Positivity – Barbara Fredrickson

Perfect for a sciency mind like mine this book on positivity was an illuminating read which gave me a much better understanding of happiness. OK that sounds odd, and yes, one key point is not to analyse too much, however some reflection on this topic was useful as I was stuck in a binary black or white situation – I like being happy and don’t like being sad.

I feel this read gave me a much better vocabulary about my own states of happiness so I can connect with them better. I was also pleased that it disproved a concern I’d had that being overly positive meant having your head buried in the sand (or in the clouds – either way elsewhere!). However the book aptly displays that:
a) appropriate negativity keeps us grounded, real and honest and
b) positivity can lead to an upward spiral. 
The downward spiral of negativity is well documented and known in the western world – something the positive psychology movement it trying to counter and a good job too as I think the materialism of chasing surface pleasures makes the downward spiral more accessible and hides the ladder of the upward spiral.

So what’s with the upward spiral? It’s defiantly not grin and bear it; or only looking on the bright side. It’s more about keeping perspective by rejoicing in the simple pleasures and knowing that often negativity is inappropriately blown up in our minds. These help give the ability to bounce back from the enviable knocks of life.

But that’s staying level – where’s the going up? Well I liked the convincing evolutionary argument:
‘The anthropologist Lionel Tiger casts hope as the evolved antidote to our gig human forebrains. Unlike any other earthly creature, we humans can envision our own futures and, in so doing, all possible calamities. Without hope, our unique human ability to forecast our inevitable death and demise would leave us in motionless despair. With hope, we become energised to do as much as we can to make a good life for ourselves and for others.’

And it’s being filled with hope and other positive emotions that make us more confident and resilient so we are more likely to try new things, take risks, and be more creative rather than clinging to tried and tested methods. It’s refreshing that evolution, so often portrayed as harsh survival of the fittest, can be seen in this light. I also found the idea that positivity can lead to flourishing logical and backed up with experiments showing subjects in positive states are more receptive, creative and happier has given me hope to tap into some of that. It’s great to know what the brain is capable of, especially when it’s positive!

TED Education

Not just for kids I hope :P
Did you know you can fit a million earths inside the sun...

Bold as Love - Gwyneth Jones

I really enjoyed this read as it reminded me of classic Jeff Noon in his Vert heyday which is a top book. Bold as Love is set in a conceivable but far out near future where environmental and (again as in all most near future sci fi I’ve read recently) religious tensions have led to a meltdown. The absurd but oddly believable solution in this parallel universe is for the government to set up a counter-culture think tank of musicians / rock stars to pacify the disillusioned masses that ends up running the county.

It believable because the rock star / policy influencer line has been blurred in recent time (think since live aid celebrities have spoken up more on political issues – U2 a case in point). It’s absurd because it takes that ’three days at a festival – what if the whole world was like this’ and runs with it. However for those that have been there in a festival bubble forgetting reality it’s a wonderfully coherent flight of fantasy.

The musical vibe was spot on with a mix of futuristic techno-masked Vj’s and indie junior starlets brushing with the dark side of rock n roll. There are lots of good ideas crammed into the book. Perhaps that contributed to it losing focus towards the end. I was a little disappointed that it didn’t tidy up all lose ends. Instead I felt it disintegrated into chaos (as life does?) towards the very end, perhaps intentional to capture that festival vibe? Or maybe that’s because it the beginning of a series. Still, I think I’ll be back for the others in the sequence as it was fun and easy read :)

Revealing Economic Observation

Analogy attributed to Professor Douglas Orr of City College of San Francisco

“If you want to learn about an airplane, the cheapest way to do it is with a model airplane. Maybe you go out and get a build-n-paint F-16 from your local hobby shop. It’s a great way to get details about the appearance and dimensions of a real jet fighter. Or maybe you go out and get a little balsa-wood glider, which is a great way to get an intuition for basic aerodynamics. But every kid understands implicitly that F-16s are not built by snapping plastic chunks out of molded frames and gluing them together, just as every kid understands that you don’t go to the airport and get strapped onto a giant balsa wood trojan glidar and hurl [yourself] off a bridge.
"As you learn about mainstream economics you will be continuously urged by your textbook to apply the models you are learning to the real world, and you will be faced with constant reminders of the predictive power of these models. But the reason I’m standing here talking to you is to remind you, just as constantly, that every single morning, in offices from Wall Street to the IMF, economists are strapping entire populations to wooden planes and launching them off bridges, throwing up their hands in helpless befuddlement at the inevitable grisly results, cashing their checks, and heading out for the golf course by 2pm.”

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