Thursday, April 7, 2011

numbers are just...well, numbers.

i think the above statement is pretty obvious.
(it also reminds me of when my SAT tutor was trying to explain some probability problem to me and she ended up just saying "well, cause one...itself, it's one"  :)
but it's also one of my mantra these days. probably one of the most important things for me to remember at this point in my life.

why, then, if this is such a simple statement, is it so hard to remember???
why is it so difficult for me to see a number below, say, a 90 on an essay, and to just be O.K.?
why, is it so difficult for me to see a number one the scale slightly higher than it was a few weeks ago and just, be O.K. with that, too? (what about numbers of blog posts per month?! <---- i kid, i kid. kinda.)

what's the deal here?

perhaps this study on set-shifting difficulties in people with eating disorders can help explain this a little bit?
{if you don't want to read it....
Conclusion. Problems in set shifting as measured by a variety of neuropsychological tasks are
present in people with eating disorders }

this issue with set-shifting makes a lot of sense.
numbers get stuck in our heads very easily, no?

This does not however, explain this NUMBER IRRATIONALITY quite enough.
if you google "brain and numbers" or "brain numbers attachement" or "brain numbers dysfunction" or any combination of random terms having to do with this, there is very little satisfactory material that comes up.
how extremely frustrating when google doesn't have all the answers. Right folks? (i mean what year is this, anyway?)


i certainly do not have all the answers. neither does Google, apparently. (thats news to me!)
but this was just a little remind for all you out there to not keep the focus on numbers so much. Really guys, go crazy, f*** the numbers!
 Life live on the edge for once.... lets switch our focus (as hard as that may be for those of us with set-shifting difficulties ;) ) to other things in our lives, like friends, sunshiny springs and... chocolate. (who knew i was going to say that last one?) but really, do we have a deal?
deal.



or as the italian say, Kapeesh.