...nor can I do crossword puzzles, the Rubik's Cube, Wordle, Words with Friends, or Soduko--all the things they tell one to do to keep one's mind active as we age. One friend gave me book 1 on Suduko; I couldn't get past the first puzzle where I had erased so many times the puzzle was shredded! I've tried the children's 300-piece puzzles I've found at thrift stores; could not complete--or maybe I just got bored and never finished. What amazed me was when working at an adult day care center, I found several mentally challenged individuals who were beautifully and completely finishing those 1000+ piece puzzles.
I remember taking various tests where they give you one image and then ask you to select one of several other images that matches that first one; I always had to look at that first one from multiple angles to figure the answer out, never getting feedback as to whether my answer was correct. I think the Stanford-Binet test calls it our aptitude for visual-spatial recognition.
Writing this, I was forced to Google what such a spatial-visual deficit was. While, it is too involved to get into, suffice it to say that those with strong spatial-visual skills are often architects, engineers, or carpenters; they can visualize what will be. They cannot, however, find that one necessary receipt in the mess on their desk; they likely would not have a messy desk! I would probably fall into that latter category as my tests and skills suggest--low spatial-visual recognition but I likely could, however, probably hand you that sought-after receipt! This spatial-visual skill is also related to the development of our language skills. Read up if interested.
While I can't do puzzles, I did learn how to produce an audiobook. My first one is for my first book: Mystery at Marian Manor. It's now up on Amazon and Audiobooks. Once I got the hang of how to do it, it was actually fun; I've even started on the next one! The other thing I've been delving into is how to produce ads for my books---marketing---an area I have been avoiding like the plague, or in our case, Covid! It is a challenge.
I'm fascinated with how our brains work and assume, like most factors of our being, that our brains can't be pigeon-holed. Our development as an individual is most likely a mix of many factors! In this past month, I've come across several books that speak to this issue: two non-fiction and one fiction (a mystery).
Sociopath, a Memoir by Patric Gagne (2024) I think I picked this up thinking it would be some kind of mystery. Written by a psychologist, herself, it is an informative look at what it means to be a sociopath, a diagnosis I always associated with criminality. The writer talks about the many stages of her life and her realization very early on that she was somehow different, but not a criminal. She describes sociopathy as being on a spectrum. It was a very good read.
10% Happier by Dan Harris (2019) Written by the former correspondent and host on ABC, this copy was updated after ten years, and again was an interesting look at the challenges of one we might think of as "having it all together." He traces his rise through broadcast journalism with numerous humorous anecdotes about those he met along the way before discovering his path to dealing with the stress of it all---meditation. It's a down-to-earth look at the practice which kind of makes me want to try again!
One of Us Knows by Alyssa Cole (2024) This is a murder mystery, but with a very different slant. The central character has what was once known as a multiple personality disorder; now known as a dissociative identity disorder (DID). It took a chapter or two for me to figure out what was going on, and the personalities in this individual were not always aware of each other; they were often competing for attention, taking turns dictating the chapters. The descriptions of their inner life and how they referred to one another kept me interested, playing alongside the setting in an old castle on its own island in upstate New York, and, of course, murder.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
And if you're looking for a good ghost story, you might enjoy one of my own:
The Ghost of Gresham Green
or
A Haunting on Dunbar Lane
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