OK, at the copy desk here at my current daily newspaper, another copy editor does initial proofreading of a page, then, after we make corrections, we print a second copy and the news editor or assistant reads that. If he or she really don't like the page, they'll make us do a third proof.
But, a third proof after marking just one change on the second proof? That's anally retentive, from where I am.
It's easy to see how playing lotteries becomes tempting.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The shortcomings of cognitive behavioral therapy
A chapter in Jonah Lehrer's book, "How We Decide," along with a famous quote by David Hume, brought the title of this post to stark light.
Don't get me wrong. CBT is good to very good for mild, moderate and medium depressions. It's the bee's knees for panic attacks. In combination with densensitization therapy, it's very good for a lot of phobias.
But other neuroses, it might not help so much.
Lehrer talks about psychopathy in the latter portion of his book, and how psychopaths can read the emotions of others so well, but have no emotional connectivity to their own minds, so can rationalize, in a confabulating fashion, any decisions they may choose to take.
Autistic people, on the other hand, are just the reverse. They have an emotional life of their own, but simply cannot read other people's emotions.
Combine this with Hume's famous, and somewhat deliberately contrarian, observation that "reason is the slave of the passions," and you see CBT's shortcomings.
CBT says we can think our way through emotions.
Well, psychopaths can't. To the degree we can talk about a lesser version of them, and call that group "neuropaths" by analogy, they can't think their way through emotions very well. And, in a sense, autistic people can't think their way into emotions, if you will.
So, on counseling for emotional-based mental health issues where the emotions aren't irrational, or transcend the rational/irrational in some sense, being deeply rooted in the limbic brain (think PTSD), CBT really just can't cut the mustard.
Unfortunately, some CBT, or RBT (forgetting the "E") aficionados think it's almost a cure-all, or at the least, that it can do more than it can.
Don't get me wrong. CBT is good to very good for mild, moderate and medium depressions. It's the bee's knees for panic attacks. In combination with densensitization therapy, it's very good for a lot of phobias.
But other neuroses, it might not help so much.
Lehrer talks about psychopathy in the latter portion of his book, and how psychopaths can read the emotions of others so well, but have no emotional connectivity to their own minds, so can rationalize, in a confabulating fashion, any decisions they may choose to take.
Autistic people, on the other hand, are just the reverse. They have an emotional life of their own, but simply cannot read other people's emotions.
Combine this with Hume's famous, and somewhat deliberately contrarian, observation that "reason is the slave of the passions," and you see CBT's shortcomings.
CBT says we can think our way through emotions.
Well, psychopaths can't. To the degree we can talk about a lesser version of them, and call that group "neuropaths" by analogy, they can't think their way through emotions very well. And, in a sense, autistic people can't think their way into emotions, if you will.
So, on counseling for emotional-based mental health issues where the emotions aren't irrational, or transcend the rational/irrational in some sense, being deeply rooted in the limbic brain (think PTSD), CBT really just can't cut the mustard.
Unfortunately, some CBT, or RBT (forgetting the "E") aficionados think it's almost a cure-all, or at the least, that it can do more than it can.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Thoughts on lemons and lemonade
If life gives you lemons, take a pitcher off your shelf, take a pee in it, and tell people you've made lemonade out of the lemons.
Sarcasm aside, if you don't feel like trying to handle adversity with perky positivity, a little humorous sarcasm may work better.
Sarcasm aside, if you don't feel like trying to handle adversity with perky positivity, a little humorous sarcasm may work better.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Through a bit of an emotional wringer
I should put "bit" in scare quotes. Already anxiety-festooned over my current newspaper job here in Odessa, Texas, I got offered a job, then had it pulled back away, all in just six hours.
I had a phone interview to be named the editor, and general manager in training, at a weekly paper near Dallas. Ideal!
Was tentatively offered the job over the phone, then the publisher said he'd like to meet in person just to give himself final assurance.
No problem, I said. I'll drive to Dallas this weekend.
Well, less than five hours later, I get this message in an e-mail:
Sheiss!
That said, it's the second time in 10 months I've had an "interesting" interview situation with this newspaper chain.
I'll be very gun-shy in the future.
Right now, I'm pretty drained.
But sober.
I had a phone interview to be named the editor, and general manager in training, at a weekly paper near Dallas. Ideal!
Was tentatively offered the job over the phone, then the publisher said he'd like to meet in person just to give himself final assurance.
No problem, I said. I'll drive to Dallas this weekend.
Well, less than five hours later, I get this message in an e-mail:
The powers that be with the chain have decided to move things in a different direction.
Sheiss!
That said, it's the second time in 10 months I've had an "interesting" interview situation with this newspaper chain.
I'll be very gun-shy in the future.
Right now, I'm pretty drained.
But sober.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)