Csikszentmihalyi

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was a guy who was smart enough to go by the first name “Mike.” He was a psychologist and author who came up with the term “flow,” using it to describe the way we humans are when our experience is optimal. Many moons ago, his office was next door to my undergrad advisor’s Human Development office at UChicago. Passing by his doorway regularly, I always greeted him with “Hi Mike.” That’s because I never learned to correctly pronounce his last name (CHEEK-sent-me-HIGH-ee).

One of my college classmates noticed Mike’s obit in the NY Times recently and sent me this link.  (Thanks, Cindy!) Excerpts below are taken from that article, just in case you’re averse to clicking and reading the whole thing.

 

Mike Csikszentmihalyi
Bye-bye, Mike: May your experience of eternity forever flow free.

 

Csikszentmihalyi’s book

 

 

Flowing researcher
A certain UChicago undergrad rat researcher caught red-handed in this 1980 photo.

 

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Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was a Hungarian-born psychologist. He showed how everyone from artists to assembly-line workers can be transported to a state of focused contentment by getting caught in the “flow,” a term he coined and later popularized.

“Mike” was a polymath whose passions for painting, chess playing and rock climbing informed his work on subjects as diverse as the teenage brain and the psychology of interior design. But it was his research into creativity and focus that constituted his life’s work. That made him a public figure after the breakout success of his 1990 book, “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.”

“People seem to concentrate best when the demands on them are a bit greater than usual and they are able to give more than usual. If there is too little demand on them, people are bored. If there is too much for them to handle, they get anxious. Flow occurs in that delicate zone between boredom and anxiety….”

He offered a pointed critique of why so many people fail to achieve flow. He cited studies showing that most people prefer meaningful work over mindless downtime. But he argued that Americans in particular had been conditioned to hate their jobs and love passive relaxation.

Above all, he blamed television for the decline in hobbies, avocations and lifelong education. Activities that blend aspects of work and play offer the best opportunity for flow – and, through it, happiness.

Some critics said his finger pointing smacked of snobbery. To this he had a pithy response: “If holding that everyone should have a chance to get the highest quality experience is an elitist notion, so be it. It’s better than resigning oneself to a life of mindless entertainment.”

Sunrise Sunset

They say a sunset is just a lazy man’s sunrise. I don’t know about all that. After all, it’s not my place to judge. Probably just a morning person’s bias. But I do know we got no lazy bones around here.  So, see below for some sunrise pix taken this morning looking east as we were getting ready for work.

 

Sunrise Sunset 2

Sunrise Sunset 1

 

 

Photo credit for all: AVW.

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“Red at night, sailor’s delight; red in the morning, sailors take warning.”

I have no idea if this old saw is true. What I do know for sure is that a red sunrise this morning has given way around sunset to raining cats and dogs. Hey, I don’t make ’em up, I’m just the messenger here. Like I said, it’s not my place to judge. You can draw your own conclusions on that front, Sailor. But you’ve been warned.

More local weather news here just in case you missed it the first time.

 

Our Pets Are Getting Smarter

Our Pets Are Getting Smarter
Especially the cats.

 

But while our pets are getting smarter, us humans? Not so much.

Don’t believe me? Read on if you dare…

 

That’s right. You heard me.

 

Said No One Ever

Said No One Ever
“If you’re working from home today, do you mind if I go hang out at your office?”

 

Bonus Foghorn Leghorn Funny From Yesteryear:

 

 

And as Halloween is almost upon us:

 

Said no one ever - halloween

 

 

FB

FB was down for 6 hours yesterday. Did you miss it?

Me, not so much:  I only missed you.

 

FB
“Thank goodness Facebook is back. For a few hours I had no idea where to direct my rage.”

See more New Yorker cartoons, here.

Lazy Fall Sunday Afternoon in the Southwest

What’s the best thing to do on a lazy fall Sunday afternoon in the Southwest? I mean other than going for a hike, which we already did today.  Well, maybe the best thing to do is to read an article about things to do on a lazy fall Sunday afternoon in the Southwest. You can do that here if you’re so inclined. Just so you know, the article confines itself to Arizona and New Mexico. But equivalent activities abound in Colorado too. And if you don’t believe me, then read on…

 

8 Autumn Things to do in the Southwest

 

1) Spy a balloon.

Southwest
Hot air balloon, Chatfield Reservoir.

 

2) Haunt a ghost town.

Arizona
Playing hangman in Arizona.

 

3) Savor green chilies.

Hatch vs. Pueblo – it’s your call.

 

4) Stay on a farm.

Rancher
Rancher on horseback along the South Platte.

 

5) Stargaze.

Night Sky
Big Dipper in Utah.

 

6) Hunt ancient rocks.

Southwest
Petrified stump, Painted Desert (Arizona).

 

7) Taste desert wines.

Southwest
Periodic Table of Wine: Make mine Merlot.

 

8) Go birding.

Southwest
Black duck (?) on the South Platte.

 

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Of course we didn’t even get to mention going for a hike…

Oh, no, wait, maybe we already did.

Fountain Valley Trail, Roxborough State Park.