An Old Joke

I intended this blog to be for posting about math and programming, so forgive me for making a remark about psychoanalysis here, I simply cannot resist it.

Today I was reminded of an old joke in psychoanalysis—the one about a patient who talks to their therapist with such intensity and without pause, that they leave the therapist no time to ask any serious questions which might actually provoke change, because unconsciously, the patient does not truly want change.

In a similar vein, then, what does it mean when a person declares they are setting forth to do something, but they begin to commit too many actions at once, or they run too fast, becoming lost, all the while neglecting to first ask how they got where they are in the first place? And thus having no true sense of awareness of the map—no direction—no arrow of progress.

They are to some extent following a similar structure to the previous joke. That is, burying oneself in virtual efforts, which may provide the illusion that something is changing, while in truth, this is specifically to ensure that nothing changes.

Though I am not expressing an opinion—it is fun to ask—is this not precisely how modern culture and ideology function today?

In a noisy world, I maintain there is still much power in the old cliche about moving slowly, quietly, and deliberately.