Guilty by Accusation

     Thirty-six years. How good is your memory about something that may have happened that long ago? Science says our memories change over time and can’t be relied on for accuracy. Eye witnesses are are no longer considered to be unreliable sources.
     No one can justify sexual harassment but how can you explain a thirty-six year gap of silence.This period of silence begs many questions. Why has this memory resurfaced with clarity thirty-six years later? Who should we believe and why? How can the accusation be proven?
     The answers may never be found but in these times answers aren’t necessary. All that’s needed to destroy a life is to be accused of a crime. No trial required. The public will gladly be judge and jury on your future. In my America you’re innocent until proven guilty.
     I don’t know a lot about Brett Kavanaugh but I know less about his accuser. Thirty-six years. Can your memory be trusted? Just Saying...?

Put your Brain on Autopilot

     A human brain is an amazing thing. It can accomplish multiple task and direct your body to move and react with precision. Many of the things our bodies do, seem effortless. We react without thinking.  It could be the repetitive motion that we have done over and over has allowed our muscle memory to take some of these tasks. Muscles don't have memories, it's really your brain that trains the muscle to react a certain way when you perform a repetitive motion. Walking, jumping, catching a baseball, are all repetive motions that we learn to do and become second nature.

     Training your brain to be on autopilot is a great. We couldn't accomplish the things we have, if we had to consciously think about every movement we made. Having our brains take over the routine task makes us more productive. 

     This makes me wonder. Can we train our brains to do task incorrectly or not at all? I think the answer is yes. Imagine performing the same movement incorrectly hundreds and thousands of times, wouldn't this be training your brain to automatically perform this movement incorrectly. 

    Here's a simple example: We have turn signals (blinkers) on our cars but I've noticed a lot of people don't use them. Why? It could be that we have accidentally trained our brains not to use them. There's nobody behind me so why turn on the blinker. I'm in the left turn only lane, so I have to turn left. I'm changing lanes but I'm at a safe distance from the car I'm passing, it's not really necessary. Do you see where this is going? There are so many reasons people have to justify for not using turn signals that over time they train their brain not to use them. The autopilot in your brain says, "Blinkers must not be necessary since you never use them, so this function is turned off."

     It's that way with any repetitive act. We can train our brain to help us or harm us. One way to retrain your brain is by conscious effort until the brain learns the new way to perform the task. "Just Saying..."