Reality on a Stick

4 Comments so far (Add 1 more)

1. Well I’m safe, but a bit of a worry for you Steve
   To be on the safe side stay away from aluminium hey.

   1. Catriona on October 24th, 2007 at 7:19 pm

2. Just keep challenging people to games like Match. You won’t lose your great memory easily.

   2. Jeanne on October 30th, 2007 at 4:55 pm

3. This is fascinating. They seem to be talking specifically about “schooling” although they sometimes refer to it as “education level”. I and other vagabonds have acquired much of our “educations” by reading on our own–and lately blogging about whatever enters our curious minds–and I wonder if I would succumb as soon as someone schooled into oblivion…Good luck with the move!

   3. MusEditions on October 30th, 2007 at 5:38 pm

4. Jeanne: Funny you should mention the memory games we used to play. I’ve dissected my strategy and started teaching it to students. The interesting thing is that developing a “great memory” has very little to do with inherent ability, and everything to do with where we focus our mental energy. It’s all about focusing on aspects that are easy to file away and retrieve later. Like anyone else, when I’m not paying attention, I can’t remember what was just in front of me for the life of me.

   MusEditions: Interesting point. I’m not sure how much the formality of education plays a role, but my gut says that it’s got more to do with how routinized your learning strategies have become. I imagine that someone who is highly adaptable to changing psychological environments–such as someone who has a less formal, more hands on educational bakground–could withstand the early stages of dimentia without attracting much attention. Ironically, this would likely put habitual drug users–particularly those who have experimented widely–at a distinct advantage in terms of functionality during the onset of alzheimers or other mental illnesses. The unfortunate upshot, however, is that diagnosis may be postponed until the illness has reached advanced stages. Thanks, as always, for stopping by.

   4. Steven Nishida on November 9th, 2007 at 10:17 am