Complex instincts and Simple thought

A very interesting article about how best to employ your conscious and subsconscious minds...

Want to make a complicated decision? Just stop thinking
·Tough problems 'best left to the unconscious mind'·
Psychologist questions merit of serious thought
Alok Jha, science correspondent
Friday February 17, 2006The Guardian

Here's a suggestion for the next time you need to make a complicated decision: stop thinking. According to a new study, thinking too hard about a problem leads to poor choices - difficult decisions are best handled by our unconscious minds. While most people are happy to buy a new set of towels without much thought, they are unlikely to buy a new car or house without some serious thought. But Ap Dijksterhuis, a psychologist at the University of Amsterdam, argues that we might be getting these methods of decision-making the wrong way around.
He asked volunteers to pick their favourite car from a list of four based on a set of four attributes including fuel consumption and passenger leg room. He gave them four minutes to think about their decision and most people chose the car with the most plus points. When Dr Dijksterhuis made the experiment more complex - 12 attributes rather than four - people could only identify the best car a quarter of the time. This result was no better than choosing at random.
However, when the researchers distracted the participants after showing them the cars (by giving them puzzles to do before asking participants to make their choices), more than half picked the best car. "Conscious thinkers were better able to make the best choice among simple products, whereas unconscious thinkers were better able to make the best choice among complex products," wrote Dr Dijksterhuis in a paper, published today in Science.
The problem with thinking about things consciously is that you can only focus on a few things at once. In the face of a complex decision this can lead to giving certain factors undue importance. Thinking about something several times is also likely to produce slightly different evaluations, highlighting inconsistencies.
"Participants who chose their favourite poster among a set of five after thorough contemplation showed less post-choice satisfaction than participants who only looked at them briefly," said Dr Dijksterhuis.
He added that unconscious thinking does not seem to suffer the capacity limit: "It has been shown that during unconscious thought large amounts of information can be integrated into a evaluative summary judgment."
Jonathan Schooler of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver told Science that, while the new study builds on evidence that too much reflection is detrimental in some situations, he is not yet ready to dispense with conscious thought when it comes to complex decisions. "What I think may be really critical is to engage in [conscious] reflection but not make a decision right away," he said.
Dr Dijksterhuis said that when an important decision comes up he gathers together the relevant facts and gives it all of his attention at first. Then, he told Science: "I sit on things and rely on my gut."

Beethoven's 5th Drilling

The DDS that I go to offers you headphones and a discman with an assortment of cds to listen to during his procedure. Yesterday I selected disc 2 of "Favorite Beethoven" because it has Fur Elise on it, and I figured that would be soothing. And it was. Today I figured I'd stick with the theme and listened to disc 1.

I am fully convinced that there is no more appropriate song to be listening to while awaiting the dentist's drill than Beethoven's 5th Symphony. You know, the one that goes:

dunh dunh dunh DUNH!!
dunh dunh dunh DUNH!!

The one that exemplifies tension and trauma and anxiety all comingled together and resulting in constant explosions with resounding silence...and then starts all over again.
Not that this is what the dentist is actually like. Just that this is what *waiting* for the dentist to *drill* is like.

Last night at about 9:30pm the pain in my jaw and teeth on the right side finally ebbed away, and they have been fine ever since. Now that the anesthetic is wearing off on my left side, I could use a little Moonlight Sonata until about 9:30pm.

I'm going to rush off to my amazon wish list and put Favorite Beethoven on it right now! Any self-respecting "Elise" should own it anyway.

Toodles!

Chompers

For the first time in maybe 4? 5? years I went to get my teeth tortured today.

Okay, so tortured is a bit much. More like mildly irritated. But it didn't tickle!

Got three fillings replaced and a deep cleaning...on just the right side of my mouth.

Left side goes tomorrow -- but just one filling and a deep cleaning.

I am feeling pretty sorry for myself right now -- the anesthetic has worn off and I'm achey by way of both jaw and tension headache -- but I'm glad it's finally done. Both Mom and I have been trying to guilt myself to go for ages. ;-)

In two weeks, this will be but a distant memory as I relax on the shores of HAWAII. Woot!

And a happy belated Valentines day to you all, too.

The Second LIVING HEART DONOR I've ever heard of!

From http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=1569963:

Feb. 2, 2006 — Two babies made medical history earlier this month after they successfully underwent an extremely rare procedure known as domino heart transplant surgery, according to Columbus Children's Hospital in Ohio.
Five-month-old Jason Wolfe, born with primary pulmonary hypertension, needed a new set of lungs. Because of his condition, his doctors knew a lung transplant would work better if he also received a new heart at the same time.
And that meant that his heart, which was otherwise healthy, could be donated to another baby — and that's precisely what was done on Jan. 14 during a 12-hour surgery in which Jason received a new heart and lungs from a deceased donor, and Jason's heart was transplanted into Kayla Richardson, a three-month-old baby born with a single ventricle in her heart.
According to the hospital, the procedure was historic because it was the first time domino heart transplant surgery had been performed on patients so young anywhere in the world, making Jason the youngest living heart donor and Kayla the youngest recipient.
There have only been 12 infant heart-lung transplants performed in the United States, because timing and tissue matching can be tricky.
"It really is a quite rare event because everything has to fall into place," said Dr. Tim Hoffman, director of the heart transplant program at the hospital.
Saving Two Lives at Once
Though rarely performed, this type of procedure helps save two lives at one time.
"Without the use of this domino transplant, most likely Kayla wouldn't have had the opportunity to get a transplant and most likely would not have survived," said Dr. Todd Astor, medical director of the lung and heart-lung transplant program at the hospital.
So far, everything seems OK with the babies. The rarity of the procedure makes their long-term prognosis hard to predict.
"At this point, we're just so excited that he even has a future, that whatever future he has we'll just cherish every day," said Mike Wolfe, Jason's father.
No matter what happens now, the two families feel inextricably linked as well.
"I'm close to Kayla because she's my daughter. But I also feel close to Jason because it feels like we're connected now," said Rebecca Lovins, Kayla's mother.

The Significance of February 15th

It is now February. You know what that means.
My mom's Birthday on the 19th? Yes.
Valentine's day on the 14th? Yes.
Black History month? Yes.

But you know what else it means -- the annual renewal that alters lives, affects relationships, and changes the course of the entire universe as we know it?

The day after Valentine's day is the day that the drug stores put out their Easter candy.

This means Cadbury Mini Eggs and Cream Eggs.

In 15 days people. 15.

Prepare.