February 26
Well, first a poem
The Road Not Taken
BY ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Well, seemingly simple but as I read it I think of our journeys and forks in life we take closing off other choices we could have taken sometimes thinking we can return but don't but move on. Our philosopher cosmologist and physicists have a theory of multiverse that pop up everytime there is a choice from probability of quantum to observer based location (my previous post regarding this comes from my reading of Brian Green To the End of Time). But we're stuck in this life associated with our living, choosing, and there and here as our attention fixes on our inner selves or our external reality so influenced by the machinery of our bodies and mind that being objective is elusive.
I'm on page 531 of Behave The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky discusses the neurobiology and neuroanatomy of our brains with research into other animal species and how evolution has resulted in our frontal lobes, forebrain, and emotional processing systems becoming more complex. There is so much interesting research reviewed with his humorous asides that I cannot quite digest and write now except to continue this musing and see. For example, if I encounter someone and see them as not part of my group but an other will my prejudices of the other influence my evaluations and actions with the other. Will I use my cognitive newer developed forebrain to justify my emotional more ventral forebrain and amygdala insula structures push to keep the other separate and suspect or will I use the newer brain abilities to modify my emotional reaction part of my brain. Unfortunately, as I write this I am falling into a trap of separating my brain functions into competing parts rather than seeing the dynamic and forces at work behind our living. The forebrain structures that allow us to reflect, analyze, and sometimes correct fast thinking errors and theory of mind biases is fairly absent in adolescents only gaining prominence for those fortunate to be healthy enough to weather our adolescence without harming our brains so in our our mid twenties finally it’s more developed . Our brain is also influenced by the various hormonal changes we experience related to progesterone (no really covered by Sapolsky), oxytocin, vasopressin, testosterone, glucocorticoids, and dopamine etc. We are group influenced and affiliative species who have loyalty, follow rules, and sacrifice for our group but the other becomes targets and sometimes victims of our tendency to keep sides. Our political affiliations and tendencies are seen to have many roots in how our brains have been developed so freedom to choose, pursuit of happiness, opportunities for education, employment, and material goods may be viewed by some as threatening and resisted since their status may be perceived as threatened and the group that strives for these goals are viewed as others not part of our group. For example, Sapolsky writes when discussing conservative rightist views "on the average, rightist are made anxious by ambiguity, and have a stronger need for closure, dislike novelty, are more comforted by structure and hierarchy, more readily perceive circumstances as threatening, and are more parochial in their empathy" (p.450). So here we revisit Jonathan Haidt who I wrote about previously. The studies of liberal versus conservative groups presented with various problems in the research laboratory seem to indicate that situational factors associated with the other group holds less weight it's more the gut feelings and emotional more fast thinking predominates. Loyalty, obedience, and law and order are more important. Sapolsky reviews Asch's work on group dynamics (previously reviewed in prior blog) showing again how we are influenced by others viewpoints to such an extent we deny what we first see with our own eyes. He goes on to describe Stanley Milgram shock studies and Philip Zimbardo Stanford Prison Experiments. He give a good critique of these studies but my takeaway is again how we can be bamboozled and strongly influenced to leave our morality behind and join the crowd with psychopathic actions with incrementalism as a way. We'll start with this small shock which really won't hurt you here try it out. To the experimental subject giving huge shocks with little conflict at the end. The trolley car experiments are interesting showing how we can decide to kill someone to save others (or not). Guilt systems and shame systems in individualist and collectivist cultures (traditionally West vs East) is explored with the different parts of the brain interacting accordingly. Interesting to me is the statement "...we judge ourselves by our internal motives and everyone else by their external actions. And thus, in considering our own misdeed, we have more access to mitigating, situational information...When thems do something wrong, it's because they're simply rotten: when Us-es do it, it's because of extenuating circumstances (p.493).
Sapolsky goes on to discussing cultural groups of the more impoverished versus the affluent. He uses a term antisocial punishment. If you live in a dangerous environment where there is little trust someone who suggests helping others out is punished because if you change your defensive stance such as mind your own business you may put yourself in more danger. Those living in these communities are suffering both mentally and from other diseases due to the stress even if healthcare is good since the stress has an influence on then brain and body. The development of the forebrain structures suffers so cognitive and emotional brain systems are less healthy. Cheating, rule breaking behaviors, and loss of empathy follows.
Well, I've been considering the issues of Character meaning "he/she has character". Most of the people I know have the quality I'm trying to define. Honesty, openness to positive and critical feedback, interest in pursuits of mastery and creativity, and positive outlook are included. Having character also includes being different, having habits and interests that may be unusual. Empathy is included but solitary pursuits and resistance to group influences are included. I guess I'd like to have character!
My stereo speakers have been not working properly for the past few weeks. I've been bedeviled. The speakers have their own amplifier. I have a preamplifier which I direct wire through analog wires from the preamplifier. The speakers are connected via my wi-fi system via a connector box which allows me to use my iphone app to change the volume, music, and station, etc. Well, I could only get one speaker at a time to work sometimes blasting very loud without my being able to change that. I called various people with no success since these Danish speakers are not popular and Oahu now has less hi-fi repair experts. Last evening I appealed to David, my son to take a look with me. Wallah! The switches in the rear of the speakers were inadvertently in the wrong position and my analog wires in the wrong output of the preamplifier. The controller for the speaker (another part) still does not work but now I can use both speakers though the iphone app for the volume control is not available. My frustration and problem solving perseverance including consulting with others brings back other memories going back to my childhood of situation in which I was interested in electronics and problem solving. For example, when in my late thirties I became interested in cycling. After my first used bike with silk tires, I brought a high end bike with high end components. Excited right after the purchase I decided to take the bicycle apart and re oil the components including the ball bearings. Well, I got stumped in putting the chain back on. I was up all night finally succeeded in putting everything together. I took a shower and then went to work dragging all day tired but glad. O,K I guess I'm a character but I'm still not sure I have character!
Leonard
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