Hey all, you might have noticed that the site has been down for a long time. We had some problems with our hosting company, they denied our existence on their systems while having us pay for service anyway. Our experience with EMC had been riddled with bad support, therefore we moved our content to another web host. Hopefully we won’t experience any downtime in the near future and I hope you enjoy reading our older articles- some new ones are in the making. I’m very into Linux and open-source so the move to a Linux server was double the pleasure. I use this blog as a dump ground for ideas and things I come across on the net and in life. Feedback and even input is very appreciated and I welcome anyone to do so. have fun!

With the New Year coming soon and people buying illegal fireworks across the border in Belgium,the Dutch Consumers Group for Safety and Awareness decided to use a parody on the terrorist videos many news stations around the world receive to warn of the dangers of fireworks abuse.

“A man should learn to detect and foster that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within far more than the luster of the whole firmament without. Yet he dismisses without notice his peculiar thought because it is peculiar.” Ralph Waldo Emerson. Once we have made up our minds and cast our biases towards something as big as an idea it is hard to look at the idea or subject in a different and more creative light. It takes intentional action to break out of this rut of thought. To activate more neural pathways several techniques like Oblique Strategies, a walk outside, or a good whack on the side of your head can be applied.
Deliberate actions such as Oblique Strategies –a flash card solution developed by Brian Eno in the Seventies and now an application on the Iphone-can be undertaken to shake up your deep-rooted belief that the only solution is a logical one by applying an oblique question to your problem. This logic or linear mode of thinking referred to from here on out as L-mode is our primary voice of thought. L-mode is very strict and linear. It is our little voice of logic and reason, and it demands to be heard. It is also L-mode that we use for processing language. (Cartwright) Now, the oblique question helps you go into a flow of thought also referred to as R-mode or rich mode thinking. This brings us to the old adage by Miller Williams of write drunk(R-mode) revise sober (L-mode), where the drunkenness will make us flow and be creative; while we check our work with full sobriety. Oblique questions like “what else is like this?” or “was your mistake was a hidden intention?” can help one take that different point of view and be a more inspired thinker.
A little exercise like a walk is a great thought starter too, the brain is always searching for a novel stimulus; it is build for adapting to a constantly changing environment. So, changing your environment is very important for stimulating fresh ideas or solutions to a problem. The evolving brain came about when we started to move out over the savannahs and travel across continents, where we were faced with new dangers and problems. Man had to be in constant alertness not to become some animal’s dinner and as such had to be quick thinking on his feet. (Medina) The changing environment and extra oxygen of a brisk walk through the woods can boost ones brain function. Henri Poincare, the famous mathematician, used a variation of this idea. He would write everything out and solve the easier problems right away. Of the harder problems, he would choose the easiest as a sub problem. He would then leave his office for a walk, only thinking about the sub problem. Soon an insight would present itself and he would break off his walk to write the new find down. After repeating this method he would have so many ideas and solutions that interlocked, making stable combinations. Walking undisturbed will get you in that R-mode type of unconsciousness. Poincare was obviously a great thinker and experimenter. Further in his works he writes that one of the great characteristics of the creative process is to let a great idea simmer for a while and work on dull task such as doing dishes -since great solutions are seldom found at once. Again to achieve that creative mode one must be in a sort of unconscious dream like state. (Simonton)
All this is about inviting the fast hare mode or r-mode to complement the slow tortoise mind. Sometimes a good whack upside the head is needed to get one out of a rut and looking at a problem differently. Different associations force the r-mode to initiate different searches; it helps to broaden the scope of material under consideration. For example the Zen koan ”what is the sound of one hand clapping” just doesn’t make any rational sense at all. This is like merging unlike patterns or reengineering of material. Some patterns cause novelty and can truly over clock your brain. William Shakespeare used verbal reengineering a lot in his work, coining several phrases we still use to this day “Full Circle”, ‘’Method to the Madness” and “Eaten out of house and home”. (Macrone) In early history, high priests would consult an oracle, more often than not the oracle’s answer would be a riddle, ambiguous and free for interpretation, proving the magic of an oracular whack upside the head.

Getting the proverbial whack upside the head is all and well but in the words of Henri Poincare, high achievers engage in the “preliminary period of conscious work which also precedes all fruitful unconscious labor” (Poincare). So there must be a balance between the conscious and unconscious in order to make full use of our corticoid talents. Together with this knowledge and use of the three techniques discussed above, one is set to make greater achievements.

Works Cited
Cartwright, Talula. Developing Your Intuition: A Guide to Reflective Practice. Center for Creative Leadership, 2007.
Claxton, Guy. Hare brain Tortoise mind: how intelligence increases when you think less. New York: Harper Perenial, 2000.
Macrone, Michael. Brush up your Shakespeare! 2000.
Medina, john. Brain Rules. Seatle: Pear Press, 2008.
Poincare. Mathematical creation.1924. Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1970.
Simonton, Dean. Scientific Genius. Cambridge University Press, 1988.

As a Rubik’s cube fan there is the need to memorize algorithms to solve the blessed cube. I used the loci and little journey memory techniques to memorize this algorithm for solving the top corners of the cube. The algorithm goes like this U R Ui Li U Ri Ui L, first the upper layer is turned one twist, then a right side move is needed followed by a top inverse then proceed by turning the left side counterclockwise one twist. The second part of the algorithm is the same as the first all for the second right inverse move and last move which is a left turn. Now you could say” why is it so hard to remember 8 moves?” Well,I guess it is not, but the point of this experiment was to apply some learned memory techniques and put them to the test. I decided to take a little journey through the apartment as such, by the door of the office look up U to the vent, Look right into the bathroom R, look down to the basket Ui, Walk left backwards into the hall way Li, Look up to the vent U, Look at Jake’s cage Ri,

Look down, Look at the table L. This completes the algorithm which is the standard method for solving the top corners as explained in the booklet 7 step solution that is sold with the 3×3x3 cube. Myself, I combine two methods, the one in the booklet and one I picked up from You tube on the net by some Chinese dude. Ni hao!
have fun !

Memory mapping can be a powerful technique for stimulating thinking, and as a memory power boost.
The technique involves drawing associations on a piece of paper. first start with the key idea or word in the center and write close by the sub ideas, then connect these with a line.
This is a powerful memory enhancing technique because it operates on a number of levels at once

Diagramming information coverts the incoming mass of data into concepts and images that are meaningful to you.
It draws on the left-brain verbal, analytical abilities and the right brain spatial, visual abilities, reinforcing facts and data simultaneously in the memory circuits on both sides of the brain.
By jotting down key ideas and indicating connections between them, you personalize the data, arranging them in a way that is meaningful to you.
Because there is always space for further ideas and connections you are prodded to keep looking in new directions.
Since the key elements are all right there on one sheet it’s easier for you to see important connections.
Consciously processing the information– rather than passively listening or reading– makes it more likely you will remember it.

There are some excellent free tools for creating mind maps one of my favorites is freemind

Solving the Rubik’s 3X3X3 is quite easy if you follow these steps. First we put the white middle pieces around the yellow center sticker. Secondly when that is done look at the side of the white cross with yellow center or top layer and match up the side color with the sides center color. for example white green block matches up with green center sticker, then turn face twice with green towards you so that the white sticker matches the bottom white center. Do this with the next three pieces until a white cross forms on the bottom layer. Thirdly we fill in the bottom layer corner pieces by looking for a corner piece with a white side in the top layer, and we match up the opposite color with it’s center piece of the same color, for example opposite of white,orange on top is blue, so turn the blue corner to match up the blue center. With the blue side towards you turn the left hand layer counterclockwise now match the white sticker by turning the top layer counterclockwise. Do this for all leftover corner pieces so that the first or bottom layer is solved. Fourthly we look for a top layer center edge piece that is not yellow and center that piece with its color center. with that side in front of us we turn the top layer opposite from the top color or neighbor and turn the opposite direction left or right hand layer, clockwise on the right counter clock on the left. Turn the top layer one step. Now turn the -in this case orange center side- one turn clockwise.Rotate the top opposite orange side center so that you take a corner from the previously solved bottom layer. Return the color center side so that white is back on the bottom missing said corner piece. Don’t worry about scrambling that piece again, we will have it sorted out real fast in the next few steps.Return the white corner piece by matching its neighbor color to a center piece- again in this case the orange center. Now with the orange center in front of you turn the corner piece orange sticker towards the top and match it with the orange middle piece. Look for the two white pieces and match up with the white corner piece. return the white row to the bottom white layer, you have now solved the first piece of the second layer. repeat this algorithm to solve the middle or second layer. Sometimes you will find the piece you need reversed in its place or what can be called a parity situation. Once you have the previous algorithm down you can easily undo the parity in a couple moves. We now will try to form the yellow cross on top by turning any side F,T,R Ti, Ri, Fi. You might have to do this several times till you have the yellow cross. Solving the top edges of the cross is done by using this algoritm R,U,Ri,U,R,U,U,Ri , or by repeating the previous algorithm which I usually do. Use U R Ui Li U Ri Ui L for solving the top corners and lastly flip over any insubordinates with Ri Di R D x2 or 4

Have fun!

Sometimes one needs a bit more thought about life, and neccesary changes. Changes can be scary and mostly beliefs get in the way of achieving your goals. There are the five questions from Tom Vizzinis 3dMind NLP,  Neuro Linguistic Programming to get a clearer view on the beliefs that hold us back.

1- What is it you wanna do?

2- What gets in the way?

3-what is the belief you must have to let that get in the way?

4-What kinda person would believe that ?what kind of belief would you have about a person like that ?

5- what else would you have to believe for that to be true?

Check out Tom’s site at for more info on 3dmind.

According to Jean Marie Stine memory wizards are not born they are made. They use mnemonics or associations. There are four major techniques, The Loci Technique, Peg Words, Acronyms, Data Indexing.

The first technique uses the loci or latin multiple for places and associates these with things needed to be remembered . The more bizarre or dramatic the image created the better it will stick.

Say we need to remember a clients name, mr Woodberry he is tall and portly. Therefore imagine him hitting his head on the doorway. Now Envision a forest with vivid greenish colors and animal sounds on your television. The bowl of fruit on your living room table will give you a berry aah wood berry.

Select the facts, figures, or other data to be remembered

Pick elements that relate to the five loci or places in your living room- doorway, sofa, TV, lamp, picture on the wall.

Create a visual image that incorporates the information with items of your living room.

Run these images through your head for several times a day for three four days.{mospagebreak}

 

Our most remote ancestors were already aware of the power of rhyme to help pin down memory. Stories nd legends of heroes, heroines, and gods were put in rhyme. Rhyme made things easier to remember because the end of one line gave a cue to the sound of the word that  ended the next line and therefore to what preceded that word. Pegwords work in a similar fashion.
Pegwords link mental images for critical facts and figures with specific rhymes to the numbers one to ten– “one” and “sun”
you can make up your own rhyming system if you want. But in his book Mastering the information age, Michael McCarthy offers the folowing ready-made pairings:

One -sun         Six-sticks
Two -shoe       Seven-Heaven
Three-tree       Eight-gate
Four-door        Nine-vine
five-hive          Ten-hen

Here ishow pegwords help to boost your memory power when you have vital information you need to remember :

Pinpoint as specifically as possible the facts, names, or ideas you want to remember.

Create a mental image that links that information to the objects.

When you need to recall the data, mentally review the numbers, and the images associated with the rhyming pegword will pop right up, bringing the information you want with it.

Acronyms are the easiest way to remember something. Lets say you want to remember the five great lakes, Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior. The first letters of each lake spell HOMES.
Pretty easy huh!?

Data indexing gives you your own data storage filing cabinet. According to scientists, our brains are capable of retaining about 100billion bits. That is the equivalent of 500 encyclopedias!

The difficulty is locating and retrieving the specific bit of data instantly and easily when you need it.

The four mental steps for data indexing are Source Identifier- a tag that tells where the data to be indexed came from. The Subject Label- a tag that tells what category the data is being indexed under.

Data Linking- associating the facts to both subject and source. Index subordinate data through the same process.

 

 

 

Speed reading seems like a hard thing to do but it is not all that complicated or hard. Like with everything, you need to practice for good results. Again some hard myths about reading exist, and can be summed up as , Reading is linear; True reading is word-for-word ,Reading is a laborious task which takes a long time ,All parts of a book are of equal value Reading faster will reduce retention.

For myself, I noticed that when reading I kept skipping back to a certain word in a sentence.

Sometimes rereading a whole sentence. Tremendous speed improvement after I used my index finger as a guide. We all learned reading by sounding out words and making sentences with those words, speed reading relies more on concepts per minute than a word or sentence. You can pre-scan a book for the main ideas, and perhaps the only idea in a book where the other chapters are just filler. Good luck on your Speed Reading adventures.May the speed be with you.