Classic RAMZPAUL

Years ago I attended a conference in which a psychologist explained his theory of learning. His basic thesis was that we learn from our success, not our failures. Doing the same thing wrong over and over will never teach you. You first need to experience success so that the brain neurons can make the proper patterns. As part of the class, he said that he could teach anyone to juggle within a couple of hours. The key was to break down juggling into small pieces and have the brain properly learn bit by bit. As I was never that coordinated I was always skeptical that I could learn something that looked so difficult in just a couple of hours. But I gave it a try and I discovered that his theory worked. I have since applied the theory that we build on success, not failure to other parts of life. For example, if we are to be successful politically, we first need to gain small success. Trying to do something large all at once usually just leads to failure.

Years ago in my misspent youth I spent too many hours at the Blackjack tables. Unlike most people, I won. I have always been obsessed with numbers, so I learned how to game the casinos. In 2002 I got careless, and I got banned. I have not been back to a table since that time. But I still get a rush when I see a deck of cards. I suppose I will always be addicted. During those hours at the tables, I learned much about human behavior. It was a fascinating experience.

Are we living in the end times? Is global warming about to kill us? Is hyperinflation just around the corner? Are the doom and gloom blogs correct? I have to admit that I have always secretly enjoyed reading disaster scenarios and predictions. It is morbidly exciting to think a Mad Max world is just around the corner. We tend to enjoy apocalyptic visions. But do such doom and gloom scenarios reflect reality? In my 45 years, I have noticed that pretty much all these wild doomsday scenarios fail to materialize. The sky really doesn’t fall and we go on with our usual petty concerns. I suppose it is more exciting, and comforting, to imagine that not only we are nearing death as individuals, but the entire world will soon end. However, I suspect the world will continue just fine after we are all gone.