Theory of Mind
People at work irritate me. I like them, but sometimes they irritate me. Why? They talk. Don’t talk while I’m working. WHY must you talk while I’m working?
It occurred to me yesterday that perhaps it is very simple- they don’t know I’m working. They don’t know what I’m doing. My work is primarily mental. I think. Every so often I make something. But first, I think.
Many people I deal with don’t think much while working, or while resting. So when their mouths are quiet their brains are fairly quiet. When they see me doing “nothing”, they believe I am doing “nothing”, although I am usually quite busy mentally when I am silent. In fact, I’m usually working harder when silent and still, than when I’m in action.
I suppose the difficulty is in seeing my behavior not as if it were theirs, but in seeing it as I do and understanding that what goes on in my head isn’t what goes on in theirs.
I thought about my autistic son and pets and other non-speaking beings and how they relate to the world. And how I relate to them. That my dog knows we’re going out if I get the keys, unless I’m just cleaning my purse. Theory of mind and stuff.
They can figure out, by association, what many of my behaviors mean. They cannot get into my head enough to know my intentions- drive, put keys away. Are we going outside when I put on my shoes, or am I just cold? They don’t quite know.
I have a friend who is often displeased with pets and friends. Said friend attributes their behavior to all sorts of things that, to me, make no sense. The problem is the inability to understand that animals have very limited theory of mind. They don’t understand that you don’t want them to pee on the couch or that if they eat your favorite shirt it will hurt you more than if they eat an ugly one.
This person doesnt always get tha other people do not share your mental state. They may be goverened by sets of rules that are entirely different from yours.
I have spent much time with animals and then my son, so I had to learn to see the world as they did. Of course that is impossible, but I tried.Had to understand their behavior. Well, more than that, their motivations and reasoning. WHY do they do or not do certain things?
Of course, if you read here, you’ll notice that all I care about is why anyone does anything. Why accuse people of rape, dance perreo, like Arcangel, enjoy certain perfumes etc..I WANT TO KNOW WHY EVERYONE DOES EVERYTHING!
This all popped in my mind as I watched this video on Wayne&Wax.com. Imagine if you had no idea what music was? If you had no idea what an iPod was. How interesting the girl’s actions are. What is she doing? What has come over her? Is she possessed by spirits? Is she ill or in pain?
I enjoy looking at it as a nonparticipant- meaning I cant hear the music. Because it forces me to focus on her actions and because the cause of them is not immediately evident, because it requires a certain amount of background knowlege- the existence of music,the existence of dance, the existence of ipods,and an understanding of the way iPods and earbuds work- I have to quickly run through a list of causes for her behavior.
The decision is easy to make, and it happens very quickly. But as I make it, if only for a nanosecond, it brings to the forefront of my mind this whole Music Moves People thing. Intriguing, isn’t it? We hear sounds and are compelled to contort ourselves.
Adding more blah blah blah. Someone commented on the weirdness of overdubbed dance videos. I’ll add to that my perceptions. I often say things that are TOTALLY contradictory, but which make sense to me. Doesnt much bug me, it means I have to take the time to examine my beliefs and perceptions.
I am not fond of dubbed movies and videos. In this video, I clearly hear the music but not as “music”. That leads me to question myself- so what do I consider music. In this context, the music being played is so clearly On Top of the action and not a part of it, that I mentally override it. Kinda makes me think of programming. Sure, this fits the definition of music. But when there are 2 contexts- one a dubbed video and one people dancing to music, the stronger definition overrules the weaker.
So I will honestly say, I cant hear the music. Perhaps because as a dancer and an iPod lover, I position myself inside the video as a participant and not on my computer merely watching. And because I listen to most of my music in noisy environments ( music sounds best when driving fast with open windows or at the club) the absence of certain cues- footsteps, breathing, talking,- makes me say “no music”.
I wonder if a person who had never seen a movie would make that distinction, of if it requires an awareness that music is commonly added on TOP of a scene. I mean, and does this get into theory of mind again, would a small child be able to distinguish between the different sorts of music?
Would a child understand that the music he hears in a movie cant be heard by the actors in the movie, but is meant for the audience? Do they know that people in zany slapstick movies dont hear the rapid piano playing.Or that the soon to be victim in a scary movie doesnt know the killer is after her because she cant hear the “scary music”. Does the kid even know that the music is scary music if they haven’t yet been conditioned to associate that music with Bad Things? Does it require awareness of the intent of the filmmaker? “This is the music that signals to us that scary shit is going down”.
In a sense, I guess not because I know that kids and even adults are afraid of scary music in real life. If I heard the Psycho theme playing or some creepy Gothic movie music,and my house were dark. I’d be afraid. I guess its associating fear and that music because they go together and I’ve been conditioned to do so. But also, perhaps a little leakage. A failure to recognize that the scary music is NOT part of the actual burglary and murder or shark attack.
How do you even separate that? 1. Learned associations- When that music plays I will soon see something horrifying. 2. Faulty associations- When that music plays horrifying things are happening.
I dont think I can recall every paying much attention to the distinction I make between different sorts of music. I know that dubbed movies bothers the shit out of me. I strain to hear the actors speaking.
Ah, Im bored and about to finish a Jack Reacher book. This is too much thinking and Im trying to give that up, thinking and all. I love the internets, unlike at school or at work I can just end my writing whenever.
Ciao
I wonder how long I can continue this one post.
I also hate certain remixes and songs that are produced in certain ways. The Charlie Zaa bachata cd sounds SO fake that I cant tolerate it. I cant even pretend that he is singing with the music. I like music that sounds immediate, as if the musicians and singers can hear one another. Even if I know they recorded their parts separately, if it SOUNDS like they didn’t, Im pleased.
Im about to disturb the peace with some reggaeton because I LOVE the sound of music in the environment. Its alive to me when I hear the crickets and wind and cars as I play it. Again, I guess it goes from being sound effect to part of the scene and I like that.
