Strawberry Socials and Relevance Realization
Plus a recipe-link to Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream
You might ask what Strawberry Socials have to do with Relevance Realization. Well… it is June, and Strawberries are in season in Upstate New York and Southern Ontario. That is the first part of the relevance of this newsletter.
These days you can get strawberries at almost any time of year, but way back when… you had to wait until they were in season. It was an occasion to celebrate and enjoy social time with friends and family. Many new friendships and memories were made at these events.
I remember helping prepare food for church suppers, and one of the year’s highlights was the Strawberry Social. Members of the committee would prepare the menu for months. The date would be picked, and a few people would be tasked with going to a local farm to pick fresh berries the day before the event, wash, de-stem, and slice them. Others made the shortcakes or prepared the main course, which usually consisted of cold ham, turkey, and salads.
The attendees would always tell themselves not to fill up on the main course but to leave room for double helpings of homemade Strawberry Shortcake, Luscious Strawberry Pies, Strawberry Ice Cream, or even Strawberry Angel Food Cake.
The recipe for Strawberry Angel Food Cake with Whipped Cream is on my blog.
Planning the Social had some element of risk involved, for in some years, the strawberries did not ripen in time. I remember one such year when we had to buy frozen strawberries and cook them into a Strawberry Compote. The “show,” or rather the Strawberry Social, had to go on.
The Theory of Relevance Realization
This brings me to the theory of Relevance Realization, or the process by which we decide what matters in any given situation. In the situation just mentioned, it was more important to have strawberry desserts made without fresh berries than it would have been to cancel the event.
This seems all too simple to need a theory. Yet, the decisions we arrive at through experience and common sense are, apparently, not that easy to program into computers, AI, and other smart machines.
The Relevance theory is used today in cognitive linguistics, pragmatic reasoning, and the development of AI. Among the scholarly, it is referred to with a great deal of verbiage, which is unnecessary for this newsletter. Suffice it to say that Relevance Realization is about the very human phenomenon of intelligent reasoning. Reasoning in this way helps us Explain, Solve and Adapt to new situations.
We won’t get into the Great Rationality Debate between Optimality Modeling and Ecological Rationality.
The Principle of Optimality: “An optimal policy has the property that whatever the initial state and initial decision are, the remaining decisions must constitute an optimal policy with regard to the state resulting from the first decision.” (See Bellman, 1957, Chap. III.3.)
Ecological rationality: “A particular account of practical rationality, which in turn specifies the norms of rational action – what one ought to do in order to act rationally.” Wikipedia
Thankfully we humans can break this down into simple terms. Relevance is realizing what matters to us or those we care about in any given situation.
When faced with a challenge.
A good question to ask ourselves is, “How is this useful now?” What choice is the most relevant? What will be the most desired outcome for all involved?
How our choices impact ourselves and others can change depending on the situation. Thank goodness we can change our minds quickly depending on what is needed.
Many would argue that we are programmed to believe certain things, but thankfully, we are always capable of new thoughts. We grow. We can view a moment in our past and find new relevance and meaning, allowing for new choices in the future.
Does what we focus on, or assign relevance to, determine our experience?
This subject has been researched and discussed over the millennium. Are we creatures that somehow attract much of what happens to us? Or does everything happen regardless of reaching for what is relevant in our experience to expand our version of happiness?
Both psychology and many religions contend that when we focus on the positive aspects of a situation, we are more likely to have a positive experience. Similarly, if we focus on the negative aspects of a situation, we are more likely to have a negative experience. Other studies suggest that our environment and past experiences also mold our experiences and how we react to them. The trick is to find a way to realize what is the most relevant for the best outcome.
How does Attentional Bias come into play?
Attentional Bias is a cognitive tendency we all use to prioritize certain stimuli over others. We maneuver through our world by selectively attending to certain aspects of our environment that may be more relevant to us while ignoring others. To a large extent, this trait has saved our species from extinction.
Burying our heads in the sand and ignoring what is happening in the world is not an answer. But we can sift and sort the information that continually comes at us through a clarifying lens.
Our lens for finding what deserves our attention is asking questions. Whether of others or, even more importantly, of ourselves. We can examine the other side of the story by keeping an open mind and using our observations of events to determine what really happened. When new slanted versions of supposed facts are presented, we can ask who is telling the story and how it benefits them. Often events are described with a built-in bias or perspective of the viewer.
Such is the story of the “Blind Men Who Went To See The Elephant” by John Godfrey Saxe.
I. It was six men of Indostan To learning much inclined, Who went to see the Elephant (Though all of them were blind), That each by observation Might satisfy his mind. II. The First approached the Elephant, And happening to fall Against his broad and sturdy side, At once began to bawl: “God bless me! — but the Elephant Is very like a wall!” III. The Second, feeling of the tusk, Cried: “Ho! — what have we here So very round and smooth and sharp? To me ‘t is mighty clear This wonder of an Elephant Is very like a spear!” IV. The Third approached the animal, And happening to take The squirming trunk within his hands, Thus boldly up and spake: “I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant Is very like a snake!” V. The Fourth reached out his eager hand, And felt about the knee. “What most this wondrous beast is like Is mighty plain,” quoth he; “‘T is clear enough the Elephant Is very like a tree!” VI. The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said: “E’en the blindest man Can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can, This marvel of an Elephant Is very like a fan!” VII. The Sixth no sooner had begun About the beast to grope, Than, seizing on the swinging tail That fell within his scope, “I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant Is very like a rope!” VIII. And so these men of Indostan Disputed loud and long, Each in his own opinion Exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong. MORAL. So, oft in theologic wars The disputants, I ween, Rail on in utter ignorance Of what each other mean, And prate about an Elephant Not one of them has seen!
This brings me to the plethora of information and varying perspectives on every imaginable subject. Viewpoints in the world today present extremely diverse arguments for both sides of many questions.
Science is considered the ultimate truth of any subject. However, we remember that Science in the 1800s was very different from what Science is today. And possibly, will we think today’s versions unthinkable in the future? Take the following quote as an example referring to the use of alcohol for babies.
“All parties were expected to partake of the article; the adults to use it internally, while the new-born babe was to become initiated into the use of it by a copious ablution of its whole surface from head to foot, ‘to make it hardy and keep it from taking cold, ‘frequently, also, the nurse practiced upon the idea that a little would be good inerdly for the stomach, and keep off the gripes.” The Nurse’s Guide, by Warrington, Joseph
Most opinions fall on one of two sides of a coin. The predominant viewpoint we are bombarded with, especially in the news, is very doom and gloom. There is always something bad going on. This is what captures most of our attention. In fact, this is often used to sell us the remedy for the next bad thing. Make us afraid, and we change our attitudes towards things and choose that which is relative based on negative reports.
We need to question what we regard as relevant.
We need to think for ourselves.
As adults, we should more often remind ourselves of those motherly admonitions we received as a child.
“If someone told you to jump off a bridge, you wouldn’t do that, would you!”
Two World Views Emerging
I’ve noticed recently that two distinctly opposite views are emerging of what our world will become in the future. On one side, everything is gloom and doom. On the other side, there is a great deal of hope.
Inventors, Creatives, Crypto Traders, and Youth are full of hope. Watching what they are up to brings their infectious and un-squashable spirit of endeavor forward. Just when things look bleakest in other news, I am reminded that the positive eventually wins out in every generation.
This brings me to Relevant Appreciation.
Too often, we take things for granted because we think people and things will always be there or be the same.
Our lives change, we re-invent ourselves, our families grow, and we make new friends. Eventually, by inching towards the positive, the steps we take improve our lives. We can appreciate even the difficulties. Obstacles are only stones in a stream to step over until we reach the other side.
So Volunteer for a Strawberry Social or other gathering…
Every young person should work with others in a hot steamy kitchen while hungry crowds of eager eaters want food. And want it now… Nothing like it teaches you how to get along, what to do when the stove catches fire, or how to cajole people into waiting just a little longer for dinner.
The realizations you learn about what is relevant, what is not, and what to do about it can be transferred to many situations in life.
I hope you have a luscious, strawberry-filled season, and share some delicious mouthfuls in your own Strawberry Social, however small the gathering, because nothing is more relevant than time with family and friends!
Though I miss being on the Strawberry Committee, I still appreciate all the lessons I learned along the way.
Even being gluten-free from necessity became a stepping stone. Check out my Gluten-Free, You Can Do It cookbook for those who can’t enjoy regular Strawberry shortcakes (and other recipes) since they are Celiac or Gluten-Sensitive.