Monday 23 August 1999
|
Pic of the day: August issue of
Scientific American.
Actually I bought this one mainly to read about how children develop
morality. The article found that this was a very complex process
(surprise, surprise!) and that it continued well into adulthood.
It also pointed out that there is little or no correlation between
what people think is right to do, and what they actually do; not
unless they define morality as an important part of their identity.
Seems that it is much easier to cheat on others than on oneself.
The article also encouraged parents to actively comment on the moral
content of song lyrics, videos etc.
Interestingly, the article mentioned that a very permissive upbringing and a very strict upbringing had much the same effect on children. In none of the cases did they have to make their own ethical choices. In none of the cases did they learn to talk about and think about right and wrong. I have noticed that some kids have been raised with almost inhumanly strict morale, like in some fundamentalist homes. Then when they leave this framework, they are essentially adrift. With no realistic compass of ethics, they have to build their own experience through trial and error ... an experience that is painful at best, possibly lethal at worst. But even this is not a rule without exceptions. Kids pick up ethics (like so many other things) at school, among friends and wherever else they may wander.
Even so, I remain thankful for the upbringing I got back home on the
farm. We didn't have many rules, but those we had were sensible enough.
And mostly I think we learned by the example of our parents. I don't
remember my childhood all that well, my mind was mostly wandering; but
I remember my normally quiet, relaxed father and the rare glimpses of
rage that I noticed when he saw the strong trample on the weak. To this
day I feel much of the same. (Of course, it helps that I experienced
firsthand how it was to be weak and be trampled on.) I also remember
my mother, how she grew uncomfortable if anything bad was said about
people who were not there to defend themselves. Finally she would not
be able to contain it any longer, but would start to defend them.
No amount of sermons would have been as effective as this simple
example.
OK, before I need a handkerchief here, onward to the rest of the day! I've rounded up a load of bills that had better be paid real soon now. Among those one from the morons (formerly known as Bennet BTI). The end of the month is drawing near, and chances are that I don't get my travel expenses refunded until after my mini-vacation. That means I shall have noticeably less money to burn on shopping. Hmm. I guess it is all for the best. There tends to be very little left after a shopping spree... As the weeks hop along towards the main event of the autumn (or I guess fall is more appropriate here...) I find that I more and more tend to resist other temptations to spend money. I automatically think: "But that would leave me with that much less to spend on The Shopping" and so I just move on.
I guess there are few things that deal with temptation as effectively
as ... a bigger temptation.
Speaking of temptations, I snuck back into Daggerfall this weekend. Playing this computer role playing game is not unlike a vacation, at least for a person with my amount of fantasy. I tend to get easily sucked into a game, to the extent where I feel that I really am in a fantasy world full of magic, monsters and imbecile non playing characters. I rarely play DF after midnight, for the simple reason that I am too easily excited. (Read: Scared.) I also hate going to movies for the same reason: I immediately get into the story and feel the same extreme emotions as the characters on the screen. So I rarely if ever go to the movies unless there are someone more interesting than the movies going with me.
You may all know by now that I don't have a television. I guess that's
really good, given my intense empathy with 2-dimensional characters...
Speaking of empathy with 2-D characters, I'm very happy to no longer take directly part in customer handling at work. It really took a lot out of me, though the clients were generally happy with me. I guess I should write a book about our work, there were all manner of strange things happening. Like the old nurse who wanted to abolish money on principle; or the sweaty teenage girl trying to rub my leg while talking; or a former coworker who had secured himself an extra key, and who I found shuffling around in the archives on a Sunday. Those were the days... And that was this one. Now I'll try to reach the kool grrls on IRC, and then get some more sleep. Have a good night, world! |
The July archives should be transferred real soon now. I'm planning another minor redesign to make the archives more easy to manage. |