January 5, 2011 – I had a Wall-E shot in mind but it wasn’t working so I ended up with just the lab equipment instead. These are some teeny tiny beakers, volumetric flasks, and funnels that I used to have sitting at my desk at UBC. The small beakers are about an inch tall. They are adorable they are so small, just look at the volumes!
Magic potions, wonder drugs, Global happiness. There was a story in the news today about the annual “happiness barometer” and Canada apparently ranked 23rd out of 58 ranked. It made me start thinking about personal happiness and wonder why so many people look for answers in books and via other people.
The self help section at any bookstore is inordinately large, and really, the only people to benefit from these books are the publishers. But what a lucrative industry, and one that exploits the very people it purports to help.
And then there is the human version of the self-help manual, the Dr. Phil types, with big, freaky, false smiles that smack of some weird cult. I saw Up With People in high school, and a friend once dragged me to Billy Graham (if I wasn’t an atheist before I went into that coliseum I sure was when I came out!!) and ever since then motivational groups/networks/individuals strike me as moderately nuts, and their strange “come join us and be a better person for it.. here’s how much it will cost though” mantra always seems like a mechanism to addict people to a mental high that needs constant feeding. There is definitely a similarity to religion – a figurehead, the ‘sermon’ that seeks total buy-in in order to achieve some “higher plane” of intellectualism/self worth/happiness. They assure you that you are better, smarter, more in touch with yourself, more fulfilled, than those who haven’t ‘experienced’ the enlightenment (insert whatever word a particular group chooses here). Just as in religion, the ‘seekers’ gain some feeling of moral high ground over non-participants. Converts try to convince you that you should join in, share the wonderful discoveries. All the touching, hugs, hand-holding, emotional purging, crying-with-happiness-because-you’ve-found-some-new-resonant-plane. It’s just too cultish, all that’s missing is the purple kool-aid. I suppose they appeal to people with low self-esteem because they seem so inclusive. I’m an atheist, and therefore I am skeptical by nature and I don’t buy into these weird group ‘cult’ures either. Saves me a lot of heartache and money. And no, I don’t feel I am missing out on anything because I have some really wonderful and down-to-earth friends.
Probably a small percentage of information in these books and sessions is relatively worthwhile, but it’s also just basic common sense – take personal responsibility, don’t look for a place to lay blame, pick yourself up, and keep moving forward.
Some people really do need help with their difficulties, and there are highly educated and well trained therapists with valid degrees who understand the human mind and the biology behind many conditions. But for someone who has good marketing sense, it’s a gold mine to capitalize on the portion of the population that is either narcissistic and needs stroking, or those who really do need some help but fall into a cycle of looking for it in the wrong places because they lack self esteem, are depressed, or are down on their luck. I just see it as a way to make money by exploiting other people’s weaknesses, fears, and self doubts.
Just some random thoughts based on today’s news and a video shared by George Stroumboulopoulos, and as one reader commented “At the end of the day a book won’t fix you. You can read thousands but as soon as you put the book down, the rest is up to you..“
When I look at these adorable little pieces of labware they make me smile. Not just because they are so darned cute, but because they remind me of that wonderful group of people that developed at UBC over the years. Some fell away and disappeared, some turned out to be less friend than I imagined them to be, not surprising considering the number of us that went through that lab. But some of those people I am so gifted to still consider family. And that makes me very happy.
Definitely not a ‘Mad’ Scientist 🙂
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