Coincidentally

One of those strange happenstances (I hesitate to call this one serendipity--maybe synchronicity is a better choice) occurred when I saw this letter on Letters of Note.   Fair warning:  the letter is a both very positive and immeasurably sad.  After posting my review Monday about The Drowning Ground (and the hints at DCI Downes' background), having this letter show up on Letters of Note the next day was a bit strange.

Yet, not really.  One of the pleasures of reading is discovering how frequently something you read about in a novel connects to the next novel, or an event in the news, or even how a specific location or name will occur in three novels in a row.

 Often for me, it will be because I'm drawn to a particular time period, and logically, there will be repeated references to real persons or events.  

But sometimes, this synchronicity will occur in unusual ways like checking out ten books from the library and three of them mention Nova Scotia when there is no outward indication that would occur.  Or within a week or two, reading several books that use the same quote--in dialogue or as a chapter heading.  

Or in this case, I read a book that mentions something that interests me, and the next day find a letter from an Argentinian grandfather to a missing granddaughter and discover that, against great odds, they have been reunited.  Every reader has experienced these coincidences and appreciates them--even knowing that the more you read, the more likely you are to encounter this kind of coincidence.  
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What I'm reading: 

 Lights Out:  A Cyber Attack, A Nation Unprepared,  Surviving the Aftermath by Ted Koppel--a truly frightening, well-researched, and (mostly) easily understood book for the layperson about the vulnerability of the electric grid. Interesting interview with Ted Koppel.  Another interview here.  I'm 37% through with the book and am impressed with its readability.  This was (still is?) a NetGalley offering.

Learned Optimism -- Another nonfiction work that I've been reading (I read nonfiction at a much slower rate and with more frequent breaks) is Martin Seligman's book about how influential our personal narratives are in influencing our behavior.  His initial research into depression led to the discovery of learned helplessness, and eventually, to how to make changes with positive results. 

While I knew I would be interested in this book based on the books about educating our children that mention it, what has surprised and to large degree resulted in denial, then pondering, then accepting --elements concerning my own behavior.  The breaks I'm taking with this book are even longer than the breaks I normally take from nonfiction because digesting the personal elements I confront keep me busy thinking and rethinking. 

My first response was "I love how this clarifies and makes real what is actually common sense."  However, when the book began producing some personal revelations, I have to admit that sometimes  often, I apply common sense much more easily in relation to others than to myself.  

I was reading the book to gain further understanding about why some children succeed and others don't (in relation to the books about education and learning), I did not expect to discover anything really new about myself.  I'm glad I purchased this one and that I can actually turn the pages, and eventually, add it to my nonfiction shelf for future reference.

Anyway, both of these books have required me to put them down and read escapism or work on Halloween Eccentrics while letting information ferment.
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You can see some of my Halloween creations over at my other blog.  :) I love Halloween!

Sadie Shadowmend, sits in the classroom learning spells.

Introvert/Extrovert?

Are you an introvert, an extrovert, or perhaps a mixture that you can't quite explain?

Has anyone read Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking?

I haven't.  After reading a review of the book page of the local paper recently, I decided it was of little interest to me.

I'm an introvert.  I'm also short.  Each quality has occasionally been a drawback (sometimes I have to ask my husband to hand me something from a high shelf-- if he isn't there, however, I have a step stool).   On the other hand, there are times and places when when being tall (or being extroverted) could be a problem.

I skimmed the review with little interest.  I'm an introvert, and I like extroverts because they pull me into conversations and activities that would otherwise pass me by; I'm not unhappy with my introversion, although I have to be careful to avoid becoming a recluse.

Today my interest in the book was revived because I read two reviews of the book in The Guardian, one by an introvert and one by an extrovert.

What I found most interesting and reassuring in reading the reviews is that both Sara Maitland, the introvert, and Miranda Sawyer, the extrovert, are offended by the book's premise.  Neither were pleased by the dichotomy set up in Cain's book.

When I checked Amazon, I discovered that reviews were overwhelmingly positive--which certainly came as a surprise to me.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

113 Reviews 5 star:  (68) 4 star:  (28) 3 star:  (8) 2 star:  (5) 1 star:  (4)

 I'm curious...have any of you read the book?  If so, what did you think?

  I may have to read it after all. 

The Visibles

Shepard, Sara.  The Visibles.

When Summer Davis is fifteen, her mother leaves.  No explanation, no forwarding address, no future contact as Summer grows into adulthood.  If that weren't enough for a moody adolescent to deal with, Summer's dad sinks from depression into mental illness, and it is Summer who must care for him as his condition worsens. 

As Summer searches for answers to her mother's abandonment and her father's illness, she finds herself postponing her own life.  She forgoes the opportunity for graduate study because her father is scheduled for electro-shock therapy treatments.  Even when her father appears to be on the road to recovery, Summer finds herself still in limbo.

Sometimes slow, the author kept me interested in the characters.    Not all of the resolution rang true for me, but the struggle of an adolescent to deal with a mother's abandonment and a father's illness felt realistic.

My favorite character: Aunt Stella, who had the personality to carry a book on her own.

Fiction.  Psychological novel.  2009.  322 pages.

The Wisdom Paradox

Goldberg, Elkhonon.  The Wisdom Paradox.

Elkhonon Goldberg, neuropsychologist, looks at the brain from a uniquely personal perspective after years of experience with patients and his own MRI.  He examines the way the brain develops and changes and explains that even with deterioration, the brain can still function in a marvelous manner as a result of acquisition and storage of knowledge.

On brain duality:  "The right hemisphere is the "novelty" hemisphere and the left hemisphere is the repository of well-developed patterns.  This means that as we age and accumulate more patterns, a gradual change in the hemispheric "balance of power" takes place:  The role of the right hemisphere diminishes and the role of the left hemisphere grows."

His discussion of  "late and luminous bloomers" (wonderful epithet) such as Goethe, Grandma Moses, Norbert Wiener (mathematician and philosopher), and Golda Meir is interesting.

In the section on memory, Goldberg explains generic memories ("memories for patterns") and "pattern expansion."  The capacity for pattern-recognition is one aspect of wisdom; patterns can enable quick solutions to wide-ranging problems, and these generic memories accumulate with age. :) Good to know!

He distinguishes between wisdom and genius, including the ability for empathy and "emotional intelligence" as necessary for wisdom, but not genius.

There is too much in this book (some very technical, some anecdotal) to cover quickly, but his conclusions that "growth of a neural structure appears to be stimulated by its use" is now pretty widely accepted and certainly worthy reason for keeping our brains as active as possible.

Lots of notes and documentation.

Nonfiction.  Neuropsychology.  2005.  321 pages including notes, documentation.

The Three-Pound Enigma

Moffett, Shannon. The Three-Pound Enigma: The Human Brain and the Quest to Unlock Its Mysteries.

While not as absorbing as The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge or The Intention Experiment by Lynne McTaggert, this book does take a different approach to the study of the brain--concentrating on different individuals: a neurosurgeon, neuroscientists and researchers, philosophers, a woman with a disassociative disorder, a neuroethicist, and a zen monk.

The main questions concern consciousness, dreams, and memory. How does consciousness relate to the neural system? What is consciousness? How does memory work? What about dreaming and consciousness? Dreaming and memory? What about the changes in the brains of those who meditate as illustrated by fMRI scans?

In between the chapters, there are also chronological (and technical) explanations of brain development in a timeline format. These "interludes" begin with the embryonic period and the initial formation of brain matter and by the end of the book, the final interlude discusses the normal cognitive decline that occurs as a result of deficits in one or both of two systems: executive function and declarative memory.

There are, of course, more questions than answers, but there are some interesting questions in the quest to learn more about that one organ that so markedly differentiates us as thinking beings.

Nonfiction. Science. 2006. 237 pages.

The Brain that Changes Itself

Doidge, Norman, M.D. The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science.

Brain function and neural plasticity are fascinating subjects, and our brains are capable of almost miraculous re-wiring to accommodate to situations incurred by accident, disease, learning disabilities, natural aging, or stroke. That does not mean that all brain trauma can be cured, just that the brain has the often amazing ability to recover brain function in cases previously considered hopeless.

Dr. Doidge, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, is on the faculty at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research in New York and the University of Toronto's department of psychiatry. His research into neuroplasticity leads him to interview some of the world's leading neuroscientists, to visit their labs, and to observe their methods in action.

In a fluent and highly readable account, he gives the reader an extraordinary look at individual triumphs and at scientific concepts and experiments that have led to so many hopeful discoveries in the field.

Portions of the book read almost like science fiction--fast and furious--leaving you marveling at the possibilities. Other portions slow you down and are more technical, but are still within the comprehension of the lay reader and are equally gripping.

The first chapters in the book are some of the most exciting. These chapters deal with almost unbelievable improvements in certain individuals with brain trauma or disabilities, the scientists who did the research, and the methods of research. While some very exciting discoveries have come about with improved technology that has allowed more and more accurate brain scans, other scientists have formed hypotheses and created treatments using very low-tech methods.

One interesting aspect is that brain plasticity or malleability, can be a blessing or a curse, for while the brain has remarkable flexibility, repeated patterns of thought and behavior ("neurons that fire together wire together") can create a rigidity that is hard to break. As a result, both positive and negative results can be achieved by the same brain process. (Ahh, those bad habits that we reinforce daily....)

On the other hand, "neurons that fire apart, wire apart" a phenomenon that provides a method of correction and a way to break bad habits or addictions.

Other interesting points (and there are far too many to mention!):

* Use it or lose it applies to mental as well as physical skills. Plasticity is competitive and unused areas can be pruned back or used for other information.

*The benefits of memorization (largely discarded in modern education) increased auditory memory, and therefore, thinking in language and that the stress on handwriting (also no longer a priority in education) not only increased motor skills, but probably "added speed and fluency to reading and speaking."

*Culture is more important than some believe. Because our brains are plastic, "To a larger degree than we suspected, culture determines what we can and cannot perceive." An example is in speech. There is a critical period during which the auditory cortex develops and during that period an infant is "capable of hearing any sound distinction in all the thousands of languages of our species." After the period closes, however, infants lose the ability to hear many of the sounds not used in their own culture which explains the problem some cultures have reproducing certain sounds.

Melbourne Conversations - Dr. Doidge speaks and explains better than I can.


Here is an article about the CBC Documentary with David Suzuki; there is also a link to a video, but it is evidently only available in Canada.

The brain is an astonishing organ; this book affirms that the brain is capable of significant growth, change, and self-repair.

(If you've reviewed this book let me know, and I'll link to your review.)

Nonfiction. Science. 2007. 408 pages.

Blink

Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.

Gladwell relates both anecdotal information and research experiments concerning the way our brains make snap judgments. I really enjoyed reading about some of the things that are involved in our intuitive decisions...those decisions that we can't really explain.

It was also interesting to have a great many examples of ways that our decisions are influenced. Many of these influences are not obvious to us on the surface, but our minds are busy processing the information-- and not always correctly.

One interesting area was "mind reading," which is really the ability to read the facial expressions of others. Some people do this exceptionally well, other people have much less skill. One of the characteristics of autism is the inability to read expressions, and there is an experiment with an autistic man that shows how confusing and frustrating the lack of the ability would be.

While the ability to make snap decisions is frequently important--and too much information is often detrimental-- there are plenty of situations that require more time. Gladwell discusses this side of the coin as well and warns that we can be "primed" to make a decision by any number of factors of which we are not consciously aware. In other words, our decisions can be manipulated by any number of factors.

The book was entertaining and made me think a little more about the process of making decisions. It isn't very long and doesn't go into a lot of depth about how to improve your decision making process. Practice and experience seem to be key.

I want to read Gladwell's Outliers next.

Nonfiction. Popular psychology. 2005. 254 pages

60 on Up: The Truth About Aging in America

Rubin, Lillian B., Ph. D. 60 on Up: The Truth About Aging in America. I've put off reviewing this one partly because I continue to think about it. Lillian Rubin doesn't gloss over anything; she tackles the problems of aging with energy, intellect, and emotion. The book provides an honest, but not always encouraging, examination of what it is like to grow old, to be old.

"Getting old sucks! It always has, it always will," says 83-year-old Dr. Rubin. Those are the first two sentences in the book. Forget about the media's rosy picture of "the new old age, " she says. She's right, of course, in the sense that while we live longer and are healthier longer... the years of really old age are longer as well, and since we live in a culture that celebrates youth and beauty, those years can be lonely and frightening. Old age may come to us later than it did to our parents and grandparents, but with each year on that latter part of our journey, we will face the decline of our physical abilities, perhaps of our mental abilities. Rubin believes the pretense that age does not bring decline is a disingenuous view.

There are consequences to living longer, and these consequences are not always positive. Rubin's examination of old age, her interviews, her evaluation of her own situation are honest and informative, but honest appraisal and information can be troubling. Rubin wants us to think about what we will do with the additional years; about social policies that need to be in place for the large section of our aging population; about our emotional, economic, physical, and spiritual needs.

She is addressing those who are 60 and up, but she is also looking at those who are younger, and who suddenly have the responsibility of caring for illl or elderly parents. We are all attempting to negotiate changes for which history has not yet prepared a template. We live longer and healthier than ever before, but our extended life spans present new difficulties that were not always anticipated.

Dr. Rubin has an engaging, down-to-earth style; she writes with insight and clarity, compassion and humor. She has no answers, but she warns us that we should be asking some questions--of ourselves, our families, our governments.

I think Rubin has addressed the subject thoughtfully. In many ways, however, it is very discouraging, and many will probably say that Rubin is depressed about her own old age. However, denying that illness and dementia and loss of contemporaries are more likely after a certain age is to stick our heads in the sand. Not a comforting read, but a compelling one. Rubin addresses the realities of many, though certainly not all, of the elderly.

Nonfiction. Psychology/sociology. 2007. 172 pages.

Mistakes Were Made

Tavris, Carol, and Elliot Aronson. Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts. I thought I knew all about self-justification, but no, my understanding didn't begin to account for the 90% of that iceberg, submerged and out of sight.

The introduction is titled Knaves, fools, Villains, and Hypocrites: How Do They Live with Themselves? The answer is-- the same way we do. They justify their actions.

When we make a mistake or do something foolish or hurtful, we experience cognitive dissonance. Since we think of ourselves as basically good people, when our behavior threatens our self-concept, we are almost compelled to justify our actions in order to reduce the dissonance. For most of us, our transgressions are relatively small, but what about those who have proceeded to much larger and more serious errors? How did they get there, if they really are decent people? Tavris and Aronson state it very simply: one step at a time. One lie can lead to another, and bigger, lie. One act of dishonesty can lead to another. If we justify the first, it is easier to justify the second. The individuals in the Milgram study began with small shocks and proceeded upwards. From ten volts to 450 volts. This study has always fascinated me, but Tavris and Aronson conclude that not only do we move toward bad/corrupt/cruel/foolish behavior one step at a time, but we also tend to blame our victims...they deserved it, they were stupid, they were stubborn. Because those individuals who were administering the "shocks" were decent people, they had to justify their willingness to "inflict" pain.

This is a fascinating book, and the authors take the reader through example after example, study after study. Why would a prosecuting attorney refuse to change his opinion after DNA proved that the accused was not guilty? Why can't psychologists, doctors, police, politicians, husbands, wives, teachers, students, bosses, employees... admit they made mistakes? What procedures and strategies are at work? The authors reveal the process, revealing how easy it is to compound and magnify our errors because we are so busy justifying our decisions.

From marital disagreements to war crimes, almost without exception individuals try to justify their behavior to ease cognitive dissonance. The latter part of the book concentrates on acknowledging mistakes rather than excusing them, being aware of the process and consequences of self-justification, keeping an open mind, and not "jumping to convictions."

There is way too much in this little book for me to cover, but I recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological and sociological studies. Sometimes floored, sometimes angry, sometimes sad, sometimes amused, but always interested, I can only hope that I will be able to apply some of what I learned in my own life. This book was an Advanced Reader Copy, and my thanks, again, to Anna Suknov for sending it.

Nonfiction. Social psychology. 2007. 236 pages.