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~ edit Just posted on N. Y. Times web-site: video of TED interview with Sacks: [^]. Also just posted: essay by Michiko Kakutani on Sacks' life and work: "Oliver Sacks, Casting Light on the Interconnectedness of Life:" [^]~ end edit
Sacks, a neurologist, a prolific author of best-selling books like "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat," an educator whose many publications helped raise public awareness of distinct neurological disorders, like Tourette's Syndrome, and Asperger Syndrome, died of cancer on August 30.
N.Y. Times obituary: [^]
The popular movie "Awakenings," based on Sack's book with the same title, dramatized his work with encephalitis-related catatonia patients using the drug L-dopa, many of whom were "brought back to life" by the drug ... unfortunately, often for a brief period of time.
Intellectually, Sacks' works helped expose psychology/psychiatry practitioners around the world to the work and thought of the great Russian school of "cultural/historical psychiatry" created by Luria, Vygotsky, Leontiev, and others, based on the early work of Kraepelin.
For many (including the dunce writing this post, now), Sacks' work served as a "beacon" of positivist humaneness in trying to understand, and help, people with distinct neurological problems, and a very valuable antidote to the narrow-minded psychiatry focused on quantitative studies (often questionable) and endless concern with disorder-classification (DSM) prevalent in their own cultures.
Sacks wrote a moving N. Y. Times piece in February, this year, sharing how his impending death from irreversible cancer metastasis was affecting him: [^].
«I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center» Kurt Vonnegut.
modified 31-Aug-15 4:58am.
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One of the sad things about growing old is how many amazing people we lose along the way.
I heartily recommend his books to anyone who owns a brain and has an interest on how it works - in particular (IMO) the Island of the Colour Blind[^]..
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BillWoodruff wrote: "beacon" of positivist humaneness in trying to understand, and help, people with distinct neurological problems
Damn well put! *sniff*
I would add that he's a beacon of the (career-wise risky) route of making science accessible to the interested layman.
(IIRC it was Sapolsky who noted that when publishing "pop-sci" books you have to tread very carefully, as it is prone to lower your credibility with some parts of the scientific community.)
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One of my pals in the UK was at a cafe in Edinburgh, and with the festival/fringe on at the moment it appears to bring out all sorts.
He was left a hand written message from another customer, an alleged 'writer/comedian/star' as the individual wrote himself on the message....bit pretentious!
Apparently he thought my pals bairn was making a bit too much noise for his liking and rather than say something, left the message and walked out!
You can see pictures of the message and read it for yourself here: https://twitter.com/daveauld/status/638233785574645760[^]
I find it very amusing for some reason.....maybe if you all retweet/share we can shame the individual!
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I was thinking the guy was (in UK English) a "Twat" - but when I saw that he'd signed of as Writer/Comedian/Star I've downgraded my assessment to W@nker ....
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Anybody who feels they have to sign off in this way is worthy of that title.
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I hate noisy kids out of control in public places (other than playgrounds etc.) so sympathise with the author.
Saying "he should have said something" is just unrealistic in many cases - I agree he 'should' have - but personal confrontation is often scary.
Maybe if your friend got his kids to behave in a suitable manner this sort of thing wouldn't be a problem?
PooperPig - Coming Soon
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_Maxxx_ wrote: I hate noisy kids
I too hate noisy kids. But I have noisy kids, and honestly, telling them to shut up every other minute is much more annoying than the kids themselves.
_Maxxx_ wrote: your friend got his kids to behave in a suitable manner
I am open for all sort of advice, hint, secret potions, etc... that would bring kids to behave.
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Rage wrote: much more annoying than the kids themselves
only to you...
Rage wrote: all sort of advice, hint, secret potions,
expectation & consistency
If you tell your kids they need to behave or you will take them home, if they misbehave take them home. It might ruin one night out for you, or even a few, but in the long run they will behave.
Really really really hard to do (I know!!) but it absolutely *works*
PooperPig - Coming Soon
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_Maxxx_ wrote: only to you...
I have globally very mixed up feelings about that. If I have to believe some of my neighbours, the kids should not be allowed to play in the street because they could damage the parked cars, they should not be allowed to run, because they could kill some flowers, they are of course not allowed to do any noise 24/7. No exaggeration here, simply facts. The tendency of a society that becomes more and more selfish, IMHO. Kids are part of life, so be it. Do I constantly bitch about being surrounded by morons at home, at work ? No, I also have to live with them around me, that's life. If I had to give someone a note every time he's been a jerk, I'd have probably killed a forest by now.
_Maxxx_ wrote: you will take them home
Well, we do not go out anymore with the kids, since it is very boring for them to sit one hour in a restaurant without being allowed to speak or run or even stand up, and I have no pleasure if the kids are bored. I'll leave that for when they leave the house after graduating
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it's all about location, really, isn't it.
MacDonalds - acceptable to have kids being noisy and playing.
Ditto playground, park etc.
Your garden - well, as with any noise, it's dependent on definitions of 'reasonable'.
But my points are generic - it's the same for a supermarket or a playground, or even your garden or your street.
Rage wrote: Well, we do not go out anymore with the kids
Nowhere?! Surely you go to parks, playgrounds, shops, etc. And good behaviour needs to be taught.
PooperPig - Coming Soon
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_Maxxx_ wrote: Nowhere
With "go out" I meant in places like restaurants or public events or even shops (unless we need to buy clothes or shoes, where presence is obviously required).
_Maxxx_ wrote: parks, playgrounds
Here you are right, acceptance levels are higher.
But my point was that my children obviously do not have the right to run at home because they makes noises, they do not have the right to fight because they make noises, they do not have the right to get up before 9AM, because they make noises, they are not allowed to still be up after 8PM, because they make noises, they are not allowed to be sick, because then they happen to cry in the middle of the night - what an outrage, how dare they ? They also do not have to play outside, because they make noises and break things. For elephanting's sake, they are children.
To me, having children playing outside and making noise outside is normal life, kids should not always be sitting quiet and silent in a corner of a room because grown-ups enjoy their lives better in silence. I am awaiting the time where parents with small children will have to live amongst them in ghettos, because "they make too much noise". The place I lived is already a half-dead place because everybody must live without making any noise.
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Rage wrote: The place I lived is already a half-dead place because everybody must live without making any noise.
I can see it from both sides - if I move to a quite street, looking forward to peace and quiet - then I don't want kids screaming outside my house.
However, if I move to a 'family oriented' area then I take for granted the noise - and if I have kids, I want them to be able to play with the other kids.
sounds to me like you need to move somewhere where the street is filled with families with similar-aged kids.
PooperPig - Coming Soon
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_Maxxx_ wrote: you need to move somewhere where the street is filled with families with similar-aged kids
... so I was not really wrong with the "ghetto", this is just unbelievable ...
Alternatively, complaining people could also move out to somewhere "more quiet" (even if I doubt such a place exists), why should I be the one doing it ? I've been in the place for more than 35 years now, and should move out because I now have kids ? If so, i there any kids age limit at which I am allowed to come back then ...?
This is to me really one of the more obvious signs that the society is getting more and more selfish : people tend to forget that we have to live together.
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Rage wrote: people tend to forget that we have to live together.
Not at all - that's what this is about, surely? **WE** have to live together. It seems that you are in an area where it is unusual for kids to make noise, and it upsets the residents. You've been there for 35 years so I can imagine that many residents maybe are older, have had their kids and the kids have left the area - so don't want kids making a noise and disturbing them (been there, done that)
So you either conform or move.
It's not a personal thing - but if the majority are in the area for peace and quiet ...
Of course the complaining people could move - but from what you're saying they are in the majority.
We moved to our current house because there are lots of kids around my son's age in the street - so they play outside, make a noise and all is well with the world; we expect their noise to be reasonable as there are one or two families without kids.
We previously lived in an area with mostly older residents (post-kids) where it was nice and quiet and suited us (pre kids)
Also, there's noise and there's noise. What noise are your kids making that they get complaints?
PooperPig - Coming Soon
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Rage wrote: I too hate noisy kids. But I have noisy kids, and honestly, telling them to shut up every other minute is much more annoying than the kids themselves.
Chloroforme.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a f***ing golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?"
"You mean like from space?"
"No, from Canada."
If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.
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I am a bad parent for already having seriously considered using some ?
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I wish more parents would do so. There is no greater pleasure than sitting in a train after work with yet another one of those larvae screaming for 30 minutes.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a f***ing golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?"
"You mean like from space?"
"No, from Canada."
If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.
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CDP1802 wrote: those larvae screaming for 30 minutes
I bet the parents would do it in such a case if they could : For having been in this situation (having my one year old kid screaming for more than hour in a train), it is rather uncomfortable. I ended up in that area between two wagons holding him until he slept, but the noise was frightening him more than anything else, so it had not been easy.
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I think Phenergan is the legal approach that some parents use on flights etc. according to some mums we met in Cyprus a few years back!
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You are making an assumption that his kids were being noisy and out of control. I know for a fact that he would not tolerate his kids behaving in this manner.
If he is as he claims a comedian/writer/star, do you not think he would be able to deal with confrontation?
I know when my two used to kick off in public, they were soon brought back into control, as a parent noise levels have different levels of tolerance to maybe some other jumped up hypocritical individuals.
Wonder how he would have reacted if his wife whipped out her puppies and started breast feeding a nipper.......
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I don't think it's called 'breast feeding' when it is with puppies!
DaveAuld wrote: If he is as he claims a comedian/writer/star, do you not think he would be able to deal with confrontation?
Doesn't matter does it? Maybe he was with his elderly father & didn't want confrontation. Maybe he was running late & wanted to get out, maybe maybe maybe.
I'm not making an assumption, just trying to be fair about this sort of thing - a one-sided opinion on either side is just as bad as the other.
DaveAuld wrote: I know for a fact that he would not tolerate his kids behaving in this manner.
Well, you just don't know **for a fact** that they didn't - maybe they were just making some repetitive noise, that except for a doting father, is as annoying as fingernails on blackboard - one really doesn't know.
PooperPig - Coming Soon
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Preach much? This level of self-righteousness should surely be transferred to the Soap Box so I'll refrain from saying exactly what I think of it but seriously not cool!
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Member 9082365 wrote: Preach much
Not sure you know what 'preach' actually means. it doesn't mean 'stating an opinion' or 'asking a question'.
Member 9082365 wrote: seriously not cool!
Calm down! Jeez - next thing you know you'll be getting all noisy and annoying the neighbours!
PooperPig - Coming Soon
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