Because I've been studying dreams since I was a boy, every now and then I think it's time for me to write my own book about dreams. But each time that happens I immediately think of psychologist Robert L. Van de Castle’s monumental book, Our Dreaming Mind and I discard the thought. It’s a book … Continue reading Dreams | Robert L. Van de Castle – Our Dreaming Mind |all you wanted to know about dreams and more
Rescuing Fiction |The 10 shyest novels of all time
Yes, these are the 10 shyest novels of all time - according to me. Since there were over 25,000 novels written in the 19th century alone, and I haven’t read more than 150 of them, along with, maybe, 500 from the 20th and 21st centuries, whose novels no one has tried to count as far … Continue reading Rescuing Fiction |The 10 shyest novels of all time
Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World
Given how insensitivity is running rampant around the world now, I think its time to take another look at the Highly Sensitive Person, or HSP. When I say running rampant, just look around you. People get promoted in corporations by being insensitive to those who get in their way. Others gain fame by trampling the … Continue reading Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World
Psychologist Philip Zimbardo’s warning about Incels and/or Shy Loners
Writing since the 1970s, Philip Zimbardo is one of the few psychologists who has devoted much of his career to shyness. In a Mar 31, 2016 post in Psychology Today, "The New Shyness -How virtual reality has made social Isolation more seductive than ever before", Zimbardo provided a very interesting update. He says shyness is … Continue reading Psychologist Philip Zimbardo’s warning about Incels and/or Shy Loners
Writing Fiction | Good and bad titles
One afternoon some years ago I was driving through the spring countryside with my 90 year-old mother when she announced that she had just finished reading my new novel, The Birdcatcher. That was no mean feat, given that she was already going blind and could only read with a small magnifier and her face almost … Continue reading Writing Fiction | Good and bad titles
Paranormal World | God likes Tolstoy more than me
There is a type of paranormal phenomena that no one seems to talk about anymore, maybe because it's so difficult to talk about. Here is an example. One night I was having a discussion with my adult daughter about the lamentable lack of interest in literature today, especially among young men. I was referring not … Continue reading Paranormal World | God likes Tolstoy more than me
Shyness | What does a loner know?
My perspective on shyness is different because it's the perspective of a loner. During my life I've often been called shy, sensitive, or introverted. But several people, at different times, have also told me that I was the most independent person they had ever met. Well, that strong independence is genetic. It's common on both … Continue reading Shyness | What does a loner know?
Shyness vs Everything else |the problem with diagnoses
When I was a boy, I was intensely shy, more avoidant than anyone else I met then in any of the schools I attended. No one in the working-class neighborhood of the North-American steel town where I grew up had heard of 'autism', but my behavior fit autism pretty well. If I got myself assessed … Continue reading Shyness vs Everything else |the problem with diagnoses
Rescuing Shyness|Why being a loner may be good for your health
The above refers to a Feb 28/2018 “Best of BBC Future” post by Christine Ro. After acknowledging that there has been a lot of research into the negative psychological effects of 'social isolation' (for example, the Royal College of General Practicioners in the UK say that research has found loneliness to have a risk level … Continue reading Rescuing Shyness|Why being a loner may be good for your health
Alan Conrad 