Replying to LO29184 --
Mike,
Thanks for your observations to the ongoing discussion about talent and
character. You wrote...
> What he says is that we have a high road and a low road, the low road
> being perceptive only through the thalamic cortex (oversimplifying here)
> direct into the various systems (limbic) connected to the amygdale--this
> happens in 15 milliseconds, or so they say. Seems to me that is pretty
> fast.
...in reply to a sentence of At's:
"But since a talent cannot be exercised without thinking, it also involves
the whole of the spirit."
The discussion at this level is quite fascinating.
I don't grasp the full scope of your statement, At. Is this "thinking"
that which is done beforehand i.e. before acting to apply the talent to a
task? Talent, in my opinion, can broadly speaking manifest itself in an
instant without any thinking whatsoever. And the talent can be for good or
for evil.
Character as I think of it is a positive force which, when applied to
talent, often produces results which are for the Good.
There's an oft-repeated thought about how difficult it is to walk when you
think about what you are doing -- when you think about the walking: Lift
foot, bend ankle, bring knee forward, shift weight to opposite leg, lean
forward, etc. etc. Watching a person doing this very enumerated activity
reveals a ridiculous form of human locomotion/thought in action!
When we parse the manifestations of talent combined with character, we
create infinitely complex dialog. But we lose the forest for the trees. I
suppose it's that way for a certain number of other subjects, too. What am
I saying? I guess I'm butting up against the edge of rational
consideration of our behavior, where it meets archetypical behavior which
since homo sapiens appearance have defined what we are and how we act.
We deconstruct the elements of life in its myriad forms, but life
continues to do its thing. Also, we "teach" our kids history. As someone
said on the radio yesterday, "I've learned not to attack Moscow in the
middle of the winter on horseback with an ill-clad army." What DO we learn
exactly? Does history provide us with system rules which we actually
follow and build upon? Well, I doubt it.
OK, a case can be made for civilization on some parts of this planet. But
there are so many skeletons in the closet. Wait! Maybe by admitting the
skeletons, we actually create better rules? No. I just read today's paper.
No such luck.
For what it's worth.
Best regards from Central New England, where the maple leaves are rushing to
the art supply store.
Barry
-- Barry Mallis The Organizational Trainer 110 Arch St., #27 Keene, NH 03431-2167 USA voice: 603 352-5289 FAX: 603 357-2157 cell: 603 313-3636 email: theorgtrainer@earthlink.netLearning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <Richard@Karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
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