sherryderen

Shedding

I always associated shedding with something animals did, like snakes shedding their skin, or dogs shedding hair. I haven’t thought about it for humans until recently, when I became aware of my own shedding activities—the involuntary and the voluntary. The first to show up was hair loss. Since I always had thick hair, it wasn’tContinue reading “Shedding”

Gender Differences: Some Observations About Sensory Capacities

After more than forty years of marriage, I have concluded that there are differences between men and women in their sensory capacities. Visual field perception Research has found that men outperform women on spatial tasks, like visualizing how a 3-D object would appear if it were rotated in space. But there are other spatial tasks,Continue reading “Gender Differences: Some Observations About Sensory Capacities”

Still Among the Youngest

I never liked being the youngest of three children, with a brother four and a half years older and a sister eleven years older. As the youngest child, I always felt a bit of an outsider and I couldn’t do many of the fun things my older siblings were allowed to do. Also, I skippedContinue reading “Still Among the Youngest”

Mathematics at Home

Some schoolchildren wonder why they need to learn mathematics. They believe it will not be of any practical use since calculators are readily available. As a research scientist, I have often used statistics in my work, and have appreciated their utility. As I get older I find that mathematical concepts and numbers are especially helpful,Continue reading “Mathematics at Home”

Stages of Change for My Changing Stages

I conducted behavioral research related to substance abuse for many years, and became familiar with a construct called the Stages of Change Model, developed by Prochaska and DiClemente. This model posits that individuals may move through five stages as they undertake health behavior change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Clinical and research efforts usingContinue reading “Stages of Change for My Changing Stages”

Living With Contradictory Beliefs

I have always liked the concept of cognitive dissonance. That’s when you have two beliefs or behaviors that are contradictory to each other, and you feel uncomfortable because it is difficult to hold on to both of them. For example, you would experience cognitive dissonance if you see a friend who you think is aContinue reading “Living With Contradictory Beliefs”

Don’t Get Stuck At Your Setpoints

It has been found that our bodies have some setpoints. These are stable and optimal ranges of some physiological characteristics, like our weight and even our experience of happiness. Research indicates that genetics accounts for about 50% of setpoints, so that means I have some control over the remaining 50%. I have had mixed successContinue reading “Don’t Get Stuck At Your Setpoints”

Designer Senses

I experienced a decline in hearing while I was still working, and made necessary adjustments, like sitting closer to the speakers at Seminars so I could hear them. After all, I thought, hearing aids were for old people, not me. But when I began having difficulty hearing my 12-year old granddaughter and often had toContinue reading “Designer Senses”

Childish Toys for Grown-Ups

When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness … C. S. Lewis I agree, we don’t need to fear childish things. Perhaps we can benefit from seeking them out and adapting them. I recently watched my youngest grandchild, ten months old, gleefully playing in a Jolly Jumper. That’sContinue reading “Childish Toys for Grown-Ups”

It’s OK to Ask for Help

Priding myself on being independent for many years, it has been hard to ask for assistance since I retired. When I was working I had multiple resources to call on – an administrative assistant, an IT department, a human resources department, and others. All were happy to meet my work (and sometimes non-work) -related needs,Continue reading “It’s OK to Ask for Help”