Ramblings of an Anonymous Coward

Happiness Isn't...

when i hear or read "happiness is [insert someone's thought]", peanuts comes to mind. not the ones you eat, but charlie brown and friends. in fact, i used to have a bath towel as a child that said "happiness is... being one of the gang".

today i stumbled upon this quote:

Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember.
-- Oscar Levant

perhaps it is just mind mindset of the moment, but that makes far more sense to me.

If I Were A Simpson

yadda dadda dadda dadda dadda dadda da. all day long i'd viddy viddy vom. if i were a simpson's man. of course, you too can become one via burger king's SimpsonizeMe.

Keep Telling Yourself That

to some extent i think i knew about cognitive dissonance, if in concept alone, but this episode of talk of the nation (npr) did an excellent job of explaining it. the show was with the author of the book Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) (Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts).

essentially cognitive dissonance is the fancy explanation for self-justification. the why we do it, how it is difficult not to, and so forth. in a someone ironic way, i find it to be somewhat recursive in thought -- cognitive dissonance explains why we self-justify errors. think about that for a second. it wasn't me, it was the cognitive dissonance. not my fault. heh.

i wish the show had lasted longer and the author/researcher interviewed (elliot aronson) is definitely the sort of person i would enjoy having a lengthy dinner conversation with and be able to learn more about this. in particular, more about how to recognize it and healthier ways to reduce dissonance.

some questions that come to mind that i'd love to ask and discuss his answers to are:

• when one observes cognitive dissonance (CD) in another is it better to point out the contradiction or let it be. from the little i've read, it seems to me that continually pointing it out would only encourage the person to dig deeper.
• ever seen a case where one instance of CD feeds another and visa-versa?
• are you concerned that CD will become an excuse itself for bad behavior and do you find that as ironic as i do?
• how can you really determine when CD is in the mix and when someone genuinely believes something. the example in the program was with the "hoops" required to join and organization -- while CD could account for some or all of those that had continued interest in the group how are you sure that some weren't actually interested and how do you tell the difference? or can you?
• would like to hear more about CD and how it effects and/or is related to mental illness. unfortunately you didn't get to interact with the caller who had some idea of how CD answered issues with depression.

yeah, i could probably go on for hours and i think far more interesting questions would come from conversation generated by these sort of questions and their responses.

we call have cognitive dissonance issues. i'll be the first to admit that i've self-justified actions consciously and unconsciously. i like having a word/phrase that explains/defines this that isn't so negative sounding. i like knowing that there is some science behind the idea. i like knowing i'm not alone.

One More Off the ToDo list

it is kind of strange going back to an area you've spent a fair amount of time in, but never lived. we found ourselves often saying -- "i remember staying in that hotel" a lot. hilton, marriot, double tree, ... it felt like we saw fewer places we hadn't stayed in at one point.

while i don't think i have to write it here to remember, for the record: steak at ruth's chris is excellent. probably the best steak i've had since eating at harris ranch where all the food was fresh out of the garden & corral. and speaking of food, the sandwiches at katella deli remain some of the best i've had on the left coast.

i will; however, write here to remind myself that this passed long weekend was a good one. i could complain about uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, tempermental children and the disorganization of some of the event staff, but it was overshadowed by far more time which i simply found comfortable. in fact, aside from a few things, time flew by so fast that i couldn't even really say what i did. but i do remember the food! :)