Learning Challenge: Sleep Study

“What Would Happen If You Didn’t Sleep?” by Ted Talk Speaker

I have been waiting to watch this four minute video for this precise week: week 15, most appropriately is referred to as “dead week.” This week before finals it is all too real for my fellow students (myself included) to be unsafely sleep deprived. Or to add insult to injury, sleepless but bugged out on sugary caffeinated soft drinks and Starbucks coffees. This video put into perspective just the result of such activities on one’s health. We learn about Randy Garner, a 1965 High School student who in order to do a study he stayed awake for a whopping 11 days—264 hours. The results were extreme to say the least. The hallucinations by the final day of his experiment are explained by his growing his lack of coordination and concentration. A tired brain unable to process physical stimuli seems the environment one would expect for one to become out of touch with reality, paranoid, and unable to remember short-term. It was said that he didn’t endure long-term effects, but goes on to explain that it can be cause for more prominent and prolonged side effects like hormonal imbalances just to name one. It even said that death could come from such serious cases of insomnia! Some of this taught me nothing more than I already had a hunch about or learned about in school (the science of sleep, that is), but it is a good reminder that shut eye is so necessary.

I myself have been up for a total of 4 days several years ago and can say that it was definitely a terrible experience. It started after I experienced my first full-fledged panic attack. What I recall about the incident is trying so many quick-fix methods to force myself into slumber that simply didn’t work, whether teas or medicines or exercising to the point of exhaustion. Physically, I can’t forget the unfamiliar and scary feeling of losing the ability to discern my surroundings through sensory signals. Most prominently probably is how my distorted my sense of touch was that somehow I couldn’t make sense of the tactile stimulants around me from one another. It shot me into this realm of feeling outside of my body, almost detached. This, along with my body naturally having an increased heart-rate from my lack of rest made the anxiety that threw me into this sleepless episode only worse. I can’t remember how or why this period ever ended or I would share the secret, but I hope that in the next week or so I don’t relive this!

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Leave a Comment Learning Challenge, Week 15

Learning Challenge: Taking Up "Single-Tasking"

“Single-tasking Is the New Multi-tasking” by James Hamblin for the Atlantic

It is indeed becoming increasingly more complicated to “check out” or “go off the grid” these days, and somehow being seen struggling trying to satisfy many tasks at once is just a price to pay to be considered successful. I totally relate to the “my brain has too many tabs open” meme below the embedded video. Technology is such a double-edged sword. On the one hand, so much valuable knowledge is at our fingertips. On the other hand, so much irrelevant time wasters are too. Somehow, also, it’s impossible to separate yourself from these social media sites that drown so much time. Since even employers are using these platforms to reach their desired audiences, it’s almost like you’re expected to have a visible public online presence to be considered suitable for a position in a modern world that is so entrenched in these communication systems. I love the quote that “maybe this is life mimicking internet” to explain his observation of his inability to focus on one thing at a time. I’m not surprised at all with the statistic that overall negative college GPA’s are associated with students who use social media and text. It’s bizarre to think that the type of smart phone I had entering college the first time years ago had limited internet access and no apps, I can definitely vouch that my grades reflected this lack of distraction.

I think I might have to take up this man’s suggestion for “single tasking” or “tab-less Thursdays” as he calls it to remedy my overly stressed and overwhelmed brain. I think the problem with being so inattentive is the fact that we have so few moments to have thoughts of our own when the thoughts are being dictated by a thousand things in our environment. Sometimes after a long night of homework and my brain is blank I realize how much time had passed since I’d had an original thought that wasn’t for the purpose of engaging with some stimulus that I was obligated or coerced to engage with. Even in that moment, I’m still compelled almost against my will to continue to think about the thing that I was working on rather than “opening a new tab” for a space with my own thoughts! Also, as hard as it is I think I need to try to regain the discipline I had as a freshman the first time years ago before the modern smart-phone and try to not let this device dictate my attention span.

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Leave a Comment Learning Challenge, Week 11

Learning Challenge: Intensity vs Consistency

“Intensity versus Consistency” by Simon Sinek

I really enjoyed this video by Simon Sinek that talked about intensity versus consistency. He made some compelling points that dials down to how we allot our time and the results of said schedule. His examples of working out and going to the dentist, where doing at little every day to maintain either our muscles or teeth is more effective than one vigorous appointment for either. This concept of consistency is also romantic relationships go the distance, since as Sinek points out it’s the little things like kissing good morning (x) amount of days more than the grand gestures that gives two people that lifetime kind of love. I have never thought about how intensity and short-term gratification sizes up to it’s companion, consistency and long term results. Sure, consistency is a commitment that requires more time and effort but in contrast to intensity, it's more reliable. How he tied in these examples to life at a company was enlightening and made me mentally compare the types of business models America is more prone to. This translates to the culture of our immediate environment and our educational system as well if one really analyzes how greedy we’ve all become at pursuing personal ends through shortcuts. I liked his appeal that we should look at our community in our work or school or society as a place to build a communal vision together at pace that is natural. This very much translates into any area of life if one really realizes that purposeful attention and time, even a little every day, yields more valuable results that we’re all trying to unnaturally attain through intensity.

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Leave a Comment Learning Challenge, Week 10

Learning Challenge: Open Heart + Open Mind = Open Dialogue

“Open Heart, Open Mind” by Jake Morgan and Neal Walia

I chose this video after I realized I recognized a name—Neal Walia. It took me a second to realize this was a video from an event called TEDxOU, and that though my only memory of him was as a teenager who knew a friend of mine, he obviously went to OU at some point! To see him speak here with Jake Morgan in this talk about understanding mental illness through empathetic storytelling was very interesting! It’s so cool to see that this event was held on OU's campus. Their message of connecting with our OU family on more than just the surface is one that should be taken more seriously by our students who so often needlessly suffer alone with the weight of personal problems. They shone a light on the fact that even the most stable seeming of individuals could be harboring a secret that they feel shame or anxiety about- like Neal’s bipolar disorder or Jake’s clinical depression. For two guys who seem on the outside such perfect examples to admit such truths behind the veil of their star-student personas shows how even those who most successfully cover their internal challenges are much like the rest of us who are actually visually a mess.

The stigma behind mental health problems leads to students bearing a load of shame in the shadows. The conditions that arise from chemical imbalances in the brain such as the ones they spoke about are all too common, but as they said are “not usually advertised on a stage.” I can say personally that this is true. They put a humorous spin on connecting through such a sad shared experience, but as Jake stated: “The statistics are there to show we aren’t alone, but the dialogue isn’t.” Their emphasis on how our ability as humans to empathize as not only logical but biological was something I didn’t know, so now thinking back to the many stories that shed light on such conditions I have such respect for the author giving their readers that ability to put on the shoes of someone so affected. As hard as it is, being vulnerable and putting our experiences on “paper” so to speak is key to starting a conversation about mental illness which is so often invisible.It is SO hard to be explicit about mental illness, so I really appreciate this video. Especially knowing these words were spoken in my own community puts my mind at ease and gives me encouragement that the project that they oversaw (whenever this video was shot) might have helped someone. 

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Leave a Comment Learning Challenge, Week 9

Learning Challenge: A "To-Do" List for Taking Yourself Less Seriously

"Be Happy," video by Monica Sheehan

Some of my favorite bits of advice in this video are so simple yet they are speaking into my soul about how significant the small stuff really is. Things I could really start doing more of like showing up, not isolating myself like the hermit I am always prone to being. Also, pamper myself, face my fears (this would entail silencing my secret demons and phobias), and limiting television are all very practical advice for me. Sometimes I find myself glued to time-wasters like games and shows that serve me in no genuine way. Others which I have more of a proclivity toward and just need to practice more frequently include setting up a realistic schedule, live in the moment (rather than the past or some possible future), accept that life has its ups and downs, and remind myself to not focus on the negative aspects of situations. Some other honorable mentions include “have a sense of wonder,” “do things you’re good at,” “be open to new ideas,” “let people know how special they are,” “money doesn’t buy happiness,” and “want what you have.” A "to-do" list like this is an important arsenal of wisdom when so often in this tense world of pressure and expectations we tend to take ourselves and others too seriously. Something tells me the people who spend more time on achieving these mental and physical health-related goals have more happiness than those who waste these god-given gifts in the pursuit of shallow pleasures like or money or fame, often at the expense of the wellbeing of themselves or worse, others. The song accompanying the short video, “New Soul, by Yael Naim, is an appropriate soundtrack to a slideshow of suggestions for being happy. We are all young souls in a sense, experiencing all the highs and lows of life and learning lessons along the way as we age: “finding [ourselves] making every possible mistake.” What a good message from this activity. Sometimes even just simply taking a break from the daily grind of doing assignments to “achieve” arbitrary academic grades like watching a video like this is just as enlightening for the mind. I truly think that we would all be better off with a daily dose of happy little tips like Monica Sheehan has provided here.

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Leave a Comment Learning Challenge, Week 7

Learning Challenge: How to Be Happy

“Want to Be Happier? Science Says Do These 11 Things Every Single Day” by Jeff Haden

According to this article, I’m barely setting myself up for success since I can safely say I probably do barely do half of his suggestions daily. The eleven habits to start incorporating into your life for a happier tomorrow include: smiling more (smizing, really since smiling without one's eyes apparently indicates it is fake and therefore serves no function), exercise for 7 minutes minimum, sleep more for a better mood, spend more time with friends and family, get outdoors more often, help others, plan a dream trip (even if this one is never fulfilled, it supposedly affects endorphin levels to simply pretend), meditate, move closer to work, practice gratitude, and get older (we apparently become naturally more satisfied as we age).

Phew, that is a long list. Of these, I feel like I would vouch for only a few given my own experience of whether I felt my day was improved if I engaged with the above advice. I am a self-proclaimed nap queen, and I can say with certainty that I feel my most rested and relaxed at around 9 hours of shut-eye. Likewise, so long as the weather isn’t too extreme one way or another, I think spending time in the sun and fresh air has its effects. I think this has to do with the fact that you can focus on your own thoughts if they aren’t preoccupied on the uncomfortable sensations of being too hot or cold. If you move close enough to work, you could satisfy 3-5 of these suggestions on your short walk: living near your job, spending more time outside, meditating, imagining an ideal trip you would take given the chance, and exercising for 10 minutes or less. Apparently, living near your job is the best bet to facilitate a content life, these things considered! I suppose you would get older upon these daily walks, too, in which case the happiness can only multiply with the years! What these denote is a sense of mindfulness of your desires and daily actions, since it's only with proper attention to these can you take steps toward your goal of securing greater happiness in your future.

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Leave a Comment Learning Challenge, Week 6

Learning Challenge: Keeping Up With the Times

In this video “The Secret Powers of Time,” psychologist Phillip Zimbardo talks about how time is subjective based on one’s perspective. According to Zimbardo, people live in one of the “six main time zones:” two on the past, two on the present, and two on the future. As I watched him explain each of these types of people, I couldn’t help but associate each category with people that I know. For example, one living in the past type who lives in their nostalgic memories is totally my dad in a nutshell since he can’t stop re-telling stories about the “good old days.” So he would be a “past-positive.” I tend to fare right in the center since I’m super sentimental, but I also sometimes get hung up on past regrets. My boyfriend is a present-oriented type, also straddling that line of distinction between the hedonist that seeks novelty and sensation and lives for “now,” and its realist type that believes fate has full reign on his life. As far as those future-oriented, they’re either looking for a pay-off in their later life on earth, or those of protestant faith are looking to secure their soul’s salvation in the afterlife.

Bottom line I see in Zimbardo’s talk is that the way we experience time has much to do with our environment: “shared time perspectives characterize nations,” he says. In our own American society, it’s hard to debate this statement. It’s easy to see how despite a few outliers, those in small towns are associated with slow, easy living while their city counterparts are stereotyped as “busy-bodies.” How these studies apply to schooling in the digital age is game-changing. With the onset of simulation video games, those students who’ve spent enough time online find their perception of time digitally rewired. The traditional, analog classroom is thus finding it more and more impossible to entice the hedonist addicted little heathens they teach to put off the urges of their present appetites. This debate dates back to thinkers like Thomas Aquinas, Jean-Jaques Rousseau, and John Locke in some ways as it pertains to civic education and childrearing with concern to how to, when to, and if it’s proper to teach littles to resist hedonism as it is humans’ basic nature. I completely agree with Zimbardo that “many of life’s puzzles can be solved by simply understanding our own time perspective and that of others.” This is in line with some of my most fundamental beliefs that self-reflection either as an individual, nation, globe, or what have you is a more than necessary first step for progress. History has proven that everyone and everything is ever-evolving, but without appropriate awareness of this, our analog school system has little hope of keeping the attention of students for years to come.

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Leave a Comment Learning Challenge, Week 5

Learning Challenge: The Fundamentals of Character

“The Science of Character,” video by Tiffany Shlain

In this video, Tiffany Shlain talks about how science has proven that within each of our prefrontal cortex’ lies a capacity to change and develop our character for a more meaningful, prosperous life. This positive attitude adjustment to do with self-improvement is not unlike Carol Dweck’s prescription for being a more resilient and productive person in an academic context, something she calls “Growth Mindset.” Shlain points out that across all cultures, these core virtues are commonly agreed upon: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. The traits or qualities that make up each of these core virtues Shlain calls “strengths,” which she says each person has a unique combination of. The traits I myself am “high” in, I would say include gratitude, forgiveness, perspective, and love. However, I’m often “low” in bravery, perseverance, enthusiasm, and some others. This framework for understanding our own innermost workings is apparently an ancient concept that the Buddha and some of our greatest philosophers like Plato and Socrates have pondered in the past. She reminds us to sometimes say “to hell with the hustle” in this day and age that focuses primarily on one's output, and to realize that the best project we can work on is within ourselves. I loved this quote she included and have heard it before: “Watch your thoughts: they become words, watch your words: they become actions, watch your actions: they become habits, watch your habits: they become your character, watch your character: it becomes your destiny.” How deep! Then she advocates for the big seven character strengths that social science deems critical for happiness according to studies to do with academic achievement and overall emotional contentedness: optimism, gratitude, social intelligence, curiosity, self-control, enthusiasm, and grit. So, I’m about 4-5/7, only around 2-3 away from being the best person I can possibly be!

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Leave a Comment Learning Challenge, Week 4

Learning Challenge: Silent Films Speak Loud Truths

“Alike” by Daniel Martinez Lara and Rafa Cano Mendez

There is a lot to unpack in this nearly-silent short about parenting and finding your purpose in a stale, capitalist society. In this almost-entirely grey setting, protagonists blue man and orange boy stand out against their surroundings with their colors as well as their facial expressions and body language giving clues to their emotional states. You see many visual parallels between the boy and the man’s daily lives. At the start, you see a stack of books next to a stack of paperwork which represents the characters respective responsibilities that they take to their standardized work and educational buildings in the next scene. There you see crème-colored “school” and “work” buildings where they filter in with the other clay people to perform their standard tasks given by “the system.” It is at this point you see that the daily grind has done a number on the man who drains of all color until he is greeted by his orange-as-ever son in which he returns to his regular blue. It’s clear that the boy is captivated by the street performer who plays his violin under the lonesome tree but his interest is stifled and he is repeatedly pulled away. The curious little guy starts to resemble his father with skin fading into the bleak background. Until finally, at the conclusion they are seen embracing under the vibrant tree, colors bold as ever.

This is not the first time I have seen this short film, but it is as thought-provoking today as it was then. The premise of this video really reminded me of a favorite film of mine based on a book: The Little Prince. The scenes of the film adaptation that feature the actual story are actually also silent which is a coincidence. But that sure says something about how a visually implied message sometimes speaks louder than one accompanied by sound! It gives these films an air of mystery, like those that can "see through" the images are in on the "secret." In the same way that this short indirectly gives commentary on the effects of an imagination-less system on bright, curious children, The Little Prince also has a problem with societies boring standards that suppresses potential creatives. These stories show how important cultivating creativity continuously into adulthood is a necessary rebellion for maintaining joy and wonder when society so often sees these qualities as “unessential” as not being mechanisms for monetary profit. These daring shorts have the capabilities of starting a philosophical discussion about the changing priorities of our world as it mobilizes exponentially around us, leaving the dreamers and the thinkers in the dust of the doers. These sort of things that get my mind going about the “important things in life” enliven my nonconforming, anti-capitalist spirit to embrace the simple things.

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Leave a Comment Learning Challenge, Week 3