Computers can be...

...in a universe all their own...

So are the retinas of my eyes: another universe viewed up close and personal. My right eye is on top, followed by the left eye just above. Had my eyes examined a couple of weeks ago (too bad the "head" doctor wasn't available...!) and had retinal photographs taken to ensure there were no signs of cataracts, macular degeneration, clots, etc.

Setting aside the clean bill of eye health (aside from my lousy vision), I thought the pictures were cool to have and look at. They'll enlarge nicely when you click on 'em.

Well, all I can tell you about Sunday night's power surge and ensuing computer woes early this morning is that just after 2pm Monday the computer decided to completely reboot. While I'm no expert, I've learned my way around the computer world through trial by fire.

No two reboots were the same before the computer got to a point and froze...those points were all over the spectrum of the reboot time-frame. Hard-boots were my only way out, and that is discomforting to say the least when it's multiple events. Even 'safe mode' had serious issues, which doesn't bode well down the road; alas, I kept at it with an open mind and tried lots of little tricks to keep the memory working before it froze, thinking if I asked the computer to do something different out of turn it would 'wake up'. And it did.

And I have no idea why.

I will say the first thing I did was to disable Norton Symantec as I had it booting at start-up...I've had a lot of trouble with my Norton software causing processor issues from time to time, and I finally got to a point where I could disable it. Lo and behold, the ol' computer has been working like a charm since then (shouldn't of said that...!).

Which led me to ponder my 9 years as a high school biology teacher, all the while stressing the basics of "scientific method". Interestingly, it has great value for all of us in our day to day lives. At the very core of that process, yea the very foundation, is the idea that you must start any inquiry with an open mind and no prejudgments. When you 'assume' things you automatically shut the brain's door to looking at all possibilities...what seems a 'sure' thing is not at all necessarily true.

Classic case. I hand you a brand new (as in unopened) can of peanuts. You can't see inside, but it says 'peanuts' and sounds like peanuts when you shake it. And so I would ask students "What's inside this can?" Invariably the answers were the same...

"Peanuts..."

"Air..."

"Salt..."

"Oils..." etc.

"No, all those answers are incorrect," I would quickly say.

"Is this a trick question?" someone would ask.

"Yes and no, really. So what is the only true answer as to what is in this can?"

Usually someone would finally come up with the answer, after prodding.

"I don't know what's in there," they would say.

"That is correct," I would add.

And as is the case with some of you reading this, there were deer-in-the-headlight blinks and 'huh?' whispered through the classroom. You assume all those things listed above are in there, but the fact is since it's sealed...you don't truly 'know' the contents. You could not see them, taste them, smell them, none of that. You made assumptions. A scientist can ill afford to prejudge things when beginning to form a hypothesis, as it could lead down a very long, wrong, and costly trail.

And while this is a simple example, imagine how many times all of us make assumptions about things as being 'truth' before we really know all the information.

Ignorance is bliss? I say ignorance is inexcusable. Be aware of what you assume to be true, especially when it deals with human interactions.

And somehow I got to this point after starting with retinal photos from inside my head. Scary place.