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The Rich Tapestry of Life Page
Odds and ends that don’t fit anywhere else, information, general knowledge, light-hearted quips and quotes from all over the place that make up the ‘rich tapestry of life’ for reading in those odd moments when you have nothing else to do! Read on and enjoy.
DOES THINKING HAVE TO BE DIFFICULT?
Why do we always try to develop people's thinking by giving them tasks which are too difficult for them to do?
It is obvious that if the thinking task is too easy, there is no effort required, no sense of achievement, and nothing learned.
In almost all areas of skill development (tennis, skiing, music, cooking) we use tasks that are moderately difficult. In other words the tasks can be done, but as we do them we have to practise the skills we have. This builds up confidence and fluency in the skill. Tasks that are almost impossible destroy confidence. That is why so many people are turned off thinking. They find it boring because it is too difficult. There is no joy of performing if you cannot perform.
I do not believe that brain-teasers, puzzles and mathematical games are good ways to teach thinking. That is why the thinking tasks and exercises used in this book are not difficult.
Furthermore the belief that if you can do very difficult things then you can also do all things that are less difficult is not supported by human experience. Many people who are capable of very difficult mental feats sometimes seem less able to handle simpler tasks.
(Source: Edward de Bono Teach your Child How to Think)
Struggling with our Language
The problem with adolescents is they never grow out of adolescence.
I often allude to my childhood when I remember how I used to elude my brother playing hide and seek.
A doctor practises (verb) medicine at his practice (noun)
Dear Sir.... Yours faithfully
Dear Mr.Green..... Yours sincerely
(don’t put the two ‘s’s together)
Checking General Well-being
(From a Times article)
Getting ready to end the year and approach a new year, the following are questions for checking well-being:
Why do we always try to develop people's thinking by giving them tasks which are too difficult for them to do?
It is obvious that if the thinking task is too easy, there is no effort required, no sense of achievement, and nothing learned.
In almost all areas of skill development (tennis, skiing, music, cooking) we use tasks that are moderately difficult. In other words the tasks can be done, but as we do them we have to practise the skills we have. This builds up confidence and fluency in the skill. Tasks that are almost impossible destroy confidence. That is why so many people are turned off thinking. They find it boring because it is too difficult. There is no joy of performing if you cannot perform.
I do not believe that brain-
(Source: Edward de Bono Teach your Child How to Think)
Struggling with our Language
The problem with adolescents is they never grow out of adolescence.
I often allude to my childhood when I remember how I used to elude my brother playing hide and seek.
A doctor practises (verb) medicine at his practice (noun)
Dear Sir.... Yours faithfully
Dear Mr.Green..... Yours sincerely
(don’t put the two ‘s’s together)
Checking General Well-
Getting ready to end the year and approach a new year, the following are questions for checking well-
- Do I walk or exercise at least three times a week?
- Have I had a complete physical examination in the past two years, including vision and hearing?
- Do I have a rewarding life beyond my work responsibilities?
- Do I use illegal drugs or tobacco, or misuse prescription medication?
- Do I regularly take evenings and weekends off, and take at least three weeks’ holiday?
- Is my blood pressure and cholesterol count normal and my weight in the ideal range?
- Do I brush and floss my teeth daily and have been to the dentist in the past six months?
- Do I rarely watch more than five hours of television a week?
- Do I drink caffeine and/or alcohol moderately and don’t rely on adrenaline to “get the job done”?
- Do I have something to look forward to virtually every day?
You assess your own answers to these questions, just to help you think about what you do with your life.
Good Advice
- Let not the sun go down on your wrath (Don't go to bed still angry with someone)
- Love of money is the root of all evil (Money causes lots of problems)
- A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
(May cause people to think they know more than they do)
- You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours
(You help me and I'll help you)
- A watched pot never boils
(If are waiting for something to happen it seems to take a long time)
- Better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick (Things could be worse)
- Keep it under your hat (Keep it quiet, don't broadcast it)
- Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today (Don't procrastinate)
- Honesty is the best policy (Always be honest)
- Speech is silver, silence is golden (More valuable to say less)
- A loan though old is not a gift (Still needs to be repaid)
- A day is lost if you haven't laughed
- Laughter is the best medicine
- Count your blessings (Be grateful for what you have)
- Experience is the mother of wisdom
(You can only be wise once you have experience)
- Better a lie that heals than a truth that wounds (Kinder to lie than hurt with the truth)
- Put your house in order (Organise your affairs)
- Better late than never (Better to arrive late than not at all)
- An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (Try to avoid problems in the first place)
- Keep something for a rainy day (Save for when you may need it)
- Least said soonest mended
(Easier to forget a situation once you stop talking about it)
- Moderation in all things
- Forgive and forget
- Eat your words (Take something back)
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(Source: Big Elephants are Useful)
The use of ‘There’, ‘Their’ and ‘They’re’
1. Use there when referring to a place, whether concrete ("over there by the building") or more abstract ("it must be difficult to live there").
1. Use there when referring to a place, whether concrete ("over there by the building") or more abstract ("it must be difficult to live there").
There is an antique store on Camden Avenue.
The science textbooks are over there on the floor.
There are many documents that are used in investigations
2. Use their to indicate possession. It is a possessive adjective and indicates that a particular noun belongs to them.
My friends have lost their tickets.
Their things were strewn about the office haphazardly.
3. Remember that they're is a contraction of the words they and are. It can never be used as a modifier, only as a subject (who or what does the action) and verb (the action itself).
Hurry up! They're closing the mall at 6 tonight!
I'm glad that they're so nice to new students here.
4. Test your usage. When you use any of these three words, get in the habit of asking yourself these questions:
If you wrote there, will the sentence still make sense if you replace it with here? If so, you're using it correctly.
If you chose their, will the sentence still make sense if you replace it with our? If so, you've chosen the correct word.
If you used they're, will the sentence still make sense if you replace it with they are? If so, you're on the right track!
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