Let's start in this big online protest line, bring your placards and attach them to this blog or here!
Here are some placards for you; feel free to use them
NO to shortcuts and quick wins!
When? Now!
NO to procrastination and laziness!
When? Now!
YES, to action and hard work!
When? Now!
NO to self deception!
When? Now!
YES to self awareness and self respect!
When? Now!
NO to unnecessary competition!
When? Now!
YES to collaboration!
When? Now!
NO to meaningless networking!
when? Now!
BEWARE of self promoted social network gurus!
When? Now!
NO to blame games!
When? Now!
YES to taking personal responsibility!
When? Now!
NO to war and fights!
When? Now!
YES to peace!
When? Now!
NO to discrimination!
When? Now!
YES to diversity!
When? Now!
NO to wasting this beautiful life!
When? Now!
Yes to enjoy a meaningful life!
When? Now!
------End of my placards, feel free to add yours here-----
Monday, November 8, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Whatever doesn't kill us can make us stronger
Until now, the "whatever doesn't kill us can make us stronger" was an adage. However, a new national multi-year longitudinal study of the effects of adverse life events on mental health has found that adverse experiences do, in fact, appear to foster subsequent adaptability and resilience, with resulting advantages for mental health and well being.
They admit that these data cannot establish causation but the evidence is consistent with the proposition that in moderation, experiencing lifetime adversity can contribute to the development of resilience. The media release from Buffalo University is titled "Study Confirms: Whatever Doesn't Kill Us Can Make Us Stronger"
I don't know you but the result of this study makes me feel good. I am more grateful to make some investment on improving my AQ (adversity quotient) with the inspiration of Dr. Paul Stoltz for a number of years which cost me considerable amount of time and energy. Sometimes we know something is right through our guts even before a useful piece of research like this proves it so.
They admit that these data cannot establish causation but the evidence is consistent with the proposition that in moderation, experiencing lifetime adversity can contribute to the development of resilience. The media release from Buffalo University is titled "Study Confirms: Whatever Doesn't Kill Us Can Make Us Stronger"
I don't know you but the result of this study makes me feel good. I am more grateful to make some investment on improving my AQ (adversity quotient) with the inspiration of Dr. Paul Stoltz for a number of years which cost me considerable amount of time and energy. Sometimes we know something is right through our guts even before a useful piece of research like this proves it so.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Is importance of UGC (User Generated Content) nebelous?
Thank god it is Saturday, the sun is shining in a windy winter lunch time! I have some much desired breathing space in this mission [im]possible phase of my life to take things off my chest in writing from yesterday's lunch with Helen and et al.
If there is one thing in my life that I'd like to keep despite any challenges at any levels, it would be serendipity itself. Based on this strong feeling of serendipity concept and its mechanism reflected in my day to day thoughts and activities, I conducted a study on technical aspect of UGC (User Generated Content) in my field with the assistance of Associate Professor Tuncay Ercan, which was published last week in the The International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society, Volume 6, Issue 4, pp.179-188 titled "Issues in User Generated Content Process and a Proposed Model to Solve them"
Yesterday on our traditional Friday lunch (with Helen, her dad Bruce, her research mate Despina and a few members from Helen's show crew), we discussed UGC from various angles. It was interesting to see Helen being totally disagree on my views related to UGC. She said "anyone can say anything even with no context which could be so harmful at times and consequences may be very heavy and unbearable". Well, I said to Helen it could be true but anything sometimes could create something. Saying things could be better than leaving them unsaid which could have tremendous impact on our lives. My points appear to be supported by Professor David Green of Monash whom I have high respect and admiration in his studies on serendipity published in 2004 which has been a true inspiration to me since then.
Despina believed that my technical focus and my co-author Tuncay's literature search on the topic is timely and well balanced to complete the picture in a sense whilst Bruce was raising one of his eye brows with lack of the emphasis from anthropological aspect which I purposefully had hidden in the methodology section itself. However the most interesting review comment came from a CoP (Community of Practice) participant of the study who said that until we conducted this study, he even was not aware that he has been producing content which empowered his communication and maintained his connectedness in his field. For him the importance of the study was the study itself and shedding lights on this controversial and exponentially growing topic from at least one angle creating a kind of awareness. All feedback pros or cons of this study was well received by myself as they all add value for the post follow up phase of my studies.
I'd like to extend my follow up to a wider audience hence have one simple question here that may shed some lights on what UGC is or is not. My question to you is "What is the importance of UGC in your personal and professional life?" By this question, I'd like to understand how important UGC is for you, how it has been affecting your life, your profession, career and more from your own experience.... Do you believe (as Helen alluded) UGC is mainly rubbish and could be toxic for overall life?
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
If there is one thing in my life that I'd like to keep despite any challenges at any levels, it would be serendipity itself. Based on this strong feeling of serendipity concept and its mechanism reflected in my day to day thoughts and activities, I conducted a study on technical aspect of UGC (User Generated Content) in my field with the assistance of Associate Professor Tuncay Ercan, which was published last week in the The International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society, Volume 6, Issue 4, pp.179-188 titled "Issues in User Generated Content Process and a Proposed Model to Solve them"
Yesterday on our traditional Friday lunch (with Helen, her dad Bruce, her research mate Despina and a few members from Helen's show crew), we discussed UGC from various angles. It was interesting to see Helen being totally disagree on my views related to UGC. She said "anyone can say anything even with no context which could be so harmful at times and consequences may be very heavy and unbearable". Well, I said to Helen it could be true but anything sometimes could create something. Saying things could be better than leaving them unsaid which could have tremendous impact on our lives. My points appear to be supported by Professor David Green of Monash whom I have high respect and admiration in his studies on serendipity published in 2004 which has been a true inspiration to me since then.
Despina believed that my technical focus and my co-author Tuncay's literature search on the topic is timely and well balanced to complete the picture in a sense whilst Bruce was raising one of his eye brows with lack of the emphasis from anthropological aspect which I purposefully had hidden in the methodology section itself. However the most interesting review comment came from a CoP (Community of Practice) participant of the study who said that until we conducted this study, he even was not aware that he has been producing content which empowered his communication and maintained his connectedness in his field. For him the importance of the study was the study itself and shedding lights on this controversial and exponentially growing topic from at least one angle creating a kind of awareness. All feedback pros or cons of this study was well received by myself as they all add value for the post follow up phase of my studies.
I'd like to extend my follow up to a wider audience hence have one simple question here that may shed some lights on what UGC is or is not. My question to you is "What is the importance of UGC in your personal and professional life?" By this question, I'd like to understand how important UGC is for you, how it has been affecting your life, your profession, career and more from your own experience.... Do you believe (as Helen alluded) UGC is mainly rubbish and could be toxic for overall life?
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
Saturday, June 12, 2010
What affects our attention so much?
Attention in our lives determine our success in certain context. Attention is affected by myriad of factors. However, one of the major ones which I have been observing (and recently confirmed by a study conducted at the University of Granada) is anxiety.
The article titled Anxiety Affects Attention Processes highlights that "Being of a nervous disposition and being anxious at a given moment affects our attention to what happens. This finding will help improve the treatment of anxiety disorders, so common in our days. In fact, anxiety has become one of the most common conditions among the population, which can explain the negative connotations usually associated to this term."
Dealing with anxiety in an efficient way may have tremendous affect in our life satisfaction as I believe that attention is the key enabler of this process. Wondering what else may have as much impact as anxiety for our attention? Could it be other strong emotions like fear, love and even other shades of anxiety?
The article titled Anxiety Affects Attention Processes highlights that "Being of a nervous disposition and being anxious at a given moment affects our attention to what happens. This finding will help improve the treatment of anxiety disorders, so common in our days. In fact, anxiety has become one of the most common conditions among the population, which can explain the negative connotations usually associated to this term."
Dealing with anxiety in an efficient way may have tremendous affect in our life satisfaction as I believe that attention is the key enabler of this process. Wondering what else may have as much impact as anxiety for our attention? Could it be other strong emotions like fear, love and even other shades of anxiety?
Friday, June 11, 2010
Balance between the more and the less
After a complex problem resolution session, emotions on each person's face were getting more and more complex to describe with words. Definitions were mingling as obscurity prevailed. David believed in more emotions were better than less. He knew I trusted in simplicity however complex my endevours were perceived by others. Once he witnessed how I removed what was perceived as essential from a distance but were only verifiable with referencing fine knowledge and experience in specific setting. My replacement of the meaningful components in that certain context enabled him grant me such an unconditional support when I really seemed to need it at personal level to satisfy the thirst of contribution in a larger scope with higher impact. I was grateful to be given full accountability for re-engeenering a complex solution by taking possible failure responsibility with equanimity. At least by convincing the amygdala as discussed in my previous post as part of our limbic needs. My unique and perhaps the only differentiator in this ocean of talents ironically was the lack of the scary word "failure" in my personal vocabulary replaced by another word some may call it "experience". In a more simple sense, the more experience we gain the less fear we seem to experience, of course with an ongoing mindfulness of limbic systems. Having said that it is almost sunset time here...
Friday, May 21, 2010
Another stimulating phone conversation with Helen
It is a warm autumn Saturday in Oz. I have never heard Helen so enthused before to tell her dreams to me on the phone in the early morning. In fact it was the first time she told one of her dreams to me on a phone conversation like this surprisingly with a tag of importance. Helen has committed suicide in her dream last Thursday. She lucidly remembered to throw herself to the large ocean entry around the Cape Schanck Lighthouse Reserve in the Mornington Peninsula then turned into a Lavagirl in the middle of this vast ocean.
I knew why Helen was telling me this dream and she also told it to another friend (David). This dream triggered a number of memories and thoughts in me when I was listening to her on the phone. Four years ago in a warm January day, one of our most interesting collaborative idea was emerged whilst having a cup of tea with Vegemite sandwiches in the Keeper's Cottage after filling our lungs with fresh ocean air in over 2 hours of walk. Still remembering a fiery discussion between our joint friend David (a retired cognitive scientist) and Helen’s father Bruce (retired professor of anthropology) whether amygdalae were considered part of the limbic system. Helen was pressing Bruce’s sensitive buttons with evolutionary nonsense and I was pressing David’s with artificial intelligence theories ironically to witness how their amydalae were in function in this discussion which we called kind of a meta dream or type of dream in dream like life itself. And, when we finished drinking our tea, Helen mentioned later a piece of research news from Monash Uni where she did her first degree and where I did my masters. The study then revealed that patients with more severe social phobia showed a correlation with increased response in the amygdala which David re-iterated as “a marker of the effectiveness of pharmacological and psychological treatments”.
I knew the main reason of this dream for Helen was her recent initiative to prevent youth suicide in Australia which has been an important phenomenon. Helen made a number of shows to raise funds for her research in this area. As a person of golden heart, Helen also directly interacts with the disadvantaged young people in streets and loves them "until it hurts". She listens to their dreams and dreams about their dreams. And Helen, unlike mythological Altjira of our aboriginals, will not seem to retire when the "Dreamtime" vanished!
In my view, jumping over the ocean is a fascinating symbol for Helen as those who knew her resembled her shows to, a number of times, close to committing suicide. Of course, this was nothing new to Bruce when David who also heard Helen’s story and started conversation this morning with Bruce saying “Helen committed suicide” as a teaser. But Bruce is now immune to or more tolerant to uncertainties attacking his amygdala about Helen. What else could he choose in these circumstances! Don’t you think oceans and uncertainties tell us poignant and incisive stories about volcanoes in our minds and hearts!
I knew why Helen was telling me this dream and she also told it to another friend (David). This dream triggered a number of memories and thoughts in me when I was listening to her on the phone. Four years ago in a warm January day, one of our most interesting collaborative idea was emerged whilst having a cup of tea with Vegemite sandwiches in the Keeper's Cottage after filling our lungs with fresh ocean air in over 2 hours of walk. Still remembering a fiery discussion between our joint friend David (a retired cognitive scientist) and Helen’s father Bruce (retired professor of anthropology) whether amygdalae were considered part of the limbic system. Helen was pressing Bruce’s sensitive buttons with evolutionary nonsense and I was pressing David’s with artificial intelligence theories ironically to witness how their amydalae were in function in this discussion which we called kind of a meta dream or type of dream in dream like life itself. And, when we finished drinking our tea, Helen mentioned later a piece of research news from Monash Uni where she did her first degree and where I did my masters. The study then revealed that patients with more severe social phobia showed a correlation with increased response in the amygdala which David re-iterated as “a marker of the effectiveness of pharmacological and psychological treatments”.
I knew the main reason of this dream for Helen was her recent initiative to prevent youth suicide in Australia which has been an important phenomenon. Helen made a number of shows to raise funds for her research in this area. As a person of golden heart, Helen also directly interacts with the disadvantaged young people in streets and loves them "until it hurts". She listens to their dreams and dreams about their dreams. And Helen, unlike mythological Altjira of our aboriginals, will not seem to retire when the "Dreamtime" vanished!
In my view, jumping over the ocean is a fascinating symbol for Helen as those who knew her resembled her shows to, a number of times, close to committing suicide. Of course, this was nothing new to Bruce when David who also heard Helen’s story and started conversation this morning with Bruce saying “Helen committed suicide” as a teaser. But Bruce is now immune to or more tolerant to uncertainties attacking his amygdala about Helen. What else could he choose in these circumstances! Don’t you think oceans and uncertainties tell us poignant and incisive stories about volcanoes in our minds and hearts!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Importance of compromises in our lives
As Emerson said for everything we have missed, we have gained something else, and for everything we gain, we lose something else. Life is about ongoing compromises. We trade off our resources constantly for our survival and add new meanings. Sometimes they are tangible and sometimes intangible.
It is interesting and important how we make decisions what to trade off. And it is important to be aware of this universal principle reflected in all walks of our lives. There are many factors affecting our decisions from constants to variables. As highlighted throughout the history, compromise can be seen a kind of sacrifice of a right or good thing in the hope of obtaining another one. The sad part (which we need to be cautious) is that we may end up losing both, I mean the compromised and the compromising goals; hence we need to be careful when we are making decisions and apply an intelligent risk assessment process based on the relationships of our needs, gains, goals and what we compromised. For example we see that through our compromises of tactical gains we neglected very important parts of our humanity such as human rights in some countries, collective creation and transformation which may lead us towards enlightenment.
Last week, I had to compromise my blogging and online social networking time to gain some different perspectives in life which will be important for me in the long term. There were almost no other areas for me to cut time and spend for my new transformation activity hence I have deliberately chosen blogging and social networking time because their impact on my life is seen less than the impact of my other goal; at least as an indication of my own risk assessment for this decision. Even though I missed the interaction of blogging and other social networking activities last 10 days, I am grateful about my choice, decision and the progress which produced satisfactory outcomes for me. How about you? How and what do you trade off for what reasons?
It is interesting and important how we make decisions what to trade off. And it is important to be aware of this universal principle reflected in all walks of our lives. There are many factors affecting our decisions from constants to variables. As highlighted throughout the history, compromise can be seen a kind of sacrifice of a right or good thing in the hope of obtaining another one. The sad part (which we need to be cautious) is that we may end up losing both, I mean the compromised and the compromising goals; hence we need to be careful when we are making decisions and apply an intelligent risk assessment process based on the relationships of our needs, gains, goals and what we compromised. For example we see that through our compromises of tactical gains we neglected very important parts of our humanity such as human rights in some countries, collective creation and transformation which may lead us towards enlightenment.
Last week, I had to compromise my blogging and online social networking time to gain some different perspectives in life which will be important for me in the long term. There were almost no other areas for me to cut time and spend for my new transformation activity hence I have deliberately chosen blogging and social networking time because their impact on my life is seen less than the impact of my other goal; at least as an indication of my own risk assessment for this decision. Even though I missed the interaction of blogging and other social networking activities last 10 days, I am grateful about my choice, decision and the progress which produced satisfactory outcomes for me. How about you? How and what do you trade off for what reasons?
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Philosophical clarity with atheistic pessimism for diagnosing unhappiness
I was talking with my wise yet controversial friend Helen whose real life stories I used to blog in another site but stopped with her final request. Even though she is very young (at her early twenties), Helen looks at things from multiple angles and has vast knowledge of philosophy and human psychology within sociological context with the practical sharpness. Her capabilities even challenge her father's many years of academic and corporate experience in dealing with a number of life situations.
When I asked Helen about recent issues related to her father, she diagnosed her father's recent unhappiness with two words (boredom and pain)which later I found borrowed from Arthur Schopenhauer who is known with his atheistic pessimism and philosophical clarity. She said Bruce was recently unhappy due to excessive boredom at emotional and severe pain at physical level.
First it was hard to conceptualize the scope of these two words and interrelationship for one's unhappiness within such complexity. When she gave me a number of examples related to her father's situation with thirst of unfulfilled material desires and link to our previous discussion on whether reason alone can unlock key answers about the world, I started seeing an unexpected yet pleasant light upon a dark issue in my perceived world too.
It was easier to relate to Helen's challenging thoughts as I used to read theories of Schopenhauer's in my early twenties as well. It was inspiring to understand views of an aesthetic pessimist relating to teachings of well known Buddhist, Vedanta and ancient Greek Stoic philosophers. And more importantly, Schopenhaeur always reflected something familiar for me with the intellectual and emotional taste of my favourite thought leaders like Nietzsche, Freud, Jung, Borges, Wagner, Camus, Wittgenstein, Schrödinger, Einstein, and more...And his philosophical clarity was evident with sharp and wise remarks like "The more unintelligent a man is, the less mysterious existence seems to him” or metaphorically "Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame.”
I learnt through Schopenhauer's analysis that emotional, physical, and sexual desires can never be fulfilled! And it was amazing how empowering to have such a fundamental yet powerful piece of knowledge in early twenties which may even shed lights on senior citizens' complex issues.
What kind of privileged knowledge or insights have you obtained at your younger ages which you still use in your life for enlightenment or other purposes of your life?
When I asked Helen about recent issues related to her father, she diagnosed her father's recent unhappiness with two words (boredom and pain)which later I found borrowed from Arthur Schopenhauer who is known with his atheistic pessimism and philosophical clarity. She said Bruce was recently unhappy due to excessive boredom at emotional and severe pain at physical level.
First it was hard to conceptualize the scope of these two words and interrelationship for one's unhappiness within such complexity. When she gave me a number of examples related to her father's situation with thirst of unfulfilled material desires and link to our previous discussion on whether reason alone can unlock key answers about the world, I started seeing an unexpected yet pleasant light upon a dark issue in my perceived world too.
It was easier to relate to Helen's challenging thoughts as I used to read theories of Schopenhauer's in my early twenties as well. It was inspiring to understand views of an aesthetic pessimist relating to teachings of well known Buddhist, Vedanta and ancient Greek Stoic philosophers. And more importantly, Schopenhaeur always reflected something familiar for me with the intellectual and emotional taste of my favourite thought leaders like Nietzsche, Freud, Jung, Borges, Wagner, Camus, Wittgenstein, Schrödinger, Einstein, and more...And his philosophical clarity was evident with sharp and wise remarks like "The more unintelligent a man is, the less mysterious existence seems to him” or metaphorically "Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame.”
I learnt through Schopenhauer's analysis that emotional, physical, and sexual desires can never be fulfilled! And it was amazing how empowering to have such a fundamental yet powerful piece of knowledge in early twenties which may even shed lights on senior citizens' complex issues.
What kind of privileged knowledge or insights have you obtained at your younger ages which you still use in your life for enlightenment or other purposes of your life?
Friday, April 16, 2010
Transforming from ivory tower to collaboration maker status
The term "ivory tower" holds a negative connotation for some academic and research institutions.
There are some efforts to overcome or change this perception. For example, it is great read about some movements from the impression of being an "ivory tower" to developing and implementing partnerships with local communities to foster research efforts that address social problems by new research from North Carolina State University mentioned in Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work.
The media release explaining this effort and guidelines could be obtained from this link titled "Research Lays Guidelines For Real World Scholarship"
Are there any collaborative efforts in your locality to exemplify moving from ivory tower to collaboration maker status? How do they contribute to your community?
There are some efforts to overcome or change this perception. For example, it is great read about some movements from the impression of being an "ivory tower" to developing and implementing partnerships with local communities to foster research efforts that address social problems by new research from North Carolina State University mentioned in Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work.
The media release explaining this effort and guidelines could be obtained from this link titled "Research Lays Guidelines For Real World Scholarship"
Are there any collaborative efforts in your locality to exemplify moving from ivory tower to collaboration maker status? How do they contribute to your community?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Recent blog posts diversity from Ecademy business network
I like reading blogs to gain different perspectives, insights and individual views from various people coming from various geographies and cultural backgrounds. Today, my focus is on Ecademy network. I observed extra richness in Ecademy blogs within last few days. I am impressed by the content and diversity in general; for example the following categories and representatives took my attention:
1. Injection of business in social context by Jan Mulder, Bernadette Doyle, Martin Bamford, Ty Tyson, Cornelis de Maijer, Penny Power, Bob Nicoll, William Buist, Mark Lee, Marco van Velthuisen, David Winch, Anthony Mullinder, Annabel Kaye, George Emsden, Anna Stephens, Jason Collins and James McBrearty...
2. Challenging social observations and prompts by Wayne Bisset, Stuarte Harris, Sam Borrett, Simon Ellinas, Ann Andrews, Nighet Nasim Riaz and Andreas Wiedow...
3. Exotic cultural input from Fatimea Tedora, Zahir Shamsery, Dr Das Suman, Martin Dewhurst, Nick Dutch, Bernard Bonvivant, Michael Oon...
4. Interesting personal input from Norman Feiner, Mark Mandel, Elizabeth Malouvier, Demos Flouri, Carolyn Williams, Phil Shepherd, Jon Hansen, Keith Whitney, Dr Gaby Cora, Solveigh Calderin, Richard Derwent Cooke, Nic Oliver, Jet Rotmans, Maki Kosaka, Maurice Poole, Hans Terhurne Freddy Daems and Joy Webber ...
5. Highlights from various interesting media types by Richard Perry, Jeff Mowatt, Rajesh Ananda, Daniel-Flavius Lucica, and Tony Hine
6. Sudden breeze from famous Nikki Pilkington and a sad farewell from insightful Andrew Peel...
7. Social media flavour from Alan Stevens, Georgina Lester, Thomas Power, Steve Hall, Andrew Wilcox, Roger Vanstone, Zara Lockwood, Ivor Kellock, Steven Healey, Francois Hotte, Chris Ogle, Marcus Fielding, Nick Tadd and Vanessa Warwick...
8. Superior philosophical, realistic and thought provoking observations from Michael Heaney and Steve Holmes...
There were more interesting posts but it was the ones I enjoyed in my limited time and tagged some of them for future reading. What posts did you enjoy last few days and how did they impress you?
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
1. Injection of business in social context by Jan Mulder, Bernadette Doyle, Martin Bamford, Ty Tyson, Cornelis de Maijer, Penny Power, Bob Nicoll, William Buist, Mark Lee, Marco van Velthuisen, David Winch, Anthony Mullinder, Annabel Kaye, George Emsden, Anna Stephens, Jason Collins and James McBrearty...
2. Challenging social observations and prompts by Wayne Bisset, Stuarte Harris, Sam Borrett, Simon Ellinas, Ann Andrews, Nighet Nasim Riaz and Andreas Wiedow...
3. Exotic cultural input from Fatimea Tedora, Zahir Shamsery, Dr Das Suman, Martin Dewhurst, Nick Dutch, Bernard Bonvivant, Michael Oon...
4. Interesting personal input from Norman Feiner, Mark Mandel, Elizabeth Malouvier, Demos Flouri, Carolyn Williams, Phil Shepherd, Jon Hansen, Keith Whitney, Dr Gaby Cora, Solveigh Calderin, Richard Derwent Cooke, Nic Oliver, Jet Rotmans, Maki Kosaka, Maurice Poole, Hans Terhurne Freddy Daems and Joy Webber ...
5. Highlights from various interesting media types by Richard Perry, Jeff Mowatt, Rajesh Ananda, Daniel-Flavius Lucica, and Tony Hine
6. Sudden breeze from famous Nikki Pilkington and a sad farewell from insightful Andrew Peel...
7. Social media flavour from Alan Stevens, Georgina Lester, Thomas Power, Steve Hall, Andrew Wilcox, Roger Vanstone, Zara Lockwood, Ivor Kellock, Steven Healey, Francois Hotte, Chris Ogle, Marcus Fielding, Nick Tadd and Vanessa Warwick...
8. Superior philosophical, realistic and thought provoking observations from Michael Heaney and Steve Holmes...
There were more interesting posts but it was the ones I enjoyed in my limited time and tagged some of them for future reading. What posts did you enjoy last few days and how did they impress you?
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
Friday, April 9, 2010
Importance of cognitive problem-solving ability for happiness
Why do I highlight importance of cognitive problem-solving ability today? Problem solving is a broad topic and observed in all walks of life and it is a lifelong process. Cognition is a core survival system for human being. When we connect these two large concepts covering multi-disciplines such as Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, it automatically makes it a complex topic to deal with. However, my aim is to focus only one aspect of this topic today: happiness!
According to a study conducted at Iowa State University, they found that diminished cognitive problem-solving ability was a significant predictor of depressive symptoms in octogenarians, while living in a nursing home and greater neurotic tendencies increased depression among centenarians. The title of the media release explaining the study is "Iowa State researchers identify secrets to happiness, depression among oldest of old".
The research also confirmed that worry and anxiety contribute to depression in centenarians. And one of the things they're worried about, according to Martin, is the direction the country is headed and the world they're leaving for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
So based on the findings of this study, one may ask that if we maintain our cognitive problem solving abilities and learn to eliminate or at least reduce worry and anxiety in our lives, does that mean we can catch happiness? Or could there be more to happiness from psychological point of view even in such a narrowed scope; let alone neglecting myriad of other compound factors and unknowns in our larger parts?
According to a study conducted at Iowa State University, they found that diminished cognitive problem-solving ability was a significant predictor of depressive symptoms in octogenarians, while living in a nursing home and greater neurotic tendencies increased depression among centenarians. The title of the media release explaining the study is "Iowa State researchers identify secrets to happiness, depression among oldest of old".
The research also confirmed that worry and anxiety contribute to depression in centenarians. And one of the things they're worried about, according to Martin, is the direction the country is headed and the world they're leaving for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
So based on the findings of this study, one may ask that if we maintain our cognitive problem solving abilities and learn to eliminate or at least reduce worry and anxiety in our lives, does that mean we can catch happiness? Or could there be more to happiness from psychological point of view even in such a narrowed scope; let alone neglecting myriad of other compound factors and unknowns in our larger parts?
Thursday, April 8, 2010
A preliminary and informal study on seven online tools for professional and business use
In this post, I'd like to share my findings for a preliminary study as a partial requirement of a paper to be published. It is related to the use of some popular online tools for business and professional purposes.
Study Approach: I selected 10 active online profiles from my networks. These are the co-networkers whom I established personal trust via a number of correspondence over 12 months. The sample is gender agnostic, representing only English speaking countries (USA, UK, Australia, and New Zealand) with business and professional background. I interviewed these 10 people via Google, MSN, Skype, Yahoo, and Facebook chat tools in an informal way approximately half an hour. I also confirmed some of conflicting and contradictory views via email follow-ups. My key questions were about their current beliefs on Ecademy, Facebook, Google, Linked, Twitter, Yasni and Youtube in terms of the contribution of these tools to their business or profession.
Findings: There were a number of interesting views that I will make available in a paper progressing on these tools. However I'd like to share the key common findings for each online tool related to their profession and business as of 7 April 2010 to validate my findings with a wider sample:
1. Google is the main source of information for their profession and business. They use it everyday.
2. Youtube is secondary source of information for their business. They use it everyday.
3. Twitter has done nothing for their business as yet. However they see it as third important source of information.
4. They all are in Facebook. They believe to have some potential for their profession and business even though they haven't used it for business purpose as yet.
5. Linkedin is seen as a business card or CV collection and they sometimes use it to check some contact references.
6. Ecademy is only known to them by the blogs they saw in Twitter and some email invitations. They have no idea so far how Ecademy can help their profession but they all are interested to explore the possibilities further.
7. Yasni was heard by 4 of them in various online sites but none of them knew its scope and contribution for their profession and business. They all indicated interest to explore the possibilities further.
I have some impressions, perceptions and personal views established based on my experience but what do these findings tell or mean to you? Can you comment on the points you are familiar with? If you prefer your views to be kept confidential; please send me a personal mail linked to my Google profile.
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
Study Approach: I selected 10 active online profiles from my networks. These are the co-networkers whom I established personal trust via a number of correspondence over 12 months. The sample is gender agnostic, representing only English speaking countries (USA, UK, Australia, and New Zealand) with business and professional background. I interviewed these 10 people via Google, MSN, Skype, Yahoo, and Facebook chat tools in an informal way approximately half an hour. I also confirmed some of conflicting and contradictory views via email follow-ups. My key questions were about their current beliefs on Ecademy, Facebook, Google, Linked, Twitter, Yasni and Youtube in terms of the contribution of these tools to their business or profession.
Findings: There were a number of interesting views that I will make available in a paper progressing on these tools. However I'd like to share the key common findings for each online tool related to their profession and business as of 7 April 2010 to validate my findings with a wider sample:
1. Google is the main source of information for their profession and business. They use it everyday.
2. Youtube is secondary source of information for their business. They use it everyday.
3. Twitter has done nothing for their business as yet. However they see it as third important source of information.
4. They all are in Facebook. They believe to have some potential for their profession and business even though they haven't used it for business purpose as yet.
5. Linkedin is seen as a business card or CV collection and they sometimes use it to check some contact references.
6. Ecademy is only known to them by the blogs they saw in Twitter and some email invitations. They have no idea so far how Ecademy can help their profession but they all are interested to explore the possibilities further.
7. Yasni was heard by 4 of them in various online sites but none of them knew its scope and contribution for their profession and business. They all indicated interest to explore the possibilities further.
I have some impressions, perceptions and personal views established based on my experience but what do these findings tell or mean to you? Can you comment on the points you are familiar with? If you prefer your views to be kept confidential; please send me a personal mail linked to my Google profile.
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
Monday, April 5, 2010
Back to basics and cost effective solutions for our sanity
Solutions in technology and science to help us survive, feel better and stay sane are ubiquitous. The progress is fascinating to follow. Each day I explore new studies, new approaches, new ideas leading towards desired solutions.
Interestingly, we appear to go back to basics; natural, simple and cost effective solutions. For example, "exercise is a magic drug for many people with depression and anxiety disorders, and it should be more widely prescribed by mental health care providers, according to researchers who analyzed the results of numerous published studies". This was highlighted by the SMU Research recently.
In addition, cost effective and simplistic solutions are attracting our attentions. It is great to know that researchers in Penn State University developed a low-cost behavioral assessment that can clue someone in to Alzheimer's disease at its earliest stage. More information could be obtained from this link.
I'd be interested to obtain your views and examples of basic, natural, simple, inexpensive yet efficient solutions from your experience that you can comment here.
Interestingly, we appear to go back to basics; natural, simple and cost effective solutions. For example, "exercise is a magic drug for many people with depression and anxiety disorders, and it should be more widely prescribed by mental health care providers, according to researchers who analyzed the results of numerous published studies". This was highlighted by the SMU Research recently.
In addition, cost effective and simplistic solutions are attracting our attentions. It is great to know that researchers in Penn State University developed a low-cost behavioral assessment that can clue someone in to Alzheimer's disease at its earliest stage. More information could be obtained from this link.
I'd be interested to obtain your views and examples of basic, natural, simple, inexpensive yet efficient solutions from your experience that you can comment here.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Would attitude for everyday activities make us healthier?
Exercise is an inevitable part of our lives. It is essential for us to stay healthy. We are recommended 150 minutes of aerobic activity throughout the week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. My health consultants so far recommended at least an hour of walking which I have been following and enjoying the outcome.
What I found more interesting is the research through gaining exercises at unconscious level. I'd like to highlight a recent study conducted by the Penn State University. The media release is titled "Attitude toward everyday activity important for healthy lifestyle". David Conroy (associate professor of kinesiology) said "It wasn't the overall level of activity we focused on, it was specifically the unintentional activity -- those little things that you don't even think about that help you burn those extra few calories. If you aren't in the habit of being physically active, you can run out of energy trying to force yourself to do it everyday but if you can make physical activity habitual, being active becomes a lot easier."
What I am more interested in their further research is "exploring whether there are ways to promote or encourage physical activity without a person knowing it".
What I found more interesting is the research through gaining exercises at unconscious level. I'd like to highlight a recent study conducted by the Penn State University. The media release is titled "Attitude toward everyday activity important for healthy lifestyle". David Conroy (associate professor of kinesiology) said "It wasn't the overall level of activity we focused on, it was specifically the unintentional activity -- those little things that you don't even think about that help you burn those extra few calories. If you aren't in the habit of being physically active, you can run out of energy trying to force yourself to do it everyday but if you can make physical activity habitual, being active becomes a lot easier."
What I am more interested in their further research is "exploring whether there are ways to promote or encourage physical activity without a person knowing it".
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Another factor or manifestation of smoking : Low IQ and its implications
IQ (intelligence quotient) is a measure of a person's intelligence as indicated by an intelligence test; the ratio of a person's mental age to their chronological age (multiplied by 100).There are many factors believed to be affecting IQ such as genetic, environmental, parental, schooling, breastfeeding, external stimulus, malnutrition, and so on.
It is interesting to read about a media release titled "Proof: Smoking Is Dumb" by Tel Aviv University which shows links between cigarette smoking and lower IQ.
I was thinking whether it may mean that lower IQ could be a cause of addictions? Or does that mean something else? The answer was provided in the article. Interestingly, Prof. Weiser claimed that "People with lower IQs are not only prone to addictions such as smoking, these same people are more likely to have obesity, nutrition and narcotics issues. Our study adds to the evidence of this growing body of research, and it may help parents and health professionals help at-risk young people make better choices."
This study is a kind of warning and targeting certain groups who are at risk. This sounds good in theory but the practice of this may have many implications on young people's lives. Your thoughts on putting this knowledge into practice by addressing the implications in a favourable way? I also posted a discussion blog on Ecademy asking "Is smoking dump" from a different perspective; you are welcome to participate with your views and experience on this.
It is interesting to read about a media release titled "Proof: Smoking Is Dumb" by Tel Aviv University which shows links between cigarette smoking and lower IQ.
I was thinking whether it may mean that lower IQ could be a cause of addictions? Or does that mean something else? The answer was provided in the article. Interestingly, Prof. Weiser claimed that "People with lower IQs are not only prone to addictions such as smoking, these same people are more likely to have obesity, nutrition and narcotics issues. Our study adds to the evidence of this growing body of research, and it may help parents and health professionals help at-risk young people make better choices."
This study is a kind of warning and targeting certain groups who are at risk. This sounds good in theory but the practice of this may have many implications on young people's lives. Your thoughts on putting this knowledge into practice by addressing the implications in a favourable way? I also posted a discussion blog on Ecademy asking "Is smoking dump" from a different perspective; you are welcome to participate with your views and experience on this.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Impact of words in pain
Words and pain...a lot could be said about these two words and their relationship.
I'd like to highlight an interesting a media release about a recent study titled "Do Words Hurt?" by the Institute of Psychology of the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena in Germany.
For the first time, the this science team demonstrated that painful memories and associations set our pain memory on the alert for example when a nurse say "don't worry it will not hurt" whilst injecting a needle to a patient. Prof. Weiss said "even verbal stimuli lead to reactions in certain areas of the brain. As soon as we hear words like "tormenting", "gruelling" or "plaguing", exactly those areas in the brain are being activated which process the corresponding pain."
Of course having a memory of painful experiences is beneficial for human being in order to avoid painful situations however what their research results shown that verbal stimuli have a more important meaning than they have thought so far. There is a discussion of this on chronic pain. The team will further study the conversations and their impact on pain.
From your observations, do you think words have strong impacts on your feelings and emotions? Are there any words making you feel instantly uncomfortable or instantly putting you at ease?
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
I'd like to highlight an interesting a media release about a recent study titled "Do Words Hurt?" by the Institute of Psychology of the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena in Germany.
For the first time, the this science team demonstrated that painful memories and associations set our pain memory on the alert for example when a nurse say "don't worry it will not hurt" whilst injecting a needle to a patient. Prof. Weiss said "even verbal stimuli lead to reactions in certain areas of the brain. As soon as we hear words like "tormenting", "gruelling" or "plaguing", exactly those areas in the brain are being activated which process the corresponding pain."
Of course having a memory of painful experiences is beneficial for human being in order to avoid painful situations however what their research results shown that verbal stimuli have a more important meaning than they have thought so far. There is a discussion of this on chronic pain. The team will further study the conversations and their impact on pain.
From your observations, do you think words have strong impacts on your feelings and emotions? Are there any words making you feel instantly uncomfortable or instantly putting you at ease?
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
Monday, March 29, 2010
Relationship between overlooking and tolerating
My choices make me who I am and who I want to be.
According to William James, "The essence of genius is to know what to overlook". Life is complex and hectic for most of us. It is made harder to live when noise pollution become a matter. I can hardly bare extreme noisy environments. People like me will either neglect those environments or overlook the situation if they had to be in it.
What else we could overlook? I think mistakes or so called failures as I don't believe in failure. The word failure still does not make sense to me after many years of hearing the word almost everyday. I have come across an interesting saying from Doug Larson who claimed "a true friend is one who overlooks your failures and tolerates your success.”
There may be some kind of relationship between overlooking and tolerating. Have you notice yourself tolerating something which you were supposed to overlook? Or vice versa?
According to William James, "The essence of genius is to know what to overlook". Life is complex and hectic for most of us. It is made harder to live when noise pollution become a matter. I can hardly bare extreme noisy environments. People like me will either neglect those environments or overlook the situation if they had to be in it.
What else we could overlook? I think mistakes or so called failures as I don't believe in failure. The word failure still does not make sense to me after many years of hearing the word almost everyday. I have come across an interesting saying from Doug Larson who claimed "a true friend is one who overlooks your failures and tolerates your success.”
There may be some kind of relationship between overlooking and tolerating. Have you notice yourself tolerating something which you were supposed to overlook? Or vice versa?
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Are we responsible for effort or outcome?
Seeing another interesting cartoon of Leunig in the Age with the following words in it, inspired me to say a few words about outcome: "The world is full of outcomes. Each day delivers more. At breakfast time there’s only two. By lunchtime there are four. By dinnertime there will be eight. At bedtime there’s sixteen; So many, many outcomes and I don’t know what they mean. And so we live our lives away. With outcomes big and small. Until the final outcome comes. With no outcome at all."
Outcome is an overused term in our daily lives. It may mean results, consequences or in more scientific terms a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon.
In Information Technology or Computing fields, outcome could be the result of the performance of a function or process in the system and it is usually measurable and mapped to service levels.
In psychology, it is linked to many factors but two important ones highlighted by the grandfather of modern psychology (William James)attitudes and beliefs obviously play an important role. For example, about attitudes, he said "It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome”. And about beliefs he said "Our belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that assures the successful outcome of any venture”. Let's remember that James was famous with his pragmatic approach in philosophy.
From quality perspective Edwards Deming created the principle that "we should work on our process, not the outcome of our processes”. So my question stands as whether we are responsible for effort or outcome; or both or none of them?
I'd also be interested in your views in my question here.
Outcome is an overused term in our daily lives. It may mean results, consequences or in more scientific terms a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon.
In Information Technology or Computing fields, outcome could be the result of the performance of a function or process in the system and it is usually measurable and mapped to service levels.
In psychology, it is linked to many factors but two important ones highlighted by the grandfather of modern psychology (William James)attitudes and beliefs obviously play an important role. For example, about attitudes, he said "It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome”. And about beliefs he said "Our belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that assures the successful outcome of any venture”. Let's remember that James was famous with his pragmatic approach in philosophy.
From quality perspective Edwards Deming created the principle that "we should work on our process, not the outcome of our processes”. So my question stands as whether we are responsible for effort or outcome; or both or none of them?
I'd also be interested in your views in my question here.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Reflections on exaggeration
We need many filters to stay sane in this life. One of my key filters that I have to use in everyday life is dealing with exaggerations. Many of us exaggerate things for various purposes. Exaggerations could be mild, heavy or extreme. The mild ones are like making something more noticeable than usual. They could be seen as humour mainly to highlight a point and they usually give us good time with pleasure and learning. The heavy ones are sometimes bearable and sometimes go beyond the limit based on our mood or general tolerance level. The extreme ones are not easy to handle; especially the shocking images in journalism, visual media and meaningless broadcasts in recent digital social media. Showing an ant like an elephant is an example of this.
There are various interesting views on exaggeration from different perspectives that shed some lights on the topic. I like description of love by George Bernard Shaw in this context: "Love is a gross exaggeration of the difference between one person and everybody else". According to Kahlil Gibran "An exaggeration is a truth that has lost its temper". Interestingly Voltaire has a more positive approach to is with his definition "Exaggeration, the inseparable companion of greatness".
From behavioural perspective it may turn to habit in some people as observed by Josh Billings who said: "There are some people so addicted to exaggeration that they can't tell the truth without lying". It also reflects other habit patterns as pointed out by William Alger: "False eloquence is exaggeration; true eloquence is emphasis".
What is your tolerance level to exaggeration and how do you cope with it? Hope you can join the debate to answer my question here.
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
There are various interesting views on exaggeration from different perspectives that shed some lights on the topic. I like description of love by George Bernard Shaw in this context: "Love is a gross exaggeration of the difference between one person and everybody else". According to Kahlil Gibran "An exaggeration is a truth that has lost its temper". Interestingly Voltaire has a more positive approach to is with his definition "Exaggeration, the inseparable companion of greatness".
From behavioural perspective it may turn to habit in some people as observed by Josh Billings who said: "There are some people so addicted to exaggeration that they can't tell the truth without lying". It also reflects other habit patterns as pointed out by William Alger: "False eloquence is exaggeration; true eloquence is emphasis".
What is your tolerance level to exaggeration and how do you cope with it? Hope you can join the debate to answer my question here.
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Fast food may cause impatience
It was not surprising to me to read about this research finding of fast food in our behaviour. The study paper is called "You Are How You Eat: Fast Food and Impatience". It has been made available by the University of Toronto freely in this link.
Fast food is in abundance in our lives and they address our desire for speedy life styles. I provided some random thoughts on abundance and speed in one of my previous blog posts. In any design and implementation activities, quality, quantity and speed require a trade off. I believe in relativity and subjectivity in quality, quantity and time. One of the comments by Mr Stuarte Harris was notable and want to cite it here: "Whatever the clock says, whatever the advertising says, whatever anything external says, our perception of time and quantity and quality is purely subjective."
One of my friend (in his late 70s with a lot of experience in management of large corporate organisations) a few years ago asked a question of "Why we humans are in rush all the time" which still resonates in me. I am still searching an answer to this question.
Fast food is in abundance in our lives and they address our desire for speedy life styles. I provided some random thoughts on abundance and speed in one of my previous blog posts. In any design and implementation activities, quality, quantity and speed require a trade off. I believe in relativity and subjectivity in quality, quantity and time. One of the comments by Mr Stuarte Harris was notable and want to cite it here: "Whatever the clock says, whatever the advertising says, whatever anything external says, our perception of time and quantity and quality is purely subjective."
One of my friend (in his late 70s with a lot of experience in management of large corporate organisations) a few years ago asked a question of "Why we humans are in rush all the time" which still resonates in me. I am still searching an answer to this question.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Does Optimism Boost the Immune System?
It is interesting to read a media release titled "Optimism Boosts the Immune System". The study provides some insights to this long debated topic.
Optimism in my life has some merit however in my profession I have to look at the worst scenarios sometimes which may look or sound pessimistic. Any design requires a holistic view of the topic both from optimistic and so called pessimistic aspects.
It is possible to come across paradoxical views on the optimistic behaviour such as to smile when it hurts most.Is this possible and realistic? Having said that, from hindsight we see blessings in disguise for the things seemed horrible to us when we were experiencing them.
Many comments were made throughout the history on optimistic and pessimistic approach. We all may have heard Churchill's famous assertion "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.". Is it really so? As I asked in my another post "Do optimists see the opportunity in every difficulty?" Whose choice may it be?
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
Optimism in my life has some merit however in my profession I have to look at the worst scenarios sometimes which may look or sound pessimistic. Any design requires a holistic view of the topic both from optimistic and so called pessimistic aspects.
It is possible to come across paradoxical views on the optimistic behaviour such as to smile when it hurts most.Is this possible and realistic? Having said that, from hindsight we see blessings in disguise for the things seemed horrible to us when we were experiencing them.
Many comments were made throughout the history on optimistic and pessimistic approach. We all may have heard Churchill's famous assertion "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.". Is it really so? As I asked in my another post "Do optimists see the opportunity in every difficulty?" Whose choice may it be?
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
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