tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65116989060328748822024-03-05T13:29:56.459-08:00Marta Willcoxa catalogue of curiositiesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.comBlogger1427125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-82482948760310418542013-01-29T07:08:00.003-08:002013-01-29T07:09:15.265-08:00Mindset<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amix.dk/uploads/dweck_mindset.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://amix.dk/uploads/dweck_mindset.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://amix.dk/uploads/dweck_mindset.png" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr>
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<br />
This is from the book <i>Mindset</i> by Carol Dweck. It is awesome.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-7658553063685831512013-01-23T06:58:00.002-08:002013-01-23T06:58:44.744-08:00In praise of the hot water bottle<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/c0.0.403.403/p403x403/554298_10101250156378550_2003525308_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/c0.0.403.403/p403x403/554298_10101250156378550_2003525308_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: me</td></tr>
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"<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Hot-water bottles are never going to be fashionable. Even to talk about them is to invite a smirk from your audience. And yet would anyone turn down the offer of a hot-water bottle in this weather? Cheaper and greener than leaving the heating on all night, a bottle is a portable comfort. With a little planning, it heats up the bed before you clamber in. With an adequate cover (and would you seriously consider a naked rubber bottle?), it keeps you warm into the small hours. And then there is the attendant ritual of decanting a boiled kettle; lightly burping the bottle, and screwing the cap reassuringly tight. To do this is to feel somehow parental, wise – as if providing for your inner child. Like a cup of breakfast tea in bed, or a hot bath after a long day, a hot-water bottle is the kind of prosaic comfort that is easy to overlook and yet somehow makes life so much better. In fashion? Never. A must-have? Absolutely."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">From "In praise of the hot water bottle" The Guardian, editorial (<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/31/in-praise-of-hot-water-bottles" target="_blank">link</a>)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-29695158080294467442013-01-22T04:59:00.002-08:002013-01-22T04:59:37.387-08:00<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="http://embed.ted.com/talks/colin_stokes_how_movies_teach_manhood.html" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="560"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-62316069783179370822013-01-18T03:02:00.001-08:002013-01-18T03:13:05.168-08:00Bible study: the land of the tribes of Judah<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/12_Tribes_of_Israel_Map.svg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/12_Tribes_of_Israel_Map.svg" width="419" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&biw=1440&bih=802&tbs=isz:l&tbm=isch&tbnid=fKrZSP_G3i2FCM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:12_Tribes_of_Israel_Map.svg&docid=D_eo1LV4KG87NM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/12_Tribes_of_Israel_Map.svg&w=2168&h=3300&ei=1Sr5UNHrOM3N0AWkzIHoAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=4&vpy=119&dur=69&hovh=277&hovw=182&tx=21&ty=144&sig=107312183330594662435&page=1&tbnh=139&tbnw=91&start=0&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:80" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr>
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<br />
Following Bonhoeffer's model of reading two chapters in the Old Testament and one chapter in the New Testament a day, I'm now in Joshua 18/19 and Acts 10. <br />
<br />
I felt like I needed a bit of illustrative help and so found this map from wikipedia. How helpful for passages like Joshua 18:16 - "Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim. And it then goes down the Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites and downward to En-rogel." Whew!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-76638412967617456042013-01-15T03:52:00.002-08:002013-01-15T03:52:51.597-08:00i forgot about this quote. how glorious.<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">“Appreciative love gazes and holds its breath and is silent, rejoices that such a wonder should exist even if not for him, will not be wholly dejected by losing her, would rather have it so than never to have seen her at all.” </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">― </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1069006.C_S_Lewis" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: initial;">C.S. Lewis</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/14816053" style="color: #666600; text-decoration: initial;">The Four Loves</a></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0Harrow, Greater London, UK51.580559 -0.3419949999999971651.5016405 -0.5033564999999971 51.6594775 -0.18063349999999717tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-73814355442995400842012-12-05T02:06:00.002-08:002012-12-05T02:06:28.065-08:00Life"God created this draw toward relationship. The draw is toward himself, and we are told to look for his presence: "Seek the Lord while he may be found" (Isaiah 55:6). It is in relationship with God that we find ultimate connection and meaning. And by God's design, the draw is also toward others: "Two are better than one" (Ecclesiastes 4:9). <b>We are at our best when we are connected deeply to God and to the people who matter most. That, along with a meaningful purpose and task, creates the best life possible." </b><br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Boundaries-PB-Townsend-John/dp/0310335043/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354701942&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Beyond Boundaries</a></i> by John TownsendAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-4859571851044810762012-11-27T05:53:00.001-08:002012-11-27T05:53:26.391-08:00Burning the shipsHello loyal reader(s),<br />
You might have noticed on the side bar that the archive of blogs has increased ten-fold. This is because martadouglass.blogspot.com is becoming no more. Thanks to Google's creed of "Don't Be Evil" (and Jono's knowledge) I transferred all of my blog posts from martadouglass onto this very blog. There's some amazing stuff in the back logs. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
MAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-45088950966445189942012-11-08T04:22:00.000-08:002012-11-08T04:27:54.672-08:00Failure, part 2So I got my hands on a free Kindle sample of the book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindset-How-Fulfil-Your-Potential/dp/1780332009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352369187&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Mindset</a></i>, so here are more quotes and thoughts:<br />
<br />
"In this [growth] mindset, the hand you're dealt is just the starting point for development. This <i>growth mindset </i>is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts."<br />
<br />
"You can see how the belief that cherished qualities can be developed creates a passion for learning. Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?"<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz7rilDU7r1rntivbo1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz7rilDU7r1rntivbo1_1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from <a href="http://dbtresources.tumblr.com/image/17590330667" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<ul>
<li>One thing is that to feel the inner safety and security that allows a person to take risks. Risks can become too risky if there is not an inner sense of stability to fall back on.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>However, spending too long navel-gazing and making sure that all is safe and secure internally will not allow for risks and challenges to be taken.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A person can only have a "growth mindset" if they have a secure emotional base.</li>
</ul>
<br />
"Instead, as you begin to understand the fixed and growth mindsets, you will see exactly how one thing leads to another - how a belief that your qualities are carved in stone leads to a host of thoughts and actions, and how a belief that your qualities can be cultivated leads to a host of different thoughts and actions, taking you down an entirely different road."<br />
<br />
"If, like those with the growth mindset, you believe you can develop yourself, then you're open to accurate information about your current abilities, even if it's unflattering."<br />
<br />
This is from a Malcolm Gladwell article, <a href="http://www.gladwell.com/2002/2002_07_22_a_talent.htm" target="_blank">"The Talent Myth"</a>: "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; word-spacing: 2px;">Dweck gave a class of preadolescent students a test filled with challenging problems. After they were finished, one group was praised for its effort and another group was praised for its intelligence. Those praised for their intelligence were reluctant to tackle difficult tasks, and their performance on subsequent tests soon began to suffer."</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-7824667727368364502012-11-08T04:21:00.000-08:002012-11-08T04:25:36.294-08:00Self-EsteemArticle that is blowing my mind:<br />
New York Magazine, <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/" target="_blank">"How Not to Talk to Your Kids"</a> by Po Bronson. 11 Feb 2007<br />
<br />
"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Georgia, Garamond, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;">Since the<b> 1969 </b>publication of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychology-Self-Esteem-Revolutionary-Approach-Self-Understanding/dp/0787945269" target="_blank">The Psychology of Self-Esteem</a></i>, in which Nathaniel Branden opined that self-esteem was the single most important facet of a person, the belief that one must do whatever he can to achieve positive self-esteem has become a movement with broad societal effects. Anything potentially damaging to kids’ self-esteem was axed. Competitions were frowned upon. Soccer coaches stopped counting goals and handed out trophies to everyone. Teachers threw out their red pencils. Criticism was replaced with ubiquitous, even undeserved, praise.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Georgia, Garamond, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
[Carol] Dweck and Blackwell’s work is part of a larger academic challenge to one of the self-esteem movement’s key tenets: that praise, self-esteem, and performance rise and fall together. From 1970 to 2000, there were over 15,000 scholarly articles written on self-esteem and its relationship to everything—from sex to career advancement. But results were often contradictory or inconclusive. So in 2003 the Association for Psychological Science asked Dr. Roy Baumeister, then a leading proponent of self-esteem, to review this literature. </span><b style="line-height: 20px;">His team concluded that self-esteem was polluted with flawed science. Only 200 of those 15,000 studies met their rigorous standards.</b><br />
<b style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Georgia, Garamond, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"><b>After reviewing those 200 studies, Baumeister concluded that having high self-esteem didn’t improve grades or career achievement. It didn’t even reduce alcohol usage. And it especially did not lower violence of any sort. </b>(Highly aggressive, violent people happen to think very highly of themselves, debunking the theory that people are aggressive to make up for low self-esteem.) At the time, Baumeister was quoted as saying that his findings were “the biggest disappointment of my career.”<br />
<br />
Now he’s on Dweck’s side of the argument, and his work is going in a similar direction: He will soon publish an article showing that for college students on the verge of failing in class, esteem-building praise causes their grades to sink further. <b>Baumeister has come to believe the continued appeal of self-esteem is largely tied to parents’ pride in their children’s achievements: It’s so strong that “when they praise their kids, it’s not that far from praising themselves.”</b><br />
<b></b>
<br />
By and large, the literature on praise shows that it can be effective—a positive, motivating force. In one study, University of Notre Dame researchers tested praise’s efficacy on a losing college hockey team. The experiment worked: The team got into the playoffs. <b>But all praise is not equal—and, as Dweck demonstrated, the effects of praise can vary significantly depending on the praise given. To be effective, researchers have found, praise needs to be specific. (The hockey players were specifically complimented on the number of times they checked an opponent.)</b><br />
...<br />
<br />
Sincerity of praise is also crucial. Just as we can sniff out the true meaning of a backhanded compliment or a disingenuous apology, children, too, <b>scrutinize praise for hidden agendas</b>. Only young children—under the age of 7—take praise at face value: Older children are just as suspicious of it as adults.<br />
...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Georgia, Garamond, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;"><b>In the opinion of cognitive scientist Daniel T. Willingham, a teacher who praises a child may be unwittingly sending the message that the student reached the limit of his innate ability, while a teacher who criticizes a pupil conveys the message that he can improve his performance even further.</b></span><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Georgia, Garamond, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">...</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Georgia, Garamond, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Students turn to cheating because <b>they haven’t developed a strategy for handling failure</b>. The problem is compounded when a parent ignores a child’s failures and insists he’ll do better next time. Michigan scholar Jennifer Crocker studies this exact scenario and explains that <b>the child may come to believe failure is something so terrible, the family can’t acknowledge its existence. A child deprived of the opportunity to discuss mistakes can’t learn from them.</b><br />
</span><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Georgia, Garamond, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">...</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Georgia, Garamond, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Georgia, Garamond, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;">Truth be told, while my son was getting along fine under the new praise regime, it was I who was suffering. It turns out that <b>I was the real praise junkie in the family</b>. Praising him for just a particular skill or task felt like I left other parts of him ignored and unappreciated. I recognized that praising him with the universal “You’re great—I’m proud of you”<b> was a way I expressed unconditional love."</b></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-49479158637421496542012-11-07T02:01:00.001-08:002012-11-07T02:01:08.572-08:00William Walker, Battle of Britain pilot<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjkcuLOio4PURavUjfrOPVnEUUOgoewvwGE9XKc7_5aF9Ka4AGsg7Ew0sC45JnO2M7Sk_HHtlquQCRacbUGad2DACezN_cj42v3gj-88cQhoskWrkdEHD-B25ZzxhioXGTx0N_vwYMlo/s640/blogger-image-572073171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjkcuLOio4PURavUjfrOPVnEUUOgoewvwGE9XKc7_5aF9Ka4AGsg7Ew0sC45JnO2M7Sk_HHtlquQCRacbUGad2DACezN_cj42v3gj-88cQhoskWrkdEHD-B25ZzxhioXGTx0N_vwYMlo/s640/blogger-image-572073171.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-59010317914253442442012-09-27T03:03:00.000-07:002012-09-27T03:04:51.990-07:00Failure<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Finally! I have been searching and searching for this ever since I heard a segment on NPR last summer on how your attitude toward failure effects everything. The book is called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindset-How-Fulfil-Your-Potential/dp/1780332009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348736365&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Mindset: How you can fulfil your potential</a></i> by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. I'm so pleased.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: normal;">This concepts from this book have come up again and again in my work at the alternative education centre for young people who have been excluded from their normal schools. Art class at the centre has been particularly interesting in terms of the concept of failure. Art is a pretty risky activity (I've also been meaning to read the book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Fear-Observations-Rewards-Artmaking/dp/0961454733/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348738688&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Art and Fear</a></i>). There are not clear guidelines for success or failure and a lot of art comes from creativity and individuality from inside the artist. What this means is that there is vulnerability and no clear guideline for success. This can be anxiety-producing for the kids. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Also, I'm wanting to get involved with a project that helps girls with their self-esteem. Are there any links between perceived failure and self-esteem?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>So here it goes, taking apart the excerpt from <i>Mindset</i> on NPR (<a href="http://www.npr.org/books/titles/138328823/mindset-the-new-psychology-of-success#excerpt" target="_blank">here</a>):</b></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">What are the consequences of thinking that your intelligence or personality is something you can develop, as opposed to something that is a fixed, deep-seated trait?"</span></i></span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This reminds me of what a friend of mine, Rebecca, did with the Twilight books. She noticed that a lot of teens were reading them and so picked them up and loved them. As a home-schooling mom, she took the opportunity to create a curriculum that used the Twilight books to teach about how we can make choices to behave in different ways than our natures dictate. In the books, she loved how Edward was a vampire but used self control to become something different and better. She also loved how Jacob was a shape-shifting wolf thing and made choices throughout the book that went against his nature. We are not determined!</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">Robert Sternberg, the present-day guru of intelligence, writes that the major factor in whether people achieve expertise “is not some fixed prior ability, but purposeful engagement.”"</span></i></span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How interesting! I hope to help kids become more curious individuals. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"Some of us are trained in this mindset from an early age. Even as a child, I was focused on being smart, but the fixed mindset was really stamped in by Mrs. Wilson, my sixth-grade teacher. Unlike Alfred Binet [developer of the IQ test], she believed that people’s IQ scores told the whole story of who they were. <u>We were seated around the room in IQ order</u>, and only the highest-IQ students could be trusted to carry the flag, clap the erasers, or take a note to the principal. Aside from the daily stomachaches she provoked with her judgmental stance, she was creating a mindset in which everyone in the class had one consuming goal—look smart, don’t look dumb. Who cared about or enjoyed learning when our whole being was at stake every time she gave us a test or called on us in class?"</i></span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How awful!</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Do people with this mindset believe that anyone can be anything, that anyone with proper motivation or education can become Einstein or Beethoven? No, but they believe that a person’s true potential is unknown (and unknowable); that it’s impossible to foresee what can be accomplished with years of passion, toil, and training."</span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">You can see how the belief that cherished qualities can be developed creates a passion for learning. Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives."</span></i></span></blockquote>
I believe that the growth mindset comes from a place of being unconditionally loved. I would love to read the rest of the book and see if Dweck agrees with this or not. For me, learning about and experiencing relational intimacy and finding out about differentiation were all very helpful for feeling secure enough to take risks. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">In other words, risk and effort are two things that might reveal your inadequacies and show that you were not up to the task. In fact, it’s startling to see the degree to which people with the fixed mindset do not believe in effort."</span></i></span></blockquote>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-799298492071577812012-09-09T15:26:00.003-07:002012-09-09T15:26:45.822-07:00The Art of Browsing<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The New York Times Magazine article from 20 July <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/magazine/pinterest-tumblr-and-the-trouble-with-curation.html?pagewanted=1&_r=5pagewanted=all" target="_blank">"</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 34px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/magazine/pinterest-tumblr-and-the-trouble-with-curation.html?pagewanted=1&_r=5pagewanted=all" target="_blank">Pinterest, Tumblr and the Trouble With ‘Curation’"</a> makes me feel like someone just dissected and psychoanalised my favourite little pet past-time, which is exactly what they did. I feel vulnerable and a little put-off. The article discusses websites, tumblrs, blogs, and Pinterest and the internet theme of presenting images next to one another on a website without many words. I go to plenty of websites like this, my favourites being The Sartorialist, Garance Dore (she has more words), Pinterest, Jak and Jil and occasionally Musings in Femininity (tumblr), The Glitter Guide, and A Well Travelled Woman (tumblr). The article asks the question: Why do I (and millions of others like me) love these websites? Frankly, I'd rather they leave us alone to our nice little diversions.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 34px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 34px;">Is Pinterest and blogging (the type of blogging that I normally do, posting pictures of things that I think are pretty or interesting) curation? Curation meaning, by my definition, carefully selecting things in order to create a message or impact when they are all together. The article seems to say, 'Maybe but probably not.': "</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; line-height: 22px;">“Curation” does imply something far more deliberate than these inspiration blogs, whose very point is to put the viewer into an aesthetic reverie unencumbered by thought or analysis. These sites are not meant (as curation is) to make us more conscious, but less so.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; line-height: 22px;"> "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 34px;"> </span></blockquote>
It's true. When I see each picture, I have a jolt of creative input (which feels good and stimulating) and I judge it (which feels like I am accomplishing something, putting the universe in order). I also want to make for myself a personal "catalogue of curiosities" (hence the motto for this blog) so that I can go back and find the things that were pleasing to me in order to connect them to other ideas or to act upon them in some way. She continues...<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"That might be O.K., but it also means they have a lot more in common with advertising than they do with curation. After all, advertising trains us to keep our desire always at the ready, nurturing that feeling that something is missing, then redirecting it toward a tangible product. In the end, all that pent-up yearning needs a place to go, and now it has that place online. But products are no longer the point. The feeling is the point. And now we can create that feeling for ourselves, then pass it around like a photo album of the life we think we were meant to have but don’t, the people we think we should be but aren’t."</blockquote>
I feel very pinned to the wall with this one. It reminds me of some notes I took at a youth group weekend away. The speaker said something about training our "wanters" to want things that are good things (Christ) not bad things (pride/sin). It seems as though our wanters are so highly stimulated that when we are not being pelted with advertising we seek out similar stimulation elsewhere. It's like being a child who is given candy for good behaviour and then goes on to be a candy connoisseur and candy collector and opens up a factory to create and sell candy when the point the whole time was to encourage good behaviour. Or something. <br />
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J just came in a read my thoughts so far and said that I shouldn't be so put out by all of this. All of us walk around with holes in our hearts that look to everything to tell us who we were meant to be and what lives we were meant to have. Pinterest, et al. are just one manifestation of where we look to have our hearts filled. But to look at our Creator and to know and see that He made us who we are and loves us is the only completion that we can have. Having that knowledge and love at the centre of our hearts lets Pinterest and everything else fall in to their appropriate place: diversion.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-25458044165863890602012-09-07T05:08:00.000-07:002012-09-09T13:50:42.127-07:00Space.I am interested in volunteering for a youth work organisation in Northwest London called Space. I found out about the organisation through a series of connections and I have a meeting with the head next Friday. I can't wait. <br />
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As a foretaste of our meeting, the head sent me an article that was written about the org in Youthwork Magazine: <a href="http://youthwork-magazine.co.uk/main/article/coffeewithrebecca" target="_blank">"Coffee with Rebecca Hamer"</a>. It's so awesome.<br />
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Here are a few bits from the article and the things that they remind me of:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #616060; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Often as a youth worker I have found that I have had to check my motivations. Do I want to give an answer to her because I have a need to help her, or because I genuinely want to help her? "</span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
This is something that I've been thinking about for awhile, ever since I wrote <a href="http://martawillcox.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/attachment-5-of-100.html" target="_blank">[this post]</a> after talking with a guy from my church who is doing his Masters in Counselling thesis on what motivates people in helping professions to do their jobs. Even a quick skim of <i>Emotionally Healthy Spirituality</i> the other day refreshed the idea in my mind. In it, Peter Scazzero goes through his genogram and highlights his family structure that explains why he <i>needed</i> to help people. However, as the guy at my church said, none of our motivations will be 100% selfless. We are fallen people. We should seek to be aware of our motivations and seek accountability for them. Or something.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #616060; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Rebecca explained that the young person is, ‘having to find the solution themselves. They have to problem solve. And once you have problem solved once, you can possibly do it again."</span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
This reminds me of an article that my sister in law posted on Facebook a few months ago: <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/uva-research-arguing-kids-could-have-benefits/article/feed/2003531#.UEnfc44e18w" target="_blank">"UVA research: Arguing kids could have benefits" </a> which is all about how kids who are able to argue with their parents and develop logical reasoning for why they will or will not do things have a greater chance of resisting negative peer pressure. The process of talking aloud trains teens to be able to think through issues wisely. This is what the Space project wants to provide!<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #616060; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">We take this small group through eight weeks of thinking about how their thoughts and feelings are connected: why we end up in the same situations, what’s driving our thinking. It gently gives them the space - when they’re ready - to start to challenge some of their strongly held negative beliefs about themselves. "</span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
This is basically the counselling that I've been (semi) trained in at seminary. Rock on. <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #616060; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This person feels that they aren’t worth anything. So let’s stay with that, let’s acknowledge it - saying, “That </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #616060; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">must be really hard – how does that feel?” Let’s stay there with them in it. I love Henry Nouwen’s book </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #616060; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Life of the Beloved</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #616060; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">. He talks about befriending our pain. I love that. He says the key to our healing lies in our pain. So if we can befriend the pain of our young people, then maybe we can help them to find the keys to their own healing. "</span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Magical! Henri Nouwen! Yay! Yes, it is so important to be with young people in their pain and let them feel the legitimacy of it. One of my favourite quotes is by Carl Jung: "Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering." Instead of running away from our pain and the pain in this world, to see it, face it, let Jesus heal it! But running away from it or covering up the pain just buries it so that it continues to fester and create more problems.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #616060; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">We also need to remember that we are not counsellors. The listening deals with the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #616060; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">present – but if it becomes always about the past, then we have to be signposting young people to counselling. All of this edges towards therapeutic youth work so we need to be very clear about boundaries. Youth work is a beautiful role because it stands between teacher, counsellor, pastor, friend, sister – but we have to be extra careful about knowing what our role is.’"</span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<div>
Very good and healthy. We can't pretend to be something that we're not trained to be.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #616060; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">‘We are motivated by a Christian faith and operate within that framework but don’t impose the beliefs of that framework on the young people we work with. The story that inspires me, as an example of something being faith-based but not faith-biased, is the story of the healing of the ten lepers. Jesus heals the ten lepers, they all go their separate ways, and then one comes back and says: “You are the Son of God”. Only then do they have a conversation about who Jesus is. The heart of The SPACE Project is to offer healing to any young person of any background."</span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Very good. Beautiful.<br />
<br />
I can't wait for the meeting and hopefully the opportunity to get involved with the Space project!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-89703329075359251242012-08-23T12:15:00.000-07:002012-08-23T12:15:38.403-07:00Blossom Dearie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdC2SYm_fRET13UMHPi5QLtraH9FV4m8EJHanynAopHP15NX87iHuGWN55_LXgHKrc54D5oPpis7cCorRZH58P-DYkv54hO4bX3v6-2_lwL_tu4oAf6JF4nu69muMRRLcTIfxdr9D7935w/s400/blossom_dearie_%5Bbonus_track.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdC2SYm_fRET13UMHPi5QLtraH9FV4m8EJHanynAopHP15NX87iHuGWN55_LXgHKrc54D5oPpis7cCorRZH58P-DYkv54hO4bX3v6-2_lwL_tu4oAf6JF4nu69muMRRLcTIfxdr9D7935w/s400/blossom_dearie_%5Bbonus_track.jpg" /></a></div>
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Just discovered this spunky singer from the 50s on spotify! This cover could easily be an indie album cover from today.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-32903036848884971182012-07-18T16:00:00.003-07:002012-07-18T16:00:48.281-07:00George Bellows<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My brother and his family are taking their vacation in Washington, D.C., this summer and went in (for exactly 8 minutes before it closed) to see the George Bellows exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. I have never heard of George Bellows but took a quick look online while skyping with them and was blown away:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Both_Members_of_This_Club_George_Bellows.jpeg/800px-Both_Members_of_This_Club_George_Bellows.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Both_Members_of_This_Club_George_Bellows.jpeg/800px-Both_Members_of_This_Club_George_Bellows.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Both Members of This Club"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Bellows_CliffDwellers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Bellows_CliffDwellers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Cliff Dwellers"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Tennis at Newport"</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-81442508953513291202012-06-26T08:03:00.002-07:002012-06-26T08:03:34.375-07:00Power-preserving Vegetable Cooking Chart: nutrition and cooking methods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwvflBVsVDjBGa5_RfpEtv2BxE3WifrtgMoyYHab0nLU-Mt3IyuNHsXmyVTzVKkr8d0DZH8Uvxl4z-l0IHA92n6m9_yWZ6OzBRn9lTXa418CeF1CLhKhuKvNXnqnZaQRAO0dSlqhhJlU/s1600/ppvcc.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="568" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwvflBVsVDjBGa5_RfpEtv2BxE3WifrtgMoyYHab0nLU-Mt3IyuNHsXmyVTzVKkr8d0DZH8Uvxl4z-l0IHA92n6m9_yWZ6OzBRn9lTXa418CeF1CLhKhuKvNXnqnZaQRAO0dSlqhhJlU/s640/ppvcc.bmp" width="640" /></a></div>
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from <a href="http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=faq&dbid=23#power" target="_blank">World's Healthiest Foods</a> website <br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-45224375892526559562012-06-06T10:39:00.002-07:002012-06-06T10:39:52.968-07:00Milan Men's Street Fashion"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I love how Milanese gentlemen move like they are the star of their own film.</span><br />
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Such swagger. Such intrigue.</div>
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This isn’t about fashion or even style but about creating an impact on the viewer.</div>
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A visual seduction."</div>
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- The Sartorialist (<a href="http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/starring-in-the-movie-of-his-life-milano/" target="_blank">link</a>)</div>
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Credit for all photos to the decidedly good-looking J. Willcox. Shot in and around the Piazza del Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan.</div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-55021727886914804612012-05-09T10:04:00.002-07:002012-05-09T10:04:49.598-07:00Isambard Kingdom BrunelBesides having an epic name, this architect from the mid-1800s made himself quite famous in London and beyond. <br />
<br />
The first work of his that I saw in Ealing was the very large and impressive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wharncliffe_Viaduct">Wharncliffe Viaduct</a>, which is still used today as a bridge for trains. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/01/18/60/1186083_68400771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/01/18/60/1186083_68400771.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1186083" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Brunel also worked under his Dad, Marc Isambard Brunel, in the beginning of his career and both worked on the Thames Tunnel which was, according to the Brunel Museum, the first tunnel under a navigable river. The tunnel now forms part of the London Overground train system. In 1828 there was an accident and the tunnel flooded, killing six men, and Brunel himself narrowly escaped drowning. He recuperated in Bristol, where he heard about the Clifton Suspension Bridge competition.<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Thames_tunnel_shield.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Thames_tunnel_shield.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Tunnel#cite_note-0" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr>
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The Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_1123541645_08050v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_1123541645_08050v.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Clifton_Suspension_Bridge.html/cid_1123541645_08050v.gbi" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr>
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The Royal Albert Bridge between Plymouth and Saltash.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Royal_Albert_Bridge_2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Royal_Albert_Bridge_2009.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltash_Bridge" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr>
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And finally, my favourite, the work of Brunel that is closest to my house: "Three Bridges" or "Windmill Bridge." It's incredible. The lower level is rail, the middle is the canal, and on top is Windmill Lane. Three levels!<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.urban75.org/london/images/osterley11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://www.urban75.org/london/images/osterley11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.urban75.org/london/osterley.html" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I would love to now go and see the <a href="http://www.brunel-museum.org.uk/" target="_blank">Brunel Museum</a> in Southwark. Maybe I can drag some people to go with me?<br /><br /><div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-23448598076315415242012-04-18T04:42:00.002-07:002012-04-18T04:42:19.631-07:00Church History Walks in LondonIf none of these work out to be any good I will write my first book as an e-book on church history walks in London and sell it for £3-5. <br />
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<a href="http://www.londontourist.org/churchwalk.html">Londontourist.org: 'City Churches Walk'</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.london-city-churches.org.uk/">Friends of the City Churches - map of city churches</a> (also features a church walk but the link is broken)<br />
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<a href="http://www.spendtimeinlondon.com/free-walks-guide.html">Spendtimeinlondon.com - free guided London walks</a> - nothing here for church history walks but still seems quite useful for other interests.<br />
<br />
I think I could do it! It would probably take a year to write a church history walking tour guide book for London but as long as I don't try to make a dissertation out of it and keep to the fact that my guide book will be more 'accessible' (positive turn on plebeian) than a church history professor writing it. Hmm...<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-2294282070960406772012-04-04T16:30:00.002-07:002012-04-04T16:30:58.486-07:00Trying to understand "I, Pencil"I'm in Jasper, Alberta, Canada right now on a school ski trip with a bunch of 12-16 year old boys. Two nights ago at the staff table we were discussing macroeconomics. This was in between announcements given to the boys and points were awarded for the staff member who could include hidden words ("menopause," "Albuquerque," "meow," "Munchausen syndrome").<br />
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After the discussion, one of the staff (economics teacher) told me to look up and read the essay <a href="http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/rdPncl1.html"><i>I, Pencil</i> by Leonard Read</a>. It starts off by chronicling all the millions of people involved in making a single pencil - from the lumberjacks (are they still called that?) to the people who harvest the coffee beans for the lumberjacks' coffee - everyone. Read (in the voice of the pencil) states that no one of the millions involved in the manufacture of the pencil can make a pencil all by themselves. BUT (and here is the reason that S told me to read the essay) Read's position is that each person involved in the manufacture of the pencil is equal:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">There isn't a single person in all these millions, including the president of the pencil company, who contributes more than a tiny, infinitesimal bit of know-how. From the standpoint of know-how the only difference between the miner of graphite in Ceylon and the logger in Oregon is in the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><i>type</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">of know-how. Neither the miner nor the logger can be dispensed with, any more than can the chemist at the factory or the worker in the oil field—paraffin being a by-product of petroleum.</span></blockquote>
OOooo and then he starts talking about <i>The Invisible Hand</i>! And then I get kind of lost in the essay. Okay, let's break this down:<br />
<br />
1. To produce a pencil, millions of people give their tiny bit of know-how.<br />
2. However, these millions of people are not motivated by the larger purpose of producing a pencil but are instead motivated by receiving goods and services in exchange for his know-how (salary from the profit of the sale of the pencil, ultimately).<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Each of these millions sees that he can thus exchange his tiny know-how for the goods and services he needs or wants. I may or may not be among these items.</span></blockquote>
3. There is no boss telling everyone to act in a certain way in order to produce a pencil, all of the people who work toward making a pencil work for their own goals and from their own motivations.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">There is a fact still more astounding: the absence of a master mind, of anyone dictating or forcibly directing these countless actions which bring me into being. No trace of such a person can be found. Instead, we find the Invisible Hand at work.</span></blockquote>
4. According to Read, since one person cannot make a tree that means that we must attribute it to God.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">It has been said that "only God can make a tree." Why do we agree with this? Isn't it because we realize that we ourselves could not make one? Indeed, can we even describe a tree? We cannot, except in superficial terms. We can say, for instance, that a certain molecular configuration manifests itself as a tree. But what mind is there among men that could even record, let alone direct, the constant changes in molecules that transpire in the life span of a tree? Such a feat is utterly unthinkable!</span> </blockquote>
5. So, just as a person could not put together a tree, one person could not put together a pencil all by themselves. Therefore God makes pencils. This is silly, of course. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">I, Pencil, am a complex combination of miracles: a tree, zinc, copper, graphite, and so on. But to these miracles which manifest themselves in Nature an even more extraordinary miracle has been added: the configuration of creative human energies—millions of tiny know-hows configurating naturally and spontaneously in response to human necessity and desire and</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><i>in the absence of any human master-minding!</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Since only God can make a tree, I insist that only God could make me. Man can no more direct these millions of know-hows to bring me into being than he can put molecules together to create a tree.</span> </blockquote>
6. Read is proposing that people will naturally put themselves in order to create things. We must have faith in this aspect of humanity. Without government or any other mastermind figuring out things. Humanity will naturally fall into place producing things.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">The above is what I meant when writing, "If you can become aware of the miraculousness which I symbolize, you can help save the freedom mankind is so unhappily losing." For, if one is aware that these know-hows will naturally, yes, automatically, arrange themselves into creative and productive patterns in response to human necessity and demand—that is, in the absence of governmental or any other coercive masterminding—then one will possess an absolutely essential ingredient for freedom:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><i>a faith in free people.</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Freedom is impossible without this faith.</span> </blockquote>
7. Ah-ha. I was all about to get ready to go on with how humanity is not inherently good from a Christian perspective and that faith in the goodness of humanity to produce everything that we all need is kind of short-sighted. But I see! This is an anti-state-run-companies essay, right? I still don't see quite how a bunch of people serving their own profit-centered interests could do a public service like delivering the mail. Doesn't that fall into the category of the police and lighthouses?<br />
<div class="para" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 22px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 2em;">
Once government has had a monopoly of a creative activity such, for instance, as the delivery of the mails, most individuals will believe that the mails could not be efficiently delivered by men acting freely. And here is the reason: Each one acknowledges that he himself doesn't know how to do all the things incident to mail delivery. He also recognizes that no other individual could do it. These assumptions are correct. No individual possesses enough know-how to perform a nation's mail delivery any more than any individual possesses enough know-how to make a pencil. Now, in the absence of faith in free people—in the unawareness that millions of tiny know-hows would naturally and miraculously form and cooperate to satisfy this necessity—the individual cannot help but reach the erroneous conclusion that mail can be delivered only by governmental "master-minding."</div>
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8. Okay, okay. On second thought, maybe it could work for the mail service to be privatised. After all, it does cost money and there is a possibility for profit, unlike the police and lighthouses. And it makes sense that if there is a profit to be had then people could organise to do it. I think that Read got my back up early on by saying that it was silly that only God could create a tree since we do not understand how one person could make a tree and then automatically assume that God is the only logical alternative. That is not why I believe that God makes trees. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">If I, Pencil, were the only item that could offer testimony on what men and women can accomplish when free to try, then those with little faith would have a fair case. However, there is testimony galore; it's all about us and on every hand. Mail delivery is exceedingly simple when compared, for instance, to the making of an automobile or a calculating machine or a grain combine or a milling machine or to tens of thousands of other things. Delivery? Why, in this area where men have been left free to try, they deliver the human voice around the world in less than one second; they deliver an event visually and in motion to any person's home when it is happening; they deliver 150 passengers from Seattle to Baltimore in less than four hours; they deliver gas from Texas to one's range or furnace in New York at unbelievably low rates and without subsidy; they deliver each four pounds of oil from the Persian Gulf to our Eastern Seaboard—halfway around the world—for less money than the government charges for delivering a one-ounce letter across the street!</span> </blockquote>
9. I agree with this as long as there is a profit to be made by the project. The government takes care of the rest because there is no profit to be had however all of society benefits from the government projects (lighthouses again). However, by saying that am I saying that the government should take over charities because there is no profit to be had?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">The lesson I have to teach is this:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><i>Leave all creative energies uninhibited.</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Merely organize society to act in harmony with this lesson. Let society's legal apparatus remove all obstacles the best it can. Permit these creative know-hows freely to flow. Have faith that free men and women will respond to the Invisible Hand. This faith will be confirmed. I, Pencil, seemingly simple though I am, offer the miracle of my creation as testimony that this is a practical faith, as practical as the sun, the rain, a cedar tree, the good earth.</span></blockquote>
Conclusion:<br />
I feel like I'm missing some key concepts here. I think I was distracted in the beginning by the God-tree comment. But, for what it's worth, I agree with the 'keep government small' deal. History has shown us plenty of examples of nationalised corporations being negative for the country's economy. However, I don't really latch on to the idea that privatising companies is a good idea because of my faith in humanity. I just think that the market keeps people more accountable than the government does. If a product does not sell then the market punishes the seller (in so many words). If a product does not sell and the government sells it then the process is a lot slower. Basically, the government is too big to fail and a healthy economy needs to allow companies to fail. <br />
<br />
On the charities and government intervention thing...I don't know. It's dinner time. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0Jasper, AB T0E, Canada52.879277 -118.07925652.8696945 -118.098997 52.8888595 -118.059515tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-39414778669285919552012-03-26T05:23:00.004-07:002012-03-26T05:23:47.795-07:00Visit to the British LibraryThe other day after finishing volunteering around Farringdon, I trotted down toward King's Cross Station because it was a beautiful day outside. As I walked along and got closer to King's Cross Station, I remembered that the British Library was quite close by. I also remembered (<a href="http://www.urban75.org/london/images/british-library-01.jpg">falsely</a>) that it was a beautiful building. I think I might have been remembering St. Pancras (<a href="http://www.carolinebanks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/renaissance-st-pancras-hotel.jpg">gorgeous</a>) or something else nearby. <br />
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As I wandered around inside the British Library, I discovered that they have not one, but two copies of the Magna Carta! Incredible! I also found out that Leonardo Da Vinci wrote backwards. They have a few of his original journal pages there as well as original lyrics jotted down by the Beatles, among other treasures:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thejanuarist.com/wp-content/uploads/great_fire_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://www.thejanuarist.com/wp-content/uploads/great_fire_map.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Burning of London in 1666 by Wenceslaus Hollar (<a href="http://www.thejanuarist.com/category/culture/">source</a>)</td></tr>
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Also, I saw excerpts from a expedition newspaper from Sir Robert Scott's expedition to the South Pole in 1911. The plaque said that they saw evidence of climate change on that trip. I'm having difficulty finding anything more on this. Maybe I read it wrong.<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Theater_of_Insects.jpg/220px-Theater_of_Insects.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Theater_of_Insects.jpg/220px-Theater_of_Insects.jpg" width="185" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Moffett's Insectorum Theatrum - 1590 (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Muffet">source</a>)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/images/aria/bi/d/bibl-329-c-26.d01?aria/maxwidth_288" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/images/aria/bi/d/bibl-329-c-26.d01?aria/maxwidth_288" width="201" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Florilegium Novum by Johann Theodor de Bry (1612) (<a href="http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/aria/aria_assets/BIBL-329-C-26?page=1&lang=en&context_space=&context_id=">source</a>)</td></tr>
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I also saw these stamps, from Ibiza in 1936!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.philateca.com/thumbs/stamp_672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.philateca.com/thumbs/stamp_672.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.philateca.com/stamp/672/5_Cts_-_Pro_Paro">source</a>)</td></tr>
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And lastly, I was struck by a very pinterestable thing, the center column of the library by the cafe:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.urban75.org/london/images/british-library-09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.urban75.org/london/images/british-library-09.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.urban75.org/london/british-library.html">source</a>)</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.philateca.com/thumbs/stamp_672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-89156412207105538862012-03-21T10:02:00.000-07:002012-03-21T10:02:10.238-07:00Attachment 5 of 100<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">"I'm sure 'The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds' had a profound significance for my father. When he was young he was cared for by an affectionate and playful young nanny called Minnie, but she left the family when he was about four. He told me that he was very attached to Minnie and felt the pain of separation when their affectional bond was broken, but - although his work reminded him of this pain - he was able to work with it throughout his life. Losing a very important attachment figure and working out the importance of an enduring relationship was, I think, a large part of his motivation for a lifetime study of the affectional bond that forms between a child and his primary attachment figure." (Richard Bowlby's Introduction to <i>The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds</i> by John Bowlby (2004), xi)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">I was talking to a guy who goes to my church this past Sunday who is a counsellor. He was mentioning his research for his Masters degree and was talking about how one of the things he was focussing on was why people go into the careers that they do. I've had a pet theory since college that people go into the field that they feel is the answer to the the most important problem in the world (for whatever reason). But what this counsellor was saying was that people who go into the helping professions (youth work and teaching, for example) are usually trying to heal some wound that they had received in childhood. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">If the carer realises this about themselves and actively works through their own personal issue, then the work relationship between the carer and for whom they are caring can be fine and healthy. However, if the deep wound is not sorted out, the relationship can be selfish at its base, because the carer is seeking to heal themselves through the relationship and not actually do their job, which is to care well and unselfishly. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">In some ways, I might have been on the right track with my theory in college. As human beings, we see our deepest wounds as the greatest problem in the world. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-23528427805225567562012-03-21T09:38:00.001-07:002012-03-21T09:42:19.558-07:00Attachment, 4 of 100, or "Why 'Your Mom' Jokes are so painful""Our sense of self is closely dependant on the few intimate attachment relationships we have or have had in our lives, especially our relationship with the person who raised us. These potent relationships, whether secure or insecure, loving or neglectful, have a profound significance for us and we need to protect our idealised perception of them vigorously; they may not be much, but they're all we've got!<br />
<br />
Humans seem to have evolved an innate capacity to detect anything that could destabilise these vital attachment relationships, and unconscious defences seem to be activated..."<br />
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- Richard Bowlby, from his Introduction to <i>The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds</i> by John Bowlby (2004)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-79590780656103123742012-03-21T09:34:00.002-07:002012-03-21T09:34:40.707-07:00Attachment: 3 of 100"He said to me, 'You know how distressed small children get if they're lost and can't find their mother and how they keep on searching? Well, I suspect it's the same feeling that adults have when a loved one dies, they keep on searching too. I think ti's the same instinct that starts in infancy and evolves throughout life as people grow up, and becomes part of adult love.'"<br />
<br />
- John Bowlby to his son. Quoted in the forward to <i>The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds</i>, p.viiAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511698906032874882.post-23945763730376116312012-03-21T09:26:00.002-07:002012-03-21T09:26:53.653-07:00Attachment: 2 of infinity"Of the many other disturbed patters of parenting that can be traced, in part at least, to childhood experience, there is one that happens also to be well documented in the studies of abusing mother (e.g. Morris and Gould 1963; Steele and Pollock 1968; Green, Gaines, and Sandgrun 1974; DeLozier 1982). This is their tendency to expect and demand care and attention from their own children, in other words to invert the relationship. During interview they regularly describe how, as children, they too had been made to feel responsible for looking after their parents instead of the parents caring for them. <br />
<br />
Most, perhaps all, parents who expect their children to care for them have experienced very inadequate parenting themselves. Unfortunately, all too often, they then create major psychological problems for their children. Elsewhere (Bowlby 1973, 1980) I have argued that an inverted parent-child relationship of this kind lies behind a significant proportion of cases of school refusal (school phobia) and agoraphobia, and also probably of depression."<br />
<br />
- John Bowlby, <i>A Secure Base: Clinical Applications of Attachment Theory </i>(Routledge, 1988. p. 18)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15589673901097921134noreply@blogger.com0