Comments for Purposive Drift

Comment on Something very close to grace by bob cotton

bob cotton — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:06:44 +0000

Ricardo what a brilliant, fantastic, erudite, thoughtful, thought-provoking, provocative, delightful and mind-bogglingly attentive body of work. I hadn’t visited Purposive Drift for ages, and its really developed into a treasure trove. Congratulations!

Comment on Something very close to grace by Bob Cotton

Bob Cotton — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:59:46 +0000

Was that written before the invention of Facebook?

Comment on Operation No. 2 by Alastair

Alastair — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:48:50 +0000

thanks for the update Ben. keep them coming.

Comment on Contextual Intelligence by Randy

Randy — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:39:31 +0000

try this link… more thoughts on contextual intelligence.
http://www.leadershipreview.org/2008winter/article2.pdf

Comment on Just when we need him by Clifford Singer

Clifford Singer — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:43:25 +0000

Richard, you’ll be pleased to hear many others have come to Simon Caulkin’s defence:
http://taxpayersalliance.org/news/bring-back-simon-caulkin

Comment on A real reflective practitioner by Ian Worley

Ian Worley — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:16:46 +0000

Thanks for the accolades Richard. We should have more conversations over bbq more often 😉

Comment on Managing Creativity revisited by Susan Mazza

Susan Mazza — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:29:21 +0000

This is right on. Problem solving essentially keeps you “in the box” because of the very nature of the context for problem solving. Yet we are unfortunately addicted to solving problems – a habit of mind that limits our potential as you point out. I guess that is why this post is still so relevant today!

Comment on Low Latent Inhibition by Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:41:26 +0000

I really think this research has opened up a whole new way of thinking about creativity. I’m especially interested in how we can use this research to pursue heightened creativity. I like how the article mentions that corticosterone lowers latent inhibition. For example, white noise, caffeine, alcohol, cold water, and many forms of stress increase corticosterone, and would presumably lower LI. It seems like experimenting with combinations of these could provide one way to personally test out these ideas. Increased dopamine neurotransmission likewise lowers LI, as has been found in several studies which tested latent inhibition when d-ampetamine was given to humans. As expected, the dopaminergic effect of amphetamine significantly lowered LI. Alcohol and all drugs of abuse have dopaminergic effects, which might help explain the longstanding association between creative individuals and drug abuse. The question is, how can we increase dopamine in a more sustainable way? In my experience I have found two common natural supplements to be useful: NADH (which increases dopamine via the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase) as well as SAM-e (typically used as an antidepressant, but it has also been found to effectively re-sensitize the dopamine-rich nucleus accumbens, which may ultimately contribute to a dopaminergic effect). I discuss latent inhibition and creativity extensively at my website, http://creativesubstances.com.
Most importantly perhaps is that this research provides a way to conceptualize the optimum creative mind-state: a detached, diffuse state of mind in which a multitude of associations are combined and recombined to generate novel solutions. When I think back to some creative breakthroughs I’ve had as a creative writer, what stands out are stretches often lasting hours of struggling to find a solution. My mind seems almost blank, as if everything is happening subsurface. The actual breakthrough usually comes either late at night in bed or shortly after waking up in the morning. Fresh solutions or directions abruptly come to mind, and from that first solution innumerable further directions and ideas spiral out with a euphoria-producing ease.

Comment on Unreal realists by jdc

jdc — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:56:58 +0000

I read the Honeybee piece in the Guardian and was looking for the story online. Couldn’t find it elsewhere, so I’m glad you linked to it!
The Xerces Society’s pollinator conservation project sounded interesting but there seems to be some bad news heading their way thanks to the short-sighted folks in the House/Senate: “They say they have seen the return of native bees and benefited from their pollination services. But final details being hammered out in a farm bill on Capitol Hill look like trimming conservation budgets and reducing financial incentives for farmers to manage their land in a more pollinator-friendly way.”
cheers,
jdc

Comment on Contextual Intelligence by Andy Smith

Andy Smith — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:25:04 +0000

There may be some parallels with Gregory Bateson’s ‘Levels of Learning’:
http://www.123webpages.co.uk/user/index.php?user=mgc&pn=10739
See his book ‘Steps To An Ecology of Mind’ for a full explanation.
Best wishes,
Andy Smith