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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (140280)	7/14/2004 4:18:38 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Respond to of 281500

<After a while I figure that I might as well go and have a game of golf. > I just realized [having a quick review of that post] that playing golf is a good way to get thinking. Unfortunately, it's right there on the downswing where thinking comes in, uninvited, and ruins the shot by the mind going awol right when focus should be exclusively on the ball, with nothing going on in one's mind. Any stupid little distraction or even just thinking about not having a distraction does the damage. ADHD is the problem. Maybe I should try Ritalin. Then anything could happen on the downswing and I'd stand right there, mentally focused on exactly what I'm doing, without any little things flickering through my mind. Maybe a brain like Clinton's would work. Able to do two things at once, like talking on the phone and thinking about that, while simultaneously enjoying Monica's ministrations. Thinking on the downswing didn't used to be such a problem as far as I can recall. Maybe the more precise the golf, the more the tiniest distraction matters. Yakking on the cellphone is no problem on a freeway, casually cruising along, one finger on the steering wheel. But when too much goes on, there are children on the road, intersections, driveways, bicycles and overtaking traffic, nice views and nagging back-seat driver to contend with and the cellphone is ringing, some mental load-shedding is needed to maintain mental focus on the road, instead of the disembodied voice coming through the cellphone, and a double grip on the steering wheel feels better. At night, or on long, boring trips, it's safer to be on the cellphone than just driving, as that'll keep the driver awake and they won't crash! Focus on the cellphone conversation will avoid more dangerous visual distractions such as looking at the view, or the radio dial, or reading a newspaper, or going to sleep. The eyes will be on the road and the ears on the cellphone. People mistakenly think it's holding a cellphone that is the problem. It's not. It's the mental distraction. Try driving while talking on the cellphone, even handsfree! The ball will go flying off in the wrong direction or be missed altogether. That's why buses used to have signs "Do not converse with driver while bus is in motion". Sometimes it's okay to talk and listen while driving, sometimes it's not. There shouldn't be a law. Drivers should use their judgment, just as they do when deciding how fast to go around a corner. There are too many laws. My concern about the New United Nations is that when it finally is decided that it's a good idea, people will go nuts and invent millions of laws to suffocate everyone. Maybe I should shut up about the NUN and stick with politicians fighting each other over national borders - it keeps them off my back while they are busy with other things. A stupid NUN rule would be that it's universally illegal to walk and talk at the same time. Or to talk while somebody is driving [though on the golf course, we could have that rule]. Mqurice PS: No, I haven't considered writing for a paper. I just enjoy ranting here. If some people enjoy it, that's good.