Scott Johnson: Other Interests

Everybody needs to relax a little sometimes; it helps recharge your batteries, so to speak. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a medical explanation that wasn't far different. Neurons tend to sort of "discharge." After a period of prolonged firing, they tend to not fire very well. That's why people see afterimages-- the neurons in the retina fire for a while when looking at a particular image, but after a short while, they get "tired out." They stop responding to a color striking them. If you stare at an image for a while and then look at something white, the neurons are still sort of "dead" to the color that had been hitting them. They detect only the complimentary component in the white, so you see an afterimage, a negative version of what you had been looking at.

Similarly, if you put on a contact lens that has a letter attached to it, so that the same neurons in the retina see the letter for several minutes, you will see the letter disappear, one pen stroke at a time. In this case, it's not the cells in the retina that get overstimulated and stop working first; it's the neurons in the brain that recognize lines. Similarly, if you trigger a reflex continuously, that reflex will die down.

I think the same thing happens if we work too hard. We keep using the same neurons, and they get "tired out." Most of us have had experiences when we work for hours on a task and can't seem to make progress, but after taking a break, we have a breakthrough. I think it's because the involved neurons need a chance to recharge. So I believe that to keep functioning well, we need to take breaks, and recreate. I don't know whether this theory has any scientific validity, but based just on my own, informal observation, it seems like things work that way. So in short, I'm a big fan of recreation.

To take a break from programming, writing, or teaching, I like to draw, decorate cakes, read, or play board or computer games like Diplomacy, or Sid Meier's Civilization. Below are some links to images and descriptions of various things I've done in my spare time:

Pencil Drawings

When I make a trip somewhere, I like to take along a pad of paper and do a little drawing, if I have time. On occasion, I've even been known to go somewhere just to draw. Here are some examples of my pencilwork.

A Guide to Perspective Drawing

An introductory guide to perspective drawings, explaining vanishing points, cone of vision, etc. I wrote it for an on-line, amateur fantasy art gallery of which I am a member.

Freaks of Architecture

Pictures of architectural oddities from the built environment at the University of Michigan. Some are annoying, some are nice, and some are just plain weird.

My Cakes Page

I learned a little about cake decorating from my mother, who used to have a small cake decorating business on the side. Of course, an architect, and a fantasy fan, my cakes are a little strange.

Diplomacy

A page describing "Diplomacy," a board game of negotiation, trust-building, bluffing, cooperation, and plotting, set in 1901 Europe. The description comes from the "Diplomatic Pouch," an excellent on-line site devoted to the game, full of strategy articles, on-line play-by-e-mail utilities, and other resources.

Last update: May 19, 2003.