Such a variety of colour, so many peppers
peeled and ready for the chilli. Ok, so I am just showing off with my prize
suspicious photo taking last Saturday whilst preparing the evening meal. With
such an overload of colour I did not lose my common sense, and everyone was
satisfied with the result.
Otherwise, what is this all about? I get information all day long if I search for information all day long, and I do not. I have not got the time. Now and again I have to work, like use my hands, energy to operate the vacuum cleaner, keep the windows clean and make sure that the toilets and bathroom are human friendly. I do not sit on the computer all day searching for all sorts of trivial information.
Who was Gertrud Stein that she can advise me on life’s wisdom? I know she was a writer, so what did I do? What everyone else does in such a situation. I had a look in Internet and let myself be bombarded with information. I did not lose my common sense because Gertrud Stein lived from 1874 to 1946 (my birth year) and seemed to have spent most of her time, when not writing books, writing quotes for us all to follow. I found five pages of many quotes from Gertrud Stein. Did she have nothing better to do with her time than write quotes for us all to follow? Probably she was so busy advising us of her wise thoughts that she lost her common sense eventually. I even discovered that she was buried in Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. If I had been more careful when on my tourist trip of the cemetery I could have put one of my famous photos of her grave on this blog.
Mr. Swiss is quite up in famous people, so I asked him who she actually was. The main thing he told me was that she was a friend of Ernest Hemingway. So Gertrud, thanks to Mr. Swiss (and Wikipedia), I know all about you.
Mr. Swiss loves to inform himself. His favourite programmes on the TV are political discussions. Every Friday late in the evening we have a Swiss discussion group. Politicians, philosophers, prominent people all discuss a certain theme. I read a book whilst the programme is running. Before it begins I ask “What is it all about this evening” and when I know I continue reading my book. I must admit all these wise people with their discussion tend to bore me.
Switzerland has a pastime called voting. We vote at least once every two months. If someone or a political party has a bright idea, signatures are collected and we can all go voting to say yes or no. To accompany this voting mania we are supplied with documentation. Another thing I leave to Mr. Swiss to read. I normally receive a completed slip for the voting session with Ja or Nein written in Mr. Swiss handwriting and told sign on the dotted line.
“What’s it all about this time?”
“Nothing important, but I decided ………….”
Ok I give him his due he does try to explain and I even listen with one ear. If my one ear picks up a word that might interest me I take a deeper look, but generally I do not change very much. In the last couple of years there was one item where I disagreed, but in comparison with the voting trials we have to overcome, this was a small percentage.
Everyone to their own: I have never thought of Facebook being information, more misinformation so I now basically remain on my own little page in that strange place where the misinformed meet, and I cross post my WordPress words of wisdom. Do I read newspapers? Yes, online when I wake up in the morning in bed on my iPhone. Why? Because I noticed that if I do I will fall asleep again for a further half hour. This is especially beneficial if I have not slept so well. The difference 30 minutes relaxed brain can achieve.
There is also the logical reasoning, if you never had any common sense, then how can you lose it.
On these wise words I will leave you. Perhaps one day the theme of the daily prompt will be
Otherwise, what is this all about? I get information all day long if I search for information all day long, and I do not. I have not got the time. Now and again I have to work, like use my hands, energy to operate the vacuum cleaner, keep the windows clean and make sure that the toilets and bathroom are human friendly. I do not sit on the computer all day searching for all sorts of trivial information.
Who was Gertrud Stein that she can advise me on life’s wisdom? I know she was a writer, so what did I do? What everyone else does in such a situation. I had a look in Internet and let myself be bombarded with information. I did not lose my common sense because Gertrud Stein lived from 1874 to 1946 (my birth year) and seemed to have spent most of her time, when not writing books, writing quotes for us all to follow. I found five pages of many quotes from Gertrud Stein. Did she have nothing better to do with her time than write quotes for us all to follow? Probably she was so busy advising us of her wise thoughts that she lost her common sense eventually. I even discovered that she was buried in Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. If I had been more careful when on my tourist trip of the cemetery I could have put one of my famous photos of her grave on this blog.
Mr. Swiss is quite up in famous people, so I asked him who she actually was. The main thing he told me was that she was a friend of Ernest Hemingway. So Gertrud, thanks to Mr. Swiss (and Wikipedia), I know all about you.
Mr. Swiss loves to inform himself. His favourite programmes on the TV are political discussions. Every Friday late in the evening we have a Swiss discussion group. Politicians, philosophers, prominent people all discuss a certain theme. I read a book whilst the programme is running. Before it begins I ask “What is it all about this evening” and when I know I continue reading my book. I must admit all these wise people with their discussion tend to bore me.
Switzerland has a pastime called voting. We vote at least once every two months. If someone or a political party has a bright idea, signatures are collected and we can all go voting to say yes or no. To accompany this voting mania we are supplied with documentation. Another thing I leave to Mr. Swiss to read. I normally receive a completed slip for the voting session with Ja or Nein written in Mr. Swiss handwriting and told sign on the dotted line.
“What’s it all about this time?”
“Nothing important, but I decided ………….”
Ok I give him his due he does try to explain and I even listen with one ear. If my one ear picks up a word that might interest me I take a deeper look, but generally I do not change very much. In the last couple of years there was one item where I disagreed, but in comparison with the voting trials we have to overcome, this was a small percentage.
Everyone to their own: I have never thought of Facebook being information, more misinformation so I now basically remain on my own little page in that strange place where the misinformed meet, and I cross post my WordPress words of wisdom. Do I read newspapers? Yes, online when I wake up in the morning in bed on my iPhone. Why? Because I noticed that if I do I will fall asleep again for a further half hour. This is especially beneficial if I have not slept so well. The difference 30 minutes relaxed brain can achieve.
There is also the logical reasoning, if you never had any common sense, then how can you lose it.
On these wise words I will leave you. Perhaps one day the theme of the daily prompt will be
“If
you never had any common sense, how can it be lost.” — Angloswiss
Do you agree?
I think perhaps Gertrud was closer to the truth than she realised, but not in quite the way she intended. If the workings of the human brain had been better understood in her day, then maybe her quote would have been "Everyone gets so much information all day long that if the brain didn't edit much of it out, we would lose our common sense (or even sanity?)" The brain takes in a constant, never-ending stream of information continuously when we are awake (and to a lesser extent when we sleep) through our senses.....sight, smell, taste, touch.....but the brain has this amazing capacity to edit much of it out without us even realising it does so. Imagine what it would be like if we had to stop and concentrate on every single detail picked up by, say, our eyes. We would never get anything done!! I can walk into my living room, my eyes will see everything in the room, but my brain does not go through a checklist. "There's the TV.....there's the bookcase....there's the carpet....there's the walls....etc etc...." It edits out the information I don't immediately need.
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