Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
August 8, 2008 | permalink
I am continually fascinated by the way the mind works, by the way it processes all kinds of things in the background. How you can know things you are not conscious of knowing, and be aware of things you don't realize you are aware of. Like, say, waking up at the right time even though the electricity went out and your alarm clock is kaput; how do you know what time it is?
I know that there are a lot of theories and models about the way the conscious and the subconscious interact and share information, but the way I like to picture it is like a boat on a deep, dark lake. Not scientific, to be sure, but it's a visualization that works for me and that I like. So take that, science!
The way I see it, the people on the boat do their thing; navigate, go fishing, have picnics- what ever. Thoughts and dreams and memories all sometimes bubble up, and are taken into account and incorporated into the plans of the people on the boat or discarded as it pleases them. They go where they like and do what they want, floating on top of the lake of the sub-conscious. Most of the time.
But sometimes the lake has something that it really wants you to pay attention to, so it drives you where it wants, with wave and wind. You can try to ignore it, or even fight it, but eventually you will have to go in the direction it wants. You see, the lake, even though it is usually content to let the boat do as it pleases, is much, much stronger. So if it wants your attention at a certain spot, it is going to get you there one way or another.
Posted in MusingsApril 2005 was the last entry.
This Hard Land is the next entry.
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"...so it drives you where it wants, with wave and wind"
or perhaps with giant, sucking whirlpools?
Yes. With Kraken in them.