Where laziness of thought and accepting things 'because everyone says so' is unacceptable
Where Science maybe right at times, but because of its rigidity in thinking [plowing on like a horse with blinders] and human personnel, it's bound to make big mistakes at times. Science has no right to dismiss older fields of (medical) research just because it doesn't fit between its own blinders. NB: I AM COVID vaccinated and NOT believing in QAnon stuff
When leaving primary school all the children used to get a bible. I've still got mine. But there's a text in it that I still don't understand.
I'll translate (it starts below the ISBN) :
No part ofthis publication maybe reproduced and/ormade publicby means of printing, photocopying, microfilm orin any waywhatsoever without prior written consent of thepublisher.
I don't think any preacher, vicar or pastor is going to ask the publisher's consent for each sermon.Or do they mean The Publisher? He does not give his consent, He gave us the assignment to make it public
Ialways think of myself as a terribly boring person. Not one to date if you like to laugh. But maybe I'm wrong? Writing my previous post about the Hubrecht Laboratory, I remembered a little prank I pulled. A two stepped prank. It was a behavioristic experiment. Fitting a biologist who opposes behaviorism.
The histology lab was a cosy, busy lab where hard work and laughter were mixed gracefully. Histology is about preparing and dyeing tissues, to make them visible under the microscope. [Me a stickler for details??]
One day I brought along two print outs of a shield, used in 1866 in the Amstel Hotel at Amsterdam.
This room is equipped with Edison's Electrical Light.
Please, do not try to switch it on with a match.
Just turn the black switch next to the door.
The use of Edison's Electrical Light
is not detrimental to your health,
does not cause diseases and
doesn't have an adverse effect your night's rest.
The Board of Direction.
I put up these papers on both entrances to the histology lab. Two windowless doors. No one knew who did it. I secretly enjoyed all the comments and the consequent apologies of the lab manager "I have no idea who put these on my doors." But I guess he liked it, he didn't remove them.
It happened just as I expected it: people used the signs for orientation. It was a long corridor and to enter the histology lab you practically had to count doors. With these signs, it was easier to locate the histology and juxtaposed labs.
After a few weeks I moved the sign on the left door to the door on the lab at the right of the histo lab. The signs were still on two consecutive doors...
Yet now one of the signs was on the door to Pim's lab.A researcher whit his own private lab which no one hardly ever entered. While the histo lab was a real beehive. Poor Pim, so many people entered his lab that day, They must have looked surprised. I heard so many apologies made to him....
That's how easily people slip into habitual behavior.
I Knew What I Was Getting Into on Misty Edwards' "Joy (Live)" album From Beanscot's YouTube Channel
This is not applicable to all forms of SPD, but SPD makes me a real 'slow mow'. Not just because I don't like fast movements. I focus too much on details, that slows me down as well. Looking at matters from a helicopter view takes me very deliberate, conscious acting. 'Slow' has become one of my main characteristics. One that I'm not proud of.
Already at primary school I decided that competitions were not for me. Because like everybody else I hate to lose all the time. The only fair challenge was competing with myself. That's not so bad. What about the following quotes?
"He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty" by Lao Tzu
"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self" by Aristotle
"He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior." by Confucius
Many people with SPD have learned to use personal goals for a challenge, rather then compete with others. Nor do they try to excel in what is fashionable.
This attitude has its drawbacks. For instance it can cause loneliness. Although... not necessarily. If you go out into the world often enough you will find kindred spirits. I have made many friends. They are however of the migratory kind. Many are scattered over Europe, some even live in Asia.
But hang on, there's a good side to it too. It sets you free. Free from the judgement of others, free from the pressure of deadlines and free from that fear of not being on top of the latest info, the latest gadget, the latest fashion.
I don't keep up with the latest news flashes, I don't tweet or live my life through Facebook. I even disregard notifications at my work if they are published as newsletters or some such nuisance. And that's why, when I was a student at the Hubrecht Laboratory, I didn't know that the regular monday-one-o'clock-lecture was cancelled. At 13:02 I grabbed my pen and paper and went to the library. The lights were turned off already, the speaker wanted to show a short film of her work. All seats at the back andat the corners of each row were taken, as if there was a conference of the Claustrophobia Society. I had no choice but to sit down in the middle of the front row. The lecture, in english, was clear, well told and very understandable. It was about a project involving fertilisation and development of frog's eggs in space. Not my favorite topic, but interesting.
At the end of the lecture, the speaker,dr. Ubbels of the Hubrecht Laboratory -my next lab neighbour so to speak- came up to me and thanked me for showing my interest by showing up. Well, I never throw away a compliment. I 'pocketed' it and returned to the histology lab. “Where have you been all the time?” the other analists of the lab chimed in chorus.
“At the lecture. Why weren't you?” The others where puzzled, explaining me that the lecture had been cancelled.
“But what about the lecture of Geert?” Now my colleagues started to laugh. Except for one, another student, My collegemate to be exact. He was a special case. 'Space crazy', knew a lot about planets, stars, space research and science fiction. “You went to that lecture?” He looked at me with awe. I nodded and shrugged. What was so special about it?
“She held that lecture for astronauts and NASA en Estec personell. People from the lab were not invited.” I couldn't smother a mischievous grin. The collegemate went on, “I can't believe you just went there. I wish I had had the guts. I'd love to be among all those astronauts.”
“Actually,” I said, rubbing it in, “Geert thanked me for coming. She wanted people from the lab there.”
Talking about Impro. The prejudistic thought is going about that people with autism or Asperger, -maybe even SPD?- could not enjoy Impro. Too unpredictable, too little routine. But people in the Autistic Spectrum want clarity, not routine. Routine is just a lacklustre answer to a request for clarity.
The German Impro players Christine and Deniz Dohler discovered the similarity between Impro and SonRise, a succesful playtherapy for children with special needs. Check out their site if you want to know more: AuJa! [german]
Dutch Impro teacher Marcoen Hopstaken has asked me to organise another Impro workshop for people who play -therapeutically- with special children. And I'm about to challenge Marcoen: I'll ask him if I can also look for adults with autism or Asperger for a workshop of Applied Impro(which is Impro used for team building, social skills, therapy, etc.).
It'll certainly be a new challenge for me. And I like to challenge myself. I said that before, didn't I?
Are you challenged? Maybe you can check this out, a conference about Applied Impro:
What a week... this week I had to do a course in hospital administration for my work. Which meant coming home late and working five days instead of four. In that same week I stayed up late several nights, partly to communicate with some people in L.A. (9 hour time difference). And because I had only the later part of the evening to do all the chores I usually do when I get home from the office. Just when I had decided to pull my weigth and get rid of a lot of the trash [which I did: no more old paper piles, five happy degus in clean cages, a cleared dinner table. And no dirty dishes. No more Olympics in my living room / studio]
Today's friday, a regular day at the office, thank God. So this morning my son and I picked up our habit again. We always take the same train at our home town. At the next station we get off together. My son is at walking distance from his school and the connecting train to my work stops here. Before we separate, we go to a tiny café called 'Teestie' [pronounced as 'tasty'] for a chocolate milk and a coffee. The latter in a carton cup, because I have only time for half of it. The rest I take with me to platform 1.
Funny. Yesterday I went to bed two hours earlier than all other days this week and I got up feeling worse than ever. My mind too chaotic to make coffee for breakfast. So I hopped on the train in a low-caffeine state, thinking how unfair it is to have a hangover without having had a party (not that I'm fond of parties...) The idea of having a double espresso-black-no_sugar is what I clung to.
At the next station Teestie was open, no customers, no standing in line! My son walked over to 'our' table and I went to the counter, with visions of my double espresso-b-ns. The coffee machine made a familiar sound already, a reason to get suspcious...
The girl behind the counter gave me her best welcome back smile -I had been absent a few days due to the training- and informed me she had already made my coffee. She was preparing a tray putting milk and sugar on it, which I never use. I added a bottle of chocolate milk and the girl completed the still with my -undesired- coffee. In a stone mug!!
She made almost every mistake possible. Except for one thing. She tried to show me how well she knows me and that she likes me, by serving so promptly with the extra effort of preparing that tray. And any coffee served with so much care is Damn Tasty.
