Stories
Stories about facets of lives lived and, implicitly, components of mental functions.
A bench in the gym locker room
It was then and not now that I was the ‘youngest’ of 6 sitting on the wooden bench in the gym locker room. Time flies, or is it that it stumbles along? After working out, the six of us would often gather on the bench in the last row of the locker room. We were done...
Bobby and other minds I don’t understand:Children explore the world around them
How do we go from looking and acting normal to losing one’s mind to the point where we can’t get back to that place, that other place, that most of us live in? Why, how, did what happen to our brain, that, rob us of our freedom? Albert Einstein happened to be at the...
Roz: What matters
(for Roz who as a small child lived hidden in an attic in Nazi occupied Prague) Everything matters ......The sound of a siren....Getting louder .... Moving away.. Shouting from the street Far away.....Getting closer....Whispers.....Outside the door......A child is...
The adventures of Alma
Adults and children can be curious observers and investigators. We can all be investigators, engaged observers. We can nurture our curiosity, ask questions, try to answer them. We live in an amazing, exciting, stimulating world. The neurologist, Oliver Sacks, is a...
We are all unique: A Noah’s Ark science story
The dining room of the Ark was strangely quiet. Usually, there is bedlam. For once, no food fights. Tonight, there was little laughter. A few of the animals did get up and danced to recorded music from Medina’s song cycle. Like every Wednesday night, it was …yes, you...
Mathematical knowledge revisited: A Noah’s Ark Science Story
Noah wanted to make sure that Medina's knowledge was in good hands, that is, minds. He asked himself, ‘Could he count on math knowledge being stored properly in the noggins of the Ark’s animals?’ Noah didn’t quite trust them when they said things like “Sure, I know...
Time on your hands and everywhere else:A Noah’s Ark Science Story
The animals remained in the dining room, munching on tonight's dessert, rhubarb pie. The Star Gazer, sitting near the German Land Lizard, commented on the pie. "I guess the chef does not believe in using sugar. This pie is the poster child for what it means to swallow...
Life Decisions Inc
Part 1 Larry Simmons I’ve always thought fiction is just truth wearing a costume. Change a few names, move the setting around, and what you’re left with is still something real — sometimes more real than the facts would suggest. I’m Sam Spiegel, and this is a true...
The dog park
may need some additional editing Who knows why couples like Sheila and Jim Hastings stay together. Then the question is, why do they stay together? I don’t get it, and the answer is so what. Is that question at about the same level of complexity as why do you like...
Confirmation:Children explore the world around them
I can’t ask my brother Ernst whether many of my memories of our childhood are correct. If he were alive I would ask him “Wasn’t our phone number at home when we were little kids WA (wadsworth) 6-9027? There are so many other things I want to ask him about what I, or...