Thursday, December 17, 2015

Church and the Fundamental Attribution Error

Psychology* describes the Fundamental Attribution Error as the error of attributing outcomes to circumstances and the individual in a biased way - with the bias tending to reflect individual self-esteem.  So my failures result from hard times, yours are because you are weak and ineffectual.

We are each others circumstances.

The gospel way, among other things, requires a reversal of the attributive, judging gaze.  Take the log from your own eye; give to (and forgive) others as you do yourself.  This is not a reflex - it is consciously acknowledging the FAE as an enabler of sin, and consciously redirecting that gaze.

In church, we need practices that reflect this reversed gaze and make us the circumstances of other people's best selves.  This means, for example, not frustrating or confusing each other, but listening and accepting as instructive the expectations of others.  It might mean finding some way to engage their bad behaviour that helps them stop it freely, without bad feeling.

*Well, some of it, at the moment.

Friday, December 11, 2015

Wishlisting

A short list of stuff I need or want:

Sound stuff:  too expensive but I don't want to forget it.
Clavia Nord G2 Engine (prefer fully expanded)  ($1500?)
ADAT 8-channel Preamp like Focusrite Octopre  ($600)
Cakewalk Studio ($200)

Screenwriting:
Voucher for review and hosting at blcklst.com ($100 / screenplay)
Voucher for 10+ hours a week.

Weight training:
5kg vanilla whey concentrate from Proteinauthority.com.au  ($130)
weight training belt  ($40-50)

Books I don't have by Gene Wolfe, Alfred Bester, Charles L Harness.
Scifi movies or Film Noir movies I don't have
Season 5 of The Wire in particular.

Renovation tools: A good sander with an effective dust collector, other tools for weatherboard maintenance - e.g. board removing saws, pry bars, etc

Heart rate monitor + other functions thing:
  • Microsoft Band 2 (Basically unavailable)
  • Atlas Wearables Atlas (US $250)
  • Fitbit Charge HR ($180) or Surge ($245)
Many other things received with thanks.