A couple of issues surfaced for me in Paul Bloom's TED Talk about "The Origins of Pleasure". He is a psychologist and I'm always been interested in their perspectives on me and my brain, as well as their views on the mind of others.
First, Bloom tells quite a story about why art collectors want the original of something even when a forgery is identical. It made me think about the debate in the publishing industry right now and the small war going on between those traditionally published and those independently published. The innate value and the historical origins are being questioned. What I create--my books or my "art"--is on the table. The curators of originality and "essentialism" as Bloom calls it are what is changing for me. Now instead of the acquiring editor/agent/publisher who says this is not valuable, I choose to let my readers determine it.
After watching this talk, I also understand a little more why I chose to write about artists in my second series. I believe after I finished the Never Too Late Series, I developed a comprehension that I was an artist for the first time in my life. It still feels strange to think of what I do that way.
The second thing that captured my thinking was near the end of the talk where Bloom makes the correlation between how our minds determine how much something pleases us or how much something pains us. He closes with a quote from Milton about how our minds create our own Heaven and Hell which I always suspected was true for most people. If you are seeking peace, I think the biggest favor you can ever do for yourself is to learn not to take everything that displeases you as something done to hurt you personally. More often than not, I think the "people in the other room" don't know they are pushing the button. It's like the car that cuts you off and goes on. Does that person stay upset? Unlikely. Why should you then? Move on quickly, vote for people who increase traffic monitoring, and save your pain response for bigger things.
The actual talk is only for the first 16 minutes.
Where I get to talk about romantic comedy, writing, books, and life
3 comments:
I really enjoyed that TED video, Donna. I've seen several of these on TED and always love them. And, I loved LOVED your analogy to our writing. Why do books written by people who have agents and editors and the BIG 6 publishing houses seem to be more worthwhile reading than a $4.99 e-book put out by a small e-book publisher?
Patricia, to answer your comment I will cite the authenticity of my readers. March 12 will be my one year anniversary since first becoming self-published. When I started, I was a complete unknown in my genre and didn't really know if anyone would be interested or not. Now I am known. I come up in Google searches and I continue to sell. I owe all of what I have achieved in author recognition to readers who recommend me to friends and others. There is never a moment that I don't appreciate that fact.
I will be the first person to admit that when I started I didn't have the budget to do the publishing as well as the traditional presses. My work was a diamond that still looked like coal. At this point my books are still not perfect, but the quality is improving with each one. I strive for it. I recently learned to produce more nicely formatted files. All the improvements are for the benefit of readers who keep buying.
I like to think of myself as an original, someone readers might want to collect. LOL.
Only time will show what will happen in the industry.
Excellent Video. I'm going to play it for my students in my college class because it will go along with what their learning Art Appreciation.
There's a book by by Anne Moir and David Jessel titled Brain Sex you may want to check out of the library. It's very interesting because it focuses on the differences between men and women.
So glad I stopped by.
Teresa R.
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