Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> They can't do it?

Usually "can't".  You know how often you go "That's insane! That can't 
possibly work! It's impossible!"   Well, lots of people think that about a 
lot of things.

> I suspect that if they bothered to try, they probably could.

I think you're mistaken about a lot of it.

> That's what I'm saying. To a talented musicial, this isn't that hard. 
> Which fairly clearly demonstrates that I'm not a talented musician.

That's OK. :-)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Insanity is a small city on the western
   border of the State of Mind.

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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Well, maybe. I think we're all in agreement that my life choices thus 
> far pretty much suck.

Have you ever been in jail?  Have you ever accidentally injured someone to 
the extent they'll never get better?  Have you ever been involuntarily 
committed to an insane asylum?  Have you ever been homeless, eating out of 
trashcans?

Don't run yourself down.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Insanity is a small city on the western
   border of the State of Mind.

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nemesis wrote:
> simply in awe with the piano from a very early age 

Oh, and Mozart's first few symphonies were awful, too. :-)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Insanity is a small city on the western
   border of the State of Mind.

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> Lots of people seem to think I'm a really clever guy.
> 
> My interests include such topics as computer programming, cryptology, 
> data compression, digital signal processing, fractals, music theory, 
> artificial intelligence, logic design, and so forth.
> 
> One time, I spent 4 hours shifting algebra, and managed to correctly 
> derive the binomial theorum from first principles. Another time, I sat 
> down and learned to program in PostScript in my lunch break, just for 
> the hell of it.
> 
> Lots of people think I'm clever, but am I?
> 
> My hypothesis: I'm actually not very intelligent at all. But because I 
> have no life and I'm too stupid to get bored, I make up for intelligence 
> by persistence.
> 
> Basically I'm the sort of sad loser who will spend 4 hours trying to 
> work out something, when normal people would give up and go do something 
> productive. If I were *actually* intelligent it would only take 4 
> minutes to work out. I don't think I figure things out more quickly than 
> other people, it's just that I'm too stupid to get bored. My tiny little 
> brain is captivated by irrelevant things like the binomial theorum for 
> hours on end, while any healthy individual would go find something more 
> entertaining.
> 
> In a directly related mannar, I'm beginning to realise that I'm not 
> actually very good at playing music either. Even the simplest keyboard 
> exercises baffle me. It seems that I can play the Widor Toccata, not so 
> much because of my vast skill, but because I've expended a ridiculous 
> amoung of time practising it. A *geniunely* talented musician would 
> probably pick it up in a few minutes. That's why it's marked as only 
> "moderate" difficulty. But it's taken me 9 months so far, and I still 
> haven't mastered it yet.

Yeah, maybe you have a mild form of Savant syndrome...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savant_syndrome
or maybe Asperger's syndrome...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger%27s_syndrome
I wouldn't worry about it too much.
My theory is, if you were really retarded, you'd be much smarter.
There's a good paradox for you.  =)

After you worry about that for a while, you can worry about
actually being too average to matter. There's nothing worse
than unintended mediocrity.

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On Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:46:11 -0700, Darren New wrote:

> nemesis wrote:
>> simply in awe with the piano from a very early age
> 
> Oh, and Mozart's first few symphonies were awful, too. :-)

I rather like K16a, though.  But it is a rare gem out of those early 
works, too.

Jim

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On Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:16:55 -0400, Jim Henderson wrote:

> Well, that's hard to say.  One of the questions that is asked of
> comedians quite frequently (I've heard James Lipton ask it many times on
> Inside the Actor's Studio) is whether comedy is innate or can be
> learned.  The general consensus seems to be that there's something
> innate, and if you don't have it, you can't be an effective comedian.

Thinking about this a bit more, Andy, you would probably benefit (at 
least - you might also find it funny, depending on your sense of humour) 
from watching the episode of Inside the Actor's Studio with Robin 
Williams.  I found it quite funny, but there was a lot in the interview 
(as there is in all episodes of that programme) about taking risks, 
summed up by a question that one of the students asked in the Q&A at the 
end of the episode about how Williams can risk so much.

His answer to that question was fascinating and I think you might find it 
interesting to see someone who arguably has been very successful talk 
about the missteps in his career (yeah, speaking of making bad life 
choices, Williams went through drug rehab - you haven't done that, have 
you?  Talk about life choices that suck, Williams talked about how much 
that sucked and what a bad choice it was) as well as the good stuff.

If you can get the episode in the UK, I highly recommend it.  It is 
available on DVD (I watched it both on TV and the extended version on 
DVD).

Jim

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Darren New wrote:
> Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>> Well, maybe. I think we're all in agreement that my life choices thus 
>> far pretty much suck.
> 
> Have you ever been in jail?  Have you ever accidentally injured someone 
> to the extent they'll never get better?  Have you ever been 
> involuntarily committed to an insane asylum?  Have you ever been 
> homeless, eating out of trashcans?
> 
> Don't run yourself down.

No, but opinion seems unanimous that there are a vast number of simple 
things I could have done different - much for the better. :-/

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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"Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message 
news:4a313b81$1@news.povray.org...
> Darren New wrote:
>> Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>> Well, maybe. I think we're all in agreement that my life choices thus 
>>> far pretty much suck.
>>
>> Have you ever been in jail?  Have you ever accidentally injured someone 
>> to the extent they'll never get better?  Have you ever been involuntarily 
>> committed to an insane asylum?  Have you ever been homeless, eating out 
>> of trashcans?
>>
>> Don't run yourself down.
>
> No, but opinion seems unanimous that there are a vast number of simple 
> things I could have done different - much for the better. :-/

     Jeez. Such as? What was so simple you could have done different in 
life? You chose what you like doing, and that's perfectly fine. It's also 
perfectly fine to change any path in your life, to anything else that you 
might want to follow and might find useful. You just have to do it.

     And anyway, who's opinion? Certainly not mine.

    Seriously, (I've said it before and so have many others), the one thing 
that's holding you back now is living at home. If you can find *anything* 
that's comfortable for you to live in, you will feel so liberated. And 
that's just the start to what I think will be a truly *good* life for you. 
Stay at home, fail.

      ~Steve~


>
> -- 
> http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
> http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> Lots of people seem to think I'm a really clever guy.
>

OFFS!

What does it matter?
Consider the lilies of the field...

Your dumb friend Stephen

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Jim Henderson escreveu:
> His answer to that question was fascinating and I think you might find it 
> interesting to see someone who arguably has been very successful talk 
> about the missteps in his career (yeah, speaking of making bad life 
> choices, Williams went through drug rehab - you haven't done that, have 
> you?  Talk about life choices that suck, Williams talked about how much 
> that sucked and what a bad choice it was) as well as the good stuff.

Man, I hope it was heroin or marijuana, cause Robin Williams is too 
over-the-top without even coffee! :)

I like the guy, sure...

-- 
a game sig: http://tinyurl.com/d3rxz9

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