New Year Countdown to 2015 London |
So I sit here trying to churn out
something. I was away for three weeks, I had a nice time but I really miss
writing. I have to get to work early and I should really get to bed but I need
to write something. I went to French conversation class yesterday evening. That
is another heart breaking project.
I cannot even remember things in English let alone in French. In London,
I met up with a friend from school days as we both happened to be vacationing
there. My daughter dropped by Monmouth coffee place just as we were leaving the
coffee shop. She asked my friend if she had enjoyed the coffee in Mandarin and
my friend was surprised. When my friend had left, I asked my daughter why she
had spoken in Mandarin to my school friend although it was nice, she said it
was because she had heard us conversing in Mandarin. I said, “ No , we
conversed in English.” I then recalled that I might have asked my friend if she
wanted to get some fresh coffee beans and her response was in Mandarin. Did I
ask her in Mandarin? I cannot remember. It came naturally amongst most of my school friends as we learnt Mandarin
as our primary language in school. When I travelled to Shanghai, I read some
signboards in Chinese language and did not realise that they were in Chinese even though I think and
process information in English. Now that I am learning French, I find myself answer “Oui” when I
should be answering ‘Ya” that
meant yes in Malay. Odd indeed.
Maybe it is because my left brain has been in an overdrive state or that
I am simply not able to switch from one language to another these days. My mind
is getting too cluttered just like my laptop . Too many ideas at any given
time. Thoughts flow in and out in a flash and I find myself getting distracted
easily.
Though I am not one who think
things rationally, I resume reading The Art of Thinking Clearly written by Rolf
Dobelli with the hope that some of the articles will set me back on track. Several of
the author’s essays strike a chord with me and the Myth of
Like-Mindedness is
one of them.
Rolf
Dobelli writes, “ We
frequently overestimate unanimity with others, believing that everyone else
thinks and feels exactly like we do. This fallacy is called
the
false – consensus effect.” He quotes from his personal experience
about his novel Massimo Marini . He was completely convinced that his novel
Massimo Marini would be a resounding success or at least as good as his
previous books but the public was of a different opinion and he was therefore
proven wrong.
Often whenever I thought that I might have
done better in certain test papers or essay writing in school or some food I had prepared or whatever tasks I had executed in my adult years, the
reality was I had not done as well as I had thought.
Cafe Sant'Eustacchio, Rome |
Her Majesty's Theatre London |
Dobelli writes in another chapter,“ You Were
Right All Along”
that ‘no matter how tough we are, admitting mistakes is an emotionally
difficult task’. He writes : But this is
preposterous. Shouldn’t we let out a whoop of joy every time we realize we are
wrong? After all, such admissions would ensure we will never make the same
mistake twice and have essentially taken a step forward. But we do not see it
that way.
In the same chapter, Dobelli advises that
it is safe to assume that half of what we remember is wrong as our memories are
riddled with inaccuracies. I cannot agree more with that statement as I do doubt my own memories when I recall an incident or event.
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