almonj

It isn't just that people aren't taught thinking skills, it's that people are actively attacked and coerced into suppressing that kind of thinking style. Going through normal public schooling systems most people are taught during key developmental phases that questioning the world around you causes punishment. If it isn't your parents, it's your teachers or the government constantly shoving stupid thought-suppressing ideas in your head. During these phases your immune system learns to associate free thinking with abuse and pain. When you are an adult it becomes very difficult to undo this. An adult who gets very emotional when their beliefs are questioned likely got abuse and punishment when they questioned the beliefs of those around them in youth.

It is confusing at first, but once you memorize where all the notes are it is very good. Notation is based around the idea of key signatures, and once you have that down it becomes very intuitive and you can actually know what a piece of music sounds like just by looking at the notation. Western music has 12 distinct pitch classes, but typically the notes are used in scale groupings of usually 7 notes, with accidental "outside" notes being easily recognized by sharp and flat symbols. Doing it that way gives easy visual cues for musical "events" such as key changes, outside chords.. etc. There is a reason it has stuck around, it is a quite ingenious system.

Improvising, screwing around, experimentation are great ways to generate ideas. I think most composers work this way, most generally don't start with some huge structure, they just find some germ cell ideas by improvising that then can be build upon afterwards with analytic techniques. I think there are two main approaches, the intuitive feelings and pure ear based approach which is what most people call the "talent" aspect and the analytic approach which is a lot like mathematics, it is about studying structure, and is a learned skill. The best composers will use both of these together. You should learn chord structures, scales and how to read sheet music. This will allow you to conceptualize a musical idea as a concrete mathematical object, and it will help you to not lose the idea. The reason you forget the music in your head is because you don't have enough reference points to define it in a memorable way.

You can understand a musical idea as a kind of memory impression, an echo that you can play back in your head, and also as a pattern of pitches and rhythmic structures . Having two reference points , sensory and abstract mathematical is very useful.

Also people who have really hot Sound Tips generally don't want to give them away. If you can make a unique sound with some special trick you will have an advantage over your enemies (other musicians).

All of these articles about how "we" should adopt the "x hours a week" working schedule assume that we are all cattle looking for instructions from out master (the state) to dictate to us how we should behave. Some people want to work more, some less. This is just more creeping authoritarianism, getting people used to the idea that your time and energy aren't YOURS but something owned by bureaucrats. I can already work any hours I want and I live the consequences with respect to how much money I make. This isn't about "free" time or solving inequality, its about getting guys with guns to steal money out of "compassion". It's a scam and it will never work.

How is the guy analyzing his drinking, finding the problem (too much stress) and then reducing that not an example of using willpower? The author creates a selective definition of the word that does not make any sense. Telling people that "willpower is bad" seems like an extremely dumb idea.

All laws relating to Intellectual Property need to be abolished.

I read the comments a lot. Compared to most news sites this be a utopia of brilliant discourse. Most comment sections on other websites make me want to die.

Friday the 13th...

Incredibly great news.

Calling his study of theology and alchemy "crazy" seems a bit short sighted. Newtons intense devotion to understanding the scriptures was likely what allowed him to make so much progress in science. Since God saw what a devoted student he was, chose to reward him in that manner of scientific enlightenment. The study of scripture was primary, his science, secondary.

These people don't actually make anything, they just buy a bunch of items and resell them as a package, it has to be overpriced for them to make any money. It seems like a really dumb idea for a business, anyone with any sense would just do their own research and buy what they need themselves. Notice they specifically want to work with governments, which typically means creating elaborate lying games in order to get access to stolen money.