Processors

It has become abundantly clear over the years that measures of "intelligence" are worthless. Yes, you can test abstracting ability, mathematical prowess, the ability to manipulate symbols, etc., but what on earth, when looked at in summary, does all that mean? Certainly intelligence testing in the past was too often no more than an elitist tool used to sort out who would be allowed to seek further education and who would not. Now SAT scores serve the same function. While there is no doubt that testing might well evaluate basic skills and readiness to proceed with what is, today, laughably, termed higher education, to often these scores are, again, no more than an elitist tool to thin out the population of those graduating from HS and applying to colleges. Here's a modification to testing that would prove useful - eliminate time restrictions. Take as long as you like on each section of the test. All processors do not operated at the same speed.

Gradually, I have come to realize that computer modeling represents an unconscious emulation of the function of our own brain. I do not believe, in fact, that we as humans are capable at all of what is loosely termed creative or innovative thought. The thoughts might be creative in light of what is currently understood, and innovative in production of useful tools, but all such thoughts derive from a common pool of knowledge that has been present for eons. Never has a statement been more true: there is nothing new under the sun. Everything we imagine is revealed from that common pool. Thing is, some folks are better at taping that pool than others. And education becomes (or should become) the study of tools that facilitate access to that gigantic pool of, for want of a better term, knowledge. There's the rub. Gaining language skills whether they be spoken, written or symbolic (e.g. mathematical symbols). Everything we learn during our education is a form of language skill. That's where processor speed comes in.

Does it matter if you can solve a problem in five minutes or fifty? Does it make you slow or dumb if it is the latter? If comprehension is primarily a function of processor speed, which I believe it is, what on earth does that have to do with basic potential or "intelligence"? I understand that in some business applications, speed is of the essence, but that still has nothing to do with basic ability. How many lives and dreams have been dashed because they were thought dumb? Potential scientists, musicians, scholars of any ilk - you name it.

So here I am viewing human function through a process of backward engineering, utilizing what I understand of computer function. In medical school I was constantly confronted with students whose processors were just an awful lot faster than mine. Still, the outcome was the same since I simply had to spend more time studying to arrive at the same spot. Now I understand there is much more to styles of cognitive thought than processor speed. It's called talent. But more on that later.

Catching Up

I've missed about three days of writing now due to a family emergency, and I really feel it. Writing is my lifeblood, and without it creativity in all fields seems to dry up. It's also true, I think, that creativity dries up or is at least strongly influenced by such stressful situations. That has been the case here. Life crises soak up so much of a person's time and energy that little is left over for creation. Processing power just isn't there for the time being. Which thought leads me to what I have been wanting to write about for some time.

As on prior occasion, I am struck by the many similarities between computer function and human psychological/neurological function. That, I have come to believe, is no chance occurrence. Starting with my next entry, I'm going to look at that remarkable state of affairs. Today I am still in recovery. Cheers.

Follow on

I've mentioned the importance of setting aside time dedicated to nothing but writing, and the need of sitting there in front of the keyboard for the allotted time even though you may not type a single word. That is critical. Here's a few more thoughts on that subject.

Even though you may not type a single word during that three or four hour period set aside for writing, the time is not wasted. It might happen that you are disgusted with the lack of production only to get hit with a storm of ideas sometime later that day. The gestation period for ideas sometimes is not in sync with your daily routine. Of course, there are also days when you have to run to the computer because there is such a backlog of ideas demanding expression. And sitting in front of that blank wall or the equivalent of it is also important because you do not want anything to distract your concentration. It's also really handy to have a notepad handy for those occasions when you can't get to the computer. Many inspired ideas have slipped away because I did not have writing materials at hand. Often, a good idea or inspiration is like a dream. It hits like a rocket, you sit up in bed with a start, and then it quickly fades away even as you try and grasp it.

Writer's Block

If nothing else, sitting in front of a computer monitor staring blankly at the keyboard for several hours at a time is an exercise in self discipline. The pain of creation, already noted, is keen. There were times when it was all I could do to stay seated and struggle with what to write. Some times I gave up and went for a long walk or something, anything, to get away for a while. Some people might be inclined to call this type of experience writer's block, but it's not. In fact, it's rare to hear anyone even mention writer's block these days thanks to the word processor.

It was a different matter in the age of the typewriter. It's been said that writer's block even then really had little to do with written word per se, but had everything to do with having to get it right before hitting a single key. It was a form of mental paralysis because the writer did not have a completely formed sentence(s) in mind to type. I am only a mediocre typist, and can well imagine the agony that would result when you realized that the last two or three sentences were wrong and had to go. There was no erasing those sentences by hitting the backspace key. No, it was either rip out the sheet of paper and start over or pick up the eraser. It's understandable that most manuscripts were first written longhand. At least you could scratch things out and make notes in the margins. So, basically, writer's block is largely an historical footnote.

I realize that some, perhaps many, people might disagree. And I think it possible that at some points in a manuscript, a conflict of ideas, emotions, or intent might bring the creative process to a screeching halt. However, those are issues of a specific nature that can be dealt with as one does with any conflict in life. Depending, of course, on how the individual happens to deal with conflict!

No, I think what most people these days call writer's block is directly related to impatience. Certainly, when I first started writing impatience was a constant companion. Only now, some years later, have I gained a real appreciation for the process of creation that precedes the first keystroke, and for the concept of patience. They are related, immense topics cloaked in uncertainty, obscurity, and frank darkness; in aspects of thought itself that are not accessible to the consciously directed mind. If not definitive justice, at least I will do what justice I might to these topics in this post and posts to follow as they might. Even while writing this, my mind is balking at the task of finding the right words. Of course they aren't there until they are.

What I eventually came to realize years after starting to write, was that the process of creation exists in a part of my mind that I have no direct access to or dominion over. Creation serves at its pleasure and leisure. Upon placing a request, more often than not I receive an answer. Sooner or later. Enter patience. And yet, sometimes wonderful ideas outside experience or imagination flow without interruption for hours or days at a time. Okay, I've already talked a bit about this. During those wonderful periods, the conscious Me serves only as a mediator between the source of creation and the words that appear on the monitor as I type. In the best of times, then, one departs sensory reality to live in that part of the mind where creativity exists. You go to it, it does not come to you. And so I went to live on Aketti and breathed the purest of air high in the Bora Mountains. There I met giants of old and creatures of renown.

Whimsical? No. You have to experience it. As I said, though, I'll come back to this topic off and on. Patience is the key to revelation, and patience is the child of humility.