How Have You Been Wired?

wiring

Over the last decade or so there seems to have been a never ending supply of TV talent shows which prove that yes, Australia’s definitely got talent, but we’ve also got a lot of people who have absolutely no idea that they’re completely lacking in any musical ability whatsoever.

We love the back stories of those who’ve done it tough, the very young, the very old, the very unlikely who have all stepped up to audition and amazed us. We’ve wondered how such talent has remained hidden for so long.

On the other hand, we’ve been gobsmacked by the many who turn up with no clue that the only reason the producers have put them through to the television auditions is so that we can all laugh at their expense. That’s one of the grubby sides of reality television. Maybe that’s an idea to be explored at another time.

We’re all wired so differently.

No matter how much we wish we had a specific set of skills, sometimes we’re just wired for something else and if we spend our lives wishing for the skills or talents we see in others, we’re destined for an unhappy life. Even worse, we never get to develop the skills and talents God has wired into us.

I remember many years ago talking to an old family friend who knew that one member of my family was interested in radio. She thought it was one of my brothers. I found that quite amusing. I could never imagine him wanting to work in radio.

That got me thinking. How is it that five siblings, brought up in the same home, could all go on to lead such different lives? Sure, there are lots of similarities between the siblings, but there are also some big differences.

The thought of being a high school maths teacher leaves me cold but one of my brothers has been doing just that for more years than I can remember and he’s great at it. I have a brother who’s been involved in youth work for many years. I’d make a mess of that but my brother does it brilliantly. My sister was a nurse and another brother has worked in a range of industries that I could never master.

How is it that we are all wired so differently?

I am constantly amazed at seeing people derive such great job satisfaction from a range of jobs that would send me crazy. We are all so incredibly different.

I love what I’m doing and I’m more than happy that God wired me the way he did to enjoy the various jobs I’ve had over the years. I’m also glad that he wired others to be technical geeks, cleaners, carpenters, builders, doctors, pilots, fence installers, gardeners and so on.

David wrote the following in the Psalms.

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvellous–how well I know it.”

I reckon it’s time we stopped wishing we were knit together like those we see around us or those on the telly, and start living out the marvellous workmanship of God in our own lives. We need people around us who can gently tell us when we’re trying to be something we’re not and can celebrate the direction we should be going.



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Does your musical taste define you?

sheet-music

If you’ve been in the workforce for any length of time you’ve probably taken a myriad of personality and work style tests. There are tests such as Myers Briggs, Strengths Finder, Big Five Factors and many others designed to help us understand ourselves better.

Now comes a new idea in determining the kind of person we are. The Public Library of Science has recently released their research on musical preferences and personality type. In an article titled, Musical Preferences are Linked to Cognitive Styles, they suggest that there are strong links between what’s on our stereo and the kind of people we are.

Why do we like the music we do? Research has shown that musical preferences and personality are linked, yet little is known about other influences on preferences such as cognitive styles. To address this gap, we investigated how individual differences in musical preferences are explained by the empathizing-systemizing (E-S) theory.

Reporting on the study for ABC Science, Bianca Nogrady highlighted the key findings of the research.

Their work shows people who are more empathetic — have a greater ability to identify, predict and respond to the emotions of others — are drawn to more mellow, sad, poetic and sensual music, such as R&B, adult contemporary and soft rock.

However people with more analytical tendencies (called ‘systemisers’) go in the opposite direction, seeking punk, heavy metal, avant garde jazz and hard rock.

“Systemising … is this drive to look at patterns and deconstruct and analyse the rules in the world,” says lead author David Greenberg, psychology PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge.

“So if you’re looking at a mountain, you’re curious about how the mountain is formed and how it’s developed over a period of time, [while] an empathiser may focus more on the aesthetics of it or the feeling of awe.”

The study emerged from an ongoing effort to understand why people like the music they do; why some people love the music of Joni Mitchell while others can’t stand it. – ABC Science

The studies are quite extensive and worth reading through but I’m left with the bigger question of what my musical taste might be saying about me.

Considering my iPod has music from a wide range of genres, from rock to jazz to very mellow, I’m confused as to where I fit. Does my eclectic taste mean that I have elements of both the empathiser and the systemiser or does it mean I’m neither? Does the fact that I’m even asking these questions mean that I lean more towards one than the other?

What do you think? According to the study are you an empathiser or a systemiser? Does the study seem to fit with your experience? I’ve love your input.



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What Programmes Our Personalities?

mainboard.jpgHave you got what it takes?

That’s the question being asked in advertising trying to attract Western Australians to train as teachers.

You know something? I don’t have what it takes. I could never be a teacher. That’s not how I’m wired. I’m very happy that some people are wired that way and I have a real respect for those who choose teaching as a profession but it’s not something I could ever do or be.

When I saw the advertisement on television this evening I was reminded of a post I wrote almost three years ago titled How are you wired?

In the post I recounted catching up with an old neighbour. Until I was 16 our family lived in a house in the Perth suburb of Scarborough. The Browns were on one side of us and the Johnsons were on the other. Glenys Johnson heard me on 98.5 Sonshine FM during my regular weekday morning radio programme. She wondered if I was the boy she knew years ago so she rang up and asked if I’d ever lived in Colin Road. From there we chatted about families and old neighbours.

At one point, Glenys said that she knew that one of us Olsens was interested in radio back then. She thought it might have been Erik, one of my brothers. “Erik?” I could never imagine Erik wanting to work in radio.

That got me thinking. How is it that the five Olsen kids, brought up in the same home, could all go on to lead such different lives? Sure, there are lots of similarities between the siblings, but there are also some big differences.

The thought of being a high school maths teacher leaves me cold but my brother Chris has been doing just that for more years than I can remember and he’s great at it. Why would a guy in his late-forties still want to be involved in youth work? I could never do that but Erik does a fantastic job working with young people.

My eldest brother trained as a fitter and turner and is now working in a management job and my sister was a nurse. All such different job choices and not one that I’d choose for myself, despite all growing up with the same parents in the same home.

How is it that we are all wired so differently?

I am constantly amazed at seeing people derive such great job satisfaction from a range of jobs that would send me crazy. We are all so incredibly different.

I love what I’m doing and I’m more than happy that God wired me the way he did to enjoy working in radio. I’m also glad that he wired others to be technical geeks, cleaners, carpenters, builders, doctors, pilots, fence installers, gardeners and so on.

How about you? How differently are you wired to those around you? Are you currently working in the job that you’re wired to do? What are some of the jobs that you see others enjoying but know you could never get excited about?



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The iPod Personality Test

Self confessed ‘thirty something geek’ Riayn, isn’t quite convinced by the Sydney Morning Herald article, You show me your iPod, I’ll show you mine.

It claims that your iPod playlist tells others a lot about the kind of person you really are. I thought it just said a lot about your musical taste.

Riayn’s post The iPod – a window into the soul? questions the notion that your musical tastes define you and give an indication of the sort of person you should be dating.

So, what do you think your musical taste tells others about you?

I’ve just looked at the last ten songs that my iPod Mini played on shuffle. What do you think it says about me?

1. I Get Along Without You Very Well – Diana Krall
2. Only the Good Die Young – Billy Joel
3. What’s Happened to You – The Call
4. Easy On Your Own – Australian Crawl
5. Narrow Daylight – Diana Krall
6. Drive-In Saturday – David Bowie
7. I Don’t Care About the Past – The Senators
8. The Language of Life – Everything But The Girl
9. In The Echo Chamber – Hoodoo Gurus
10. Frozen River – Everything But The Girl

If you’ve got a music player that you can set to play randomly you might like to let me know your last ten songs.



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