Tag Archives: behavior

Abstracted Fear

June 9, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Priming Fear

How we interpret ‘fear’

Fear is an emotional response to threats and danger. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of pain. Fear can be described with different terms in relation to the degree of fear that is experienced. It varies from mild caution to extreme phobia and paranoia. Fear is related to a number of additional cognitive and emotional states including worry, anxiety, terror, horror, panic, and dread. As an individual emotional state, fear can affect the unconscious mind, where it can become manifested in the form of nightmares. Fear may also be experienced within a larger group or social network. In this way, personal fears are compounded by social influence to become mass hysteria – exactly what the media does. So I thought it would be fitting to show some several emotions and feelings that produce fear and how the media uses these tactics to deliver news:

Loneliness

by lonelypierot

Life seems to be about connections and relationships with family, friends, co-workers, lovers. The media does a good job of promoting this basic human ‘need’ of ‘not being lonely’ – with relationship studies, tips, and tricks.

Aggression

by Uribaani

Always makes for a good news stories; news channels love showing protestors clashing with police, protestors getting arrested, throwing rocks – makes the protestors seem like the only way they can vent their frustration is through angry methods.

Uncertainty

by Silvair

Lou Dobbs is classic for this, he will say something like “China just increase their defense budget by X amount of dollars”, and then questions their motive for doing such – creating uncertainty in the mind of the viewer of what China may be planning to do. When news channels report stories that seem to be very vague, they are almost doing it so the viewer can piece together the ‘implied correlation’, they create casual dots that force the viewer to draw the connections.

Conspiracy

by b0nkers
News channels always love a good conspiracy story because it allows the viewers imagination to run wild. Imagine, just saying “talks were held between government officials from Iran and North Korea”, the automatic response thought turns to negative thoughts of weapons of mass destruction – when it could be trade.

Only through education, enlightenment, and empowerment can we see through the ‘fear’ and face reality.

.:: LiBM ::.

Health, Social

tan(007) – The ISO Dated Shell Toes

May 29, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Year/Month/Day, a drag, Adidas

Not to go on a tangent but …

Year/Month/Day
There exists the ISO: The International Standards Organization. There primary role is to place standards for certain processes, services, and products. In the insurance, medical, financial, and educational fields there are thousands of errors that occur due to the misreading and/or misunderstanding of Date fields. For the date fields they can go Year/Month/Day, Day/Month/Year, Month/Day/Year, and with the latter two, you can only really know the format if the Month/Day or Day/Month has a number greater than 12. And every organization has their own date format – why? Could there not be a standard universal agreed upon format that everyone followed? For some, its always a mental game of trying to figure out what the format is, and its just really annoying and unnecessary.

Dragging Feet
In the literal sense. I hate when people at work or the mall or the street are walking and drag their feet on the ground. They make a unique annoying sound due to their lazy limbs not being able to take full steps off the ground. Is it really that hard to take your punk a– feet off the ground and walk properly? These lames, man, you can hear coming a mile down the road as the graze, rub their feet barely off the ground – you know if you had somewhat decent shoes, you would take more pride and conserve the grip on the sole for your shoes. Chumps.

Shell Toe Adidas
This will be quick and sweet. Adidas makes some very simple and clean shoes, I have several pairs that I have accumulated over the years – such as the shell toe (I have at least 3 pairs, all different colors). But why are Adidas shoes designed for the flat-footed individual? Can anyone explain to me the advantages of that? The advantages of designing a shoe that many people do not fit? The natural curvature of the foot is arced and rounded, not flat. I don’t have any more to rant about concerning this; Puma, Nike, Reebok all have shoes that are designed for the foot’s natural arc, and I don’t know of them to have any flat-footed shoes.

.:: LiBM ::.

Cre8ive Abstract, Logic, Social

Hypervigilant creative people

May 12, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Hypervigilance

a hinderance or an accelerant?

To all blend DJ’s, abstract artists, digital designers, application program developers, fiction writers, and like-minded individuals; hypervigilance, which you may interpret as paranoia, needs to be realized, channeled, and understood appropriately for your forward momentum. Growing up, I am sure we can all recall those kids that were weird, dressed funny, socially were out of place, but they excelled in the arts; paintings, drawings, molding, et cetera. A possible reason for this is having hypervigilance, which can be described as “an enhanced state of sensory sensitivity accompanied by an exaggerated intensity of behaviors whose purpose is to detect threats. Hypervigilance is also accompanied by a state of increased anxiety which can cause exhaustion. Other symptoms include: abnormally increased arousal, a high responsiveness to stimuli and a constant scanning of the environment for threats”. So in the structural definition, a hypervigilant person can be likened to one who is very paranoid about themselves, their surroundings, and exaggerate subtle environment cues as threats to their own safety.

Causality to the Creative

So if this sounds like you, don’t worry, its even better if you are somewhat creative as researchers have correlated links between hypervigilant people and creativity, a study in the September 2003 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that the brains of creative people appear to be more open to incoming stimuli from the surrounding environment. A University of Toronto press release noted, “Other people’s brains might shut out this same information through a process called ‘latent inhibition’ – defined as an animal’s unconscious capacity to ignore stimuli that experience has shown are irrelevant to its needs. “Through psychological testing, the researchers showed that creative individuals are much more likely to have low levels of latent inhibition. “This means that creative individuals remain in contact with the extra information constantly streaming in from the environment,” says co-author and University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson.

Benefit for you

It appears that reduced latent inhibition can be beneficial for creativity as decreased latent inhibition may make an individual more likely to see connections that others may not notice. This may explain why so many creative individuals partake in solitary acts; it fosters inspiration and creativity by absorbing environmental stimuli. Or how you may have some friends that will comment and be able to talk about the strangest and peculiar details of life. However, with all this sensory stimulation, one can be overwhelmed – which in some cases, can lead one to madness. But interestingly enough, Einstein, Newton, and other creative individuals that have enhanced mankind were labeled as ‘genius’, but many said that they bordered on the line of madness and insanity. Many times, I always thought I was a genius or maybe I was just crazy … I am sure many of the hypervigilant folk can relate.

And now, onto the creative art

Sources:
http://highlysensitive.org/highly-sensitive-people-latent-inhibition-and-creativity/
http://your-austin-dwi.com

Health, Social

Phases of the Migraine

April 21, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Phases of the Migraine

Different phases of pulsating pain
Phases of the Migraine

The Yuppy, Nerban, bum, herb, dude, trick may differ in their values and characteristics, but they all are exposed to mental strains – the stress of the world, mixed with a lack of sleep, with a sprinkle of annoying mofo’s, can be the recipe for concurrent migraines. You know what a migraine is; the heavy feeling in your head, the throbbing, occurs when you really don’t need it – when you have to focus on an important task, when you are in the company of loved ones, or when you are at work. Migraines have the ability to affect our mood, and subsequently our behavior. Upon reading, I found out that there are different phases of migraines that can attack us:

Prodrome phase
Prodromal symptoms occur in 40–60% of migraineurs (migraine sufferers). This phase may consist of altered mood, irritability, depression or euphoria, fatigue, yawning, excessive sleepiness, craving for certain food (e.g. chocolate), stiff muscles (especially in the neck), constipation or diarrhea, increased urination, and other visceral symptoms. These symptoms usually precede the headache phase of the migraine attack by several hours or days, and experience teaches the patient or observant family how to detect that a migraine attack is near.

Aura phase
For the 20–30% of individuals who suffer migraine with aura, this aura comprises focal neurological phenomena that precede or accompany the attack. They appear gradually over 5 to 20 minutes and generally last fewer than 60 minutes. The headache phase of the migraine attack usually begins within 60 minutes of the end of the aura phase, but it is sometimes delayed up to several hours, and it can be missing entirely. Symptoms of migraine aura can be visual, sensory, or motor in nature.

Pain phase
The typical migraine headache is unilateral, throbbing, moderate to severe and can be aggravated by physical activity. Not all of these features are necessary. The pain may be bilateral at the onset or start on one side and become generalized, and usually alternates sides from one attack to the next. The onset is usually gradual. The pain peaks and then subsides, and usually lasts between 4 and 72 hours in adults and 1 and 48 hours in children. The frequency of attacks is extremely variable, from a few in a lifetime to several times a week, and the average migraineur experiences from one to three headaches a month. The head pain varies greatly in intensity.

Postdrome phase
The patient may feel tired, have head pain, cognitive difficulties, “hungover”, gastrointestinal symptoms, mood changes and weakness. Some people feel unusually refreshed or euphoric after an attack, whereas others note depression and malaise. Often, some of the minor headache phase symptoms may continue, such as loss of appetite, photophobia, and lightheadedness. For some patients, a 5 to 6 hour nap may reduce the pain, but slight headaches may still occur when standing or sitting quickly. Normally these symptoms go away after a good night’s rest.

Now the remedy part to ‘alieve’ migraines, I usually go with the common-sense theorem; don’t do the things that are taxing to your body (i.e. not sleeping well, not eating properly, etc.), but that is better said than done – especially with the ambitious and simple-minded alike. There are the over the counter drugs like Aspirin and Tylenol, but I am not really a proponent for drugs because though they may help, one may develop a dependency on it that may be detrimental. And further, one is not solving the precipitating problem, but just allowing a mechanism to cope. Thus, the experts suggest that one way to significantly lower the frequency of migraines is to do physical activity for at least 15 minutes a day – its funny, it seems that excursive/vitality is the remedy to most ailments, yet we never find time to do so, and that is why a good 2/3+ of the U.S. population is obese – go figure. Sexual activity is also another viable way to decrease migraines – I am sure the fellas will subscribe to that … and it may even lead to an increase in men reporting migraines.

.:: LiBM ::.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migraines#Abdominal_migraine

Interrogative, Logic, Relationships

Uncanny Flashbulb memories

April 12, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Uncanny Flashbulb memories

A flashbulb memory is a memory created in great detail during a personally significant event, often a shocking event of national or international importance. These memories are perceived to have a “photographic” quality. The term was coined by Brown and Kulik, who found highly emotional memories (e.g. hearing bad news) were often vividly recalled, even some time after the event.

Now of course we all can recall where we were when our loved one’s died, birth of our children, Princess Di dying, Sept 11, 2001 Terrorists attacks; pretty much any monumental event throughout history – we have an uncanny ability to recall exactly what we were doing when we learned of such information. The memory is usually very clear and precise, which makes me wonder/wish why I can’t recall other things that were pivotal in my development. I am sure you all can relate that you wish you could recall things more clearly because it would either help your current situation at the extreme, and at the minimal, it would put a smile on your face – either or, it would give you more understanding.

So here are what we probably all wish were flashbulb memories:

The first time we got our mack on

The first time we realized someone was flirting with us

First time we realized that we can tell when someone is talking B.S.

Too bad we can’t create our own original flashbulb memories …

.:: LiBM ::.

Logic

React or Respond?

March 31, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Reaction vs. Responding

Spectrum of reasoning

I was listening to some talk show podcast, and they were debating the pros and cons of reacting vs. responding; at first I thought that they were pretty much the same in definition; a course of action after an event, but upon further research, the conceps are evolved. A reaction can be likened upon an impulsive action focused on a narrow part of the overall situation, usually to the exclusion of larger goals and objectives. Whereas a response can be defined as a wiser course of action that considers the complexities of people and circumstances; responses aims to accomplish goals based on a more through understanding of the whole situation.

Thus, it is safe to say that responding should be the ideal course of response for us mortals, however I believe, and I am sure that many of you probably agree, that we tend to react more than we respond. We fly off the handle, don’t take time to carefully think about the gravity of situations, and our reactions cause tension, animosity, and hate – from others. To give a medical analogy, consider a patient; the patient goes in to their Doctor for a follow-up visit – let’s say that the patient has improved since the last visit, the Doctor will say that your body is ‘responding’ to the treatment/drug. Whereas, if the patient visits the Doctor, and the patient is sick, the Doctor will say that their body is ‘reacting’ to some virus. Thus, this concept of reacting vs. responding can be compared to a negative vs. positive contrast or even further, it can be compared to degrees of reasoning. Many people in your lives who are hot-headed, easily tempered, it would be safe to say react to situations; while those who take time to deliberate the pros and cons, look at the glass both half-full and half-empty, are probably ones to respond to situations.

The classic and most modern example of reaction vs. respond is when President Obama ‘sonned’ a White House reporter in March 2009 when Obama was asked why he didn’t react sooner regarding the AIG fiasco; Obama replied “I like to know what I am talking about before I give a response”.

Take notes.

.:: LiBM ::.

Relationships, Social

Classic Introverts

March 27, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Classic Introverts

Bliss in solitary?

Does this sound like you? According to WikiP, this is a definition of an ‘Introvert’:

Introversion is “the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one’s own mental life”. Introverts tend to be more reserved and less assertive in social situations. They often take pleasure in solitary activities such as reading, writing, drawing, and using computers. The archetypal artist, writer, sculptor, composer, and inventor are all highly introverted. An introvert is likely to enjoy time spent alone and find less reward in time spent with large groups of people, though they tend to enjoy interactions with close friends. They prefer to concentrate on a single activity at a time and like to observe situations before they participate. Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too much stimulation from social gatherings and engagement. They are more analytical before speaking.

Introversion is not the same as shyness. Introverts choose solitary over social activities by preference, whereas shy people avoid social encounters out of fear.

Here is a list of some popular Introverts that you wouldn’t think were such:

Non-Entertainment
Thomas Edison, inventor
Sir Alfred Hitchcock, film director
Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president
Bill Gates, software pioneer

Entertainment
Michael Jordan, basketball player and celebrity
Jim Carrey, actor
Angelina Jolie, actress
Julia Roberts, actress
Gwyneth Paltrow, actress
Clint Eastwood, actor/director
Charles Schulz, Peanuts cartoonist

I think I would classify myself as a classic introvert, but that doesn’t mean that myself and others are ‘anti-social’; we value our own solidarity more than our willingness to associate with others. And its not that introverts have nothing to say, we only speak when we have something to say; just like Obama schooled the White House Reporter in late March ’09 when responding to a question about why he didn’t react fast enough to the AIG execs bonus outrage, he responded “I like to know what I’m talking about first before I give a comment”.

Now I must get back to writing, reading, and using computers and such …
Lol

.:: LiBM ::.

Sources: Wikipedia.com/introversion

Logic, Popular Culture

That gets a ‘pass’ … really?

March 23, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Really? That gets a ‘pass’?

Social Causes for Alarms that are not alarms

I like how we as a society, are very upset and vocal at such news stories and figures like the AIG fiasco; where after billions and billions of bailout money, and causing this economic meltdown, AIG gives out millions of dollars in bonuses – and the public is outraged. I am sure many of us want to go to the barn and get pitch forks and burn down the financial institution; this is an example of acceptable rage and anger toward an institution and/or individual. Essentially, the public doesn’t want AIG to get away with this behaviour or ‘get a pass’; like, oh ya, that is acceptable behaviour, because you know, they are AIG. That logic is not flying, so thinking about that, there are many examples of where some people, situations, events are ‘getting a pass’; the real meat & potatoes of such newsworthy events are not being reported or contested.

For example, this whole ‘Chrianna’ issue (Chris Brown & Rihanna) is finally getting around to talking about relationship abuse, but not enough dialogue is going on about the effects of witnessing or being the victim of childhood abuse – as those that witness abuse growing up, are more likelier to abuse their spouse when they are adults (i.e. Chris Brown).

Snoop Dogg

One of the game’s most influential rappers, a pop culture icon, but let’s be real – how is a self glorified pimp being able to go on Martha Stewart? Snoop has produced successful porn videos, rolls with Bishop Don Juan, smokes copious amount of marijuana, and he gets to speak at the 2009 Nation of Islam march? Its like America said, “Oh, its just Snoop Dogg, that is his thing”, which would lead some to suggest that since Snoop has been presenting his image for over 15 years or so; his longetivity of his image grants acceptance. I mean, I ain’t hating on Snoop, but I can’t believe that he gets a ‘pass’ in this ‘politically correct’ society, he has even been on the ‘The View’ – the most liberal ultra-feminist show.

Snoop on the ‘View’

Dr. Phil/Oprah

Encouraging weight loss is a noble idea, really. Americans are the most obese nation on the planet, I mean I live in Canada, and whenever I am in Anywhere, U.S.A., a small drink size, looks like a large to me. However, in all persuasive messages coming from a communicator, credibility is important – in terms of weight loss, Dr. Phil, Oprah, are not credible. People are more likely to believe someone, believe the message of what they are saying, if such communicator embodies the traits to which they are expressing.

Lil Wayne kissing Baby

How can the ‘greatest rapper alive’ get a ‘pass’ for kissing another man? Remember when he kissed Baby, and his justification was that Baby is like his father, but even if you talk to most Fathers that have sons, they stop kissing their sons after a certain age … well before puberty. In a realm like hip-hop, that is very No-Homo, the hip-hop community has seem to given a ‘pass’ to Wayne, really? Maybe Canibus was right when he talked about the Gay Rapper wrecking havoc on the game. Talk about getting hoodwinked, and now Wayne is supposedly the ‘greatest rapper alive’ with his drug, syrup infested raps.

Kudos to Jon Stewart who recently scolded CNBC for being complicit in this global financial meltdown, he didn’t let them get a ‘free’ pass, but it may be telling of media when someone who is a comedian, is really handling hard-hitting stories that real journalists should be investigating. Some things seem out of context to me at times, and we sensationalize the WRONG aspects of a story or an event.

.:: LiBM ::.

Entertainment, Hip-Hop, Logic

Artists’ Emo Energy

March 9, 2009 d dot b 1 Comment

Emotional Energy

Ever wonder why you are just attracted to a certain entertainer? Even if they have lacklustre skills? Above average skills? One of the key components that one can rock to a ‘Soulja Boy’ and a Kanye West, is the fact that these artist’ bring something more than lyrics and beats – emotional energy. Really it is emotions that is transformed into energy, that is then absorbed by the audience. When you get chills after hearing a song by Kanye or Tupac, its partly because the emotions that they breathed on the track was so energetic, potent, that it sent a chill down your body. When Soulja Boy yells ‘Youuuu’, you know that you gotta move; these artists’ energy, through songs, brings you INTO the song so that you can experience what they are saying. You get the vantage point of the artist, Tupac brings you to the Oakland blocks, Kanye takes you on an acid trip in hip-hop electro music, and Rick Ross takes you on a ride in Dade County. Once I understood the concept of emotional energy, it built my ideal that there is a reason why certain artists exceed:

Busta Rhymes

Busta Rhymes
One of hip-hop’s best live performances

Papoose

Papoose
Lyrically gifted; very potent MC, but will never go anywhere because his bars lack feelings

Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli
A grassroots, social minded MC, very lyrical, but lacks emotional energy.

Kanye West

Kanye West
Pretty much the emotional energy of a Busta Rhymes, taking down a notch, and the lyrical skills of a Talib; the Louis Vutton Don gets it in; even though he is very arrogant.

Canibus

Canibus
Was very hot in the late 90’s with mindblowing lyrics, but lacked energy to sustain the masses

You know, it is kinda funny that maybe emotional energy can be tied to the overall intelligence of an audience; for example, very lyrical rappers rarely make it to superstar status because it takes a higher intellect to understand their lyrics. Yes, you may be saying that Lupe and Kanye are the exception, but these artists only broke the fold with emotionally charged singles – Lupe’s ‘Superstar’, and Kanye’s ‘Jesus Walks’.

.:: LiBM ::.

Family, Health, Love, Work

Stretching Thin

March 5, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Stress

Stretching Thin

Staying on the equilibrium path of momentum for the Yuppy; CAUTION, challenges ahead, usually from within

The Yuppy goes ‘hard’, our lives is a constant balancing act as we try to maintain a steady equilibrium of forward movement. Some of us have vices that we use to sustain the movement; alcohol, drugs, avoidance, detachment, and we think that this will stretch our movement. However this is counter-productive thought, our vices usually are a quick fix for us to escape our fears, insecurities and problems which are probably interfering with the forward movement that we are desiring to achieve. Being self-aware of such a fact, and taking a hard look at your inner self can make one realize potential hazardous behaviors. I am not saying that social drinking is not acceptable, but if after every stressful event in your life, you cope with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, then one is creating a dangerous dependency.

Personal relationships can be the worse as we may not be able to enjoy the company of others (our family, friends, loved ones). Sometimes yuppy’s are so passionate about their own projects, their agenda, that they can’t relate to others’ accomplishments and stories. It’s like our sister and brothers can be telling us something about their day that they find interesting, and we will show an attitude of of un-interest and nonchalant behavior. Appreciating others may be a first step in appreciating our own selves and accomplishments.

In all, the Yuppy goes hard, and the Yuppy has a lot to deal with. A lot of pressure and stress can come from various sources, and how we deal with them ultimately defines how far we will go, and at what cognitive/physical/social expense.

.:: LiBM ::.

Life in B Major

Tag Archives: behavior

Uncanny Flashbulb memories