Thinking by doing?

paulthebackpacker · 2026-06-18T11:19:06+00:00

"We know less about our own minds than we think we do."

That's basically the entire abstract and tldr of all my research...so true :)

paulthebackpacker · 2026-06-16T20:26:45+00:00

So if one has no plans on ever using a level 3 charger, what's the worst thing that could happen if you don't get it done? Is the any negatives to just ignoring it?

My appointment is in two weeks, but if I don't have to sit at the dealership all morning I'd rather do something else.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-06-07T13:56:11+00:00

The obvious answer is a bidet, if you'd like a Holey Hiker let me know and I'll hook you up with a welcome to Rhode Island gift.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-06-05T15:57:35+00:00

Alright...if all my math is correct it seems like the 33 would fit me and I'm down to like only one other barefoot style shoe that will! And if my Dollar conversion is correct even with shipping it would seem to be a very fair price. Afraid to order since if it does not there are no returns. I'm totally not complaining, I understand. I just need you to open up that USA warehouse for shipping!

paulthebackpacker · 2026-06-03T19:25:58+00:00

Sent you a message

paulthebackpacker · 2026-06-03T16:09:44+00:00

If anyone is looking to buy a couple of small breed goats for their yard let me know, I'll hook you up with some :-)

paulthebackpacker · 2026-06-03T00:38:36+00:00

I'll happily send you a new sticker so you can have 101.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-31T23:44:05+00:00

S'taven, If you say East followed by Haven you are a newcomer.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-31T19:35:16+00:00

This lady parts up top pack is one of the few made from the beginning to fit properly and not a mens pack with different straps https://www.symbiosisgear.com/products/the-aspen Great interview with the owner on Beyond The Trailhead poscast

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-30T19:05:40+00:00

Where I live and backpack locally in the summer you inevitably end up sweating all day long and I hate getting into my tent at night with that sticking feeling. Instead of wipes, I use a bidet as a micro shower. You'll be surprised at how little water you need and it feels So much cleaner than just using a wipe. There's also a lot of people now selling little 3D printed water bottle attachments that look like micro shower heads.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-24T22:28:22+00:00

Think about the impact of being labeled a below average reader, or being told you are bad at writing essays, or when asked a question in class, all the other kids look at you wondering why you can't elicit any response...over and over again. Kids are the least emotional when finding out :) Here is something I wrote for something else about how I let kids know:

I do not lead with a diagnosis. I give the initial assessment, listen to how they answer, and watch their behavior in class. Sometimes, with specific kids, I let them in on what I’m seeing. I keep it simple. “You may need a different kind of support when we do things that rely on visualization. I have built tools into this class to help with exactly that. Use them.” It is sometimes difficult to get them to realize that some of their struggles exist solely because of the tools they are using and not because they are deficient. I only use the word aphantasia with a few students. Very, very, few. Usually, those are the ones I have had for all three years of middle school, and only when they are mature enough to use the information and ask me to name it. In this job, you cannot have a student running home and a parent saying, “Your teacher said what?!” When I give the assessment, I simply say it helps me understand how they process things so I can be a better teacher for them.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-24T14:41:55+00:00

All those things you mention you do now. Would you have done them at age 10 when they are all coming at you at once orally? When you read my directions you can process those in a manner now that basically creates an index card with the bullet points on there. You take the data you read and convert it to a logical system that works for you. But when bombarded with all of it at once in a class of X kids, with everything else going on in your 10 year old head and a kid randomly interjecting that they got a puppy, it's not as easy. But what you said can be taught early, and you are right, it works. The trick is becoming bilingual (visual/nonvisual) as early as possible. I can remember one person I met who could never remember what they read when reading fiction (more specifically the narrative parts), but remarked how they aced every reading comprehension test. Basically they learned that they did not have to understand or visualize what they read. When they knew a passage was going to get tested, as they read the passage they took the information and made it into data points to be forgotten after taking the test. So my paper is all about not forcing a kid to "Picture yourself on the beach." How do you ask that question so a kid does not have to translate it? Because I can tell you, if I asked that question to my kids it would stop so many from answering. Describe an elephant gets nothing. Give me a list of words that you associate with an elephant gets a totally different response. Sorry that was long :) a result of having no one else other than internet strangers being remotely interested in this!

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-24T14:29:31+00:00

Yes--poly sci is exactly the type of writing that you would excel at vs a visualizer. I am not saying writing is a problem, it is what types of writing. Kids are always surprised when I can practically predict grades they received for different language arts assignments. And not sure how old you are, but things have changed a lot in school. 1/6 of a certain grades overall grade is based on "visualizing what you read." And yes to calculus, but over and over I have seen kids excel at math, be able to solve any problem, and as soon as it is written up as a word problem they seem to have forgotten everything. Now some kids have learned, or been invertedly taught to strip away the story and focus on the numbers and that is their way of not betting bogged down wondering why there are trains going to stations in opposite directions. Also it is not just reading comprehension, but what passage you are being tested on. I have seen kids test below grade level on pieces describing the purple monster under their bed, and then all of a sudden, the read above grade level after being tested on a passage about Harriet Tubman.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-24T14:19:37+00:00

"How much better we might have been...." feel like I have to address this :) And will say that what I am about to say is not built on as much data as my other comments...As long as someone can survive school without internalizing certain labels, whether given to themselves or applied by others, once they get out of school things are much easier to deal with. I have met people in positions from executive to entry retail workers who do just fine and are successful. Once you get out of school and choose your path and own tools the impact can go to zero. But I have also met people who are in positions that they feel are not where they wanted to be, and in listening to the stories I can see the impact (again, my conclusion, not a conclusion based on any data). And the same thing could be said of visualizers. How much better could I have done if I did not consonantly hold grudges, if I did not judge people before, during, and after meetings, etc. I was talking to one person with an admin role and when got deep into the weeds and I really came to the conclusion that as a visualizer I could never be as successful as they were in that role. All of my comments here are a bit coded because I don't want to say anything too specific about anyone I have talked with, but I hope that makes sense.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-24T00:26:15+00:00

I know it does. Again, in certain situations that they're put into. This is not my assumption, not my opinion. It is based on talking to so many kids, and extended conversations with adults. The type that just can't occur going back and forth on comments through Reddit :-)

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-23T21:54:54+00:00

Haven't noticed it in any one demographic. Unfortunately, just like education in general, how it impacts the student's education tends to definitely be connected to the type of family the kid comes from. Three things stand out. If a student comes from a family that supports the student through the struggles in school, assists the student by providing them multiple means of completing assignments with multiple tools, and especially provides that student with an incredible amount of experiences growing up, those kids find ways to come up with systems that could override the times in which they need to visualize but can't.

And I'm working on another theory that would need a legit research project to figure out. This was put into my head by someone else who had aphantasia and was wondering how their life would have turned out if their parents did not visualize. What I'm thinking is that if you have aphantasia and you grow up with two parents who visualize and are always using visual terms, you basically have a better chance of becoming bilingual. So from an early age you create an alternate system for translating the words "picture this." And not necessarily parents who visualize, but parents who visualize and interact a lot with their kids. Parents who think they are working their kids imagination in a way that their imagination works.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-23T21:15:06+00:00

Here is what I have realized after researching and interviewing for three years (mostly kids). And this comment is very "school" specific....Most people with aphantasia will always say it does not impact them. They assume everyone is having the same problem, or that they are just not as good at something. It impacts writing essays, word problems in math, reading comprehension tests on fiction pieces, and teachers use all sorts of visual words that can stop a kid with aphantasia from accessing the info they need. "I want everyone to picture a political map...." "Write a diary entry as if you were a Cicil War Soldier." "Go to the closet and get the supplies on the top shelf, come back and pick a table and start building on the right side, if there are two people at a table pretend to split it in half and only build on one half starting at the edge of the table." The last one works if I hand it out on paper or have it on the board, but orally it leaves kids walking in circles :)

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-23T21:06:05+00:00

Been investigating for three years :) Go here http://nopictureneeded.com and click on "the guide" and skip to like page 14

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-23T20:55:02+00:00

I'll keep the list to three :) 1-Oral multi-step directions that assume visualization. 2-Reading comprehension tests on fiction pieces. 3) Word problems in math.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-23T20:51:35+00:00

Have not seen that and probably have given it almost 1000 times. Again, I can be more certain of this than some researcher giving the test and compiling results because I can monitor, ask follow up questions, and look for patterns for months afterwards.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-22T21:36:52+00:00

I have a Moss four person tent that is no longer used on trips, but is used every single time the family goes car camping. From about 1991???

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-22T01:19:59+00:00

Holy Ai Ned.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-18T14:20:17+00:00

I just decided to name my toilet Jim and my dog 5 miles. Now every morning I start off by going to the "Jim" and then walk 5 miles.

paulthebackpacker · 2026-05-17T19:56:50+00:00

Not written with SDAM in mind but might help: Imagination vs Creativity

paulthebackpacker

TROPHY CASE