Brain damage or what......

[Bill Bergman]

Does this happen to any of you guys...... :shock:
When I try to learn something new,(electronic principals and theory) it's like taking a sleeping pill or even worse voices in my head going ....na na na na or blah blah blah :lol:

a mind is a terrible thing to lose!
....Can't spell either

[smashinator]

I have an impossible time staying focussed on technical texts.  I'll read a bit, get a brilliant (or not) idea, and keep thinking about that as I scan the text.  About 5 pages later I'll realized I haven't gotten a thing out of what I read and go back....

Or I'll fall asleep.  

[Mark Hammer]

It's worse than you think, Bill.  Human attention wanders far astray whenever:

a) the material is so new or foreign as to be only minimally comprehensible, and
b) whenever the material is so familiar as to be too easily comprehensible or easily anticipated.

I'm not sure which is the bigger worry, falling asleep with a physics book on one's chest, or suddenly realizing that you have absolutely no recollection of driving the last 6 blocks since you left your place of work.

Doesn't really leave one with too many choices, eh?

[puretube]

Bill: I hope you`re not too worried about those xfmr-issuues...
(If it weren`t you, whose great builds I really dig - I wouldn`t even have reacted on your PMs, after recently having been driven far away from this place by replies like these:
http://diystompboxes.com/sboxforum/viewtopic.php?t=33623&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30
http://diystompboxes.com/sboxforum/viewtopic.php?t=33569)

   

[vanhansen]

Happens to me too.  Usually when someone I don't care to be listening to is talking to me.  Oh wait, that's selective hearing.  

It's the Homer Simpson Syndrome or HSS.    Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Donuts, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah.  

[Mark Hammer]

Starting to get a bit OT, but take a peek at this interview: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/stories/s1366797.htm

I read a terrific book on research in this area by James Reason some 18 years ago.  Fascinating stuff, and disquieting too.

[troubledtom]

if i can't get 20% of the first 50% of info , i archive it and i say to myself phuk it till it sinks in.
   peace,
          - tom

[Bill Bergman]

Least I'm not alone.  I'll use tooth picks holding my eyes lids open and sing a long with the little voices in my head while reading it, til it sinks in .

Puretube, I got your e-mails and really appreciate the help ...it's just that I've got a lot to learn from a basic level to get this amp project rolling.

I already drove Doug H. crazy :oops:

[Paul Marossy]

I thought I was all alone... phew!  :wink:

[LoKi6922]

i often get lost in a good tune while driving and wind up not knowing how i got home from work sometimes...

as soon as i notice it happening, off goes the radio.

its just that all the funtions of driving become automatic, as well as the same route you take every day... its almost like the mind becomes contemptuous of the actual skill involved... :lol:

[brett]

Hi all.
Old age is such a pile of poo.

But I think that in many ways the "I was completely vacant for the last three blocks" thing is actually a good sign.  It means that your subconscious is a good car-driver.  I'm sure that if something seriously dangerous happened, it would yell at your conscious mind to wake up and drive.

As Alfred North Whitehead said - it is a popular misconception that the advancement of mankind is indicated by how many things we can think about and solve.  The reverse is true - the advancement of mankind is indicated by how many problems we can solve without having to think about them.

oops... I think I got too serious there...

[Mark Hammer]

Spot on, Brett.

Actually, I often think we make too much of a deal out of consciousness.  The overwhelming majority of species on earth do just fine without it, and those that posses/use/display it only do so infrequently for only a small proportion of tasks.  Just consider how many things you are doing at the moment without needing to think about them.

At the same time, I'm not quite as sure as yourself that being unaware of the events of the last 3 blocks is a *good* thing.  As the interview I linked to likely indicates in spades, a great many of the accidents we read about daily stem from such failures to be aware in all-too-familiar situations.

[robotboy]

So far, I just cruise right along with electronic texts until math wanders in. All the sudden, I'm back in college in my algebra class, and my eyes glaze over. Lately, I've been making myself paraphrase each sentence as soon as I feel hypnosis setting in. That definitely helps with concentration. I still don't know jack sh*t about any of this stuff though. One of these years I want to dig in hard and learn as much as possible. Designing some of my own pedals is a long term goal.

[LoKi6922]

with texts, and any sort of self learning techniques, i think the main thing is to picture the goal.. and to want it enough that when the imagination starts to wander, you can snap it back into learn mode quickly. wasting time is my worst enemy...

also, drinking beer and reading manuals/texts is bad, mmmkay?