Altered Perceptions

I've learned a few things about mental illness over the last few years. This has been through attending conference presentations on the topic given by professional and licensed counselors and therapists, following people with mental illness on Facebook and Twitter, and personal association with friends with everything from epilepsy, schizophrenia, Asbergers  depression, anxiety, panic attacks, to boarder-line psychosis. I do not know all, or even a lot, but I do like to consider myself as somewhat familiar with mental illnesses and their manifestations.

It is for this reason that I am endorsing and encouraging Altered Perceptions an anthology of behind-the-scenes, short fiction, and creative non-fiction in support of Robison Wells, a wonderful author and victim of the ravages of mental illness. I'll let him describe it for you. Rob ultimately lost his job because of his condition. He wasn't able to work in a traditional office environment and his writing was not sufficient to cover his expenses. He and his family have reached a point that they need serious help. Brandon Sanderson, Rob's friend and highly successful author, initiated the Altered Perceptions project by suggesting authors submit work that could be complied into an anthology that could be sold to help raise funds to pay off the biggest debts Rob's family were experiences (student loans and to the IRS). Not only did Brandon submit 5 chapters of the original draft of Way of Kings, an awesome book, for the anthology - he is paying the printing and publishing costs. All of the proceeds of the project will go to help Rob and his family.

The people submitting work to this anthology should tell you the kind of person the Rob is. There are 30 different authors (not including Rob himself) who have submitted work, some of it original pieces, including several New York Times sellers. Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Larry Correia, Jessica Day George, Shannon Hale, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and a host of other successful writers have stepped up to help Rob in his time of need.

The secondary, although no less important, goal of this project is to raise awareness of mental illness. It is real and the more we talk about it the more we understand it. I will be doing what I can to contribute and spreading the news. I encourage you do to the same.

Before you die

A coworker pointed me towards the BBC's top 100 books you need read before you die (2014) list where I had read just over a quarter of them (26). It got me thinking about what makes a book (or anything really) eligible to get on that list. A Bucket List is a list of things you would like to do before you die, but there are lists out there that other people built that say what everyone should do/read/watch/eat pre-death. I don't really have an issue with others writing those lists. I'm simply curious what their criteria is. When I put the question to my wife, "What kinds of books would you put on a 'must read' list?" she responded, "What ever the person needs." It wasn't the answer I was looking for but it demonstrates her pragmatic view on live as opposed to my more ideological one.

I'll be honest, with her rather simple but pertinent answer it makes it hard to compile my own list of must read/do/eats. Can I know what I should do if I don't know what I will need to do? Probably not. With that in mind I present: not my list of things you should do/read/eat, nor my own bucket list of what I would like to do/read/eat, but my Things I'm glad that I've done/read/eaten.

(In no particular order, but with number 1 being unquestionably the most significant)

1 - Married my wife. Easily the best thing I've ever done. Marrying her changed me in ways I never thought it would. It's made me want to be a better person. I love her deeply and she makes me deliriously happy.

2 - Lived (and still am living) as a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. Marx called religion the opiate of the masses, but even if I didn't known of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Christ I don't see any problems with the way my life has gone by living the it. I receive peace, joy, and comfort from my beliefs. I avoid lots of problems by obeying by religion's tenants. I do not regret anything I have not been able to do because of my faith and I treasure what I've done and learned.

In all honestly most of the the life changing, significant events in my life have come from those two things. These include:

* Servicing a religious service mission to SW Russian (Rostov-na-Donu, Volgagrad, Novocherkassk, Krasnodar)

* Having children

* Reading the Bible, Book of Mormon, and other religious texts

* participating in service opportunities


3 - Reading:
* Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
* 1984 by George Orwell
* Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer
* The Allience by Gerald Lund
* Mere Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis


4 - Visited:
* New York
* Boston
* Mamev Kurgan and the Panaramic Museum (Volgagrad, Russia)
* Red Square (Moscow Russia)
* Trakai Castle (Lithuania)


5 - Learned to rock climb. Talk about discovering a whole new world.

6 - Learned Russian. It taught me about language in general, introduced me to a different culture, and gave me an appreciation of differences.

7 - Earned my Bachelor's degree. My education helped define how I look at the world and helped me learn more about myself and others.

There are many more things that I am glad that I did/read/ate, but these are the big ones. As I thought about these it did occur to me that there is one thing that I recommend people do before they die - Live.

Trending is not Truth

We have countless information at our fingertips via the internet. Sometimes it's hard to know what information is worthwhile and which is not. For scholarly articles they must be peer reviewed - that is accepted by a group of people in the same profession or discipline. For criminal proceedings it's the number of eye witnesses. If someone (or something) in those areas does not meet those credentials then their information is of less worth than someone (or something) that has.

Popular culture seems to play by different rules. By definition popular culture is whatever is liked by the most people. It doesn't have to be anything other than liked by the most people to supplant the previous culture. Music, film, books - entertainment of all kinds - are subject to this fickle mistress. What the majority likes becomes truth.

We can see this in popular ideas about math. "Math is hard." "Girls can't do math." "I'll never use math in my life." That last one is flat wrong. As I've demonstrated we use math every single day. Yet, because that thought has permeated the masses people believe it as if it were fact. Wikipedia is another example. While a good portion of the information found there may be accurate their disclaimer is headed, "Wikipedia makes no guarantee of validity." Despite this many people cite it in conversation or as a valid source simply because everyone if familiar with it. It's popularity allows it's information - true or false - to be considered valid.

Social media has taken this idea of popular approval and turned it into something to be feared. If the "groupthink" is against something then it must be bad. Jonathan Ross withdrew as host for the Hugo Awards because of an uprising on twitter. Mozilla's CEO steps down "over his apparent opposition to gay marriage. Cultural and business leaders are coming under attack for personal views or perceived injustices. These attacks are creating change in our world and the question needs to be - is the change worth it?

Numberphile did a great video on how Pi was nearly changed to 3.2 by a bad mathematician and an ignorant state legislature. With the technology and media we have today it is more than possible that such a fundamental mathematical truth would be distorted and accepted as fact because x number of people shared it on Facebook, tweeted it, or simply passed it along. If it is popular it must be true - right?

Call me old fashion to think that Pi is 3.141...(and a bunch of other numbers). Call me a rebel if I say that bullying, which is "use of superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants" - such as step down from their position, is wrong and should not be tolerated. Can so many people be wrong? Yes! Since when did "everybody is doing it" become a reason to join in? It was always and will be always a lame excuse to do something that you know is wrong but want to do anyway. If everybody jumped off a cliff would you do it too? It appears that much of society already has. Don't fault me for not joining them.

Warning: No Explicit Language

I have a very strong love for language, its study, and its use. That may sound strange since my grammar (particularly spelling) can be sub par at times. I don't think you have to be good at something to enjoy studying it. Just look at sports. I first realized this interest in language when I took a course by Dr. Mark Damen (a professor I've mentioned before) My first year of college I took his CLAS 1100 - Latin and Greek Elements in English class. It introduced me to basic linguistics, etymology, metaphor, and the basic skills of breaking words apart to see how they work.

One of my favorite examples is the word "conspiracy." Break it apart and you get "con-" with, "spir" > breath, "-acy" > quality of being or having -> the state of breathing with someone. How does that lead to "a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful?" This is where metaphor comes into play. The Romans were paranoid. If they saw two people speaking so quietly that their words couldn't be heard - two people who appeared to be breathing together - they immediately thought it was a plot. Interestingly enough in the book Dinotopia the word they use for marriage has the same prefix and base so in Dinotopia a conspiracy would be the same "the state of being married." Culture can change everything.

With that in mind I want to examine that part of language commonly referred to as swearing. Also known as profanity, cursing, explicit language, or simply as being rude, crude, and uncouth. It is the part of language that is considered impolite, improper, uncivilized, low brow, and, of course, rude crude and uncouth. Dr. Damen did give an (optional) lecture on the history of swearing as part of the CLAS 1100. Some words have always been considered inappropriate for general usage. Many gained their unacceptable status through (literal) profanity. In a religious society it is inappropriate to misuse the divine, such as in a casual or disrespectful manner - i.e. to profane. It's no wonder that much the language that is considered offensive are religious references. Those that aren't tend to be references to things considered private, intimate, or distasteful. Discussing or referencing such things overtly and in crude terms is against our natural propriety. This leads us to Dr. Damen's rule of mean - once a word takes on a sexual connotation or meaning previous meanings are no longer valid.

Moving past the origins of English/American swearing, the question as to "why" swearing is a compelling one. That society has a higher tolerance for swearing is blatantly clear by examining our consumed media. Some argue that full language is a beautiful thing, or that we do a disservice by censoring profane, inappropriate or explicit language. Doesn't the first amendment grand the freedom of speech? Doesn't that mean that we can use whatever language we desire to express ourselves? Those are valid questions, but I think the question that is more important is "should you use such language?"

Yes. People have the right to talk in whatever way they choose and reap the consequences there of. Many people don't understand, or underestimate the power of language. Language conveys something about the speaker. A prime example is Iago in Shakespeare's Othello. His first work on stage was considered one of the worst words to be spoken in public. It immediately told the audience what type of character he was. What kind of language you use demonstrates how you think. Ben Jonson is attributed with saying, "Language most shows a man, speak that I may see thee." Spencer W. Kimball expressed that profanity specifically was "the effort of a feeble brain to express itself forcibly." There are far better ways to express yourself then using language (or any action) that is offensive to others - unless you are trying to be offensive. In which case you shouldn't be offended if people choose not to associate with you.