Trying to Overload My Brain
This unexpected time of unemployment has made me get a bit overzealous about that long list of "things I'd do if I just had the time." Of course my house is already clean. Once that was done, the next step was to short-circuit my brain with too much information by reading to death. I noticed as I continue to read that I'm not remembering as much as I typically would if I focused on one subject, but I'm rotating between four and reluctant to give any of them up at all.
First topic, as you know: learning French. As I predicted, I'm finding it MUCH easier to read and write than to speak it. It's a slow, snail's pace, but I've learned a little and feel confident to learn more by the time the fall term starts up again.
Second topic: wine. My parents were always wine lovers, and they raised me to enjoy them. However, other than a few odd facts and pieces of knowledge, I really don't "know" enough about something I enjoy so much. I am reading this facinating book called Making Sense of Wine by Matt Kramer. He goes into great depth on how wines were once made and how they are now made in modern times...I love it! He goes into great detail about some of the chemistry and reactions, though, and my brain is resisting remembering those details. It screams at me, "Just remember that you need yeast for fermentation, and that yeasts have different flavors in different areas, and sometimes can impart slightly different flavors...drop the rest, idiot!" But but but I WANT to remember!
Third topic: food. That one's a constant. I am considering picking out a cookbook and working my way through it, cooking every item in it every other night until I'm done. I read an interesting article once written by this woman who did that with one of Julia Childs' cookbooks, and I found it facinating. Meanwhile, I have to read the contenders over and over again to decide, right? RIGHT?
Fourth topic: French culture and history. It's hard to understand some of the way their country is structured because it's so different from the US' setup. But I need to learn all about the love of my life's lands, right? Plus, it's all just so damned facinating. I could pick up a book on ANY culture different from America's and find it intriguing.
So my mind resists. It protests. It tells me, stop stop stop too much, too much!
I read an article that showed research that a woman's brain loses an average of 12 IQ points after having kids. I'm wondering if in my case it's the "memory" portion of my brain that went bye-bye. Still, I need to enjoy my summer...and learning is fun to me...so we'll just let my brain stay fried!
First topic, as you know: learning French. As I predicted, I'm finding it MUCH easier to read and write than to speak it. It's a slow, snail's pace, but I've learned a little and feel confident to learn more by the time the fall term starts up again.
Second topic: wine. My parents were always wine lovers, and they raised me to enjoy them. However, other than a few odd facts and pieces of knowledge, I really don't "know" enough about something I enjoy so much. I am reading this facinating book called Making Sense of Wine by Matt Kramer. He goes into great depth on how wines were once made and how they are now made in modern times...I love it! He goes into great detail about some of the chemistry and reactions, though, and my brain is resisting remembering those details. It screams at me, "Just remember that you need yeast for fermentation, and that yeasts have different flavors in different areas, and sometimes can impart slightly different flavors...drop the rest, idiot!" But but but I WANT to remember!
Third topic: food. That one's a constant. I am considering picking out a cookbook and working my way through it, cooking every item in it every other night until I'm done. I read an interesting article once written by this woman who did that with one of Julia Childs' cookbooks, and I found it facinating. Meanwhile, I have to read the contenders over and over again to decide, right? RIGHT?
Fourth topic: French culture and history. It's hard to understand some of the way their country is structured because it's so different from the US' setup. But I need to learn all about the love of my life's lands, right? Plus, it's all just so damned facinating. I could pick up a book on ANY culture different from America's and find it intriguing.
So my mind resists. It protests. It tells me, stop stop stop too much, too much!
I read an article that showed research that a woman's brain loses an average of 12 IQ points after having kids. I'm wondering if in my case it's the "memory" portion of my brain that went bye-bye. Still, I need to enjoy my summer...and learning is fun to me...so we'll just let my brain stay fried!
posted by Kira | 8:06 AM
4 Comments:
Sounds to me like that research was based on a measurement. You HAVE to be smarter once you become a parent, else you'll never survive it. I believe the data collection tool they were using just asked the wrong questions. =o)
By the way, you inspired me to subscribe to Gourmet magazine. It was reading about how much you love cooking that made me decide I want to take it to the next level too. (Also all those wonderful photos from France to which you and Alex provided links!) I can't wait to get my first issue...
That should read "faulty" tool for measurement.... I don't know how I thought that was typed correctly. Maybe your IQ drops when your children become teenagers who IM you constantly while you're working.
Angie, unfortunately I was reading something like the Newsweek review of the research rather than the actual research paper, so I don't know the exact specs of the study. I think that after you have kids you have less time for intellectual growth (plenty of time for emotional growth, however!), so it *might* be true. It just wouldn't be true for somebody like you who is constantly exercising her brain in her PhD program.
Gourmet is a good magazine, but if you haven't already subscribed, I prefer Bon Appétit. It has more recipes in it than the other cooking magazines. I also enjoy or enjoyed Food and Wine, but when I had to cut back to only one magazine in my life, I went to Bon Appétit!
Amanda, unfortunately the wine book was obtained through the library. Otherwise, I think that'd be a great trade! You might want to check out your local library for it? Or does Anderson's library suck? I got mine at the Easley library (new, beautiful, and well-stocked!).
Like the new profile drawing! Very nice!
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