The theory is an evolutionary and cognitive explanation of how and why any individual finds anything funny. Effectively, it explains that humour occurs when the brain recognizes a pattern that surprises it, and that recognition of this sort is rewarded with the experience of the humorous response, an element of which is broadcast as laughter.

The theory further identifies the importance of pattern recognition in human evolution:

An ability to recognize patterns instantly and unconsciously has proved a fundamental weapon in the cognitive arsenal of human beings. The humorous reward has encouraged the development of such faculties, leading to the unique perceptual and intellectual abilities of our species.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/ph-maf062708.php

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1. Work as a natural part of life

Don’t know how happened but now I prefer to wake up early and in general to synchronize my active time with the bright daylight time. I definitely get better sleep at night when it’s dark and quiet. And then I feel fresher and more focused when it’s bright and sunny outside. It’s not bright and sunny during the winter but it’s still better. Moreover when I wake up early enough I don’t have to rush for work and my entire day is much less stressful. I do my breakfast, quickly scan the news headlines, go through the bathroom and dress up at a what I’d consider fairly relaxed speed. By the way most of the year I commute to work on a bicycle. This is not only far less stressful than driving but also saves me some time cause I have to go less often to the gym. Actually my situation is a little bit more complicated cause I work in shifts. I’m also on-call some of the nights. And I do my workouts in home without going to the gym… but you get the idea

I think that one of the main reasons the early rising has so positive effect on me is that it gives me enough time to tune up to the coming day and to calibrate my internal clock as well. You know how time flies when we’re busy, but really drags when we’re waiting? By having some free and calm time in the morning, as opposed to rushing through the door ’cause you are late for work, makes a difference to your perception of time for the whole day.

I really find it useful to step back and just look through the window for few minutes every now and then, just to slow down my time perception. It has the added benefit of relaxing my eyes and gives me some rest in general. And if you think that’s too wasteful – think about the time lost in inefficient or ineffective work, useless conversations, procrastination…

In order not to return to my sleep-till-late habit I use alarm even on the days I don’t need to wake up early. On these days I put it a little bit later to allow for 08:30-09:00 hours of sleep. It serves two purposes: on one hand I don’t oversleep and on the other hand if I wake up earlier I don’t have to get out of the bed because it looks like it’s late. I could just lounge till the alarm goes off.

P.S.: There’s a very interesting wikipedia article on the role of melatonin in humans.

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And this reminds me that in one of my recent IELTS lessons there was a text called “The great work myth”. In this text it is argued that the popular belief that the work is killing our marriages, generating stress, depriving children of ‘quality time’ and depressing us is actually nonsense. For the truth is that, as far as work is concerned, we’ve never had it so good.

I think this is very interesting and provoking claim. I’ve thought quite a lot about this topic throughout the years and obviously I’m not the only one who does.

In The Human Side of Enterprise, professor Douglas McGregor advances two theories – Theory X and Theory Y. These two theories set out the two extremes.

Theory X posits that we dislike work and will do whatever we can to avoid it. Therefore, our managers need to coerce, persuade or bribe us to secure our compliance. We want an easy life and prefer direction to thinking for ourselves. We avoid to take responsibility and will blame others for any failings in our organisation or ourselves.

Theory Y, however, assumes that we see work as a natural part of life, so we may as well get the most out of it that we can. We thrive when we feel trusted, and we are willing and able to offer new ideas, think for ourselves, take responsibility and give our commitment.

I’ve seen people and situations which conform to both theories so I can’t take an unequivocal position.

But as a matter of fact work has always had a central place in human life. In earlier times work was an indistinguishable part of life; people did whatever was necessary for their own and their family or community survival. Under the impact of the industrialisation, however, work becomes a more discrete activity. In particular it becomes more separate from it’s product and from the, arguably more important, personal concerns of family, leisure and self-development.

Self-employment is an interesting alternative because it often creates the feeling of more freedom and control over the situation. But in many cases and especially when it comes to small, one man business it might be a false feeling. There’s no one to look after your clients (except your rivals) while you are on vacation or ill.

But anyway, most probably you are going to work more than 18,000 hours in your life time so you’d better like your work…

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1. Life Patterns

If you don’t know what is it – check out http://www.pangeaday.org/. But in a resume:

24 short films have been selected out of 2500 submissions from more than a hundred countries. Starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008, Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast in seven languages through the Internet, television, and mobile phones. There will be parties all around the world and projections in digital cinemas as well.

Find out how to watch Pangea Day.

What are your plans for the day?

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1. Life Patterns

I don’t know what were my readers actually looking for, because the aforementioned expressions may relate to many different things. Nevertheless I looked on teh interwebs to check what’s out there on the subject and that’s what I found:

There is a mathematical game called Game of Life, Life patterns or sometimes simply Life. It’s one of the best known examples of a cellular automaton. The game was devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970. Learn more and try it here.

Then there is this very interesting Life Patterning Exercise by Results in No Time. It looks like a good way to mind map your life in order to create a more clear picture of who and where you are at the moment.

According to Monte Zweben there is marketing practice called Life Pattern Marketing. “Life Pattern Marketing is the practice of placing companies’ brand messages on digital screens and billboards that are located where busy people really are. Digital screens are popping up in great places to reach people, carrying short, punchy brand messages that reach potential customers while they pump gasoline in the morning, while they shop for groceries in the afternoon and while they withdraw money from an ATM in the evening. The key is context.”

On the music front I’m aware of two works that have related titles. One is Life is a Pattern by System of a Down and the other one is the Pattern Life by Despair. I liked the description of Despair from this page: “The heaviest thing in Buffalo, New York, next to the snowfall”.

There is also a book (xpensive!) called The Pattern of Life. According to Wikipedia its author Alfred Adler was an Austrian psychologist and was among the co-founders of the psychoanalytic movement.

So there are plenty of things to be found while searching for “life pattern”

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1. Work as a natural part of life