As always, David, you are like a frickin' mirror, reminding the everlasting inner child that they are not alone. The reminder that never goes out of date. Major surgery? Here's to quick recovery, and is there a character called "Major Surgery"?? I think I saw him hanging out with Private Despair and General Malaise. (Sorry, sometimes I can't resist "getting into the act.").
Another knock-out comic therapy session. I feel like I should pay you. You are so good at writing about and illustrating the fancies and foibles of human consciousness that it makes me hate you—in an admiring, jealous way.
That carnival wheel panel is terrific. And the bong on the school desk is brilliant. I could've used a bong in first grade, for sure!
As usual very nice stuff Milgy. When I read you I leave feeling psychologically stimulated. My confidence grows, I get all warm and fuzzy & I put on my big boy pants. That lasts until my wife comes home and says, "Nice but where's dinner?"
Re: "storytellers" "our brains" and "predictable." There are huge differences in how the two hemispheres of the brain function. Look up Dr. Iain McGilchrist's 2021 //The Matter with Things (Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World)// 1500+ pages of solid science. Talks also on YouTube.
The LH analyzes parts, abstractions, the explicit, the known. It wants certainty and control. It's also overoptimistic, like the Dunning Kruger effect, because it thinks it knows everything relevant. This mode, dominant since the Enlightenment, is why much of our economics and politics are so bad. Its plusses are the empiricism of science and the rationalism of philosophy. The RH is about flow, context, the implicit, what's unique, new possibilities,--and most important--symbols, metaphors, and meaning. It is aware of and understands the LH, but the reverse is not true. It's the way of the arts and the humanities. Its drawback is that it tends toward pessimism.
So then "storyteller" is RH and "predictable" is LH. They're very different modes that in an LH dominant era seldom function together. Folklore and tribal wisdom are passed along in entertaining stories that evoke the meaning and purpose of life. Knowledge about how to best live in a specific environment may also be encoded in these stories. There's a Haida saying "The world is as sharp as a knife." Lots of possible meanings; IMHO a warning to pay attention. But also the world cuts through human pretensions. Not simply an LH style public service announcement--it's open ended, full of possibilities.
As for LH "predictable" v. RH enjoyment of novelty, a bit from the old Steve Allen (Tonight) show: "Roses are red, violets are blue. You think this will rhyme, but it ain't gonna." That's why AI isn't about intelligence. A bit repeated a thousand times is not a thousand data points. Real information is like that silly poem; it's the difference that counts.
So then part of being an artist is living with the pessimist. However, the artist is also the part that delights in the beauty and diversity of the living Earth. The warp and weft of the world. You're your own master storyteller and as we can see, you creatively reweave yourself. That's your way out of remaining a basket case.
Nice writing, Rafi. I can see you are studied and thoughtful in these areas. Thanks for the comment. I've always been interested in the two hemispheres. It's interesting that the storyteller turns up RH when so much LH is involved, too. Also, why is the RH a pessimist?
I don't know--I'll ask Dr. McGilchrist in one of our quarterly Q and As. But my guess is the uncertainty and ambiguity. Which interestingly, were also verified 100 years ago by quantum physics as a part of reality. Einstein's relativity and Heisenberg's uncertainty.
Perhaps also related to how LH and RH function in birds (us, too, but not as obviously.) The LH does detail, piece by piece, so good for picking seeds out of rocks. The RH sees patterns, new things, and the whole all at once, handy for detecting an approaching predator. BTW, statistically, there's a far bigger % of left handed people in the arts than in the sciences. The why for that isn't clear.
IMHO very little LH involved in storytelling. Otherwise it would read like (or sound like) the abstract at the head of a scientific paper. A summary of factual data, methodology, and conclusions. An assumed objectivity, especially in biological papers. But quantum physics says the observer is not separate from what is observed. So scientific writing has become more relaxed in the last 15 years.
The contrast between art (RH) and science (LH) is like this: scientifically analyzed, a painting is a hunk of cloth with splotches of pigment. It's the artistic, poetic, mystical, and spiritual functions that give it meaning.
Sorry to hear about a "major surgery" and I hope it's all in the past (like some of your musings?). I sometimes read your brilliant pieces and try to square them with the little boy I've known since forever (Blairstone Drive rules). You were always a big thinker...so reflective and intellectual. I'm a huge fan of the way you have integrated your mind and your growth with your work. Bravo!
Brilliant as always. Your work here especially reminds me of IFS -- Internal Family Systems. It's a common model of "parts therapy." Maybe you've heard of it? I wouldn't be surprised. In case not, the nutshell is that trauma and shame in childhood created an "exile" that was then shielded by a "protector" part. (Sometimes called managers; and there's more too -- including "firefighters.") I could totally see you rendering IFS in your unique artistic way. But of course, what you're doing is always awesome just as it is! Cheers.
Thanks, TJ.! Yes, it comes straight from that. I've been doing a closely related therapy for a few years now and LOVE it. My therapist is not strict about it so I don't know all the characters, but I understand what's going on in there pretty well now.
Hope the medical issues are being resolved David and well done you for the growth that you're experiencing and worked so hard to achieve. No mean feat. Wishing you a speedy recovery on all levels.
Great stuff David, you reminded me of a parable by dear old Maxwell Maltz, where you are asked to find your lonely younger child and reassure it that things have turned out all right.
I hope your inner voice wasn't surgically removed.
As always, David, you are like a frickin' mirror, reminding the everlasting inner child that they are not alone. The reminder that never goes out of date. Major surgery? Here's to quick recovery, and is there a character called "Major Surgery"?? I think I saw him hanging out with Private Despair and General Malaise. (Sorry, sometimes I can't resist "getting into the act.").
I love that, Kevin! I may use it at some point. Maybe Private Matters (or Parts). Good stuff. Thanks for the warm wishes and for relating!
Another knock-out comic therapy session. I feel like I should pay you. You are so good at writing about and illustrating the fancies and foibles of human consciousness that it makes me hate you—in an admiring, jealous way.
That carnival wheel panel is terrific. And the bong on the school desk is brilliant. I could've used a bong in first grade, for sure!
Thanks, Dan! Maybe I can bill everyone's insurance? Yes, every student should be issued a bong in first grade. Hate away. I already hate you back.
Sincere best wishes for a complete recovery amd resumption of all the things you enjoy, David.
Thank you, Nina! I'm on the way with fingers crossed! ❤️
As usual very nice stuff Milgy. When I read you I leave feeling psychologically stimulated. My confidence grows, I get all warm and fuzzy & I put on my big boy pants. That lasts until my wife comes home and says, "Nice but where's dinner?"
lol. I know that feeling too. Thanks, Mark!
Re: "storytellers" "our brains" and "predictable." There are huge differences in how the two hemispheres of the brain function. Look up Dr. Iain McGilchrist's 2021 //The Matter with Things (Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World)// 1500+ pages of solid science. Talks also on YouTube.
The LH analyzes parts, abstractions, the explicit, the known. It wants certainty and control. It's also overoptimistic, like the Dunning Kruger effect, because it thinks it knows everything relevant. This mode, dominant since the Enlightenment, is why much of our economics and politics are so bad. Its plusses are the empiricism of science and the rationalism of philosophy. The RH is about flow, context, the implicit, what's unique, new possibilities,--and most important--symbols, metaphors, and meaning. It is aware of and understands the LH, but the reverse is not true. It's the way of the arts and the humanities. Its drawback is that it tends toward pessimism.
So then "storyteller" is RH and "predictable" is LH. They're very different modes that in an LH dominant era seldom function together. Folklore and tribal wisdom are passed along in entertaining stories that evoke the meaning and purpose of life. Knowledge about how to best live in a specific environment may also be encoded in these stories. There's a Haida saying "The world is as sharp as a knife." Lots of possible meanings; IMHO a warning to pay attention. But also the world cuts through human pretensions. Not simply an LH style public service announcement--it's open ended, full of possibilities.
As for LH "predictable" v. RH enjoyment of novelty, a bit from the old Steve Allen (Tonight) show: "Roses are red, violets are blue. You think this will rhyme, but it ain't gonna." That's why AI isn't about intelligence. A bit repeated a thousand times is not a thousand data points. Real information is like that silly poem; it's the difference that counts.
So then part of being an artist is living with the pessimist. However, the artist is also the part that delights in the beauty and diversity of the living Earth. The warp and weft of the world. You're your own master storyteller and as we can see, you creatively reweave yourself. That's your way out of remaining a basket case.
Nice writing, Rafi. I can see you are studied and thoughtful in these areas. Thanks for the comment. I've always been interested in the two hemispheres. It's interesting that the storyteller turns up RH when so much LH is involved, too. Also, why is the RH a pessimist?
I don't know--I'll ask Dr. McGilchrist in one of our quarterly Q and As. But my guess is the uncertainty and ambiguity. Which interestingly, were also verified 100 years ago by quantum physics as a part of reality. Einstein's relativity and Heisenberg's uncertainty.
Perhaps also related to how LH and RH function in birds (us, too, but not as obviously.) The LH does detail, piece by piece, so good for picking seeds out of rocks. The RH sees patterns, new things, and the whole all at once, handy for detecting an approaching predator. BTW, statistically, there's a far bigger % of left handed people in the arts than in the sciences. The why for that isn't clear.
IMHO very little LH involved in storytelling. Otherwise it would read like (or sound like) the abstract at the head of a scientific paper. A summary of factual data, methodology, and conclusions. An assumed objectivity, especially in biological papers. But quantum physics says the observer is not separate from what is observed. So scientific writing has become more relaxed in the last 15 years.
The contrast between art (RH) and science (LH) is like this: scientifically analyzed, a painting is a hunk of cloth with splotches of pigment. It's the artistic, poetic, mystical, and spiritual functions that give it meaning.
Sorry to hear about a "major surgery" and I hope it's all in the past (like some of your musings?). I sometimes read your brilliant pieces and try to square them with the little boy I've known since forever (Blairstone Drive rules). You were always a big thinker...so reflective and intellectual. I'm a huge fan of the way you have integrated your mind and your growth with your work. Bravo!
Thanks, Joanne! That's so sweet. I was always interested in the big questions. And always a bit of a mess. I'm glad to be integrating too! Phew. xo
Wishing you well. BTW, the art is spectacular in this post.
Thanks, Aunty! (May I call you Aunty?) I considered Uncle Milgy as a pseudonym, but that sounds like a friend of Jeff Epstein so no way. 😳
Yes, please do call me Aunty! Love your humor!
Brilliant as always. Your work here especially reminds me of IFS -- Internal Family Systems. It's a common model of "parts therapy." Maybe you've heard of it? I wouldn't be surprised. In case not, the nutshell is that trauma and shame in childhood created an "exile" that was then shielded by a "protector" part. (Sometimes called managers; and there's more too -- including "firefighters.") I could totally see you rendering IFS in your unique artistic way. But of course, what you're doing is always awesome just as it is! Cheers.
Thanks, TJ.! Yes, it comes straight from that. I've been doing a closely related therapy for a few years now and LOVE it. My therapist is not strict about it so I don't know all the characters, but I understand what's going on in there pretty well now.
Hope the medical issues are being resolved David and well done you for the growth that you're experiencing and worked so hard to achieve. No mean feat. Wishing you a speedy recovery on all levels.
Great stuff David, you reminded me of a parable by dear old Maxwell Maltz, where you are asked to find your lonely younger child and reassure it that things have turned out all right.
I hope your inner voice wasn't surgically removed.