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How my brain works (4)
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Sep 2, 2009
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I'd like to present a glimpse of what goes on in my head when processing a simple task. For this example, I'll assume someone has just asked me the extremely simple question, "How are you?" I've written about this in the past, but I feel like quantifying and graphing my thought processes, since that's sort of what happens in my head anyway.
Human: How are you? Me: [Brain, engage.] Me: [I've been asked a question that requires a verbal response.] Me: [Typical answers: Great, good, pretty good, not bad, nothing much (though this is a wrong answer), bad, awful, terrible, null.] Me: [Calculating response...] Me: [Events in the past 10 minutes that affected mood: Thought about something funny that happened earlier, talked to a friend, ate a hot dog. Average mood = 8.5, or in human terms, "good".] Me: [But what about earlier in the day when I was stuck in traffic?] Me: [Recalculating...] Me: [Events in the past 10 hours that affected mood: Got stuck in traffic, hit every single red light, listened to a person talk about their dog, sat around in a meeting. Average mood = 3.8, or in human terms, "bad".] Me: [But I had a good day yesterday. And two days before that. Should I factor that into my calculation?] Me: [Recalculating...] Me: [Events in the past 10 days that affected mood: Went to the beach, got sunburn, relaxed on the couch, slept in. Average mood = 5.5, or in human terms, "pretty good".] Me: Pretty good. #psychology
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