Kim Hohlmayer on sat 2 aug 08
James,
I see your point and understand quite clearly that these issues exist.
Still, let's not throw out the baby with the bath water. Why do we have to be all nuts and terrified or totally oblivious? I know, that isn't exactly what you meant but there is medium ground here.
I let my child start walking down to the local gas station/ convenience store by himself last year. He had just turned 8 and yes I worried but not because I believed that child abductions were up in number. They are actually down. The issue is you cannot predict where, when or which child could be a victim. So I did the best I could to teach him safety type behaviors (without scaring him half to death) and then sent him off.
It is the same with pottery concerns or watching tv or food or anything else. We must keep a balance. I want to know the risks then I want to view those risks as balanced angainst the quality and enjoyment of daily life. As an example I actually had a gyn. doctor suggest I not use estrogen after a hysterectomy at age 30 just to avoid any risk of breast cancer. Some even advocate having both breasts removed as another way to be sure and avoid it. I changed doctors and went with one who understood that my quality of life counted too. I had all the facts and the fears and made the right choice for me.
Eventually in my forties I knew it was time to wean myself off the hormones and move on to the next stage of my life. Now, as I turn 50 this week I am still fine as frog's hair split three ways. Of course I get my yearly mammogram but I sure don't sit around worrying about it.
Just like that situation, I want all the facts including the scarey ones. Then I want to be able to make intelligent decissions based on ALL the facts both scarey and not scarey. And I want my tv so I can watch really intelligent things like PBS, the History Channel and Pay Per View movies like "Meet the Spartans." ;^) --Kim H.
--- On Thu, 7/31/08, James F wrote:
> From: James F
> Subject: Re: Brain Studies, learning theory and application
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Date: Thursday, July 31, 2008, 9:25 PM
> >
> > Like Howard, I too detach myself from these things
> more often than not. The constant negativity is not healthy,
> really.
> >
> > Tony Ferguson
> >
>
> >
> > Lee Love wrote: On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 4:13 PM,
> Arnold Howard wrote:
> >
> >> That theory makes sense. For the last two weeks, I
> have been
> >> oblivious to current events by
> "unplugging" from the news.
> >> It feels nice to tune out.
> >
> > As primates, the part of our brain responsible for
> fright/flight
> > believes everything we see is in our immediate
> environment. It is why
> > the T.V. is so powerful.
>
>
> Lee, Tony, Arnold, et al...
>
> In "Stranger in a Strange Land", the philosopher
> and writer Robert Heinlein wrote:
>
> "...Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to
> the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in
> the troubles and sins of 5 billion strangers."
>
> Heinlein made this comment in 1961. Seems to back up what
> you have been saying. Heinlein also offered some very
> interesting thoughts on art in that book, but that would be
> a topic for another thread.
>
> I stopped reading newspapers and watching the news about 15
> years ago. I stopped watching TV altogether 10 years ago.
> Beside not getting worked up over things you can do nothing
> about and that really don't affect you, it is amazing
> how much free time one gets back. TV sucks our life away in
> 30 minute increments, and the commercials convince us to
> waste money on things we really don't need.
>
> My off-topic 2 cents.
>
> ...James
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