The Centipede's Dilemma

I had a free moment today, and decided to take a look at Dad's Spiral Notebook, a blog of sorts I started a week or so ago. Admittedly, I'm probably the most prolific reader of my own blog; now over two years old, I look back on some of those old entries, and realize I wrote some pretty good sh!t.

But with Dad's Spiral Notebook, it's a bit different - the text isn't mine; in fact, the content isn't even by the person who wrote it all down. Sadly, that information has otherwise been lost. For all I know, many of the entries may be by the ubiquitous Anonymous.

OK, so I only wrote transcribed those entries on DSNb just a short time ago, but I was only transcribing, not really thinking about the actual content.

So it was during that moment today that I did a search for the first line of today's entry:

A centipede was happy quite,
Until a frog in fun
Said, "Pray, which leg comes after which?"
This raised her mind to such a pitch,
She lay distracted in the ditch
Considering how to run.

I wasn't terribly surprised to find that first line, since wherever it was copied from had to have been popular at some time. What I was not expecting was a search match at Wikipedia. It turns out that some of the stuff in Dad's Spiral Notebook is quite profound, including today's entry.

Known as "The Centipede's Dilemma", it is "...a concept related to cognitive behavior theory that describes a way of confusing someone who was self-taught. It involves forcing an individual to think about the steps involved in performing a task that he or she does intuitively, rendering the individual incapable of performing the task in question. The mental block that the Centipede's Dilemma creates is usually temporary. If a task or action can be taught, then it can be understood, and thus a process one has previously performed intuitively can be learned consciously, removing the mental block."

Wow.

Dad's Spiral Notebook may just be the blog I read on a daily basis...

That Notebook Project

So I've started this here "Dad's Spiral Notebook" project, and didn't really realize the length of it all. I did count out all the entries, and it looks like I won't be done with it until well into Spring.

Yes, typing it all in is tedious, but what isn't apparent - to you, the reader - is how awesomely cool the original is. As I'm in California, and for once didn't bring my camera, I haven't yet accomplished the "other" part of the project: photos of each individual page. WRITTEN IN LONGHAND. It's only then that one realizes how truly neat it was that this woman copied down all these things for my Dad.

It was posited that she may have had a similar notebook, compiled by and in the hand of my Dad. Don't know. In fact, I don't even know where it may have been compiled. California? South Dakota? Somewhere else entirely?

Hey, internet! Where's Jess Nolan?

I've thus far transcribed up until January 1, 2011. A little bit at a time.

Enjoy the ride.

Dad's Spiral Notebook

I'm writing a new blog.

Wait, that's not entirely true. "Dad's Spiral Notebook" refers to a little notebook, from the late 1930's or early 1940's. As it had been in his possession, I refer to it as such. Now that it's in my possession, it could just as easily be referred to as mine. But that's not the point.

Written in "Dad's Spiral Notebook" is a collection of poems and prose. But they were not written by my Dad, rather, they were written for my Dad.

I know only the name of the person who filled that little notebook chock-full of love. I can only guess that this is the reason someone so painstakingly wrote down all that is contained in the notebook, if only for the following, which is at the end:

"Wally - Thank you again, for inspiring me to look up, and read, and copy, all these lovely verses etc. Reading them, and putting them down for you, has helped me too. This time, I saw them through different eyes. LOVE YOU, JESS NOLAN."

No, I don't know who Jess Nolan was. Wally - Wallace - was my Dad. Since there's never any mention of her past this notebook, I can only guess she was more keen on my Dad than vice versa.

Anyway, I've begun transcribing the notebook in another place - dadsspiralnotebook.blogspot.com - you can find the entries there. I'll be putting down each of the entries once per day until I come to the end. Unlike most blogs, this will have an end, I'm afraid. At least these entries will be around for longer than this little book will surely last.

That's the point. Enjoy the ride.