illusory correlations.

"of course i failed--i forgot to wear my lucky trousers."

the most clear and concise explanation of illusory correlation that i've found comes from wikipedia: "the phenomenon of seeing the relationship one expects in a set of data even when no such relationship exists." data here can be taken as traditional data (statistics, reports, etc.), and can also be applied to a broader scope in understanding it as events, experiences, perceptions, and so on.

this is a common phenomenon and examples of it can be found in most any context. stereotypes are an extremely common example, studies claiming correlation between environmental factors and personal effects can readily fall victim to it, and people simply seeking explanations will typically find them, though they may be completely irrelevant and utterly incorrect (conveniently animating this principle). this is why someone may think that people named trace are not as handsome as neils or rogers(after people meet me, neil, and roger), that pot roasts cure colds (after an ill child pips up after a bit of beef), or that a pair of trousers dictates his or her academic fate (after a success or failure in a pair of 501s).

i've not failed any tests as of recent, but illusory correlations have certainly seemed to have played a role in many of my recent actions. both in the way i make decisions and in the way i explain the reasons of their successes or failures, retrospect and further experience seems to be showing where various correlations were indeed illusory.

from merriam-webster:
illusory: based on or producing illusion.
correlation: the state or relation of correlated. specifically : a relationship existing between phenomena or things.

pizza grease.

i can't remember i time i really had any sort of problem with food. this of course is assuming that you allow my typical diet to pass as, well, permissible. put it this way, i've never had a problem with having food be a comfort for me. however, as of late, my best friend seems to have been shasta and that pint size roman, little caesar. last week there was a four day period where i had pizza as my main meal each day. two days of little ceasars, one day of something provided for a church activity, and one day of a frozen generic brand pizza--and let the record show i should have just payed the extra seventy cents for the tombstone.

it's just an interesting situaiton. having never really experienced this before, i'm able to make observations as days go on that i wouldn't had this been a normal experience. the biggest one is that my head has undergone a sort of pavlov's dog idea. i go to get a pizza, and like the bell to the dog, this makes me happy. i'm actually salivating long before i even purchase the pizza, both literally and figuratively. it's interesting. i wouldn't go so far as to say that i'm drowning my sorrow in pizza grease, though by the amount i'm eating you might think so. i really should lay off the pepperoni pizza. it reminds me of the film super size me (which is worth a watch if you haven't seen it).

on the other side of my existence is science fiction. this has always been the case as noted in earlier blogs, but nowadays i find myself more and more drawn to it. over the last little while i've 'read' (via free audio-books) several science fiction novels that i would have been embarassed to mention my knowledge of before. classics such as 'deathworld' and 'this crowded earth' have for some reason taken on a remarkably interesting appeal in the last little while. and i'd feel ashamed of myself if i didn't at least mention planet of the apes. i'm currently renting and enjoying the series from the local library and hope to finish the whole thing before the semester begins.

anyway, it's just very interesting what sort of things take your interest and devotion when life's a little slow. it's easy to slip into apathy and let everything slide by without notice and dismiss it all as part of the same boring, unimportant occurence that is life at times. but somewhere between brent searching for taylor and nova getting killed, i started to realize that things are worth bothering about. yes, tired, stressed, and lots of other things, but things are there to look for. i'm starting a semester soon that really will be the first major bridge to cross on my trek to med school; i've free time to do things i haven't in a long while like playing guitar and writing stupid songs that really only appeal to me; i'm watching planet of the apes and listening to 1970's science fiction. you could ask for more, but there are things to be enjoyed already--don't get greedy.

so bring on the grease. tomorrow is another wonderful day and one day closer to a bright future.
also one day closer to the rise of apes, and i'll eat to that.

the apple portal.

disaster has struck, and i'm now a "blogger." or, you could take the immature route and think that i'm a "booger." i personally think that's the funnier option.

and on that note, my first blog post is complete.