Last night I watched a re-run of “House.” This is a religious observance for me, and it has long been my belief that Gregory and I are soul-mates destined to be together, regardless of the facts that I am married, and that he doesn’t so much exist. It would be a terrible relationship anyway, what with both of us tending towards the melancholy and sardonic; it’s been my observation that relationships work better when at least one of the parties is capable of a little joie de vivre.
Although the medical storyline is often predictable (“it’s TTP-it’s ALS-it’s lupus-it’s his kidney-it’s his spleen-it’s his lungs-let’s drill a hole in his brain-let’s remove his spleen-let’s break into his house and snoop”) that is not usually the aspect of the show that interests me. Mostly, I am interested in the characters, and enthralled that they are allowed much more latitude to change and grow than the more static types in the average hour-long drama. Last night, however, I was all about the case.
The situation, in brief, was that the Major Patient was a former genius who had been living a “regular” life for many years, including a job as a courier, and marriage to a woman of average intellect. In the course of his treatment for Mysterious Symptoms, it was discovered that he had been “robo tripping” by ingesting cough syrup containing DXM, along with a little daily alcohol. He had been doing this not to get a buzz, but because the effects of the drug made him dumber, and therefore able to live happily with his ordinary job and his ordinary wife. After having the drug flushed from his system, he returned to drawing complex molecular structures, but was miserable because, in his natural state of genius, he could not love a wife with an IQ 91 points lower than his own. (He compared her, unfavorably, to “a Gibbon”). In the end, with House’s tacit blessing, Major Patient went with the cough syrup, the courier job, and the wife, choosing to shutter the part of his brain that offered unlimited potential for both achievement and suffering.
This story line stirred up an issue I have wrestled with for at least 30 years. I am not a genius (and my husband is, by no stretch of the imagination, a Gibbon), and I am unlikely ever to be diagramming molecular structures. I do, however, have intellect of a kind that seems to result in excess thinking that is rarely productive and often misery-inducing. I am not speaking here of mere worry, but of a brain crowded with cacophonous noise. This is not “Sam’s English grade is a ‘B;’ I wish it were an ‘A'’” but “how can Sam not love reading like his father and I do? Don’t we set a good example? Didn’t we read to him enough when he was little? Will he ever enjoy reading? What kind of life can a person have without reading? Is there something I can do? No, wait, I have to let him be who he is. But maybe if I found the right book?” I don’t forget much, I tend to be obsessive and competitive, and I am often working and re-working ideas, disaster scenarios, and new menu ideas while obnoxiously calling out “Jeopardy” answers. My brain stops this jangling noise when I sleep, when I drink more than I can actually drink without getting sick, or, as I discovered recently, when I am taking Vicodin, Flexeril, and Valium at the same time. A legit and medically indicated chemical lobotomy, but a chemical lobotomy nonetheless.
So would I be happier if I were dumber? Leaving aside all collateral issues of socioeconomic consequences, would I be happier if I were living my life with a lower IQ. (Well, it wouldn’t really be my life because I am married to a man who thought it was hot that I was smart, and I am the mother of a child whose favorite class is Advanced Math. I think this scenario only works if I am less intelligent and living somebody else’s life).
If my IQ were lowered just the right amount, I would likely lose the ability to write this blog, to do two of my of my three jobs, or to read the book I’m reading with any real comprehension. My grades would have been lower (except in math, where there was no “lower”), I might not have been able to get through law school, and I would be less capable of making rapid connections and synthesizing facts and concepts. I would probably stop reading theology and literary criticism. I might watch the same things on TV, but be able to relax and enjoy them more without focusing rigidly to make sure no plot point passed me by. I might possibly accept things more readily rather than scheming frantically to fix, change, or otherwise re-cast reality in a way that it suited me better. I would undoubtedly be less judgmental, less analytical, and more at ease with myself and other people.
Or not. The problem with this experiment is that it’s nearly impossible to separate intellect from personality. I have “smart girl” neuroses, as do legions of women, and a lower IQ would not necessarily make me happier, just worried about a whole different set of things. The genius on “House”did not just lower his intellectual functioning by drinking cough syrup; he mellowed his harsh.
Intellect is not a personal attribute that can be sifted out from an individual’s history and wiring, from upbringing to emotional temperature. Even with an objective IQ score significantly south of the real deal, I might have become interested in theology and literature because I grew up in a household in which people were interested in, and talked about such things. Similarly, I might also be just as neurotic and hypersensitive as I am, perhaps about people thinking I was dumb, instead of thinking I was odd, or ugly. I just don’t encounter many people in my daily life who are worry-free, and some of the people I see must be of “average” intelligence or less; otherwise it’s not “average,” right?
I’ll never know. There is no cough medicine in the house, and it seems like poor judgment to run out and buy some in time to lower my IQ for the weekend. (Although I might be happier as I shopped for groceries, did all of the laundry in North America, and re-grouted the shower enclosure). My best guess is that ignorance is not bliss; it’s just all the same stuff with less compulsion to write in iambic pentameter, understand quantum physics, or compose tone rows. Sanity, or at least a sunnier disposition and a more even keel might be bliss, but would mean the loss of all of the edge and darkness that make me who I am. Probably, we are all meant to be exactly who we are, and the work of our lives is to “accept the things we cannot change; have the courage to change the things we can; and possess the wisdom to know the difference.” Without cough syrup.
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Comments
1. I don't own a tv. Will you be my tv storyteller? I like your synopsis with commentary better than an actual tv show.
2. The duality. Sheesh. People pay me to draw each and every feather on the bird, because I am a detail artist, and I can. At the same time, the ability to see detail also results in the non-stop running brain commentary on each and every bit of life minutiae that you describe. Doesn't seem possible to have one without the other, or to love one up while hating the other, because it is all the same thing.
3. Which is why sitting on the little cushion is helpful. I've discovered there that my brain is just like any other system. My digestive system takes in food, dissolves it, passes it through my upper and lower GI, absorbs nutrients, then poops out the rest, and in the process, makes gurgles and farts and little pains in my abdomen. So does my brain do things, make thoughts, entice me to think them, to believe they are very important and true. Much of the time they are: turn right here, make dinner, get away from that big dog, etc. Much of the time though, they nothing more than gurgles and farts.
4. Gee. That guy is handsome. Who is it?
It is not, of course, a matter of intelligence, nor, of course, would you wish to give yours up. It's a matter of attitude toward life. Remember acceptance. There are real limits to what any of us can do (or understand). We cannot impose our will on others so that they behave as we wish. We cannot go back and re-raise our children or re-live our lives. They need to take responsibility for theirs, and we need to move on with ours from whatever point our past decisions brought us to. (Unless, in addition to being EB White, in your mastery of the essay form, you're Merlin, and living backwards.)
Hope you got from all this that I thought it was brilliant.
Seriously, I don't think ignorance is bliss, it just entails less possiblity that you'll work out the answers when you're thinking about things.
BTW - I don't have the braininess problem, but your interior monologue about Sam and his grade - that's me, a lot of the time. (Almost down to the words/topic!) I think I got some of the male compulsion to always fix things; maybe you did too.
As always, really well written and very interesting. Have a good weekend. If you run out of laundry, I know a house in TX that has a lifetime supply!
~R~
We're thrilled, Ann, that you don't chug cough syrup and keep writing this blog. And realizing that you probably won't post over the weekend, I can't even say TGIF any more. Damn.
I'm probably underestimating just how seriously a dog takes its own daily routine.
And sometimes, in my waking life, I have moments of Dog Heaven: the sun on my face, the mind floating, at peace. If there was a substance I could take that would get me there more often, I'd ingest/apply it.
R!
Truly gifted people are rare. While certainly it's up to the individual to do with that what they will, I will never advocate or think its alright for anyone to be less then who they are. I know House's character is a cynic for the most part, and loves to spread his skewed view with those he believes aren't up to speed, but telling his patient to continue to pollute his mind and body to live an "ordinary" life goes against my entire being and doesn't seem responsible as a doctor.
I know it fiction, but it has made you ask yourself the question of whether your life would be better with a little more ignorance and a little less use of your considerable brain matter. I am heartily sorry that you would even think it, much less seriously consider it.
I'm 45 years old. I relish and cherish and protect with (sometimes animal) fierceness all that I have learned along the way. It HAS NOT been easy. I don't suspect there will ever be a time that it will be all fun and games. Sometimes the swirling thoughts in my head don't even stop for sleep, they wake me up at night and keep me up!
No one should ever let another dictate who they are or what they should be. People are special and made to be that way. Can you really imagine a life without all the experiences that make you unique?
I had a wonderful friend who couldn't see all her special gifts and uniqueness and loveliness. She wanted to fit in. Somewhere along the way of her life, she got the idea that ordinary was where it was at. At the tender age of 27 she ended her life. Without giving herself a chance.
Ignorance is not to be desired. Your uniqueness enriches those around you and those (like us!) who don't know you but are made better for that brain of your's.
sigh, humor aside... I wish I couldn't relate to this post. Wait, no.. I'm glad I can relate. Grrr, what do we do, Ann ;)
You are such a bright and shining light on this site!
Perhaps the addition of some meditation in addition to the solution described in the Serenity Prayer would get it done. Meditation instead of the chemicals...
But happiness if fleeting, and in my view, nothing to aspire to.
Boy howdie, is it hard to let got of the desire to fix it all for everyone I know, even when they don't want me to fix it; they just want me to listen. It would also be a relief to be less judgmental, but not less analytical. We need to stay on top of this tricky world, especially the political part of it.
However, I am gifted and highly so, and I do understand that it can be a problem. I like to say that it isn't a matter of smart=good, not smart= bad so people shouldn't complain about being too smart. The problem is how much one deviates from the norm and how that makes it difficult to fit into a world where things are designed for the average person. Being either too smart or too not smart make dealing with the "average" person difficult.
I once told my mother, when attempting to explain that I wasn't stuck up or that I didn't have a problem with people less intelligent than I, that it was as if an average person were in school with the mentally retarded. The difference between me and average is the same as that between someone "bright" and someone retarded. I may actually be able to understand them and enjoy being with them, but THEY would find me unbearable to be with because they couldnt get me. Sort of like if I were 7 feet tall in a room with people 4 feet tall, I may be able to bend down and see what they can, but they wouldn't be able to see the things I could observe from my perspective and find all my talk horribly boring and possibly think I was delusional and seeing things that no one else had ever seen.
Add being a girl to that. But hey, what can you do?
Hats off to you because it's impossible to discuss this without coming off as completely self-congratulatory to some.
Most of my life, I've dealt with much the same. Though I was placed in gifted programs and did well on the accepted tests, I always eschewed the summations that I was somehow far smarter than average. It's all relative you see. I don't think I possess any greater mental capacity than anyone else, but I'm just surrounded by such depths of idiocy.
I spent a good deal of my 20s and 30s as the character in house did, but using alcohol and marijuana to stave off the turning gears and resultant depression.
My value system seems completely alien to the world in which I live. I think compassion and empathy are manna from Heaven. I don't care much for materialism and long ago dropped the conventional ambitions and competitiveness that I realized were eating my soul.
Now, I exercise the perspective that none of it really matters in the long run. Nothing lasts and humanity seems doomed to do itself in, repeating the same mistakes along the way. All I can do is just try and eke out my own corner of oblivion and happiness, choosing to make a difference in the tiny ways available. So start the band and pour me a martini 'cause Papa's got a world to forget...
“We don’t know how we would get things done with out you, oh and could you try harder to avoid talking to people in the work control office, you’re hurting their feelings.”
It is my opinion that if it were more realistic, House would have been fired by the second or third episode. It took me twenty years (over a hundred jobs for over 50 contractors) until I finally found a company that was okay with the, “Let’s just keep Dave away from everyone else” employment strategy. It has not been handshakes and sweaty brow wiping congradulations.
But I like the post - a good read.
And btw, I can't get over the fact that Hugh L has an English accent. That makes me like him even more than House.
I like this post, I love your writing. House rubs me the wrong way. I should, I suppose give him a second chance..._r
As for her "You think too much" comment, I can remember thinking, I didn't know that was possible.
global warming
No to Prop 8
freedom of choice
freedom of speech
freedom from tyranny
I just wouldn't CARE. I could eat and sleep and watch Wheel of Fortune and reruns of Friends and hug and kiss and be happy all the time.
hmm...
Which make me wonder, if I had continued to take college level math courses, after algebra, would I be unhappy right now?
http://open.salon.com/blog/silkstone/2010/01/03/the_complicated_manifesto
The most common and relevant to social life form of low intelligence is due to less use of logic and common sense, a terrible trait our culture promotes.
Finally, the key to house's character is that he is always right both socially and medically, although it might take a few errors along the way, before reaching the right diagnosis.
Excellent post, rated.
lc - I agree about the battle, and love your description of it. I fear that I've muddled things here - intelligence, darkness, anxiety, simplicity of focus...I confess that for many of us it is all kind of muddled; i know a person can be smart and happy or not so smart and terribly unhappy. It's just that in my life i see a link between knowing things/wanting to know things and being unable to un-ring the bell and just...be. Because I don't want to stop knowing things.
greenheron - yes, although you're better off without it. You can draw every feather on the bird, but I would rather see a Zen-like swoosh that is you being the bird. It is EXACTLY why sitting on the cushion is helpful, although I have a feeling that you are more evolved than I am in that department. the guy is Hugh Laurie, who plays Dr. House. Although the good doctor is kind of an awful person, I have reason to believe that Mr. Laurie is not.
owl - it's an off and on thing with House and me...my husband the non-Gibbon helps keep me grounded by reminding me of the various flaws in the storylines. So maybe I like him, maybe I love him, regardless, the episode made me think (too much).
densie - I am no genius...and you are sure as hell no Gibbon. I doubt you would be at all intimidated! I'm pretty much somebody's mom.
AtHomePilgrim - EB White, huh? I will now spend the weekend feeling like I won the lottery. You are right, as always, that attitude is key - accepting reality is really the foundation of my spiritual practice, and that is the thing in my life that makes the voices stop babbling and brings me to the present with my senses alive. I would, of course, still like to make the boy a reader, but I try to limit myself to strewing the house with the literary equivalent of candy and Doritos....
blue - there are LOTS of ways to take that particular edge off, and you have described one that is certainly more elegant (and socially acceptable) than cough syrup. Yes, I did that the compulsion to fix things, and (although I find you quite brainy) I think I really picked a poor monologue to illustrate my point - that is really about being a control freak, not about being smart. You have a good weekend too...and keep your laundry in Texas!
bellwether - see, i think the muddle in my piece is showing up again; they chose a male character for the "House" episode, but how much more interesting if it had been a woman uncomfortable with her brains and maybe with their accompanying abilities and opportunities. Thank you for the story rec - I am desperate here, and will add that to my list!
unbreakable - I will be SO jealous if you and House end up living happily ever after with a case of Robitussin. Why do we fall for these "bad boys" when there are so many nice men out there - like my actual husband?
cranky - you make a great point. I think a flaw in the House episode was that they seemed to suggest that one could not be a genius and also have high "EQ," which I do not believe to be true. That particular guy lacked EQ, but I can think of several bona fide genius types who were also smart about people and how to live well. Your compliment is lovely; I am mostly banned from writing on weekends by my family, which is concerned that OS is taking over my life....
sixtycandles - I love your vision. Dogs know all kinds of things, at least the things they need to know, and they do truly appreciate patches of sun, dinner and a nap. If you figure out a substance, let me know?
kimberly - I guess they do; I'm not sure I'd know a Gibbon if I fell over it. That is something that, for now, I can not know and live with it.
leslie - your comment (and I am VERY serious) should be used as the model for making a comment that disagrees with the writer's premise in a respectful and constructive way. You really made me think. I did conclude, at the end, that we should accept what we are and not seek to change it through chemicals or (God forbid) end it with suicide, but i hear you...maybe I should also be grateful for what I got, and use it for good instead of complaining about it.
kathy - indeed not!
nick - you're right.
amanda - I love Poe, although I think I'd rather be living my life than his. Or Coleridge's, or Janis Joplin's..... House's patient notwithstanding, i think once one goes down the road of medicating one's brain away, it gets increasingly unlikely that one will enjoy any semblance of a happy family life.
m. mckenzie - he's always right. And the Serenity Prayer is kind of a cliche, but I think that's because it gives such comfort and is so practical. (And thank you).
coachcaptain - I totally agree; I do, in fact, meditate, and it's a huge help with no side effects or expense.
jason - in all fairness, the IQ test is used as a measure in a TV show, and isn't my own personal gold standard for evaluating intelligence. It is, for better or worse, probably the tool clinicians would use in a setting in which they had to quickly and repeatedly assess a patient's changing intellectual functioning. I totally agree that there are many, many stupid lawyers.
tregibbs - that is the best argument for pouring out the cough syrup.
sheila - I agree! Because I'm a stickler, though, I have to say that the kind of smart/unconventional you describe is what I think I am, but the patient on house was not, I think, particularly creative. That difference (if there really is one) interests me....
mabel - you are so right; I know some of those geniuses. I will absolutely read what you wrote!
susan - we do. Sigh. Sometimes, though, i wish I just didn't care so much....
crazeczar - Nick'e comment is absolutely significant. I am trying to do what you did, and sometimes I succeed, and sometimes...not so much. As you know, it's hard to step away from what seems so dazzling and fulfilling, even when it turns out to be "a waste of energy" under close scrutiny.
loca - I'm pretty sure I'm not in your league, intellectually. I agree that the inner monologue isn't solely the province of the intelligent. That was my bad/lack of clarity. I think we live in a society that values ease and comfort over intellectual rigor, and that also makes it possible to know and hear new information 24/7. Those things both make it hard to be "too"smart.
kevin - "I think compassion and empathy are manna from heaven" says it all. Heading there in the manner you describe makes all the rest of this stuff seem ridiculous.
wildmarjoram - cats, dogs; they all get along fine without Algebra II....
cominghome - good point, and I'm so glad that you are taking the time to discuss such things with your students!
dh - that comment may be the most interesting thing I read all day. Thanks for that. You are completely right that House would be fired; I wouldn't want him to be my doctor (!). I am glad that you found a work situation where you can be yourself and use what you have without having to make yourself frantic with human interactions.
lea - I like him a lot more than House. On top of being English, he plays the piano like a dream, and used to date Emma Thompson. Swoon.
linne - I love the "incessant WHYing." It's gotten me in trouble my whole life.
cartouche - I would be shocked to learn that your mind was not constantly working. Thanks for reading.
l'heure bleu - well said, and interesting that you think the decision to keep "robotripping" was okay. I don't think it would be my choice, but it is such an interesting ethical question...but then if it harms him physically in order to keep him happy...but then people are sometimes given other meds that hurt them but keep them sane...I'm thinking again.....
joan - House is a horrible person. I believe I am drawn to the vulnerable and terribly sad guy under the crust; it's a fixer thing. Please do not add TV shows on my account; Robin will find out and be cross with me!
aliquot - it is a blessing and a curse, but as Lesalie wisely suggests, it isn't necessarily up to us to pick and choose which blessings we accept.
kim - wow. I'm not sure I'd ever get over that. In the context of a thorny struggle, thinking seems like a pretty adaptive response!
connie - the alternative you describe (except for hugging and kissing) sounds so repellant that I think I'll stick with what I've got.
torman - from what I see, you're pretty damned smart. Actually, I'm happy, too; I just wish I'd learned earlier in life how to sort wheat from chaff in my brain.
bonnie - you're right on both counts. I do think, though, that the kind of genius attributed to the character on House would make it hard to live and function well in a world full of Gibbons. I was not by any means suggesting that I was in that category (!).
ocularnervosa - doubtful. I don't think it was learning that was the problem, but being so smart that the whole world became a different thing.
silkstone - i have read it, and thought of it as I watched the show. I will absolutely check out what you wrote!
wendy - it is, as an earlier commenter said, a blessing and a curse. Our challenge, I'm seeing, is not only to accept graciously what we got, but to put "thinking" into perspective as only one of many things we do that enriches our lives, and, if we do it right, the lives of others.
scanner - are you sure?!
gianni - it does, but whatever you choose to ignore is still there.
hells bells - you're right. And I was wrong to link it to being smart, although I'm sure there is often overlap.
algis - i can tell from your work that you have quite a mind; I'm not surprised that you also have trouble turning it off.
thoth - you are absolutely right. i see a "tortured artist" type as being much more in need of robotripping than a physicist, although I have more familiarity with the former than the latter. As for our culture, sadly, you couldn't be more right.
walkawayhappy - he is incredibly hot. I'm not buying your self-proclaimed ignorance, though. Unless you have a ghost writer?
I love being smart and being able to figure things out. From your writing, it's obvious that you do, too.
I've experienced the drug-dumb-down. (pain-killers). I could barely tie my shoes. I was not happy. I was more frustrated than usual.
Joy is a fleeting experience for us humans. Joy comes from our interpretation of events, and the use we make of our time. People of all IQs have those two things in common.
The writers of the show you watched were playing "what if?" The game probably made them happy for a while.
i have always been smart. real smart. at times it has been the only thing i had going for me. the only way i found to fit in was to stop trying to fit in. i am terribly quiet on the outside but (literally) a ping pong ball convention on the inside.
i recognise myself in your writing so much, friend. it's ok to be what we are. i don't know if life would be easier if we were different. i have my doubts. thank the gods we have good men who keep us grounded!
Don't know that it makes me smart or them dumb... I like how this post made me think!
So get what you are saying. I sometimes walk for two hours just to wear myself out so that I can just "be." Madam Guyon-style meditation helps...and reading truthful tales like yours, too. Thanks.
nolalibrarian - yes; it seems that the solution here is to use one's smarts to do something good, but to set limits on how much. That's a good, tough goal.
geezerchick - that's a fabulously smart analysis. What if.
ozmoses - I think happiness is worth more than that. The Dalai Lama is happy, in large part because he accepts the world and all beings in it. He is definitely not dumb. I'm also not sure I wimped out, although I see your point. I think what I meant was that I would never dumb myself down, with cough medicine or anything else, so I would never know whether doing that would bring happiness. Assuming happiness has some value (and I do) I will only know it by accepting who and what I am.
missing k8 - thank God, indeed! I say let's not change a thing. We've gotten this far, we've learned a lot, and maybe we're getting to a place where we can relax and enjoy life, at least sometimes?
lunchlady - I think you're pretty damned smart. Thanks for thinking on your birthday. ;-)
kathryn - I have long been a walk-yourself-calm proponent and, more recently, a meditator. Both seem far healthier than robotripping.
I think we can't really escape our personhood. We are who we are--with a lower IQ, I think, as you do, that we'd just find a different set of worries to obsess over.
I don't necessarily wish to be less smart; it's just that there are things I wish I didn't know. Like ice cream being bad for me. Or an over active sweet tooth being a danger signal for adult onset diabetes.
Rated
I'm here to tell you that it is *entirely* possible to accept things more readily without stunting your natural (and radiant) gifts. In fact, it's the worthiest goal to which you could devote your intelligence. Stunting your capacities would be artificial and you know it. You'd never stop mourning the need to do it and would probably even increase your own suffering in the process.
Joy is difficult. Admitting that one's sphere of control is small is difficult. Increasing one's capacity for suffering is difficult. Giving up one's firmly held beliefs (such as if only I were less smart I'd be happier) is difficult. The task at hand, I think, is not to narrow your gifts but to apply them.
abrawang - yes!
toddpony - thanks. It's a challenge I haven't quite gotten around, yet.
shiral - that is, I think, my biggest proble, My-brother-the-doctor talks about the "worried well," and that extends into all areas of life in which having and understanding information leads to fretting rather than living.
eric - unfortunately I am not good at drinking, although I am a lot more fun when I have half a bottle of wine in my system.
lisa - meditation has changed my life, but it's not a plus if it's one more damned thing. I agree that there are definite perks, and i wouldn't really want to be less smart; maybe just less neurotic.
jfernrn - I actually learn a lot from the twinkies when I can get over myself. That gives me a wide range of human experience to observe and consider. I do get impatient, though....
shannon - what a thoughtful comment. I am pretty focused, these days, on using my brain to accept and embrace reality, including suffering. "The task at hand, I think, is not to narrow your gifts but to apply them." Wise words.
gibbons rle!
Why?
See Democracy in America and the discusion of equality.
In the end, if your IQ is higher than 97 per cent of the population, which is what 130 would mean, most people dislike you, because they don't run into that type of IQ very often, and assume you think that you are better, and, Cain versus Abel, then proceed to try to hurt you. So, smart, but not too smart is best.
Could you get out of my head sometime soon, please? It's crowded enough in here. And, you can't have Greg, he's mine, whiskers and all.
I love him in 101 Dalmations, too.
Sigh. Thanks for the post. R.
Here’s what goes through my head when I watch “House.” “Gee, they have a team of four diagnosticians when most hospitals are lucky to have one . . . AND they get to pick and choose their cases . . . nobody has ever pointed out the absurdity of breaking into a patient’s home, when they could just, uh, ask if they could search it, not to mention that they never consult an expert in environmental toxins . . . those doctors are very talented – they have obviously done residencies in both surgery and internal medicine AND maybe ophthalmology study since they do surgery in addition to internal medicine and perform delicate eye tests usually performed by people who have studied the human eye for years . . . wow, that hospital must be very short staffed since the doctors have to do their own lab analysis, MRIs, blood draws and any number of tasks usually done by other professionals . . . but, wait, they always have people in scrubs running around – are they just there to use the vending machines?
Don’t get me wrong I still enjoy “House” for the very reasons you outline – the acting is good, the characters are interesting, and the medical mystery aspect keeps the plot chugging along.
But I still like westerns a little better – I don’t know one gun from another and for all I know the horses really could run that fast back in the day.
R
sally - you are too kind. i think, honestly, that you do quite well on the blog you write as "Sally Swift." I'll make a deal with you - I'll get out of your head if you'll agree that Greg is mine. (Didn't think so).
patty jane - Clearly, we will all have to fight over him.
flyover - you are so right. The improbabilities abound in "House," and I willingly suspend disbelief because I like the characters and story lines. Maybe if I watched westerns...I like "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" and "The 3:10 to Yuma." It's a start.
fay - thanks! I would have more friends. Leraning to keep my big mouth shut does, however, balance things out a little.
donna - I was just reading about how ruminating as a facet of depression and other mental illness is thought to be a useful adaptation. Darwin apparently did it all the time. We may need to hang on to that awareness, but the "confined" part may just be the way to peace.
jerry - I think it would be exceedingly, unbearably painful to be that kind of "wise." I think I just read what you are talking about in the NY Times, and it changes how I think about what I wrote, here.
adam - it's a terribly faulty measurement, but one that is used by clinicians everywhere. It measure certain kinds of intelligence really well, and completely disregards others of equal validity. Clinicians like an objective and reproducible result.
annette - thanks.
mamoore - that's an amazing, sad, interesting story. I'm thinking about what that guy said, and wondering about his life.
fusun - thank you!
The key is to not be merely intelligent, but to attempt to become wise. And yes, to learn to accept that which we cannot change no matter how displeasing it is to us. Ultimately, life is difficult, always has been and always will be. We will all be faced with things that bother us and hurt us.We can choose to live or choose to bail on all of this. If we choose to live we do so consciously and accepting that this is not ideal, but it is what we have chosen.
And then, the unpleasant things we cannot change, forget them and go pick flowers or eat ice cream or dance till we drop because NOT doing those things and instead sitting around thinking, isn't really going to help. It just sort of lets us maintain a false sense of power and control.
A little mindless fun is good for you.Not mindless neccessarily, but mindful. Accept that maybe the kid isnt reading as well as you like, see if there is anything that can be done, make a list and tack it on the fridge. Do what can be done immediately, then forget it. Let your mind work on whatever it is you are currently DOing.
Ha! This is great stuff! I have often wondered if my life would be simpler and happier if I were dumber, more easily amused, and thought a good job was working at the grocery store check-out. But then I quickly cringe and forget the whole idea. I think you're probably right. :-) R
Editor: It must be nice to always believe you know better. To think you're always the smartest person in the room.
Reporter: No, it's awful.
I can pretty much live without all of that, so if thy have a pill for that - and Paxil worked quite nicely, thank you - I'm down.