mmmm.. metacognition
(you can tell i have to write a big paper because i've been posting a lot recently, or have been thinking of things i could post.)
...All this developmental psychology has been making my brain feel like it's growing outside of my skull with metacognition. Now i can't even imagine raising a child without mastering this stuff. It would be like being given the most complex machine ever created, and you only know its basic functions, how to get it to do what you want it to do (even then it has a mind of its own). I wonder what new parents study and talk about? Do they talk about Vygotsky and Piaget or do they talk about The Dummies Guide to Parenting?
This has become especially looming for me because today I just calculated that 73% of all my friends have already found "The One". [edit: there is some controversy over terminology; this is clarified in the comments] "This is the age..." they say. But I say this is the age I would most value my freedom. I thought a lot about this during the chocolate-induced euphoria of turning 22 last month- if I meet "The One" now, not only would I be compelled to share my chocolate, we'd have to worry about resolving all sorts of conflicts of interests. I want to live in a big city; s/he wants to live in a little city. I want to live in San Francisco, Boston, or Montreal; s/he wants to live in a cute little mountain town. I want to backpack across Spain and see all the beautiful architecture; s/he would prefer to visit family. I want to feed the baby expensive chocolate to cultivate its tastebuds; s/he freaks out and yells at me. I figure if I wait until I actually move to San Fran, Beantown, or Montreal, that'll resolve at least 2 big conflicts of interest, since we'll both already be living there. As for the other conflicts, I can only hope they devolve into some great fighting sex. Then I will know I've found the one. (Maybe that will teach the baby an important lesson about conflicts in relationships)
...All this developmental psychology has been making my brain feel like it's growing outside of my skull with metacognition. Now i can't even imagine raising a child without mastering this stuff. It would be like being given the most complex machine ever created, and you only know its basic functions, how to get it to do what you want it to do (even then it has a mind of its own). I wonder what new parents study and talk about? Do they talk about Vygotsky and Piaget or do they talk about The Dummies Guide to Parenting?
This has become especially looming for me because today I just calculated that 73% of all my friends have already found "The One". [edit: there is some controversy over terminology; this is clarified in the comments] "This is the age..." they say. But I say this is the age I would most value my freedom. I thought a lot about this during the chocolate-induced euphoria of turning 22 last month- if I meet "The One" now, not only would I be compelled to share my chocolate, we'd have to worry about resolving all sorts of conflicts of interests. I want to live in a big city; s/he wants to live in a little city. I want to live in San Francisco, Boston, or Montreal; s/he wants to live in a cute little mountain town. I want to backpack across Spain and see all the beautiful architecture; s/he would prefer to visit family. I want to feed the baby expensive chocolate to cultivate its tastebuds; s/he freaks out and yells at me. I figure if I wait until I actually move to San Fran, Beantown, or Montreal, that'll resolve at least 2 big conflicts of interest, since we'll both already be living there. As for the other conflicts, I can only hope they devolve into some great fighting sex. Then I will know I've found the one. (Maybe that will teach the baby an important lesson about conflicts in relationships)