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a national disaster
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My natural feeling of satisfaction is ruined.
Why searching for bad mistakes became an habit?
Because "They" always pinpointed my mistakes.
Check it yourself: what do you notice first in another's job?
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solution: a (fake) optimist ?
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Some Sales Reps say: every "no" yields me satisfaction because statistically it’s footstep to a "yes".
Without any satisfaction on a "no" they wouldn't have the optimism to continue to a "yes".
Fake pretended "feeling" and pure logical statements of fact are not an option.
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go perfect: stick or carrot ?
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a tasty carrot ? spit it all at each mouthful...
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This toon rabbit has a tight collar and can't swallow.
Taste = sense on tongue
Fill = feeling of satisfaction?
Try a tasty meal. And spit it all at each mouthful and etc.
Would the good taste with no fill be a reward?
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two real life examples : is a good taste inherently good ?
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Let me take it from the beginning... What's inside a brain?
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There are neural networks inside my brain.
Here's a mechanical model of a simple neural network.
This one was tuned to recognize an "A"-shape pattern (OK, it's letter "A").
And no other letter will ever make the bell ring!
Tuning (they say "training") consists in choosing the ball weights and V-grooves destinations
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In a real eye neural network...
...instead of balls in grooves, electrochemical signals go from many sensory neurons to one shape recognition neuron.
There is amplification or inhibition in a junction between two neurons (they say "synapse").
Mechanical model:
amplification: a ball goes left
inhibition: a ball goes right
Sum(Xj*Wi) is compared to a threshold (like a weight on the balance above)
(For how to calculate Wi in a multilayer neural net, run a google search for "backpropagation algorithm")
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reflex : a hardwired association
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The spinal cord is a sort of simple brain.
An association between "hot!"-pattern-recognition and "release!"-action is hardwired in the spinal cord. I'm born with this association.
My brain is bypassed, so that it can think more important issues while I am dealing with hot cooking ware.
Another advantage: bypassing complicated circuitry makes reactions quicker.
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creating a new recognition-action association : a conditioned reflex
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An existing hardwired association:
food view is a known visual pattern for any dog. It is associated with an action: salivate.
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Learning an unknown new pattern ("bell ring").
We need a new wiring here, an association of "bell ring" and "salivate" neural networks...
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...a bit of training..
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Done! The "bell ring" pattern has a known meaning now: "salivate!"
Are salivation and food-view distinct networks?
Is appetite just one kind of emotion?
Can an emotion be triggered by a bell?
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educating one's brain : bringing it altogether
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Memories are neural networks tuned to recognize shapes, smells, etc..
There are many associations between recognizable shapes (they say "patterns").
Ex: "24 December" (abstract pattern) and "tree" (visual pattern).
Emotional patterns are associated with a release of brain hormones.
Some of them help solve problems, others make synapse weights tuning (memorize new patterns).
Emotions can't mix (?) : if I feel fear, I am fleeing away, not solving problems.
Problem solving would be rambling between many associations in search of a networks string leading to a final pattern (named "result").
Saving brainwork. If I see a Cristmas tree, my brain may substitute the viewed tree by an earlier memorized one. Even if the two tree are slightly different. Doing so, data from my eyes will be lost. And data from a neural network "Christmas tree memory" will be connected to the eyes-view entry, as if it was coming from my eyes. Thus less neurons are needed for memory. The drawback is, I can't feel this substitution, it is a perfect illusion. Experienced people have difficulties to learn new information because of that substitution. They just can't feel that some new data from the outside world is missing!
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A string of events-in-time is a pattern as well. So it can be felt and memorized as any other pattern. That's how we feel lifetime? I can think about lifetime, by viewing memorized events-in-time patterns.
An incoming pattern may come from the outside world, or from inside my body. Thus I perceive myself.
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(see more details on next fig.) Choosing between numerous ramifications of associated patterns while thinking is out(!) of "conscious control".
It seems only indirect control of my thinking is possible.
Some memorized patterns are linked with emotions. So, while being in optimistic mood, and feeling happy, solutions come easily. The problem is, "they" taught me to search for mistakes and mistakes induce negative emotions.
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using emotions
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Conscience of viewing a candle comes with a 0,5 seconds delay after the actual eyes-input of the candle pattern. Meanwhile a subconscious chain of "thoughts" (string of interconnected patterns) has already come to some final idea.
Because of this delay, "free will" is only an illusion, while subconscious associations are yielding conscious logic. To make things more complicated, inputs may come either from outside world or from memory.
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Here's a normal chain of events: your emotional state defines the pathway in a ramification of associated networks -> the resulting idea may alter the initial emotion. Happiness increases itself. Depression on the contrary, spirals down.
Grey fear or anger serve to run or fight. (It is OK for animals, but is a bad option for men, usually a calm fighter wins.)
Sunny mood helps memorizing data and solve problems.
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what are emotions?
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Example of an emotion: disgust.
It serves three purposes: 1. Avoid or vomit infected things 2. Communicate to other that the food is bad. 3. Learn to avoid infections. (and of course, I can also be consciously aware of my disgust)
In other words disgust serves my interests and community interests. To do so, my brain activates vomiting reflex and facial expression reflex. Both are innate.
As in the dog's conditioned reflex example, I can associate things with disgust. The open mouth in a fly infested environment may be associated with disgust to avoid sleeping with an open mouth. Open mouth would be sort of "tagged" by disgust in order to be avoided unconsciously.
A propos: ..thinking about facial expression of emotions: [clik-clik] wanna be a star? [clik-clik]
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an overlooked emotion: satisfaction
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Satisfaction is a special emotion. As you see on the picture above, satisfaction has little facial expression. This is because (unlike fear or disgust) there is no need to communicate it to the herd. Satisfaction serves mostly for personal use. That's why satisfaction is generally perceived like an absence of any emotion.
Here's an easy way to feel satisfaction:
take a short breath and pause for 5 seconds, than expire slowly for another 5 or 8 seconds. During the expiration you will feel satisfaction. Why? Because your body felt too much CO2 and wanted to breathe out and finally got what it wanted. This method has an advantage: it can provide satisfaction several times in a minute. This source of satisfaction is used in yoga and martial arts.
Other natural sources of satisfaction can be used less frequently. They are:
- become thirsty and drink (while drinking you feel pleasure, after drinking comes satisfaction).
- have sex and come (before and during the orgasm you feel sensual pleasure, after it you feel satisfaction)
- become hungry and eat
- take a problem (or a puzzle) and resolve it
- use a cycle of tension-resolution (art, rhythm,..)
- etc.
Meth users would call an intense form of satisfaction: feel relaxed, anxiety fade, feel strong and brave, confident and happy.
Btw, it's harder to feel satisfaction while slouching. With a bent spine you may feel a sort of angry irritation in the pit of the stomach. Samurai would call it weakness in the "tanden" area? Or simply a lack of guts?
Satisfaction is a very important emotion and it's purpose is straightforward: "what I did was OK, now I should remember the way I did it, and start it over".
Anything associated with satisfaction will be repeated again and again and with sensual pleasure.
Usually reward is confused with pleasure. I would say, pleasure is what we sense (good taste on tongue, caress on skin...) and satisfaction is what we feel. Also, satisfaction (relax) is very different from exuberant joy (excitement).
In oder words, it is common to think that if the reward system in our brain is activated, we feel sensual pleasure and joy and perhaps satisfaction (or "emotional relaxation", "sense of fulfillment" or "contentment"). Some publications made me speculate that joy and satisfaction correspond to two distinct systems. Pleasure would be just a perception, a sense (while certainly emotionally colored). Joy and pleasure do eclipse a more subtle satisfaction, which would be the true reward system in a training/learning prospective. Some addictive substances do hijack both pleasure and satisfaction systems. I guess, addictions are due only to the satisfaction system activation. Isn't it reasonable: even if some experiences were enjoyable, keep searching new ways until full satisfaction, and only then retain what you'd found?
Some people use relaxation in successful learning. In fact relaxation is needed in any training, and the relaxation itself provide some satisfaction too. Just be aware that satisfaction and relaxation are different things. Satisfaction is an emotion, and relaxation is an action of voiding the mind and relaxing muscles. Relaxation is a prerequisite for satisfaction.
Learning to feel satisfaction is part of what is called "emotional intelligence". Acting techniques and Stanislavski method will help. Also, people can induce your mood, over-expectation too, beware of pessimists and perfectionists around.
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misusing satisfaction : hard work
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1) pleasure : the nervous system knows where to lead you;
2) satisfaction makes it remember how to reach pleasure;
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btw:
Illusion: the cigarette is a special and unique sort of pleasure.
Reality: a cigarette is an artificial trigger for Satisfaction.
And Satisfaction induces Pleasure (of smoking again and again).
Different other substances may lead to Satisfaction.
Can a person use emotional memories instead of outside triggers?
Other people (artists, bosses..) do manipulate our emotions. Can one do it by himself?
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school system : using kids as a tool
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Satisfaction of being the best: impossible to shine out without all the average students as a background.
A lesson is not a competition, but a training for one. Rewarding a few A-grade students wouldn't work without the average and thus unrewarded majority. Do they use our kids as an educational tool for the sake of a few A-students?
OK, they can keep grades undisclosed.
But the difficulty of an assignment is tuned up on a class statistics.
Thus only a few students can get an A-grade-reward.
Should be tuned to fit every student individually, but this would be too expensive. Can one profit from the system? Easy: just do some homework in advance and be the straight-A kid.
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using satisfaction : job vs. pleasure
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Danger:
Suppose some job trouble yields negative emotions.
Chemical signals are broadcasted to the entire nervous system: "wrong way, we need some correction".
Meanwhile the body was working fine, controlled by unconscious commands essential for health. These valid commands are now being "corrected"(i.e. misguided) by the new chemical signals.
That's why stress leads to poor health.
To help emotional memory, try sort of prana-yoga built-in triggers: inspiration-pleasure(skin-and-body sensed), expiration-satisfaction.
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motivation & will : mapping emotions
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One can't do without what is needed.
Some needs are innate, some rise from problems we stumble at. In all cases, the lack of what's needed is intolerable.
After one or several successes in fulfilling a need, the action of fulfilling a need becomes a want.
A Goal is a reference point set up from (one's) thinking and gathering information. It is wise to setup milestones (local goals). With a little willpower and lots of satisfaction from achieving milestones, convert milestones into wants. There's a risk of getting stuck on those.
For complicated long-term goals: planning & learning the milestones backwards seems an interesting (Caren Pryor's) idea.
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compulsive and addictive behavior
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More examples of compulsive, addictive or normal behavior are easily explained using the satisfaction paradigm.
Try these:
- Stress from fear to be caught + satisfaction from a successful shoplift => kleptomaniac;
- Extreme sport + satisfaction of escaping danger => adrenaline junky;
- Tense while searching a solution + satisfaction and relaxation at solution finding => puzzle lover;
- Pain + satisfaction after an orgasm (not pleasure!) -> sado/maso;
- Intercourse without ejaculation = pleasure without satisfaction => he needs Viagra;
- Adrenaline rush at a job stress -> blood pressure raising + satisfaction from a smoke or a meal, while blood pressure hasn't dropped yet => hypertension;
- etc...
After a pathway ended with satisfaction, the brain pushes the body to that path again. Thus, any goal or action associated with the feeling of satisfaction (a.k.a. "emotional relaxation") will be reached independently of our will, over and over again.
The associated pathway may even be imaginary (it'll be "meditation").
Our choices in life and our body function are driven by this powerful mechanism. While fighting suicide bombers or serial killers, correcting myopia and addictions, teaching music or math's, we should know how to use satisfaction.
1) satisfaction is not just an absence of emotions, but is a special emotion itself.
2) our neural system somehow manages to lead us to a previously "tagged" (or associated) with satisfaction state or place or action, etc.
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you train only what you sense
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I need equal amounts of satisfaction and perception of what I am doing. If my lesson is too long, satisfaction decreases, or I begin exercising automatically. Such lesson wouldn't do any good.
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you can feel and sense only if you relax
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Try to lift a heavy weight and doing so calculate 37 x 9 = ..., or sing, or remember your favorite meal taste,... Impossible. You have to relax in order to better use your brain.
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check list: [_] relax muscles and void mind [_] sense and visualize the new skill or thought [_] use satisfaction to tag it
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ex. 1: training a kid
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A reinforcement should yield satisfaction. Beware of negative emotions.
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It made me think of an update to the Porter - Lawler model:
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and David McClelland's experiments on achievements and success:
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1) challenging & teasing throw distance = addicted to process = winner of the goal
2) too easy or 3) unrealistic distance = boring or frustrated/disgusted = willpower fails = looser
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ex. 2: powerlifting
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ex. 3: learning a foreign language
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This successful experience is based on Assimil (TM) method. I added some DVD.
Blockbuster = unforgettable (emotions high).
("XZZ-Language-Manual" = shoestring budget, boring, austere).
1 minute film dialogue = 30 min lesson.
First: print caption translation and read one-lesson-long of those.
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Turn captions on. Listen and Understand the film.
(Use a headset!!!).
You may have to listen the same phrase up to 5 times before you hear distinct words (or just skip indistinct ones).
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This one is hard!
Read a short phrase. Repeat it less than 2 seconds after reading it. (Make phrases
a little longer only after 30 or 40 lessons).
Be Zen: just do it, don't think grammar or translation.
Tip: Use a voice recorder to control your pronunciation.
DO & DONTs
- Do not try to recall the sentence you are repeating. If it's not
coming easy, try a shorter sentence and never make any pause after reading it.
- 15 minutes every day is fine. 4 hours once a week is bad.
- Be confident. First 40 lessons the results will stall, than there
will be a breakthrough.
- Childish faith : real hero learn languages. This idea will cheer you up.
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ex. 4: rock climbing
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Sense every single skill you train and feel a rewarding satisfaction at every step.
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ex. 5: becoming rich
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Rich people have a feeling of probabilities. Card games and game theory are all about probabilities. In everyday life do we call it intuition? If I put small black and white balls in a bag, and pull them out one after another, and try to guess the color of every next ball... will it reinforce the habit of relying on past experience (thus on intuition)?
Don't push and remember the checklist: [x] relax muscles and void mind [x] sense the past/future link [x] use satisfaction to learn better.
The Buddhist idea of renouncing desire might be about satisfaction and feeling of every step. These steps might very well lead you to the desired top. Thus renouncing desire leads to quicker access to what was previously desired.
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are you motivated to become rich? updating Maslow ...
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Business and Politics are the ultimate "king of the mountain" game in modern world? Craving for food and shelter is barely motivating men to work nowadays. "Power to the Poor" vs. "Profit to the Poor"?
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ex. 6: quit smoking
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It takes about 40 days to stop. Quit means stop smoking or stop wanting it?
Put an enticing pack of cigarettes and a lighter next to it in your kitchen, and do as explained on the picture. You don't need to sit on your knees, just use delayed expiration (and don’t slouch).
During the 40 days you'd probably smoke some cigarettes from the pack, left some in it, no will-power or special motivation needed. How many more would you smoke, if you're often tense and unhappy? But this wouldn't be a "quit smoking" issue, it's about happiness, then..?
After a year ban and a few "just one"... the addiction grip comes back. Need to renew the training?
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No! There's a better way, invented by Allen Carr. His method is powered by the nicotine itself.
1) nicotine is not happiness, it's just a trap
it works like this:
# getting tense... need to relax... need a smoke
# if nicotine starvation -> tense again -> more smoke needed
2) escape: avoiding a single "just one smoke" -> 2b) bravo! satisfaction
(the stronger is the smoke addiction, the stronger is the escape satisfaction, but
it works only if cigarette is considered as an insidious trap)
3) satisfaction is securing the nicotine avoidance habit.
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ex. 7: wearing spectacles
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It might be the same system, while the body is fighting some bad bacteria, or regulating some testosterone or insulin secretion...
In case of a disease the body makes slight fluctuations towards healing. Should I reward it with satisfaction?
In case of a problem the mind makes slight fluctuations towards a solution. Again, should I reward it with satisfaction? or keep it deep gloom until "perfection"?
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ex. 8: willpower and competition misunderstood
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Competition. A hostile "community" may link together satisfaction and fight.
This may lead to a lifetime goal "I'll show them all!". In business it means preferences for ego over efficiency.
(btw: a "no pain, no gain" approach may accidentally link pain to satisfaction ("I love pain" instead of "I love gain").
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...competition and war
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Game and sport : learning & training (personal interest)
Competition : innate rules are protecting the opponents' life
- best fit leads the heard (common interest)
- best fit breed (genetic algorithm, benefit of the species)
If given a method to push an effort to a life treating edge (normal for life-or-death situation), would it be reasonable to use it in a sport competition? Anyway athletes can read here this method now... How does a war-like approach (result-or-death) fit in sport or business?
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Animal World War :
- survival, only the result counts, overkill is OK,
life is more important than possible injuries.
Humans are top predators, so we are left alone to compete with each other. Taking a worst-case (war): what do we do with a "sporting desire" of winning this deadly "game" mostly for satisfaction?
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ex. 9: Genetic algorithm
Genetic algorithm has nothing to do with brain structure.
I mention it here because it is a goal choosing and a problem solving strategy.
It shows the true role of competition: not ego feeding, but solutions testing.
Some say it is the Basic Law of Creation (God?), since it might be applied to an initial multitude of laws and the best remaining law would be the GA itself.
Imagine a diamond hidden in a dark cave, at the highest point on the ceiling. Assume you have a long stick to probe height in the dark. What would be the best strategy?
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1. going through enumeration of all possibilities: 100% sure but slow
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2. gradient search : after a quick progress you got trapped in a local optimum before finding the diamond (global optimum)
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1 + 2. genetic algorithm combines random possibilities and gradient descend. It's the quickest way to reach your goal.
This cave case is a 1-D optimization with one optimization parameter: ceiling height.
Multi-dimensional optimization is quick and easy with Genetic Algorithm.
If confronted with controversial criteria, the GA would give a best possible balance.
Personality: balance between random curiosity and goal-seeking determination.
Brainstorming: initial populations of ideas, chop them and mix randomly, challenge results and keep the best, repeat again.
Silicon Valley: balance between innovation & entrepreneurship (combining "R&D center" & "market place" genes).
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Do it.
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Thanks to
myself
K.Pryor @ clickertraining.com
Ivan Pavlov
Emile Coue
Tasha @ DOL
Paul Getty
Konstantin Stanislavski
Alphonse Cherel @ Assimil
S.Dolenko @ neuroproject.ru
Helene Brun-Pichet @ Lere
Mirzakarim @ norbekov.com
Norbert Wiener
David Metzler @ iastate.edu
Frederick Perls @ Gestalt
George Polya @ stanford.edu
Susan Greenfield @ rigb.org
Martin Fridson @ billionaires
D.J. O'Leary @ apu.ac.uk
John Watson @ Behaviorism
Lyman Porter @ uci.edu
Ed Lawler @ usc.edu
Konrad Lorenz
Allen Carr @ stop smoking
David McClelland
Regards,
Andy :-)
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Downward spiral:
- looking at pitfalls,
- steps on the rake,
- getting worried,
- sees more rakes,
- ...
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Natural optimism:
upward spiral.
+ looking at clear paths,
(thus avoiding pitfalls),
+ casually choosing goals,
+ if a goal is reached,
satisfacton is a pleasant result
reinforcing this goal seeking
+ looking at the bright side,
makes life brighter.
Main issues:
- needs trouble
to move on
- once comfortable, looks no further
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Red(?) optimism:
upward super-spiral.
+ use satisfaction as a tool,
+ feel the bright side
for mastering the tool
(and have great time anyway)
+ keep goals in mind,
use the tool at each step,
enjoy the journey thru life,
& reach goals easy and quick.
take a natural mechanism
and deliberately use it as a tool
Skills:
- intensely feel satisfaction
- set enjoyable milestones with
short intervals between them
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