03/30/2024
Allen Neuringer writes about his exploration of repetitions and variations. Skinner advised us to "Make deliberate changes in the ways in which you do things...if you are inclined to go in one direction, try going in another. Try especially, to avoid doing things as you once learned to do them-- if only to see what results. The more extravagant the variation, the more valuable."
Neuringer has applied what he has learned into his own life. "Most evenings after dinner, I mix variations and repetitions. I sit at a Yamaha electric piano and improvise, sometimes starting with an arbitrary (or random) sequence of notes or sometimes with a from-the-past song. I generally cannot predict the outcome of the improvisation but find the undertaking to be satisfying, and my behavior has been maintained over the years. Similar intermixing can be applied in other venues: social interactions, love-making, competition, problem solving, art, and music. Perhaps most importantly, varying our attempts, repeating what succeeds, and intermixing the two, may help us as we confront the challenges of our day."
Read more on page 16 of Operants. https://indd.adobe.com/view/4d65a0ea-3d11-4c29-a2b1-5e4a0389cdee
