its been a long time
my mind was wandering as i was watching a rerun of something on VH1 last night. this is a usual occurance. the lulling sounds of webjunk20 are made into droning tones as my thoughts drowned them out. recently i have been thinking of these three things. feel free to add to the thought process.
1. in the begining,linquisticly, were there many languages like we have today? or was there one universal language that evolved into dialects and eventually into their own complex languages as people traveled and populated different parts of the earth? language is certainly interconnected. all romance languages have their roots in latin, others have germaic roots, and sanskrit roots, and so on. can all those roots be part of a larger tree? (oooh a tree metaphore!)
2. why does our body do things to make matters worse? have you noticed that when you are nervous about doing something you get a faster heart rate, increased breathing, and other acts of the sympathetic nervous system? these are fine if you are running from a lion, or about to be attacked. they help you physically be better, faster, stronger. but they are the opposite of helpful when you are presenting a topic in front of a class, or doing something that needs dexterity and concentration. personally when i give a speech, my face turns bright red, i start to sweat, my hands shake and my mind goes completely blank. this is extremely helpful when i want to look calm and collected and actually give a speech. because of my red face and shaky hands, not to mention the lack of actual speaking i am doing, i get more nervous and the cycle repeats.
another really usefull reaction is the freeze response sometimes given when you get scared. some one jumps from behind a corner with a knife and you automatically stiffen up and stand where you are. in all actuality you should be running, kicking, screaming, or at least flailing your arms. instead you stand still like a rubber dummy waiting to be stabbed.
3. is there a way that religion can be talked about without controversy? beyond the point where you are talking with someone who agrees with you, i don't think there is. the whole point of the conversation (even if it is not intentional) is to get the other person to see and understand your side. this is almost impossible to do. opinions have been shaped, minds have been made up. it's like you are France trying to fight in a war, you aren't going to win.
those are the main topics i have been thinking about. let me know your veiw points on them. comments are appreciated.
p.s. it is supposed to be 18 degrees at the highest here this week! hooray!
1. in the begining,linquisticly, were there many languages like we have today? or was there one universal language that evolved into dialects and eventually into their own complex languages as people traveled and populated different parts of the earth? language is certainly interconnected. all romance languages have their roots in latin, others have germaic roots, and sanskrit roots, and so on. can all those roots be part of a larger tree? (oooh a tree metaphore!)
2. why does our body do things to make matters worse? have you noticed that when you are nervous about doing something you get a faster heart rate, increased breathing, and other acts of the sympathetic nervous system? these are fine if you are running from a lion, or about to be attacked. they help you physically be better, faster, stronger. but they are the opposite of helpful when you are presenting a topic in front of a class, or doing something that needs dexterity and concentration. personally when i give a speech, my face turns bright red, i start to sweat, my hands shake and my mind goes completely blank. this is extremely helpful when i want to look calm and collected and actually give a speech. because of my red face and shaky hands, not to mention the lack of actual speaking i am doing, i get more nervous and the cycle repeats.
another really usefull reaction is the freeze response sometimes given when you get scared. some one jumps from behind a corner with a knife and you automatically stiffen up and stand where you are. in all actuality you should be running, kicking, screaming, or at least flailing your arms. instead you stand still like a rubber dummy waiting to be stabbed.
3. is there a way that religion can be talked about without controversy? beyond the point where you are talking with someone who agrees with you, i don't think there is. the whole point of the conversation (even if it is not intentional) is to get the other person to see and understand your side. this is almost impossible to do. opinions have been shaped, minds have been made up. it's like you are France trying to fight in a war, you aren't going to win.
those are the main topics i have been thinking about. let me know your veiw points on them. comments are appreciated.
p.s. it is supposed to be 18 degrees at the highest here this week! hooray!