you know how it is, when people tell you "don't think of a pink rhinoceros" and try as hard as you might you just can't help yourself? and the more you try not to think of the damn rhinoceros the more you do end up thinking about it? so... is it really possible to follow the instructions and not think of a pink rhinoceros.... according to some rather reliable sources...
"Studies have shown that thought suppression may actually lead to continued expression. (E.g. if I would like for you not to think about a white bear; think about anything but a white bear. You will find it very hard not to think about a white bear.) However, such ironic process of mental control will only show up if you're under stress. In fact, the more you try to think of something else (say, y) to distract your attention (from x), the chances that this very thing (Y) may become a retrieval cue to think about x. Yup, that's how ironic our mental control can be"
and based on all that information, the answer would be that yes, it would be possible (though albeit very difficult) to obey instructions to not think of a pink rhinoceros. then again... what if you didn't know what a rhinoceros was? hmmm....
p.s. i thought of this weird question after remembering this comic (wiley's non-sequitter) a few weeks back about how this girl Danae couldn't stop thinking about whether a duck's quack has an echo.... and as a result of telling other people, they couldn't stop thinking about it either....
Friday, December 15, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
Time for a few updates...
after like almost a month, i'm (finally) updating this blog (after much nagging from readers).
So what's been going on since the end of hell week round 3? for all those readers out there who were dying (ed: yeah right) for an update...
Hell week round 3... over? (not quite): so anyway... hell week round 3 was supposed to have ended with the disastrous presentation etc etc right? apparently i was WRONG. i basically spent the whole of the so-called reading week working on 1 term paper and 1 frigging 50% INDIVIDUAL project *grumbles*. And if anyone starts wondering "Why on earth is he doing term papers and projects in reading week instead of mugging", well... the mods are non-examinable (and i think my lecturers rationalised it like this - "if there's no exam, then there's nothing to study for. and if there's nothing to study for, why not give them a project or term paper?" right. so i spent the whole week right up till friday doing the term paper (which was pretty easy) and the project (which made me feel like vomitting blood). thankfully my exams weren't the immediate ones. and speaking of the exams....
Chris' 2 exams (yes you heard me right. only 2 exams): so yah. ok the first exam was pretty good (thanks to the tonnes of hints Dr Perry gave in the webcasts). that was a pretty decent way to start off i should think (and yet on the other hand i was a little disgruntled because my first paper was the LAST paper for some of my friends). so media writing went well. wish i could say the same for genes and society though *cue chris's ranting* GAH. stupid genes and society. 100 MCQ, with 20 questions referring to some retarded passage. didn't have time to finish, in the end anyhow shade *grumble grumble* stupid module *grumble grumble* lucky i S/U *grumble grumble*
Holiday plans (er... is this a holiday?): well. i've spent the day at settler's with 1 classmate, 2 lecturers and the lecturer from some US university (i forget where exactly) who WROTE ONE OF MY DESIGN TEXTBOOKS (i'm acting like a total fanboy ain't i?). ended up playing some super retarded game called "unexploded cows" (by a very aptly named company called cheapass games), as well as this stock market thingamajig called acquire. and in both games i got pwned (damn). and tomorrow, she's giving a 3-day crash course workshop (maybe i should get her to autograph my textbook - THAT would be a total fanboy thing, no?)
other than that, not much planned. oh. there's blog and board thing for NUSPsyche. and the camp video (which STILL isn't done). and boss says we're probably gonna have a lot to do (implied by the fact that we'll probably want to kill her). like i said... is this a holiday?
So what's been going on since the end of hell week round 3? for all those readers out there who were dying (ed: yeah right) for an update...
Hell week round 3... over? (not quite): so anyway... hell week round 3 was supposed to have ended with the disastrous presentation etc etc right? apparently i was WRONG. i basically spent the whole of the so-called reading week working on 1 term paper and 1 frigging 50% INDIVIDUAL project *grumbles*. And if anyone starts wondering "Why on earth is he doing term papers and projects in reading week instead of mugging", well... the mods are non-examinable (and i think my lecturers rationalised it like this - "if there's no exam, then there's nothing to study for. and if there's nothing to study for, why not give them a project or term paper?" right. so i spent the whole week right up till friday doing the term paper (which was pretty easy) and the project (which made me feel like vomitting blood). thankfully my exams weren't the immediate ones. and speaking of the exams....
Chris' 2 exams (yes you heard me right. only 2 exams): so yah. ok the first exam was pretty good (thanks to the tonnes of hints Dr Perry gave in the webcasts). that was a pretty decent way to start off i should think (and yet on the other hand i was a little disgruntled because my first paper was the LAST paper for some of my friends). so media writing went well. wish i could say the same for genes and society though *cue chris's ranting* GAH. stupid genes and society. 100 MCQ, with 20 questions referring to some retarded passage. didn't have time to finish, in the end anyhow shade *grumble grumble* stupid module *grumble grumble* lucky i S/U *grumble grumble*
Holiday plans (er... is this a holiday?): well. i've spent the day at settler's with 1 classmate, 2 lecturers and the lecturer from some US university (i forget where exactly) who WROTE ONE OF MY DESIGN TEXTBOOKS (i'm acting like a total fanboy ain't i?). ended up playing some super retarded game called "unexploded cows" (by a very aptly named company called cheapass games), as well as this stock market thingamajig called acquire. and in both games i got pwned (damn). and tomorrow, she's giving a 3-day crash course workshop (maybe i should get her to autograph my textbook - THAT would be a total fanboy thing, no?)
other than that, not much planned. oh. there's blog and board thing for NUSPsyche. and the camp video (which STILL isn't done). and boss says we're probably gonna have a lot to do (implied by the fact that we'll probably want to kill her). like i said... is this a holiday?
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