Weather - hot, cold, wet, fine - it never seems to satisfy everybody. With no real rain for the past month the weather has been incredible. Problem is of course is that we need some good rain, especially in the storage lakes.
Then again we don't have rain these days, Instead we have -
Precipitation (meteorology), rain, sleet, hail, snow and other forms of water falling from the sky.
What happened to good old fashioned rain - in both senses of the word - that is the word rain instead of precipitation and good old wet stuff for a few days.
In a previous blog I mentioned mistakes - is this the best title of the year ?
Actually it is about -
What drives self-justification. The need to justify our actions and decisions -- especially the wrong ones -- is an unpleasant feeling called "cognitive dissonance."
Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs whenever a person holds two cognitions (ideas, attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are psychologically inconsistent, such as "Smoking is a dumb thing to do because it could kill me" and "I smoke two packs a day."
Dissonance produces mental discomfort; people don't rest easy until they find a way to reduce it. In this example, the easiest way for a smoker to reduce dissonance is by quitting. But if they tried and failed they must reduce dissonance by convincing themselves that smoking isn't really so harmful, or that smoking is worth the risk because it helps relaxation or is a slimming device, after all, obesity is a health risk, too.
One experiment discussed is - In the 1950's a social psychologist and two associates infiltrated a group of people who believed the world would end on 21 December. They wanted to know what would happen to the group when (they hoped!) the prophecy failed. The group's leader promised that the faithful would be picked up by a flying saucer and elevated to safety at midnight on 20 December. Many followers quit their jobs, gave away their homes, and dispersed their savings, waiting for the end. Others waited in fear or resignation in their homes.
The prediction from the psychologist was: Those who had not made a strong commitment to the prophecy -- who awaited the end of the world by themselves at home -- would quietly lose their faith. But those who had given away their possessions and were waiting with the others for the spaceship would increase their belief in the leaders mystical abilities. In fact, they would now do everything they could to get others to join them.
When nothing happened, surprise, surprise - the leader had a new vision.
"The world had been spared, because of the impressive faith of our little band. Mighty is the word of God, and by his word have you been saved"
The group's mood shifted from despair to exhilaration. Many of the group's members began calling the press to report the miracle and later tried to convert others to the cause!!
CRAZY!!
