The Neurodivergent Professor

It's important for us to provide the next generation with effective tools. Recently I heard someone say (I'm paraphrasing) that people in small towns are only allowed to dream as big as their community. I have thought a lot about successive generations and whether we are making great leaps or small steps toward a collective future. Here I follow this lead to some pretty significant (for me, at least) realizations about where we are today as a society (at least in the USA where I live).

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I know, the title may be a little harsh. And don't tell me to move. I don't really think the USA sucks in its' entirety. But there are elements of my home country that seem to be changing. But, of course, I'm also changing. It's hard to tease apart what factors may be at work. Is it me? It's not me, it's you. What's going on as I age and my country matures?

Here I pose a few questions about how the USA began and where we ended up today. I wonder, couldn't where we are now have been predicted? Is the constitution (or the bible for that matter) supposed to be literal or metaphorical? Are people so inherently different that no single 'system' could accommodate us all? Are we worshiping the wrong idols? Is money and power how we want to measure our success?

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Eliza Schuyler finally tells her husband's story in Lin Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton". But we'll never really know Hamilton's story, because he isn't around to tell it. And, really, did he even know his story? Do you know yours?

Here I argue that it is an important goal of human life to understand who we are and why we do things. To 'know thyself' by the time we die. No one else can know us as well as ourselves, and any 'history' or 'her story' told about us is necessarily inaccurate as it is filtered by someone else's lens.  Only one person can know the 'truth', and that's you.

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The great Lily Tomlin is credited with saying, "Even if you win the Rat Race, you're still a rat". This phrase has been with me since I saw her on the Carol Burnett show in the 70s. I was young, but I got it. For some reason I've always rejected the idealized model of human 'progress' where you get good grades, get into a good college, get a good job and BOOM! you're happy. I don't know why I'm so objectionable, but I am.

And as an adult I see a lot of people who have 'successfully' navigated the rat race who aren't very happy. In this episode I discuss the agreement we make, upon birth, to adhere to the rat race and why I think it's a failed system for most.

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Yeah, COVID sucks, but what if there is something to be learned that can add some positivity to our lives? I believe there is a lot to be learned about our values, our systems (eg, governments), our schools, businesses, and habits. Moreover, we always complain that 'nothing can be changed because it's too hard', like turning a battleship, these systems don't get changed because they're too big. But what if COVID is really an opportunity to change things from the ground up? We are already altering our schooling, our businesses are pivoting, and we are in drastic need of a civil rights overhaul. Here I argue that now is the time to ACT, thanks to a global pandemic. 

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I realize this topic can be extremely sensitive and controversial. I do not intend to stoke any existing debates about specific or general types of slavery, servitude, or bully labor practices. But I do think about forced labor (not sure what to call it, really) over the past 10,000 years in human society. Here I share my observations about many examples of forced labor, why they are flat out WRONG, and how what we can do as individuals to find a better system. I apologize if I offend anyone who has been victimized by inhuman servitude.

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If you break it down and push to the source I think you'll find that fear rules a lot of what we do (and don't) do. Fear drives our decisions and causes our anxiety and depression. Sometimes fear is useful, of course, but many of our problems are caused by fear. I argue these fears can be lumped into two main categories; safety and love. We are afraid of being unloved and of being unsafe. Give this a listen and see if you can correct or augment my thinking.

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How terrible is analysis paralysis? Incredibly, I'd say. And it's likely you suffer from it, too - at least sometimes. Not being able to make a decision can be maddening. Here I suggest a few tips and tricks to change your mindset about decision-making. Not to say that I'm an expert, but as someone who suffers from daily analysis paralysis I HAD to come up with some strategies to improve my life. Essentially, I steal some techniques from my philosophy and science training to recast decision making to reduce the pressure we put on ourselves to choose the BEST path (Hint, there is no best path).

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We ARE ALL connected. Whether you believe it or not. Today more than ever it is critical we move toward understanding that 'fact'. Here I present multiple lines of evidence explaining why I believe all things are connected including a story about me talking to a cuttlefish.

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Old Beliefs are things that we learned as kids that helped us get through a hard time. Bullying, loss of a loved one, a broken heart. But as we get older these strategies can break down and not have the effect of making us feel better. Maybe you were bullied and learned how to make people laugh, but found yourself ultimately becoming a people pleaser and developed anxiety about trying so hard. Maybe you learned to get what you want by being a bully yourself. 

We change as we grow and things that used to help can become harmful. As an adult I have identified many old beliefs that hold me back and keep me from moving forward on my path. And the craziest thing is, these techniques we learned nearly immediately can take years to undo. I share strategies to learn to identify old beliefs and to make our lives better. 

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