The time I did something stupid (aka just another Sunday)

There's this concept that exists in psychology which states that people are far more likely to remember things if they are in the state they were in when they first learned them. It's called State Dependent Memory, and I tell you the name of it not because you are interested in psych, but because you can google it and get a better description than whatever I manage to come up with. An example I remember from a TV show that reflects this is when one of the characters was late because he had never driven to his destination sober and had a difficult time recalling how to get there.

I tell you this because I had an experience like that today. Well, mine didn't involve alcohol. It involved runner's high, which in the interest of making this post actually readable and not a bunch of useless definitions, I will refrain from describing. Again, google. Anyway, I went out jogging today, but it involved more walking than jogging because I also went jogging yesterday and I was a little sore. When I go jog, I usually head into the U of M campus and then stumble around there until I find a path to stick with, then follow it for a while. This is how I figured out I have state dependent memory when I jog because I got lost. And not lost in the way I usually use the word lost, where I go "oooh look at me I'm on a path I've never been on where I can see a road that will take me back home oooh look how lost I am", but in the sense of "I don't believe I know how the hell to get home." That's the type of lost I was today.

When I had this realization, I slowed to a walk, which I always do when I'm confused on which way to go next. Then, I tried to remember how I had gotten to where I was, and could not recall any details of the path I had taken 20 minutes earlier. I knew I had been on University Ave for two miles then turned, but I couldn't remember what that turn consisted of and how to get back there. Not to mention that I don't like retracing my steps when I jog. It ruins one of the reasons I'm outside jogging and not in a gym somewhere. I enjoy the novelty of taking multiple winding paths and seeing different buildings. I don't enjoy being on a treadmill and staring at the same wall for half an hour. I seek varying environments, not the same thing I saw before I got lost.

After attempting to find a new path that would take me home, and deciding that such a thing did not exist, I reluctantly stumbled back onto University Avenue and made the trip back. Though I couldn't recall the path I had taken to get on that road in the first place, so I ended up switching up my return route in the end. But I struggle to remember my exact path, and I might not be able to figure it out even if I went out again. I do tend to take some weird turns and go off the beaten road. Though if I was jogging while I tried to figure it out, I do believe that it would come to me as if it was second nature. State Dependent Memory in action.

The Double Meaning of Sketches

I try to make the titles of everything I do as witty and creative as possible. In the context of this blog, it serves to give the reader the false belief that the content they are about to read will be thought provoking, though in actuality it's just my mindless rambling. So consider yourself punked, Ashton Kutcher style.

Random segue aside, the first sketch I want to discuss is the same type of sketch I discussed in my previous post. That's right, I'm still trying to teach myself how to draw. I haven't given up quite yet. And, much like my attempts to teach myself guitar, I am actually making progress. Just a few nights ago, I drew the cartoon version of my friend that was described by my friends as decent. Compared to the normal "atrocious", I'd say I'm moving on up in the art world. Not to mention it gives me something to do when I'm not reading. I think to fulfill my art graduation requirement I'll take a drawing class or two. It may end up being a fun adventure that will strengthen a skill which I severely lack. Trust me, most of my sketches make my soul cry. On second thought, there may be a lucrative business to be made with soul-crushing drawings. I could design Hot Topic shirts for a living.

Now for the second type of sketch. A friend of mine had the idea for creating a sketch group where we would create videos centered around campus life and other comedic ventures. He proposed this last semester, but we are finally working at it and making some astounding progress. The script for the first video is already completed, we have a list of at least 30 items of other things we will attempt to do, and many people are already on board to help with their respective talents. What fascinated me most about this was the meeting we had today. The first script involves the use of many forms of alternate energy sources to.... I don't wanna spoil anything. Suffice to say, there are multiple usages of non fossil fuels that function to provide an obstacle for the protagonist in a way I will not spoil. That's when a revelation struck me. While we are using this for comedic effect, someone else could watch our final product and interpret it as a political message. None of us meant for that to be inherit in the script, but as clear as day, the symbolism is present. Approaching it from a psychological  perspective, as I am apt to do, I think it speaks to a natural drive in humans to craft a work that includes symbolic elements and a cycle of events. Pretty much every story has a common structure, with a cycle of events that led to a resolution. Almost all movies are predictable in a sense because of this, and I think the reason that this is even present, that I am even able to notice the subvert implications of what are video could be interpreted as, reflects a commonality amongst the human population. There are multiple layers to everything, and I believe one of those layers is universal to everyone that inhabits planet Earth.