High Expectations Lead to Frustration

The harsh robotic sound of someone's English grandma chirps from your windshield, In 300 yards, turn left. "BUT I CAN'T TURN LEFT YOU STUPID THING! ARGH!" This is a common response to the gentle prod of the GPS as it kindly, but unfalteringly directs you to your destination. For as much as we yell, the GPS calmly responds to our mistakes and hysterics with the calming and rational statement of facts: Recalculating

Your computer is running slow. The video of cute puppies your aunt sent is not loading like it should. You grit your teeth in frustration and while you're waiting open another tab or two to your Twitter page, daily feed and a game you'd been hooked on for weeks. All the little circles are spinning....as you wait....and wait....and wait.... The video gives a little hiccup and you sit up from your slumped position. Wiping the drool off your face your eyes gleam, hope! Only to find the video hasn't buffered enough to start playing in full. Angrily you shove some chips in your mouth trying to occupy yourself as the computer slugs along.

Frustration at technology. Is it really all the technologies fault? Is it your GPS' fault that you haven't updated it's maps in so long it still thinks the Union of Myanmar is called Burma? Is it your computer's fault that you haven't emptied it's trash in so long there are now possums gnawing on your screen? No dear reader, it is not the technology's fault. But perhaps you have realized this all years ago and now you are frustration free. My sincere congratulations! One of the secrets to happiness has now been unlocked, you may buy it in the store for 1,600 gold pieces.

But for others, the frustration may linger. The solution? Lower your expectations. Technology is great but it can only do what it was meant to do or what you tell it to do. You are the superior being, take a lesson from the GPS and be more civil, even when you're upset. :D

Fall

Heels

her dandy decorum
did not stall the forum
of the seven headed beast; eying her hungrily


her screams were music
as he slowly chooses
which part of her looks best; to eat


the only balm for her tears
as it steadily nears
is that she looked so nice they'll say; when she went

Microexpressions

There's a show on FOX that came out in Jan 2009 that is based on the scientific research of Dr. Paul Ekman. It is facinating. What did Ekman study?  Applied psychology: interpreting microexpressions, through the Facial Action Coding System, and body language. A microexpression is "a brief, involuntary facial expression shown on the face of humans according to emotions experienced. Unlike regular facial expressions, it is difficult to fake microexpressions. Microexpressions express the seven universal emotions: disgust, anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise, and contempt. They can occur as fast as 1/15 to 1/25 of a second." (Wikipedia)

   When I found out about this, it opened a whole new world. Who knew? The true emotions we feel are fleetingly betryed on our faces. Stating it that way makes it sound obvious, of course our faces reflect our emotions. But what about emotions we try to hide? Like the nervous worry that is felt when lying? Or the guilt we feel when we've made huge mistakes? Maybe even the anger we experience when a friend has mistakenly broken a CD they borrowed. Our face can give us away in a millisecond, without our consent, without our knowledge. And useually it doens't matter because most people can't read microexpressions anyways. A study that tested nearly twenty thousand (20,000) people found that only a little more than fifty were able to tell if a person was lying. (Source)

   But there is a lot more involved. For example, here is a picture of Bill Clinton, lying, saying, "I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." Several things give him away (of course, in retrospect this is a lot easier but it proves the point) and it is the composite amount that shows the whole picture. He is pointing and looking in two different directions. Why? When someone is lying, the brain can’t fully put everything together and the finger ends up pointing in the “wrong” direction. He also calls Miss Lewinsky "that woman." This is called distancing language; the phrasing used by people to "distance" themselves from a statement, either to avoid thinking about the subject or to distance themselves from its content. People can also try to distance themselve from a lie by stepping back, maybe folding their arms.


        Notice Nixon stepping back and crossing his arms trying distancing himself from his words here.

   There are tons of websites and books with all sorts of good information on this subject. Learning how to read microexpressions really helps us understand people better, it's not just about catching people lying. Check out some of the links below for more information:

> Microexpressions

> Signs of Lying

> "Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage" By Paul Ekman

> "Emotions Revealed" By Paul Ekman

> More about Paul Ekman

Ray Bradbury Deserves Some of Your Time

List of top five Ray Bradbury books: Top Five
You should read at least ONE before you die. Who knows? Maybe it will change your life.