klnielsen

Michael,

To a confirmed uni-tasker this could be good news. At least something to stop those smug 'multi-taskers' in their tracks!

Maybe that legend that women are better at multi-tasking will also be burst.

One I know, used as proof of m-t, the fact that she could put on lipstick, and drive at the same time.

Yep, she's still alive.

Tony

Go read where a very eloquent woman, Kathy Sierra, rips multi-tasking a new orifice.

Creating Passionate Users: Multitasking Makes Us Stupid?

Avatar excitement kills cinema-goer

by "AFP"

ABC News

Jan 20, 2010

From the article:

A 42-year-old Taiwanese man with a history of high blood pressure has died of a stroke after watching a 3D screening of James Cameron's blockbuster Avatar.

. . .

Mr Kuo, who suffered from hypertension, was unconscious when he arrived at the Nan Men General Hospital.

. . .

"It's likely that the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms," the doctor said.

Mr Kuo died 11 days later from the brain haemorrhage.

. . .

Film blogging sites have reported complaints of headaches, dizziness, nausea and blurry eyesight from viewers of Avatar and other movies rich in 3D imagery.

Hmmmmmm...

Michael

Artifacts from film and video can trigger neurological symptoms in susceptible persons, much as the imperceptible flickering of fluorescent lights can. Before my cure really started working, I couldn't watch TV for more than about ten minutes because the interlacing would give me a disconnected, spaced out feeling along with headaches and anxiety.

See:

The Pokémon Seizure Incident

I'm currently in the process of reading Nathaniel Branden's writings, and I'm going through the 37-week cycle of sentence stems in Six Pillars. I was a bit put off by the "child self" thing, too; it reeked of the "inner child" nonsense that was flying around Santa Cruz while I was living there. I see the "child self" thing as being different, though--and I started getting it when he referred to the "opposite gender self" and others. I think it is a combination of a metaphor and a description of subsets of our personalities. It is presented in a role-playing aspect, especially in some of his exercises.

Hi David,

What type of software are you posting--free, shareware or proprietary, and for what platform? Do you need a storefront, or just publicity, and do you need or already have a repository?

I have a project up at Freshmeat. It is just for publicity. You need to have your package stored elsewhere, and they will provide a record page with a description and links for free. They exist to serve the *nix and PalmOS communities, so they may not be useful to you. Sourceforge may be useful if you are looking to attract developers, but it is only for open source projects so again it may or may not work out for you.

Here is my project, btw </shameless plug>

Religion and Objectivism involve two entirely different thinking processes. If religion is followed consistently, it demands more and more dogmatism. If Objectivism is followed consistently, it demands more and more independent thinking. It makes sense that someone attracted to religion would eventually gravitate toward fundamentalism, and that someone attracted to Objectivism would gravitate toward the open system, however they receive their initial exposure.

I haven't yet come across any discussion of excellent per se in my Oist readings, but it has been implicit in everything I have read. I think of it as a side effect of the dedicated pursuit of core values, or as a descriptor of success.

I have heard a saying along the lines of perfection being a path rather than a state. I think that as we continually progress we re-define our goals upward. Our visions of excellence are context dependent; the word always refers to the highest we are able to visualize under our present circumstances.

Stephen: Your post popped up while mine was in preview. Well said.

"I swear ... that I will never live for the sake of another man..." was I think Ayn Rand's most powerful disavowal of altruism.

There are things that Galt does not say in this statement - he doesn't say "I will never give anything, or do anything for an other". One-off actions aren't covered here; rather, it is the living for another's sake, on a continual basis, that matters.

Which is why the debates on charity/selfishness always miss the point, I feel.

Altruism is LIVING for others. (... or trying to, to the best of one's ability, and with little success, as Darrell pointed out.) It means seeking out their approval and sanction one's entire life. It's primary enemy is independence.

I've been studying individual altruists - the self-proclaimed ones, as well as the unconscious ones - as they have aged, and it's a terrible sight. The chickens finally come home to roost.

One sees how angry and bitter they become, when they are not getting the recognition they expect from other people come their way; when the universe does not grant them the wealth and happiness that should be their just reward. This is the cynical type, who were actually in altruism for 'selfish' reasons: give a little, get a lot.

Then, one sees the misery in those who have tried to honestly and consistently live by the dictates of altruism, and have failed to overcome the last remnant of their abused ego - guilt is their only reward, for not giving enough.

Is there anybody more self-hating, people-loathing, and unfeeling, than this person who glorifies pity and unselfishness? In fact, this is the very person who (ironically) can not love, respect, feel compassion and empathy, and can only feel envy, resentment,and coldly,calculating avarice, for the whole human race.

Altruism is so foreign to Man's fundamental identity, that it is a wonder it still survives as a 'virtue' - societally, and politically - it is the ultimate 'strawman' that could be knocked over with one finger.

The final irony, I believe, is that it is the Objectivist, who has sworn to live for his own sake, who is infinitely more capable of experiencing a deep consideration for others, than any altruist.

Tony

Well said, I agree.

It makes perfect sense that altruists are so toxic. It's a well known dynamic of abusive relationships that the abuser doesn't have a firm grip on where his/her self ends and the target begins. The target is not seen as a separate person. "She thinks he's growing out of her side" is how we describe it at my house.

Thanks, Michael. I hadn't heard that Chinese saying before, and it make sense. That's exactly why I'm here--to "shar[e] ideas, values and outlooks" and generally connect with people who will be a better influence on me than those I meet in "real" life. Plus work at getting over my cynicism, from the types that you mentioned.

Having a long term illness is isolating. It brings out the worst in people, both in the sick person and the bystanders (often in the doctors, too). Also I admit that judging all of human nature by what takes place on Linux forms isn't exactly fair.

Thanks again, Michael and Kat, for keeping this forum civilized.

Thanks, Bill. I just didn't want anybody to feel I'd dumped them.

... Others, especially the scarred veterans running about, know the habits of new members a tad too well. They come, they say hello, they post an article, they leave.

I don't post much because I don't consider myself to be qualified. I'm not even familiar with the core Objectivist works yet, let alone the works of other philosophers. I have zero debate skills and no brilliant insights other than intensely personal ones at this stage. I'm a rank beginner; I'm studying and learning, but it takes time, and there are other things on my plate too. Since my initial long post (which I'm not exactly proud of) I've figured out that I'm in over my head, and probably became a member for the wrong reasons despite lurking before doing so.

I definitely don't want to post for the wrong reasons. Opening your mouth just to get your voice out there is a recipe for disaster. As I learned from Linux forums, asking a question that can be answered by Reading The Fine Manual just wastes the scarred veterans' time, and the answer can always be found in The Fine Manual.

Maybe this is why the n00bs don't last, or at least, don't post?

Mr. Bissel, Mr. Biggers, Mr. Peron, Drs. Branden and everybody,

I am just grateful to have this book, thanks all. I don't care about the index or any other perceived problems, the value of having it to study outweighs all of that. Objectivism is really helping me get my life together and I am glad to have this work made accessible to me. There are always tradeoffs involved in getting a product out, and a little roughness is a lot better than not having it at all. If I come across a cultural reference I'm not familiar with there is always Google.

... the enduring, seductive, yet morally false myth of a Garden of Eden or lost paradise inhabited by noble savages. This myth has done no end of harm to humanity...

I spent a week in Hawaii recently, and despite having a good time I was kind of underwhelmed. My expectations of natural beauty had been blown out of proportion. I also felt this nagging unearned guilt about the native culture disappearing, although at the same time I identified these thoughts as racist. This clarified where my faulty premise came from.

This vastness is wonderful for our importance because of the opportunities it gives us to explore it, understand it, and hopefully, ultimately harness and use it.

Use the current position to bargain for another job in the same field, and leverage the hunt and any success obtained through it against the original employer.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

I am thankful for my cure, and for the independent, self-funded molecular biologist who found it.

http://www.trevormarshall.com/papers.htm

The cure passed muster in the cohort trial thanks to the initiative of intelligent, self-responsible patients who did their homework and insisted on their treatment of choice. I am very thankful to and for these people, and for those who oppose socialized medicine, because this type of innovation will be stopped cold when patients are forced to accept a mediocre "standard of care" dictated by a central authority with a political agenda.

I am thankful for my husband, my home, my computer, my stack of books, my yarn stash, and my kitty cat.

Fakes from China are a huge and persistent problem, not just with coins. Electronics, jewelry, fashion, and horrifyingly, pharmaceuticals (to name but a few) have been glaring concerns for some time. It seems that there are some people in the world who don't just value appearance over substance; they simply don't have a concept of substance.

I've been fortunate enough to be able to avoid my relatives (both real and pseudo) ever since I became an adult. I've got a few ripe stories to tell from my teenage years, though. For instance, the year that my half sister and her husband were parenting me (I was about fifteen), I got lectured about greed and ego all day. They told me, among other things, that I didn't care about other people because when I didn't wish a Merry Christmas "for everybody in the whole world."

Of course I didn't have a clearly formed belief system at the time, and none of us had heard of Rand, so it was a sense of life thing. The result was that I came to the conclusion that altruists are crackpots.

Hi nicholasair,

At the time, my friend and I had a techno/ rap group. My dad had me sign a contract and made me promise to stop pursueing music in order to live with him and for him to pay for my private school. I said yes and stopped playing music.

What you're describing sounds, at least on the surface, like the dynamic between Peter Keating and his mother in The Fountainhead. He wanted to be a painter, but she pushed him into architecture. She manipulated and controlled him. He allowed it to happen and in the end, lost his soul.

I think it would have been reasonable for your father to communicate with you about your interests, but not to dictate them to you or pressure you. It does sound like there was a lot more going on, lack of communication being part of it.

I have no idea if I am talented at it

Everybody sucks when they're first starting out. It takes time, dedication, awareness and self-honesty to tell if a certain avenue of exploration is working for you. Sounds like you didn't get to do the necessary work to answer that question the first time around, but you're doing it now. Good for you.

I just wrote the lyrics and did the drums.

Don't trivialize drums and lyrics. That's exactly Neal Peart's job, and he's done quite well for himself. Maybe you've internalized some of your father's attitudes.

Hi driven!

You and I are in much the same place, except that I am returning. I am getting so much out of my current second reading of The Fountainhead that it might as well be my first.

I hope the philosophy is as empowering to you as it is turning out to be for me. Good luck.

KellyN:

Welcome to OL. Student? Working or business owning slave to Obiwan's marxist juggernaut?

Adam

Hi Adam!

Nope, currently just a wannabe slave, writing Linux programs in my bedroom, successfully battling a long term illness. Student of Objectivism, absolutely.

It is good to see the word successfully with the rest of the sentence.

What have you read by Ayn? Also, what was the book or event that broke the ice. It is kinda like the original Kennedy assassination in 1963 wherein everyone remembers exactly where they were and who they were with!

Adam

I read everything I could find in the local bookstores, mostly the Big 4 and a bunch of the nonfiction, but that was over 20 years ago and I was pretty young. The Fountainhead was the first one. I was in the store where my husband/then boyfriend was working when I started it. The dedication in the Rush album 2112 was what got me interested. I very deeply regret having let my interest wane.

Currently, I've just started Atlas but I think I'll put it aside for The Fountainhead--when I can tear myself away from The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem

KellyN:

Welcome to OL. Student? Working or business owning slave to Obiwan's marxist juggernaut?

Adam

Hi Adam!

Nope, currently just a wannabe slave, writing Linux programs in my bedroom, successfully battling a long term illness. Student of Objectivism, absolutely.

7 million copies of AS have been sold in the US, the population is 300 million, 75% are adults (all figures approximate and rounded). If 25% of the adult population has read AS, then each copy has been read by (on average) 8 different people, not considering the fact that some readers are now dead (e.g. the author). Fishy?

Only partially. Paperbacks get passed around a lot.

Hi Bryce,

That's an excellent question, thanks for asking.

I capitulate to a spouse. I am ill and dependent on him for emotional connection (what I get of it) and financial support. He hasn't made any (possibly idle) divorce threats since I started recovering, in fact, he's really come around these past few years; but that trump card of his is always in the back of my mind.

My coping strategy primarily consists of working toward personal empowerment, with the goal of eventually shifting the power balance. First, I work on my health. The cure for my illness was found a little over five years ago, and I was fortunate that my doctor was willing to administer it and that my spouse was willing to tolerate the lifestyle interventions it required (it took a lot of willfulness on my part on both counts). I was a subject in the cohort study (it is about to enter Phase III trials) and I have about 80% of my life back so far.

Second, I work on my self esteem. Being dependent and having my ambitions frustrated is damaging enough in and of itself. But I have the kind of fatigue-based "syndrome" that is often mistaken for something between depression and outright excuse making, and the loss of friends, disrespect of my spouse, and so forth left me feeling I couldn't deal with life. I lost all control of the situation as a result. Add to that the fact that the illness directly impacts brain functioning, and I'm sure you can imagine the experience I have had with the consequences of a disordered mind. Nathaniel Branden's books have helped me immmesurably. I do some sentence completion exercises every day.

Third, I work on my marketable skills. I know that someday I will finally fulfill my dream of having a career, not just a job, and every effort I make toward it makes me feel more human. Not to mention that, since this household lives by the "golden rule," my financial independence would give me the one thing I need most--the clout to call his bluff. So I work on my code and study every day and make sure I get the time to do it.

My secondary strategy consists of, as loath as I am to admit it, rationalizations. Those take over where my strength ends. I remind myself that I chose the lesser of evils and that my ultimate failure would help no one, not me and not him. I also promise myself that once I get through this, I will be to some degree the one in charge, and both our lives will be better for it. I know that sounds arrogant, but it fits with our established patterns. I daydream about the future too, but I try not to give in to too much of that.