will lead us to our creative destiny. However remaining motivated can be a hard call at times as creative people can be like boats tossed about in storms of life. There are several versions of a saying attributed to Babatunde Olatunj and I particularly like this version "The clock is running. Make the most of today as time waits for no man. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."

It is the mystery of life I find so interesting but it is today that is always going to be the best time to be educating the mind which is powerful and responsive to the best efforts to motivate and enrich us. Every day we can read something new, experiment, explore and best of all research what gives us passion. I found this alone to be the most inspiring of all the tools of creativity.

Lyne Marshall is an Australian artist and author of two books on art philosophy, Gleaner or Gladiator: The struggle to Create and Invisible Realities: Finding the Hidden Dimensions in Art. Lyne's blog on creativity is on http://www.lynemarshall.com.au/ and her art and books can be viewed on http://www.artclique.com.au/. All writing Copyright Lyne Marshall 2011

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Filipinos and Why I Bother to Write About My "Degenerative Neurologic Disease"

I am a doctor with young-onset Parkinson's disease. After my diagnosis 5 years ago at age 44 my life changed but my neurologist told me two things that stuck: "keep moving, " and, "make hay while the sun still shines." The first was a nod to exercise and to stay involved in life, and the second, "do it now." First I explored Asia, did a lot of writing and then, took an assignment from a US research firm in the Philippines. I spent two years there and learned a great deal about being happy. Filipinos were designated by a study in the British journal "The Economist" as the second happiest culture in the world. I took notice.

These were relatively poor people but each took a great deal of pride in whatever capacity they served whether it be in a job or as a family member. This was a place where maids ("ya-ya's") and fast food workers were no less happy, pleasant, or proud; and each treated their functions with no less importance than that of real estate tycoons and high level government officials. I met all of these and came back feeling that it was essential if I were to "keep moving" to rework my own purpose. I could no longer execute medical procedures with a slow unsteady right hand, and daytime sleepiness made a call schedule next to impossible. I needed to serve in some new capacity that stirred enough tireless passion to get me out of an indulgent sleepy malaise and back into life.

I had done a great deal of writing for my research and in logging my experiences during the time in the Philippines and at the suggestion of a close friend, a pediatrician who was enjoying my emails that chronicled my often insane time there, began writing about Parkinson's. Thus emerged my new mission and purpose: to utilize a love for writing and combine it with my medical knowledge.

I started to research and write and distill all the random information out there into a structure that I hoped would really educate people facing Parkinson either themselves, via a family member, or as a caregiver. That source needed to be constructed with good information easily digestible by anyone.

As part of that structure I wanted to create an online community of sharing. Thus Dopadoc's Parkinson's Journal has become a major focus. In it's rather short life I have asked almost every day, "How can I make it better, more interesting, more useful, and more interactive?

Regarding covering the actual field of Parkinson's disease, I dove head first into finding out what works, what might work, what's just plain Vodoo, what to expect, and how you and your loved ones can deal best with this condition. I want to share this knowledge with you and learn as much as I can from your input. I invite participation from, patients, doctors, family members, friends, researchers and anyone just interested in this condition and in finding better treatments and even a cure someday.

And guess what? Like the Filipino "ya-ya" maid or the owner of Philippine Air, I have found a worthy purpose for now and can say that despite everything, I feel blessed and happy!

Marshall Davidson, M.D.,aka. "Dopadoc," a physician who battles early-onset (age 44, 2005) Parkinson's disease. He maintains the blog "Dopadoc's Parkinson's Journal" at http://www.dopadoc.com/

To quote, " I am a doctor with Parkinson's Disease. My friends and professional colleagues find it ironic that during my medical training at Johns Hopkins and my research training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), I conducted award-winning brain research. Before ever suspecting I had Parkinson's I wrote books, articles and presentations about the brain. Adding to this irony is that one area of strong research interest was dopamine, the brain chemical missing in Parkinson's. After my diagnosis 5 years ago at age 44, I dove head first into finding out what works, what might work, what's just plain Voodoo, what to expect, and how you and your loved ones can deal best with this condition. I want to share this knowledge with you and learn as much as I can from your input. I invite participation from, patients, doctors, family members, friends, researchers and anyone just interested in this condition and in finding better treatments and even a cure someday."

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Hackers and Logic Bombs on Computer Systems - What About Logic Bombs on Humans?

A logic bomb computer virus is one which starts working and is self-triggered upon some event occurring, think of it as a hidden hot-key when you ask the computer to do something. At that point it executes various tasks, anything from deleting program files to deleting saved information. Worse, these logic bombs can be triggered by a negative event, something that does not occur as well, for instance if you fail to do something by a certain time, even if you don't know what that something is?

Now then, what about human logic bombs? Can they exist too? Yes, they do exist, and for those who study Freud you will immediately understand this, as some event triggers a certain type of behavior in the individual due to a very powerful imprintation of neurons in the person's past history or childhood. It can also happen in adults; think about PTSD for instance.

The other day I was discussing this with a PhD psychologist and Sociologist professor at Starbucks here near the University. And we got onto the topic of neurology and computers with regards to artificial intelligence, and our conversation progressed to a point where I asked a question; "What happens when a thinking computer is given a philosophical conundrum or circular argument? It cannot figure out the answer, but it would trigger it to search, reason, and it would get stuck on it, going in circles and unable to figure it out.

Indeed, I guess we can call this the ultimate logic bomb for an artificial intelligent computer. It wouldn't be the first time this happens, in humans it happens all the time with very intelligent individuals who study philosophy. They get to a point where they can't reason something, which leads them to a circular argument. Many past philosophers in history have come to these points and been unable to figure them out, and therefore they spend their entire lives dedicated to solving a simple mental problem. And they write thousands and thousands of pages on the topic and often do not come to an answer which is adequate.

Sometimes these philosophical conundrums are left to those of us in future periods. But what happens if this occurs with a thinking artificially intelligent computer? They would go around in circles and be of little value, searching their memory banks for every possible connection in all of their databases, trying to figure out the answer - never being able to reach any conclusion with 100% possibility. So if someone wanted to sabotage a future artificial intelligent computer, all they have to do is ask IT questions that cannot be figured out. Yes, that would be the ultimate logic bomb. Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 22,700 articles was a lot of work - because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off.

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A Story About Big Calabash

One day, an ancient Chinese philosopher, Hui Shi, was visiting his philosopher friend Zhuangzi. Hui Shi told Zhuangzi that the Calabash tree presented by his king bore a large Calabash fruit. The Calabash was too large to be used as a bottle like it usually would be. Hui tried to use it as water jar, but it was too heavy to carry when full of water. He cut it in half and tried to use it as a water ladle. Again, Hui found it was too big, and that it would not work. He could not come up with any other good ideas for its use. He decided that it was useless, and threw out it.

Zhuangzi looked at Hui shook his head, telling him that Hui did not know how to determine the value of things or how to use them. A cat is not as big as a bull, but it catches mice. A bull is not as fast as a cat, but it provides milk. Everything that exists in the world has value, characteristics, and purpose, regardless of its size. It was not the big Calabash that was useless. It was Hui's vision that made it useless. Zhuangzi continued, "If I were you, I would have cut it in half and made each half a boat. One could be gifted to your king as a token of appreciation. You could use the other to enjoy nature out on the West Lake."

Zhuangzi told him not to determine the value of things by size, appearance, or weight. He said everything that exists in the world has value, characteristics, meaning, and purpose. It is only humans who do not understand the value, characteristics, meanings, and purposes things.

This is where the story ends. The author sees more meaning behind the story. There are more interpretations between the lines. Zhuangzi, a naturalist and a philosopher, always took the position of upholding something natural, instead of artificially changing things based on human beings' selfish reasons. The author believes Zhuangzi is not just saying this about nature. His intention might be to extend this thinking to people. I wonder what readers would think if I replaced the above key sentences with: All the people who exist in the world are valuable, and have characteristics, meanings, and a purpose. Do not judge them by height, weight, appearance, personality, scholastic background, or behavior. If you say someone is useless, they are not the one who is useless; it is you who is the useless one.

Shaw Funami is an owner of "zhen international, inc.", known as a mentor for cross cultural relationship called "Fill the Missing Link". You can learn about his profile in Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/shaw.funami. Please feel free to contact him at "hisashi.funami@zhenintl.ws" or visit his business website. http://webtraffictoolbox.com/

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Thinking About Nature and Us

The stock market is still facing many ups and downs. The international community is not stable due to earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant damages in Japan. Despite the uncertainties in the economy and society, our lives continue. There is a middle school in the block next to our home. As a part of the park that they call "Green Road," there is a vacant land covered with grasses in the north side of the school. It looks like an idol land, but it used to look lovely and green, adding a breathing space in our neighborhood.

It was November last year when they started to build huge buildings on that vacant space. As construction went on, we found that they were constructing gymnasium buildings forming a part of the middle school. The buildings look stylish and elegant. However, I sometimes miss the sprawling green space that exist before they started to build these buildings.

This construction reminds me of an ancient Chinese myth. It is a story showing a naturalistic character of "Taoism." In the North Sea, there was a kingdom ruled by legalism. Its king's name was "Shuku." In the South Sea, there was a kingdom ruled by emotionalism. Its king's name was "Kotsu." There was a kingdom in the Central Sea. Its king's name was "Konton." The three kings often met in Konton's palace. King Konton did not have a fix body shape. He did not have eyes, ears, noses, and mouth. He looked like a cloud, which could not be touched.

Since Shuku and Kotsu had an excellent time in Konton's palace, they decided to give Konton a gift. They decided to give Konton eyes, ears, nose and a mouth. Despite the expectation of Shuku and Kotsu after they finished making holes for Konton, Konton died.

Konton is a Japanese words meaning 'Chaos'. According to the Japanese myth, Konton controls nature. Shuku means 'people who emphasize order'. Katsu means 'people who advocate the importance of human emotion'. Based on good will or human wisdom, if human beings change nature too much, it will nature to be destroyed. This myth teaches us it may not be smart to change nature too much. If we destroy nature, it destroys us directly or indirectly.

I personally believe building a new facility and buildings is a good change for the school, students and our neighbors. However, as you see what is happening with the Japanese nuclear power plant, human beings would never be able to predict what happens after they make a change. I hope this new development of our neighborhood middle school will not cause any destruction of nature, giving an adverse affect to our neighbors.

Shaw Funami is an owner of "zhen international, inc.", known as a mentor for cross cultural relationship called "Fill the Missing Link". You can learn about his profile in Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/shaw.funami. Please feel free to contact him at "hisashi.funami@zhenintl.ws" or visit his business website. http://webtraffictoolbox.com/

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