From: spike66 (spike66@attbi.com)
Date: Sun Nov 03 2002 - 17:08:34 MST
Mike Lorrey wrote:
>
> So being mister do-it-yourself is now officially extropic?
Yes. The neuroscientists are now telling us that our brains
will live longer and more healthy if we ask them to do new
tasks that they are not accustomed to. Suggestions were
things like doing crossword puzzles, or write a letter with
your left hand, or use a Dvorak keyboard. Force the mind
into doing novel tasks. It works like stretching exercises
do for the muscles.
Fixing things around the house is a great example. Household
appliances are extremely logical devices. When one breaks,
you can take it apart, look at everything in it, use rigorous
mechanical logic to determine the problem and how to fix it.
Appliances are more forgiving than cars and motorcycles, which
if incorrectly repaired can lead to truly bad consequences.
It is good for your brain to repair your own stuff. Do it!
> I'd thought I was considered the ignorant redneck of the bunch all these
> years...
But rednecks are not necessarily ignorant. They might
not even talk funny. In some circles redneck is a
complementary term, depending on how it is used. Some
of the most practical knowledge about life is nearly the
exclusive domain of those sometimes called rednecks.
Consider Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, about 2/3 of the
way through chapter 16. The Joads were out on the road
in a worn out old jalopy, with very few tools. Read his
account of how they changed the piston rings using a piece
of fine brass wire wrapped around the pistons to compress
the rings so that they would fit into the cylinder. After
the engine starts, the soft brass wears away and doesnt
harm the much harder iron cylinder or piston. Great idea,
creative use of the tools available, smart use of
resources.
With a sack of dried beans, a sack of rice and a few
shotgun shells, a real redneck is in no danger of
starvation. Most people today are ignorant of how
to turn these items into a meal.
I would be honored to be a redneck like the Joads.
spike
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