Something paradoxical occurred to me. Consciousness works best in the service of unconsciousness.

What I mean is that if you play football, tennis, the piano, etc., what you’re trying hard to do is use your consciousness to practice and repeat and perfect some skill until it becomes unconscious and you become aware of it.

(Re tennis: they ought to outlaw grunting and screaming on the court. It’s like coughing while someone tees off, or like humming to yourself during a chess match.)

———————- On a completely different note – a month ago or so I wrote that I was going to try out the AlphaSmart as a writing tool. It was no good. Nice form factor, but drastically dated software from neglect or lack of funds. Basically, it was fine to write on, but there was no good way to get your text in or out unless you synchronized it with a Palm OS circa 2001.