Stuck in my head for days.
Aristotle and Catharsis
I’m in the library trying to do some research for a paper in my Aesthetics class. I found a book that looked promising in the database, searched for it, found it, and went back to where I was working.
I flipped to the index and found the passages about catharsis, and went to read those pages. One problem: the author switches between ancient Greek and English whenever he feels like it.
Sample:
“[Greek word] is the new formulation of the principle [(Greek words) and many more Greek words]. We saw that the long subsequent note betrayed a new special interest on Aristotle’s part in the term [Greek word].”
This book is useless to me. Every part where the author says something important, it is in Greek. I have no idea what’s going on.
Single Dose of Hallucinogen May Create Lasting Personality Change
“Lasting change was found in the part of the personality known as openness, which includes traits related to imagination, aesthetics, feelings, abstract ideas, and general broad-mindedness.”
I strongly agree with the conclusions of this study.
So I’m not one for memes…
…but I just stumbled upon Socially Awkward Penguin, and it might be the most relatable thing I’ve ever seen on the internet.
This better be goddamn incredibleSeriously? How did I not know about this. Mixed feelings… THIS December? How do they fit this into a movie? MIXED FEELINGS.
Wait, what? I agree. Extremely mixed feelings. Especially since it’s Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. I mean, Tom Hanks, okay I like him a lot and he makes me laugh and stuff, but I just don’t know if it’s a good fit. Sandra Bullock I know for sure is not a good fit. Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I need to read the book again. Wait, John Goodman too!? Oh damn.
Yes.
A guide to exam success:
1. Don’t go to more than three classes. You’ll hate it, and it’s not like it actually helps. Ignore the fact that there is an attendance grade. You have bigger fish to fry.
2. Don’t open your textbook. Ever. You should buy it for appearances and because it will put you in the mindset of success.
3. Go out and have fun the night before. Hang out with friends. Drink a little. Stay out later than you should, and perhaps have an emotional breakdown. It will help to get your mind off the exam and relieve any anxiety you may have.
4. Once it has gotten late, start thinking about the upcoming exam. You’ll probably feel extraordinarily unprepared. This is exactly where you should be.
5. Accept that you are probably going to fail. You have to hit the lows before you’ll ever reach the highs.
6. Plan on going to bed early, and give yourself enough time to study everything you will need to know for the test, since you don’t know anything now. Think about how you will prepare. Do you have a study guide? Use that. Are there power-points online? Use those. Do you know how to use Google properly? Definitely use that. Do you have your textbook? DO NOT FUCKING USE IT. You will not have time to look at all that bullshit.
7. Completely throw those plans out the window and stay up until at least two, preferably three, in the morning. Use this time to relax yourself. Just remember what you will have to do in the morning when you wake up at 5:30 a.m.
8. Wake up two hours after you planned. That’s right. Don’t you fucking get up at 5:30. That’s WAY too early. Your alarm should be going off at random intervals throughout this time so that you remain semi-aware that you still have to study.
9. This is a crucial step. Drink a 12-oz Red Bull. Don’t like Red Bull? I don’t care. Shit works.
10. Work for two hours without stopping. If you stop, you will fail. Write down everything you can find that is applicable from power points and notes provided for you. Professors assume their students are stupid, and will provide almost all the information you need for you.
11. Smoke a cigarette. Don’t smoke? Start. This is your five minute victory celebration for all that fucking working you just did.
12. Brush your teeth. Showering is unnecessary and only wastes your time. But who can focus on a test with the taste of cigarettes an Red Bull on their breath?
13. Arrive at class just before it begins and frantically look over the notes you just prepared. They should already be fresh in your mind, but this will make them fresher.
(13a. This step is optional. Realize that you forgot some sort of important supply (blue book, scantron, writing utensil, etc.). Go get that. This experience will completely suck because you’re already in class and ready to go, but it will force you to focus on a different goal momentarily and all that information you went over will seep into your brain.)
14. Be the first person to finish. Always remember, this is a race — not against others in the class, per se, but against your own ability to recall the copious amount of information you just stuffed into your brain. Finishing quickly will ensure you remember everything.
15. Leave class feeling completely reassured that you can do anything, because you’re a fucking boss. Laugh at your previous acceptance of failure. How fucking stupid were you? You can’t fail!
16. Repeat.
Muscle Memory
I just discovered how to utilize ‘muscle memory’ for the first time with the guitar. It’s been really frustrating knowing chords and not being able to play them together, so this is a major improvement in my very slow-moving guitar-learning process. Now if I could actually understand music instead of just playing chords, I might actually get somewhere…
Ben Sollee - Hurting
