A poem and a dream

Recently, a journalist in analysis had a dream that stimulated the writing of a poem, the two psychic products occurring no more than a few hours apart. Since the analysand had copious free associations to both products, believing both to be culled from the same unconscious raw material, an interesting study of an act of aesthetic creation almost in statu nascendi became possible. A concept called poem work is entertained in this paper and is compared and contrasted with the classical psychoanalytic concept of dream work, allowing some unanswerable questions to be posed and discussed in regard to the formal constitutive elements of poetry.     

The neurology of ambiguity

One of the primordial functions of the brain is the acquisition of knowledge. The apparatus that it has evolved to do so is flexible enough to allow it to acquire knowledge about unambiguous conditions on the one hand (colour vision being a good example), and about situations that are capable of two or more interpretations, each one of which has equal validity with the others. However, in the latter instance, we can only be conscious of one interpretation at any given moment. The study of ambiguity thus gives us some insights into how activity at different stations of the brain can result in a micro-consciousness for an attribute, and also tell us something about interactions between different cerebral areas that result in several potential micro-conscious correlates, though only one predominates at any given time. Finally, the study of ambiguity also gives us insights into the neurological machinery that artists have tapped to create the ambiguity that is commonly a hallmark of great works of art.     

The military chaplain: a study in ambiguity

This article looks at the ambiguities in the role of the military chaplain from three points of view. The first considers the nature of the constituency within which the chaplain ministers, paying particular attention to the degree – or otherwise – of secularisation and the reasons for this. The second examines the role of the chaplain in relation to the two institutions which he or she serves (i.e. church and state) and the tensions that emerge as a result. These are articulated in terms of ‘an angle of eschatological tension’. The third is concerned with ‘the roles within the role’ – that is the variety of tasks that make up the role of chaplaincy and the degree to which these are compatible with each other. The significance of theology in the resolution of the ensuing issues is set against diminishing societal resources in terms of religious literacy.     

和谐诗

和字一口在右边,谐字左边有一言;和谐好比人两个,促膝而坐畅心谈;和有不解开口问,谐以坦诚说因缘;谐有不明来告白,和以和气讲渊源;和谐真诚相对话,消除偏见与争端;和谐平等相对待,终成朋友义相连;和谐精神应效法,秉持尊重与包含;一慈二俭三谦让,清心寡欲不争先;人身和谐体康健,     

道教内丹诗歌的美学鉴赏

内丹诗是描写道教内丹修炼过程和内丹体验的诗歌,作为一种宗教诗歌,它虽然承载着丰富的宗教内容,但决不只是表现宗教内容的符号,同时也具有诗歌自身独特的审美价值.     

Attributions for ambiguity in a treatment-decision context can create ambiguity aversion or seeking

The phenomenon of ambiguity aversion suggests that people prefer options that offer precisely rather than imprecisely known chances of success. However, past work on people's responses to ambiguity in health treatment contexts found ambiguity seeking rather than aversion. The present work addressed whether such findings reflected a broad tendency for ambiguity seeking in health treatment contexts or whether specific attributions for ambiguity play a substantial role. In three studies, people choose between two treatment options that involved similar underlying probabilities, except that the probabilities for one option involved ambiguity. The attributions offered for the ambiguity played an important role in the results. For example, when the range of probabilities associated with an ambiguous treatment was attributed to the fact that different studies yield different results, participants tended to show ambiguity aversion or indifference. However, when the range was attributed to something that participants could control (e.g., regular application of a cream) or something about which they were overoptimistic (e.g., their immune system function), participants tended to show ambiguity seeking. Health professionals should be mindful of how people will interpret and use information about ambiguity when choosing among treatments.     

重阳真人师徒词的特色

近来,浏览了词学家唐圭璋编的《全金元词》中的全真道士词,重点读了重阳真人及其七位高弟的一些词。在阅读过程中,觉得这些词作从艺术形式到思想内容,都与一般词人的词作有所不同,而具有其特色。词的艺术形式方面的特色一、喜用旧词取新名。如重阳词:《瑞鹧鸪》取名《报师恩》(以下去掉书名号,“取名”二字用“改”字代之)。卜算子改黄鹤洞中仙、蓦山溪改心月照云溪、秦楼月改蓬莱阁、韵令改三光会合、系裙腰改玩系云腰(以下改名相同的不录)。马丹阳词:双雁儿改化生儿或雁灵妙方、长相思改长思仙、白鹤子改白观音、海棠春改神清秀、浪淘沙改…     

The communicative function of ambiguity in language

We present a general information-theoretic argument that all efficient communication systems will be ambiguous, assuming that context is informative about meaning. We also argue that ambiguity allows for greater ease of processing by permitting efficient linguistic units to be re-used. We test predictions of this theory in English, German, and Dutch. Our results and theoretical analysis suggest that ambiguity is a functional property of language that allows for greater communicative efficiency. This provides theoretical and empirical arguments against recent suggestions that core features of linguistic systems are not designed for communication.     

The self-protective and undermining effects of attributional ambiguity

Two experiments assessed the self-protective and undermining effects of attributional ambiguity. Both studies utilized immersive virtual environment technology to achieve otherwise difficult manipulations of stigma. In Experiment 1, White and Latino participants were either stigmatized (represented as Latino) or not (represented as White) and given negative leadership performance feedback. Afterwards, stigmatized participants reported higher well-being and attributed negative feedback more to discrimination than nonstigmatized participants. In Experiment 2, Latinos represented veridically showed self-protective effects after receiving negative leadership feedback. Additionally, this experiment revealed undermining effects of attributional ambiguity such that those participants represented as Latino discounted positive feedback and reported lower well-being. Thus, attributional ambiguity of stigmatized individuals (real or induced) buffered well-being in the face of negative feedback but undermined the well-being effects of positive feedback.