Scammed
This week the theme in my life seemed to be scams and gullability.
On Tuesday I ensured a buddy of mine that I am a good judge of character and that I know whom to trust. Then on Thursday I realized that one of the people I trusted is likely a scam artist who had stolen 1000s of dollars worth of books from me. And while I talked to him, she walked by my office and I waved and smiled to her.
On Wednesday, I asked Gabe in a comment on his blog how we can distinguish between "new age mumbo jumbo" and worthwhile models when we read mysticism. Basically, how does he orient himself so that he doesn't get lost in all of the fantastical ideas floating around? (His answer, by the way, was that he uses intuition and experience).
On Friday, I got an alumni newsletter from the University of Iowa in the mail which highlighted research on the brain region responsible for gullability. The ventromedial area of the prefrontal cortex of the brain is one of the last areas to develop and one of the first areas to deteriorate, and the research found that people with damage to the area are more likely to believe advertisements and be more gullible. The article stated that people generally first believe what they read and hear, but then begin questioning it. In people with damage to the ventromedial region, they never stop to question new information.
All this said, I don't really categorize any of this as a synchronicity. I didn't have any big aha moments when I was awestricken. But still, I thought that in review, my week seemed to follow a sort of theme which is pertinent to exploring synchronous phenomena. I've got to know if I'm one of those people with a deteriorating ventromedial area (doubtful) or if my intuition and experience are really all I need to determine what to believe. Because usually I ask for scientific evidence (we could even call it "scientific mumbo jumbo") before I start adding new information to my mental framework.
On Tuesday I ensured a buddy of mine that I am a good judge of character and that I know whom to trust. Then on Thursday I realized that one of the people I trusted is likely a scam artist who had stolen 1000s of dollars worth of books from me. And while I talked to him, she walked by my office and I waved and smiled to her.
On Wednesday, I asked Gabe in a comment on his blog how we can distinguish between "new age mumbo jumbo" and worthwhile models when we read mysticism. Basically, how does he orient himself so that he doesn't get lost in all of the fantastical ideas floating around? (His answer, by the way, was that he uses intuition and experience).
On Friday, I got an alumni newsletter from the University of Iowa in the mail which highlighted research on the brain region responsible for gullability. The ventromedial area of the prefrontal cortex of the brain is one of the last areas to develop and one of the first areas to deteriorate, and the research found that people with damage to the area are more likely to believe advertisements and be more gullible. The article stated that people generally first believe what they read and hear, but then begin questioning it. In people with damage to the ventromedial region, they never stop to question new information.
All this said, I don't really categorize any of this as a synchronicity. I didn't have any big aha moments when I was awestricken. But still, I thought that in review, my week seemed to follow a sort of theme which is pertinent to exploring synchronous phenomena. I've got to know if I'm one of those people with a deteriorating ventromedial area (doubtful) or if my intuition and experience are really all I need to determine what to believe. Because usually I ask for scientific evidence (we could even call it "scientific mumbo jumbo") before I start adding new information to my mental framework.
Comments
Post a Comment