Adam Blatner
Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner
July, 2011
Rain! Ahhhh!
Being in a time of drought is intriguing. Today it is raining. Don’t know how long it will go, but Allee and I are savoring looking at it. There’s a singing group named “Ladysmith Black Mombaso” who in the 1970s (?) had a record (back in the olden days when there were vinyl 33.33 rotations/per/minute […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Foolin Around, Whassup? | No Comments »
Chauvinism and Preference
What if part of the problem in male “chauvinism” is that many—perhaps most–people lack a clear awareness that people have different preferences—even women!—and this category must be recognized and dealt with consciously ! Many men a century ago were devoted to their wives, loved them deeply. It just never occurred to them that their dear […]
Posted in Current Events, History, Psychological Literacy, Psychotherapy and Psychiatry | No Comments »
Some Elements of Hope
An acquaintance posted a jeremiad on one of the listserves I plug into—a rant by a friend about how we’re all going to hell in a handbasket. It was too sad—I couldn’t take it. There was a psychologist, Lev Vygotsky, who had a number of good ideas about education, my favorite being the concept of […]
Posted in Current Events, Wisdom-ing | No Comments »
Over-Load Eluded
One of the challenges of the postmodern era is that we become aware—no, we are gently assaulted—with a range of interesting and compelling possibilities, and also calls to action from seemingly noble causes. This morning I was reminded of someone who says the Navy’s sonar testing is hurting the whales and inhibiting their own emission […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Book Reviews, Current Events, Wisdom-ing | No Comments »
Nomothetic versus Idiographic Research
A group of professional friends gathered to discuss some research—the topic being those factors that were correlated with a longer life. Although the content was a little interesting, some elements more so than others, what interested me more was my own reaction of feeling slightly annoyed with the whole enterprise of psychological research. I have […]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Re-Considering Epistemology
Epistemology is that branch of philosophy that addresses the question of how we know what we know. There are other branches of philosophy that address other questions, such as “what is fair or good in the realm of social relations”—ethics; or what is really real—metaphysics; and so forth. This topic of “epistemology” came up in […]
Posted in Essays and Papers, Spirituality and Philosophy, Wisdom-ing | No Comments »
Role Dynamics & Identity
One nice thing about thinking about life in terms of the roles we play—i.e., “role dynamics”— is that it takes the pressure off of having to “be” wonderful. I am not sure, but suspect that many young people still are caught up in the semantic jungle of labels. How can I be okay when I […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Psychological Literacy | No Comments »
You Don’t Have to Know What You’re Doing
The other day it occurred to me that although I have high status in several areas, have diplomas and certificates and am generally thought to know what I’m doing, in fact, most of the time, I do not know what I’m doing! I sort of explore the world, improvise, get feedback, adjust, negotiate, feel my […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Follies, Psychological Literacy, Wisdom-ing | No Comments »