Repetition - Until You Become Conscious of It

 

When I was a child, deja vu was a common occurrence for me. I would be in a conversation with someone and the scene would be replaying in my head, word for word and action for action. This went on for a few years, until I was about six or seven. I talked about it happening to me to an adult, was told it was not normal and then it slowly stopped except for rare occasions.

When driving became second nature, there were days that turned into several days, when all I would hit was green lights in intersections. Once I became consciously aware of this happening, it would stop and traffic lights would go back to random.

Playing poker at a casino poker room, there were sessions that became automatic. I knew the outcome before the hand was played out. I knew when to press my 'luck', and when to slow down. Once again, when I became conscious of what was happening it all stopped and went back to random action.

The latest is what goes on at the Casino Craps Table. I have observed rhythms or patterns that were fairly consistent from session to session. These same patterns seemed to repeat over and over and over.

I spent many hours devising a strategy to take advantage of these patterns. I went through all the options, racked my brain for problems and off I went to the proverbial races.

At first it was wizardry. I could not believe I was the first person in the world to notice these patterns and take advantage of them. I would make an out of character larger than normal one roll bet, it would hit, the players around me exhaled, and I would get payed. Then it went away. Now it's some crazy random pattern, when I play, so bizarre, the people who appear to be winning, are pulling $100 bills out of their wallets to keep playing.

Our brain is very good at finding patterns, animals and faces in clouds, people watching us in public, repetitive actions that we no longer pay attention to, like the trip to the grocery store. We can check in and be aware or check out. Either way we end up at our destination.

Which leads me to the main point of this note. For several decades, I have believed that our life is a controlled simulation, and as soon as we get a glimpse of it, the algorithm changes to something that seems to be completely random. I'm left wondering if before I noticed, was it really happening or is it my brain looking for patterns?

The 10% Rule Helps Get You Through the Day

 

When I was probably in my thirties, I realized I discovered something interesting about human behavior. I thought of it as the, 10% Rule. Over the years from my limited perspective it seems to be fairly accurate.

The, 10% Rule, is pretty simple. If you think up any common human behavior, around ten percent of the people around you participate in that behavior.

Racism? Around ten percent of people are racist or have racist tendencies.

Cheating Spouses? Once again, at least ten present of people have or will cheat on their spouse.

Thieves? Sure, around ten percent of the people will steal, most only if they think they will not be caught. Some just steal because it is easier than actually earning a living.

Entitlement? Whether you are walking, waiting inline, or driving, about ten percent of the people around feel they are entitled, and cause friction with their behavior among the people around them.

Anger or anger management issues? Once again, it seems about ten percent of the people around me are angry by default or have anger management issues.

The list goes on and on. No matter what behavior you can think of, at least ten percent of the people around you follow that behavior.

There is also the, 'good' 10%. That ten percent of people who have truly admirable behaviors.

Good Samaritans - The ten percent of people who will jump in and help out without being asked.

Volunteers - The ten percent of people who feel strongly enough about a social issue they put themselves where their mouth is. They not only talk the talk, they walk the walk.

It is hard to focus on the outstanding 10%, when every day is bombarded with the ten percent of behaviors we would rather not be exposed to.

It is even more difficult when the liar you know would change their behavior, works at an animal rescue, does Meals on Wheels, or spends time volunteering at another one of hundreds of notable endeavors.

I wish I could get through my day thinking about the great people around me, but being human, I tend to go with the flow, spending part of my day wondering why people have to behave as they do.

We are nothing if not complex. I do like to think we have evolved to where we are now. Maybe in the past, their was no 10%. There was only what people thought they could get away with.