Talk:Essay:Quantifying Mental Strength

Thrives

Do you think "excels" might be a better word than "thrives" in the opening line? Corry 11:20, 19 October 2008 (EDT)

How about "is obsessed with"? Human 19:23, 19 October 2008 (EDT)

Maybe "delights?" --ToJones 19:25, 19 October 2008 (EDT)

Physical fitness is a good thing. Mental fitness would be even better. I don't see how the alternatives would be improvements.--Aschlafly 19:38, 19 October 2008 (EDT)

Right now it reads as if our society thrives off the quantifying of physical fitness, not off the actual physical fitness. I understand your point, but it is hidden within the second half of your second sentence. Perhaps a better way of saying it would be "Our society thrives on our physical fitness and mental fitness. To help us improve our physical fitness, we quantify our physical strength [then the list of how we do it]. It is long overdue to create a similar system for mental fitness: ----ToJones 19:42, 19 October 2008 (EDT)

OK, good point. Will add now.--Aschlafly 20:21, 19 October 2008 (EDT)

Rename second half?

The second half is approaches to improving mental strength? Maybe change section heading to reflect this? The way the article is now that section should be approaches to quantifying mental strength. Just change heading to "Approaches to Improving Mental Strength" ? ----ToJones 20:04, 19 October 2008 (EDT)

Good suggestion. Will do.--Aschlafly 20:21, 19 October 2008 (EDT)

Dog attacks

I'm not sure about the inclusion of "dog attacks" in the irrational fears bullet point. Assumedly if a dog is attacking you, you should at least be concerned, especially if the dog is big, snarling, and has big teeth. That's a pretty rational concern. Do you mean fear of dogs in general? I know a girl who had some incident with a dog when she was young and now is deathly afraid of any dogs, even chihuahuas! -Foxtrot 23:57, 20 October 2008 (EDT)

I would argue that not wanting a large dog to chase you or not wanting to get shot are both very rational fears. I think you're trying to link gun control policies with lacking "mental strength," and I don't think it's a good comparison. There's a big difference between being afraid of being shot (if you were in a combat zone, wouldn't you be?) and believing that less guns in society as a whole would reduce crime. Corry 10:45, 21 October 2008 (EDT)

This obviously refers to an irrational or exaggerated fear of dog attacks, or guns. There may be legitimate fears of flying in airplanes, but the "fear of flying" obviously refers to an irrational or exaggerated fear.--Aschlafly 12:33, 21 October 2008 (EDT)

That's fair- I have friends who are afraid of my little housecat, for example. Maybe a phrase could be included to discuss that the fear becomes debilitating in what would normally be a non-threatening situation. I think it would be good to leave out guns, however, because part of being taught how to responsibly use a gun is inculcating a certain fear and respect for the damage they can do. My father certainly drilled this into me as a child, and I think that it is irrational to have no fear of guns at all. While I can think of many situations where an irrational fear of something can alter normal behavior- refusing to stay on the thirteenth floor of a hotel, for example, I can't think of such scenarios with guns. Corry 13:04, 21 October 2008 (EDT)

Irrational fear is worth getting rid of even when it is not "debilitating". People who have an exaggerated fear of dog attacks would much prefer not to have that fear, and improving mental strength is a way they can get over their fear.

Guns are analogous to dog attacks, and the same logic applies to irrational fear of guns. Some people are too fearful of guns even to use them in self-defense, and they pay too high a price for that.--Aschlafly 13:09, 21 October 2008 (EDT)

If

I've always found Kipling's poem 'If' inspirational, and a great source of mental strength, with the (admittedly very major) caveat that the strength given by God and by faith is not mentioned. Bugler 18:17, 18 December 2008 (EST)

Do you have a cite to it?--aschlafly 18:18, 18 December 2008 (EST)