Posts about Culture
On February 27th
covering Creativity, Culture, Uncategorized
At a tech-business event where I was talking with people about the dynamics of creative groups, a fellow offered that we are becoming a hacker culture, meaning that young people are prone to alter or repurpose software and devices to their liking, to evade DRM and copy protection and generally make things work the way they like.
He’s right– but this isn’t new at all. Sociologist Claude Levi-Strauss spoke about the concept of bricolage, which is usually translated as tinkering or using what’s available to create a new thing. Hacking, in other words. Levi-Strauss posed this as a basic process in the creation of culture. Read more »
On February 15th
covering Culture, Psychoanalysis
When did it happen that nothing we know about human nature counts until a brain researcher says so? This article reports on, to be sure, an interesting and worthwhile study. What we know about the mind from the inside (through psychoanalysis and all the rest) is converging with what we know about the brain from the outside — and that is really something.
BUT, it seems that the brain researchers have become the go-to explainers of human nature in a way that can be strained and ridiculous. I notice my patients seem to increasingly talk about one part of their “brain” feeling or doing something — when they’re really using “brain” as a metaphor for “mind” — because they’re talking about how they experience their mental life, not about how the hardware is configured. Read more »
On November 11th
covering Culture, reality, Uncategorized
I’m glad my professional association (one of them, anyway) has made a forceful statement condemning California’s Proposition 8. Here’s the press release titled Psychoanalysts Censure California’s Vote to Ban Same-Sex Marriage.
Here’s the previously existing position statement on the issue overall. Well put.
UPDATE: Where is the American Psychological Association? if there’s a statement on Prop 8 I can’t find it. (There’s this, a general statement on homosexuality). Another reason I like to say I’m a psychoanalyst-who’s-also-a-psychologist rather than the other way around.
On October 5th
covering Culture, Uncategorized
Headline today: “Gloves Are Coming Off In Campaign.” I’ve seen so many headlines this campaign that say that Obama and/or McCain have taken the gloves off, should take the gloves off or will take the gloves off. I have to wonder how many pairs of gloves they started with. And you never see mention of them putting the gloves back on.
Glad I got that off my chest.
On September 30th
covering Business, creative partnerships, Culture, Group psychology, Music Ensembles
Since I listen all day to the anxieties of people, I’ve gotten an earful this week. And it’s only Tuesday. The mega-environment is becoming rough and uncertain. Money, especially money for new projects, is expected to be harder to come by, and a lot of things will become difficult.
Doing well in this climate will require psychologically resilient people and organizations — those with the capacity to resist despair, fear, and retreats into fantasy, to keep doing what needs to be done. Flexibility, an unfazed grasp of reality, persistence and patience will serve people well. (Sometimes it will require the flexibility to abandon projects that are checkmated and move on to something else with a minimum of handwringing). Groups that can manage discouragement and anxiety and support one another will do all right. Teams and groups who sink into finger-pointing when times are tough will not make it. Read more »
