In the last post, I discussed the idea that your feelings are a kind of cognition (thinking). They are a calculation that sorts through an incredible amount of input data, identifies what's most important, and distills it down into a simple yes/no or want/do not want. And they can be amazingly accurate at picking up …
Continue reading Emotional maturity, Part 4: Feelings are not facts
So far I've talked about how most of your thinking takes place in the subconscious, out of reach from your conscious mind. But what's actually going on down there? How are our feelings created? I like to imagine that feelings are the result of a thought process. Your brain takes in information about the world, …
Continue reading Emotional maturity, Part 3: Feelings are amazingly useful
In the last post I talked about how most of your feelings are hidden, buried in your subconscious mind until you dredge them up. But feelings aren't the only things in your subconscious. You also have a lot of ideas and beliefs about who you are and how the world works. Some of them have …
Continue reading Emotional maturity, Part 2: Subconscious beliefs
You can't read your own mind. Most of what goes on in your head is subconscious. That means that you aren't aware of it. In other words, you can't read your own mind. For me, this is clearest when I'm doing mathematical research. Math at this level is the intellectual equivalent of power-lifting. When an …
Continue reading Emotional maturity, Part 1: Subconscious feelings
In the next several posts, I would like to talk about emotional maturity and emotional intelligence. How can we better understand our feelings and relate to other people in our lives? My current understanding of this is centered around three core ideas: Feelings exist (but most of them are invisible).Feelings are not facts (but they …
I am starting this blog with the following observation. The most effective ideas in teaching and student engagement, in parenting, and in social and political activism are actually the same ideas. In each of these settings, we have an older system of ideas that is based around power, domination, and control, and a newer system …
The video game Undertale shows how games, as social systems, have the power to change the way we interact with others and see ourselves. If you have not played the game and have any inclination towards RPGs, I highly recommend you play it before reading this article. Much of the charm and effect of the …
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