One book leads to another...

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Thinking Above Chance



Happy Holidays, Everyone! Tis the perfect season for memories in the making as cherished traditions are observed or newly introduced, savored - and stored for use in future writing projects  - for which we can sharpen our amazing writing skills on with any of the many great resources offered by the Insecure Writers Support Group, founded by Alex Cavanaugh, right here and right now on this first Wednesday of the month, when IWSG members convene through blogging, Facebook, and Twitter to talk about whatever is on our writing minds and agendas. See what we’re all talking about here.

I think about writing all the time, especially when I can’t. Sometimes I think about writing when I shouldn’t; as in, to the point of distracting me from what I should be doing – for instance, working. I didn’t have to look incredibly deep to understand this preoccupation; it’s simply how I’d rather be occupied. It’s on my Bucket list ;-)

But there’s more, and I think you’ll relate, there are things we know and feel non-consciously before or without, consciously realizing it. This was discovered by a panel of psychology, science and computer science experts intent on proving – or dis-proving – the timelessly tantalizing ‘powers’ of the Ouija board game who found that the accuracy of answers rested solely on belief. Because each player believed that something mysterious could happen, each player was then able to channel their non-conscious, inner-self and thereby think above chance to reach the most knowledgeable, or at least plausible, answer.

Of interesting note is that this exercise only worked with two or more participants, perhaps a demonstration of the old ‘Safety in numbers’ adage? If so, we’re in the right place; here at Insecure Writers Support Group! 

As for the optional question of the month,

“As you look back on 2017, with all its successes and failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently?”

What a year it’s been! In retrospect, I would believe more and expect less ;-) How about you?

Are you a neighborhood decoration dominator?