# Are my eyes going? Or is it my mind?



## Ray (Nov 13, 2012)

Sheesh. It happens again and again.

I see the thread entitles "Shiva Collage" and wonder about having enough cash to provide a college endowment....

Then there are posts by "Central NY" Charles, and I wonder why his moniker is "cycnoches"?

And I swear I haven't (always) been drinking!


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## Paul Mc (Nov 13, 2012)

LOL!!! You're not the only one! Actually, it's because of this post I just realized Charles name on here isn't an orchid name! And I'm nearly 40 years young and haven't been drinking!


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## Shiva (Nov 13, 2012)

It happens. I remember reading some news thing as a journalist years ago and reporting exactly the opposite of what was actually written. I couldn't explain what had happened to myself, let alone to my boss. But it could be stress related.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Nov 13, 2012)

Nah, it has nothing to do with a problem, just the way your brain processes visual information. You've probably seen those emails that go around with blocks of text where every word is scrambled up - all but the first and last letters of each word. Most people can read the text regardless since your brain is more concerned with syntax and grammar being correct - each word is identified only by the first and last letters, and the mind does this easily once you realize how the text has been modified.

So similarly spelled words taken out of context, as when glossing over a list of threads, can be interpreted to mean whatever the mind grabs onto. I'm sure you don't sleep at night thinking about Shiva's cat, nor do you contemplate Charles' home state very often. Therefore those topics don't have a good context in your brain, so you make something up - "collage" is exactly one letter away from "college" and Shiva is a proper name, so your mind makes the jump to a more useful and familiar concept. Charles' SF moniker has no good meaning outside the forum, so your brain quickly jumps to a more sensible solution - an orchid genus (this is an orchid forum, no?).

We have to remember that in truth we do this with all data streams coming in through our senses - they are interpreted ruthlessly into bits of meaning and with this we create a world. The reality is that there is no "out there" out there - it is all interpretation, so what you see literally ain't so. With language it is even more confusing.

Well, that's it for now, I've got to go get a drink


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## Hera (Nov 13, 2012)

You aren't the only one who misreads. I'm happy to agree with Tom for the reasons, but I would have been laughed off the forum years ago if I always responded to what I thought I read first. Add to that my astigmatism and sheesh.........I've come up with some winners.


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## Paul Mc (Nov 13, 2012)

Oh Her, do tell!!!! I think we all might have some good laughs with you on that!

Recently, I've been under so much stress that I have not been able to see straight. It really does make sense for me to read some of these things and not truly understand what I'm been reading. Indeed, it takes me many times to go back and reread it before I fully understand what someone has said. Thankfully, my stressful time is now over and I am healing! LOL...


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## cnycharles (Nov 13, 2012)

about 'cnycharles' and 'cycnoches', we had fred clarke at our orchid society last weekend, and during his catasetum talk he pointed out that one of the ways he remembers how 'not' to pronounce cycnoches is 'seek-no-cheese', which he says isn't very popular in wisconsin (actually he probably didn't know that ny is also a very big cheese state (ny sharp cheddar))


actually I do now own a catasetum hybrid purchased from fred at our meeting, so maybe if I do go wild and replace my whole collection with catasetinae i'll have to change my moniker to cycnocharles


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## Paul Mc (Nov 13, 2012)

ROFL!!! You'll only add to the current confusion my friend!!!!


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## Yoyo_Jo (Nov 13, 2012)

You are not alone...


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## Wendy (Nov 13, 2012)

Kind of reminds me of this joke I just got from a friend.......

The Agony of Dyslexia

Good morning, after Daylight Savings Time ended I stopped in to visit my dyslexic friend.
He was busy covering his johnson with black shoe polish.
I said to him, "You idiot! You're supposed to turn your clock back".

:rollhappy::rollhappy::rollhappy:


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## Paul Mc (Nov 13, 2012)

ROFL!!!!!! That "idiot" would sooooo have been me!


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## abax (Nov 14, 2012)

To paraphrase our dear Maxine...it's not that I'm losing
my memory. It's that there's too many stupid things to
remember. At my age, it's sometimes a blessing. :>)


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## cnycharles (Nov 14, 2012)

abax said:


> To paraphrase our dear Maxine...it's not that I'm losing
> my memory. It's that there's too many stupid things to
> remember :>)



AMEN!!! I wish I could delete a few weeks to months of stupid television and movies that i've watched over the years (especially when I had returned to school and was trying to avoid doing homework and studying  ) and many other inane conversations etc and work meetings, and have much more storage room to spare for the nice things that are going to happen soon (I hope)


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