ITABIMAS: In the Absence of Better Information Make a Story, Part 1

Definitions

Human beings do it.
You do it, I do it.
Eskimos and Greeks do it.
Lawyers and Criminals do it.
Psychiatrists and their Patients do it.
Everybody does ITABIMAS.

"In The Absence of Better Information Make A Story."

Scientists practice ITABIMAS, and call it "Making a Theory."
Religious people practice ITABIMAS and call it "Having Faith."
Government officials call ITABIMAS, "Making Policy."
Media People call ITABIMAS, "Making Copy"
Designers call ITABIMAS, "The Newest Version."

Scientific ITABIMAS is recorded in documents called "Journals."
Religious ITABIMAS is recorded in documents called "Scriptures."
Government ITABIMAS is recorded in "Bills", "Manifestos" or "Constitutions."
Media ITABIMAS is recorded as, well, "Various Sorts of Media."
Design ITABIMAS is recorded as manufactured artifacts or "Stuff".

There is a part of the brain that takes information coming from the world, the senses and from memory, combining it to create coherent reality. I call this part of the brain, the "Confabulator". The reason? When the Confabulator is cut off from factual information, it keeps right on doing what it does best... making a story.

Aging people will tell stories that are not true, because they have lost the ability to perceive objective truth, but not the ability to construct a story. Individuals with bipolar disorder will say, "I am depressed because of x, or I am manic because of y". The fact is, that the mood extremes of bipolar disorder are controlled by serotonin, dopamine, neurotransmitters and hormones playing together in an elegant symphony. An individual is depressed or elated because of neurotransmitter and hormone levels. The Confabulator creates an ITABIMUS to explain reality through the veil of current mood, perception and circumstances.

When exceptions arise during the course of experience adjustments are made. As time goes by, an ITABIMAS may bog down with special case amendments and become unwieldy. Sometimes the exceptions outweigh the story and the ITABIMAS collapses under its own weight, like a dinosaur. The collapse of one ITABIMAS marks the birth of another, enabling the ITABIMAS to rise from the ashes reproduced. It returns as a new, simpler and hopefully less oppressive ITABIMAS.

There is institutional ITABIMAS brought about by the opinions of a few who reside in carefully crafted positions of power. The institutions of Science, Religion, Government, Media, and Design operate using ITABIMAS. Keeping an ITABIMAS up to date is revision. That is how humans do things. In the absence of information, they make up a story and revise as necessary to describe the current reality. We are all con artists in the prison of life deluding ourselves to varying degrees. You can quote me on that.

© 1996 L.Van Warren · All Rights Reserved  · Revised 11/22/2011

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