Monday, March 30, 2009
A Prelude
While I do not have time at the moment, there are two concepts that I wish to address at some time soon, hopefully tomorrow. These concepts are actually two people, one of which I know personally, and the other I do not, but they are somewhat related conceptually and have both been subjects of my recent thoughts. This is just for my own remembrance (and for whoever else may feel the need to read it) and will be elaborated on as soon as I am able to do so.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Points For Effort
While driving tonight I was considering the concept of effort. "Points for effort" is an expression that I hear from time to time, and it occurred to me...why would someone get praise for something they didn't accomplish? It's one thing to say "Oh it's ok, you'll get it next time" as a way of lightening the disheartening mood of not accomplishing or winning something, but the idea of praising for it seems a bit dangerous to me.
One idea, or at least in a situation where it is a parent and a child, the parent may give the child more credit than they deserve as a means of comfort. While I'm not saying not to comfort the child (in fact I believe that they should be comforted) this praise for failure may lull the child into a false sense of security, and they may end up believing that failure isn't so bad, which could lead to a rude awakening later in life. I'm not saying that any of this is probable (or improbable), but simply that it is possible that failure in our society is being downplayed in order to shelter the feelings of our children.If failure is downplayed, and our future generations believe that failure is simply a signal to press the reset button, then this issue may need to be ironed out.
After rereading this, it seems like I'm calling for an end to giving "points for effort", which is not what I'm trying to say at all. Giving praise can motivate a child, or anyone really, to put forth more effort in future attempts, and may give them the boost they need to exceed. We just can't give so much praise for failure that a child feels that failure on a larger scale is something that does not warrant concern, because then they will not be motivated to succeed in successive attempts, or may not even make successive attempts.
I believe that everything does happen for a reason, or at least that we should think that way when considering events. If a task is not accomplished the first time, then it serves as more of a motivation to complete it the second time.
This musing seems somewhat odd to me as I read it back, but I'm quite tired.
One idea, or at least in a situation where it is a parent and a child, the parent may give the child more credit than they deserve as a means of comfort. While I'm not saying not to comfort the child (in fact I believe that they should be comforted) this praise for failure may lull the child into a false sense of security, and they may end up believing that failure isn't so bad, which could lead to a rude awakening later in life. I'm not saying that any of this is probable (or improbable), but simply that it is possible that failure in our society is being downplayed in order to shelter the feelings of our children.If failure is downplayed, and our future generations believe that failure is simply a signal to press the reset button, then this issue may need to be ironed out.
After rereading this, it seems like I'm calling for an end to giving "points for effort", which is not what I'm trying to say at all. Giving praise can motivate a child, or anyone really, to put forth more effort in future attempts, and may give them the boost they need to exceed. We just can't give so much praise for failure that a child feels that failure on a larger scale is something that does not warrant concern, because then they will not be motivated to succeed in successive attempts, or may not even make successive attempts.
I believe that everything does happen for a reason, or at least that we should think that way when considering events. If a task is not accomplished the first time, then it serves as more of a motivation to complete it the second time.
This musing seems somewhat odd to me as I read it back, but I'm quite tired.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
A Musing on Music and Thought
Well I've been wanting to make one of these for a while now, and I finally got around to it. Still getting the hang of it...hopefully I'll catch on.
I've been listening to a lot of Devin Townsend lately. At the very least, he's an amazingly talented musician and an overall genius. His solo project (The Devin Townsend Band) is music that is so unique and eclectic, and I couldn't even dream of the different types of music he listens to in order to develop such amazing stuff.
It would be quite awesome to be able to think on such a level that I'd be able to write a complete work of music on my own. To be able to think in terms of every instrument, how they all work, how they all sound independently and together, all of that just blows my mind.
To his credit or discredit (I'm not sure which, in terms of making the music) , he was on drugs for a while. I'd like to think he could make that amazing type of music without being under the influence of some substance, but I guess I'll see once his new project debuts this summer.
I think it's safe to say that all positive actions are done better when sober, or at least all that I can think of. Not to say that we should all live in permanent sobriety, but all progress is best when the mind is in its purest state. Some might argue that the mind works better when in an altered state, and I can't honestly refute that, but in terms of purity of thought, sobriety wins. After all, drunk words are sober thoughts, which implies that the physical expression of these thoughts is more likely when under the influences, but the thoughts are still present when sober.
I'm not fully sure how this relates to music...if maybe the mind can conceive (or dream of?) music when pure but expresses it better when under influence? To me that seems flawed, because there are plenty of sober musicians out there, but I guess there's always the question of whether they'd be better if they had their mind unnaturally altered. Personally, I feel like if the mind is pure, the thoughts are pure, and therefore the music is pure as well. The addition of outside influence may as well be using another mind entirely, because if it really does spark new or altered thoughts, they were not that person's pure thoughts anyway...OR, if we are applying the "drunk words are sober thoughts" principle, then the influential substance merely gives the person the courage or outlet to express the thoughts that have been present the whole time. If that's true, then the person, the musician included, only needs to be honest about their thoughts to gain access to the full power of their mind, and has no use for the influential substance, or at least this use is void. Sorry Bob Marley. Sure this is a lot more difficult than Bobby's alternative, but I feel (and I'm sure many will disagree) that this difficult way would also be much more fulfilling.
This makes the whole idea of being fully in touch with the self seem extremely easy (which it definitely isn't), but at least it's a start. If we aren't afraid of our own thoughts (or of what other people will think of them) , then it seems that we can be much more knowledgeable about ourselves, our thoughts, and the rest of the world.
PARALYZED, TERRORIZED,
IN MY EYES I'VE ALWAYS FALLEN
END THIS LINE, ENDLESS LIE
ENDLESSLY SO PIXILLATE ME
PARALYZED, TERRORIZED,
IN MY EYES I'VE ALWAYS FALLEN
END THIS LINE, ENDLESS LIE
ENDLESS LINES BUT STILL I'VE FALLEN
-Pixillate, Devin Townsend
I've been listening to a lot of Devin Townsend lately. At the very least, he's an amazingly talented musician and an overall genius. His solo project (The Devin Townsend Band) is music that is so unique and eclectic, and I couldn't even dream of the different types of music he listens to in order to develop such amazing stuff.
It would be quite awesome to be able to think on such a level that I'd be able to write a complete work of music on my own. To be able to think in terms of every instrument, how they all work, how they all sound independently and together, all of that just blows my mind.
To his credit or discredit (I'm not sure which, in terms of making the music) , he was on drugs for a while. I'd like to think he could make that amazing type of music without being under the influence of some substance, but I guess I'll see once his new project debuts this summer.
I think it's safe to say that all positive actions are done better when sober, or at least all that I can think of. Not to say that we should all live in permanent sobriety, but all progress is best when the mind is in its purest state. Some might argue that the mind works better when in an altered state, and I can't honestly refute that, but in terms of purity of thought, sobriety wins. After all, drunk words are sober thoughts, which implies that the physical expression of these thoughts is more likely when under the influences, but the thoughts are still present when sober.
I'm not fully sure how this relates to music...if maybe the mind can conceive (or dream of?) music when pure but expresses it better when under influence? To me that seems flawed, because there are plenty of sober musicians out there, but I guess there's always the question of whether they'd be better if they had their mind unnaturally altered. Personally, I feel like if the mind is pure, the thoughts are pure, and therefore the music is pure as well. The addition of outside influence may as well be using another mind entirely, because if it really does spark new or altered thoughts, they were not that person's pure thoughts anyway...OR, if we are applying the "drunk words are sober thoughts" principle, then the influential substance merely gives the person the courage or outlet to express the thoughts that have been present the whole time. If that's true, then the person, the musician included, only needs to be honest about their thoughts to gain access to the full power of their mind, and has no use for the influential substance, or at least this use is void. Sorry Bob Marley. Sure this is a lot more difficult than Bobby's alternative, but I feel (and I'm sure many will disagree) that this difficult way would also be much more fulfilling.
This makes the whole idea of being fully in touch with the self seem extremely easy (which it definitely isn't), but at least it's a start. If we aren't afraid of our own thoughts (or of what other people will think of them) , then it seems that we can be much more knowledgeable about ourselves, our thoughts, and the rest of the world.
PARALYZED, TERRORIZED,
IN MY EYES I'VE ALWAYS FALLEN
END THIS LINE, ENDLESS LIE
ENDLESSLY SO PIXILLATE ME
PARALYZED, TERRORIZED,
IN MY EYES I'VE ALWAYS FALLEN
END THIS LINE, ENDLESS LIE
ENDLESS LINES BUT STILL I'VE FALLEN
-Pixillate, Devin Townsend
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