Comments for the jsomers.net blog

Comment on The paradox of writerly rereading by James Somers

James Somers — Fri, 11 May 2012 05:02:12 +0000

Very nice catch, thanks. Although you have to ask whether I left it in there on purpose, just to make the point… :)

Comment on The paradox of writerly rereading by Msyjsm

Msyjsm — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:07:45 +0000

Speaking of one's own typos....

"By the time I handed it in to my editor I had no idea what it was doing."

;)

Comment on The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance by Preparing for the SAT: “E” for Effort « College Blog By Kris Hintz

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:58:52 +0000

[...] Ericsson’s work on practice: Fortune/ CNN.Money: “What It Takes To Be Great”and j.somers blog: “The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”…. Related posts: Should I Take the SAT, the ACT, or BOTH?, What Is Important to Colleges? Top Ten [...]

Comment on “It turns out” by Doug Martin

Doug Martin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:07:14 +0000

I have found the phrase in non-technical usage to be increasingly a device of charlatons and pretenders. So now it says to me "Beware of the statement to follow."

Does anyone know the origin of the phrase? Specifically, why does "turn out" imply completion or conclusion?

Comment on The paradox of writerly rereading by Brian

Brian — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 03:10:15 +0000

I'm reminded of the Persians and their decision-making process of trying out any decision both drunk and sober. I do think that is sometimes another option: get drunk and read it. Really though the best is to give it time.

I think of it like this: if we had a machine to record our dreams and/or thoughts, we would use that and play them back to our heart's content. We'd also share them with friends to communicate. However, it turns out that language is the best thought record and transmitter we have. The problem when you're reading something you've been working hard on is the novelty of the thought path you're communicating is just totally worn off. As such the mind finds it boring. As you write here, that has nothing to do with how a new reader experiences the piece.

I guess what I'm saying is this phenomenon isn't restricted to writing. Anything that is a transcription of a mental pathway repeated endlessly--for instance, even a musician/composer playing the same piece for the umpteenth time in a row, I imagine--is going to lose the novelty of its creation. As I wrote above, given a little time, I think it comes back quickly.

Your end quote is interesting. I think that if you set out artistically with some very concrete preconceived goal, it's going to take forever to get to as you keep having to reboot/refresh your mind. However, if you set out with a vaguer goal and let the organic creative process lead you where it may, I think it's possible to end up with something lasting (On The Road rings a bell) in a very short time. These two attacks at the problem of accomplishing the beautiful are interesting to consider.

Comment on Toys by Weekend Reads: TV, Unstoppable iPads and Social Gamers Who Spend Big Bucks | Lauren Proctor Internet Marketing

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 02:43:55 +0000

[...] though the content is available for streaming through Hulu on your computer.James Somers wrote a thought provoking piece pointing at the crux of why kids can get lost in a pencil but run through to…. Toys are the ultimate letdown, he says, and I haven’t been able to shake his words since. If [...]

Comment on Toys by thomas

thomas — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 22:24:32 +0000

I think the way out of your dilemma is hinted in Arthur C. Clarke's maxim that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

As we get older perhaps we can satisfy the longing to go to Hogwarts by solving problems and by creating new art and technology. We can try to make the world into a more Hogwartian place.

The trick is to remain optimistic.

Comment on Toys by Why Schools Fail | Mike Cane’s xBlog

Why Schools Fail | Mike Cane’s xBlog — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:58:10 +0000

[...] Toys The trouble is, a ten-year old doesn’t just get swept away to these imagined worlds and then saunter back into his regular life. He can’t just cleanly bracket the fantasy. A ten year-old who reads about Hogwarts wants to go there, badly, and believes somewhere in the happy shadows of his mind that he one day will. That wonderful prospect might brew in his unconscious for years. [...]

Comment on Toys by Blake

Blake — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:47:53 +0000

Great post. I believe that the living, active enchantment you describe with items like the “snitch” or a “sorting hat” can be embodied within virtual toys, and virtual environments with our current technologies. Today’s video games are too focused on directed, narrative forms of play. I believe creating animation, both 2D and 3D, is a fantastic platform for the open ended creative play you describe with your tire-fort story. Plus, it’s the type of play that teaches useful skills for the “real world” too. I’m a former video game developer, and I figured out long ago that creating games was way more fun than playing them – it’s because of the open ended nature of developing, I could create anything I can imagine. Creating animation is the same way, and the enchantment realized when one creates a fantasy creature and than animates it to life is just like being 9 years old again, with that brand new toy that has not let you down yet…

Comment on Toys by Mike Cane

Mike Cane — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:53:26 +0000

Oh, yes, the letdown from toys! I remember it well.

And Jean Shepherd also immortalized some of that letdown in "A Christmas Story." The decoder turns out to reveal a message to drink your Ovaltine -- an ad!

Great post.